Category: Musings

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks figure is from a company called Lead Adventure who are based in Germany and sees a return to Steampunk.  Not a great deal to say.  A nicely cast figure duly painted and put on a basic base.

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Well It Made Me Laugh …

“You missed the fucking putt, didn’t you?”

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Interesting Site?

Grekwood Miniatures is another site I have never ordered from but I came across them when I was searching for some zombies, an idea for a diorama which has yet to materialise.  If it does then I shall look at what they have to offer more closely.  They appear to be a supplier rather than a manufacturer as I notice they also sell some Crooked Dice miniatures as well.

At Telford last year one of the diorama group winners used a water effect called Making Waves.  The result was excellent.  How much it was down to the skill of the modeller and how much it was down to this stuff I have no idea.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Get Down Tonight” by KC and the Sunshine Band.  I didn’t ask to be a teen in the disco era but there was no avoiding it if you wanted to go out to a club in the mid 1970’s and meet with the opposite sex.  Every generation will claim they had the best music and I am no different.  For all the bad press the period gets it did have some of the best music ever.  I loved this track back then and I still do.

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This week TIM has been watching…

“The Equalizer 2” starring Denzel Washington.  Thought I ought to watch this to show Black Lives Matter!   Never saw the first one but suspect it was the better of the two.  This was OK and that’s all I have to say on it.

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Remember …

If you have a fear of lifts take steps to deal with it.

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks figure is from Crooked Dice and goes by the name of “Talia Torino”.  A nice little paint job but I got stuck with how to make the base a little more interesting.   A rather dull basic tarmac was the order of the day but I really wanted to inject a little colour.  A look at a few race track images gave me the idea for a small piece of red and white edging.

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Well It Made Me Laugh …

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Model Shows

It will soon be time for IPMS to decide what, if anything, is going to happen in respect of this years Telford show.  Whilst the event doesn’t take place until November the level of organisation is huge.  If it does go ahead in any shape or form I suspect it will be a very diluted affair.  It is hard to see how international participants and visitors will be able to travel and social distancing for such a large and popular event will be challenging to say the least.

Model shows are one of few things I have missed since the Coronavirus took its deathly grip and I went into self isolation.  In some ways that feels like an odd thing to say because it was only 3 years ago that I really started attending them.  I didn’t appreciate at the time how important these events would become to me.  They are a great source of inspiration, motivation and banter and I miss it.  Insignificant in the bigger scheme of things I know but I do hope this aspect of my life can return sooner rather than later.  Meanwhile thank goodness for the blog.

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Coronavirus Update

After nearly 5 months  of self isolation I ventured down to the town for the first time.  Boy had it changed.  Outside there were cones everywhere to ensure pedestrian safe distancing and people wearing masks or crossing the road to avoid each other.  Inside 2 metre signage covers the floors, perspex screens are everywhere, you cannot browse easily and offering cash to pay is unacceptable.  I get it and I understand it but I don’t like it.

These changes will be with us for some time, they may even become permanent but I don’t think I want to adapt to living with them.  These steps, as necessary as they are, have moved the world on and I don’t like the way the world looks at the moment.  I am sure I will go into town again but it will be for emergencies only and when I cannot get what I want online.  I was quite happy in lockdown and self isolation so I shall return to it until the world returns, if it ever does, to something I want to be a part of.

As someone who loves the Old West period living as a Homesteader and occasionally saddling my horse or hitching the team to the wagon to venture into town once a month or so works for me.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“All These Things That I’ve Done” by The Killers.  Great track.

 

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This week TIM has been watching…

“Uncle Buck” starring the late John Candy.  Continuing to work my way through my John Hughes collection.

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Remember…

If you don’t pay your exorcist you will get repossessed.

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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On display this week is 28mm Reaper Pathfinder figure which goes by the name of “Jolistina Susperio”.  I cannot take credit for the colour scheme as I essentially copied it from the example on the Reaper website.  I loved how the original artist injected interest in the figure using a red and yellow diamond design and decided to try and give it a go myself.  My freehand was not as good as theirs but I am more than happy with it from a personal level.

Well It Made Me Laugh …

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Life Colour

Paul, a mate at my model club, decided pre-lockdown to start up a modelling business sideline.  On a personal level I wasn’t interested in the kits he was selling.  As nice as they were they aren’t my thing but I did want to support him so I checked out the paints he had.

Now I am no paint expert.  I stumbled upon Vallejo as a brand when I started to make the transition from oils to acrylics and have pretty much stayed exclusively with them.  As such I had never heard of the Italian company which produces “Life Colour”.

The paints Paul had were in sets.  I’m sure you have all seen the sort of thing, all the colours you need to paint a British uniform for example.  As I paint figures very much at random a uniform set seemed pointless so I decided to buy a face paint set as it would be far more useful.  The set came with six paints, 2 x base colours, 2 x shade and 2 x highlights.  On arrival I was a little disappointed.  I have grown to like dropper bottles and these were screw tops which seemed like a backward step.  Then I reminded myself they were Italian and I should not be disappointed by the country which gave us both the Ferrari and Nutella.

Putting aside my storage and dispensing prejudices I opened up the paints and gave them a go.  All I can say is that for the foreseeable future I will only be using these paints when I paint faces on my figures.

Now where did I put that spoon and jar of Nutella?

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Interesting Site?

I have only used CP Models once and that was to buy a couple of Wasp Jumpers for a little diorama I put together a year or two ago called Get Out Of My Room.  On a sample of one the quality of the figures was very good.  Having just taken another look at the site I think I will pay another visit at some point as one or two other bits have caught my eye.

Unfeasibly Miniatures is a small UK site I have never used but I liked the look of a couple of Foreign Legion figures they have.  Unfortunatley they are currently out of stock.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Song 2” by Blur.  I can’t remember when I last listened to Blur but it was far to long ago.

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This week TIM has been watching…

“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” starring Matthew Broderick.  Back in the 80’s John Hughes wrote and directed some classic movies.  This was one of the best.

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Is it just me?

Don’t you hate it when you clean out the freezer and find people you don’t even recognise?

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This week we have a Hasslefree figure which goes by the name of “Earl”.  Along with some other figures he was bought to be part of a diorama idea that I had.  Unfortunatley as sometimes happens I lost interest in the diroama but not the individual figures themselves.  If the diorama idea ever gets back on track then I will have to buy the figures again.

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Well It Made Me Laugh …

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Interesting Site?

It was at Salute 2019 that I first came across the figures which feature on the Discworld site.  I had heard of the author, the late Terry Pratchett, but had never read any of his stuff and was therefore unfamiliar with the charachters of his books, I still am.  Nevertheless the figures caught my eye, specifically the three witches.  The figures don’t come cheap but they do look very interesting.  Looking at the site again I think a purchase will be on the cards at some point!

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Summer of ’69” by Bryan Adams.  As the UK hits the summer, time for a classic track.

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This week TIM has been watching…

“Lawrence Of Arabia” starring Peter O’Toole and directed by David Lean.  Having just splashed out and bought a new TV and sound system I felt the need to check it out by watching a classic movie.  They don’t come much better than this one.

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Remember…

If you swerve to miss a tree only to realize it was your air-freshner then you were probably to drunk to drive!

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This week’s figure is from Footsore Miniatures and goes by the name of “Odin The Allfather”.  I chose him as my free figure when I spent over £35.00 on a bundle of knights.  The online images for the figure show Odin in a snow setting and as I liked that very much I decided to do the same.  Unfortunately the two black crows sitting on his shoulders don’t stand out against the black background but the alternative of a white background would probably not have shown the snow!

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Well It Made Me Laugh …

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Colour Wheel App

In a recent exchange of comments between myself and Wudugast an interesting point was raised, specifically choosing colour schemes for your next gang or army.  Clearly this is not a problem when dealing with historical pieces but when your interest lies in the worlds of fantasy and science fiction and you have already built numerous armies then coming up with something new can be a challenge.

Now I am sure you are all aware of colour wheels and how to use them.  I have a basic knowledge but certainly don’t claim to be an expert my any means.  However, in an effort to learn more about colours and what best goes with what I found an App titled “Color Harmonizer”.  Not only does it give you the appropriate complementary and split complimentary colours but it also gives you the best colour tones for upto four (Square), five and six colour tones too.

Is the App any good?  I have no idea just yet as I am currently engulfed in historical pieces just now but I will have a proper look futher down the line.  In the meanwhile though I thought I would share this discovery in the hope that it might be of some use.  If anyone does elect to download the App I would be interested to know what you think.

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WordPress Editor 

The new WordPress editor hasn’t hit me yet.  My home screen says I can start using it but as yet I haven’t.  From what I gather I will be forced to use it in due course.  Not sure when that will be but I guess it wont be long.  It is probably an age thing, I don’t take kindly to change these days compared to the younger me.

I think what makes it worse is I don’t like change for the sake of change, I rather like the old adage “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” and as far as I am concerned the current editor works just fine.  I just know that once the switch is made it is going to result in a lot of swearing and I really could do without the aggrevation.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Something Else” by Sid Vicious.  A punk take on the Eddie Cochran classic.  Not sure about Sid’s pants but each to their own!

 

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This week TIM has been watching…

“Law Abiding Citizen” starring Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx.  An OK movie and quite cleverly done but that’s about as much as I can say for it.

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Remember…

We don’t get smarter as we get older, we just run out of stupid things to do!

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks miniature is Knuckleduster’s take on Billy The Kid.  With other genres likely to dominate my desk for a short while I thought I ought to finish this one off as I had only a little bit left on him to do.

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Well It Made Me Laugh …

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Interesting Site?

In last weeks Miniatures and Musings I mentioned that I would start a series where I would post links to sites I had discovered.  In most instances I have rarely bought anything from these sites although ironically the two I am kicking off with I have!

First up is Zealot Miniatures.  I discovered this fantasy/SiFi site when I started my Wizard Library  project.  I need some appropriate furniture such as bookcases and up popped this site.  Unfortunately for me they were resin products but I had to compromise as I could find nothing better and these were exactly what I wanted.  The company was efficient, the goods were well packaged and there was nothing wrong with any of the items I received.

Next we have Stoessis Heroes.  Needing some WW2 figures for my model clubs annual display I came across this site based in Germany.  The quality of the figures are excellent and the composition of them struck me as being different and more interesting.  For these reasons I turned to this site when I constructed my large WW2 D-Day diorama Operation Overlord: The Road To Carentan.  This site also provided a very efficent service.

Of course it depends what you are into but in my opinon both sites are worth taking a look at.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“We Didn’t Start The Fire” by Billy Joel.  Cleverly done video with relevant pictures.  Seems to me Billy needs to add a few more verses to bring this up to date.  Oh and for the record I didn’t light the fire either!

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This week TIM has been watching…

Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich – a four part documentary on Netflix.  I can’t say I particulalry followed this story as it unravelled at the time but a friend recommended it so I gave it ago.  An interesting account for sure and one for the conspiracy archives.  Given the people he knew, presidents and royals, suicide seems unlikely to me but then again I do like a conspiracy.

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Remember…

Marriage is simply the process you go through to find out the what kind of woman you would have preferred.

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks miniature goes by the name “Turanil” and according to Reaper he is an Elf Paladin.  It is a two piece model, the shield being separate.  A lovely lot of detail to pick out made this one a pleasure to paint.

 

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Well It Made Me Laugh …

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Hobby Cost

I belong to what I suspect is a rare breed of people.  Each month I reconcile my bank and credit card statements.  I have been doing so ever since I started work.  I didn’t earn a lot of money back then and the idea of running up debt, spending what I didn’t have, was a concern to me.  These days some people do not seem to care about such things but each to their own.

So why mention this?  Well only because I couldn’t believe how much I had spent on modelling bits and bobs in the last month.  Self isolation has been the biggest driver of course but the money is there to pay for it so all in all it’s no big deal.  I say it’s no big deal but She Who Must Be Obeyed would doubtless make it one if she knew.  Which of course is another reason why I reconcile the statements.  If I didn’t she would!

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Interesting Sites?

You may recall I recently posted a review on Dixon’s Miniatures, one of my favourite online stores.  Now I am pretty sure I am not alone in having preferred suppliers but once upon a time they all began life as sites I simply found from surfing the net.  Typically any site I think might be of interest, either now or at some point in the future, I bookmark as and when I find them.  The reality is I have rarely, if ever, bought anything from most of these sites.  That’s not to say they are no good, it’s more likely that I have forgotten them or what I found that interested me no longer does.

The thing is these sites don’t justify a review in their own right, not by me at least, but they may hold an interest for others and therefore could be worthy of sharing.  Some of them you may already be familiar with, others you may not.  In any event as I trawl through my bookmarks I have decided to share some of them with you through my weekly musings.  I may start next week.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Angels” – A live version (after a brief intro) performed in front of an amazing Wembley crowd at a Taylor Swift concert at which Robbie made a surprise (I expect Taylor knew he was going to be there) guest appearance.

 

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This week TIM has been watching…

Ricky Gervais in “Extras” – Series 1 and 2.

It seems to me that you either love or hate Ricky Gervais, rather like Marmite (Vegemite).  Personally I love him.  For me he is the best in his business by a country mile.  Whether we are talking sitcom’s, stand-up or award ceremonies this guy is the dogs bollocks as far as I am concerned.  He says it the way it is and no subject is out of bounds.  I do get why peolple don’t like him and why he divides opinion, She Who Must Be Obeyed for example can’t stand him (but what does she know?).

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Remember…

If your wife asks you to whisper dirty things in her ear it’s best not to use words like kitchen or bathroom!

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks miniature is another Reaper figure which goes by the name of “Thorgram” and apparently he is a Dwarf Warlord.  Ordinarily this would not be a figure I would chose to buy and paint and I wouldn’t have done this one but for the fact I got it for free.  If you spend over £40.00 on the Reaper UK site you get to chose a free figure from the small selection they have every month.  I wasn’t overly inspired by what they had on offer but decided to get this one to have a better idea of the sort of thing some of you guys get up to.  As it turned out I rather enjoyed painting the little chap.  I don’t know if there any colour rules for Dwarf Warlords or not but I settled on the scheme below.

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Well It Made Me Laugh …

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The Mysterious Case Of The Partly Lost Mojo

Over the years I have lost my mojo on many occasions.  I’m not overly worried, it will come back, it always does.  It’s just a matter of time.  The thing is I have only lost part of it which does make the matter a little more unusual.

Right now I am happy painting figures and doing some very basic base work but for the moment I have lost all interest in dioramas of any size or description and I’m not entirely sure why.  I’m not short of ideas, I even have the figures to get started on one or two but I just cannot seem to be arsed.

The best conclusion I can reach is that I am missing my model club, competitions and shows.  For me all three provide a level of interaction and motivation which is important but has been lost to Coronavirus and the need for social distancing.  As much as I am happy to sit at my desk in isolation and paint I do like a bit of modelling banter with fellow enthusiasts from which invariably comes ideas and inspiration too.

I’m confident the situation will resolve itself with or without a change in the Covid-19 circumstances but until it does you will probably see figures rather than vignettes and dioramas for the next few weeks or so.

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Coronavirus – Self Isolation Week 12

Day 78 – As I enter the twelfth week of isolation and reflect on the last eleven I am amazed that I continue to remain so positive, particulalry as this isn’t an attribute normally associated with me.  I’m not entirely sure why this is but I suspect a part of it has to do with the fact that the whole thing still does not seem real.  The death numbers tell a different story though and according to current numbers only Spain has a worst death rate per one million of population than we do in the UK.

Day 79 –  As lockdown rules continue to be relaxed in the UK so it appears via my TV screen that some new form or reality has begun.  Social interaction is back, albeit with social distancing, and before too long people will have put Covid-19 behind them.  In a matter of weeks, perhaps even days it will have been forgotten by many.  On a personal level the time is nearing to take personal stock of the situation and to assess how I want to try to live the remainder of my life.  I see that as a good thing not a depressing one.

Day 80 – As each day goes by the more convinced I am that I could and would given half the chance be happy to live even more remotely than I do.  A log cabin in the middle of nowhere would suit me down to the ground.  Unfortunatley She Who Must Be Obeyed is far from keen on the idea and unlikley to come with me on such a venture.  This could prove decisive in our 40 year relationship so in need of a contingency plan I have drafted the following advert for my local newspaper the Tavistock Times.

“Wanted, Jenna Coleman look a like (or the real one) to share wild nights in remote log cabin with ageing hunk.  Must like modelling and know how to skin a beaver.  No time wasters”

It needs a little refinement but otherwise I think I am there.  My bigger concern is will Jenna get to see it?

Day 81 – Woke this morning having dreamt I was in a log cabin watching Jenna skin her beaver.

Day 82 – Given the time of day I walk the dog I rarely see anyone at all but unfortunatley today I had the misfortune to encounter local pain in the arse Mad Martin as he came running towards me from the opposite direction.  As he ran passed he shouted out “Hi Dave” and I wittily replied with “Fuck off you wanker”.  For a brief moment it felt good to abuse the moron but then I realised he hadn’t heard me as he had his head phones in.  Bugger.  Better luck next time.

Day 83 – My wife’s hayfever is dreadfull.  Morning and night she sneezes constantly.  To make matters worse the sneezes are capable of registering on the Richter Scale and no amount of medication makes a difference.  If in the future there is ever the chance that the UK is invaded by an opposing military force and we have to hide and be quiet I hope to God it happens in the winter.

Day 84 – The last post.  No, not the end of the blog but the end of my Covid-19 diary.  At the outset the UK Government said those in the most vulnerable group would have to self isolate for 12 weeks.  My aim therefore was to keep this “diary”, if I can really call it that, going for the duration.  It is clear that my family’s isolation will continue for some while yet but many of you, most I hope, will be emerging from the gloom and darkness and will want to move on.  You don’t need me to remind you of this period. I may continue with a summary update, especially if my continued confinement prevents me from having anything else to say, but otherwise the diary is dead for now …. unless there is a second phase!

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This week TIM has been listening to …

Rod Stewart.  Now I do like a bit of Rodney, he is one of my favourites.  A while back I am sure I featured “Maggie May” in a Musings so this time there was a need to go with a different track.  The problem was I found two and couldn’t decide what to feature so this week you lucky (or not so lucky if you don’t like Rodders) have a double bill.

Now I love live music and therefore like live recordings.   For me they sort the real muscians and singers from the studio enhanced ones.  Both these tracks are live performances.  The first is an acoustic version of “Mandolin Wind” with Ronnie Wood and the instrumentals on this track are awesome as far as I am concered.  The second is a performance of “Hot Legs” by Joss Stone featuring Rod.

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This week TIM has been watching…

“The Stranger” and eight episode series on Netflix.  My daughter, She Who Must Be Obeyed 2, suggested this one to me.  It seems we share some things in common despite her teenage attempts to disown me by claiming she was adopted.  Turned out to be quite watchable.

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Remember…

Drinking can cause memory lose … or even worse, memory loss.

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!

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This weeks miniature is from Reaper and goes by the rather odd title of “Mad Scientist (Female).    She needs a name so I have decided to call her “Marie” after a girl I had a crush on at school back in the 70’s, not that she looks anything like her other than the red hair (I love red heads) and the blue eye shadow, very much a thing for UK girls back in the day.

A nice little figure (Marie had one too!) which I based using some bricks and a few old watch parts to add a little emphasis to the steampunk image.

Well It Made Me Laugh …

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A Hard Days Knight

Yesterday evening I took the plunge and ordered some knights from Footsore Miniatures along with a couple of other figures too.  It has been quite a while since I embraced this genre and decided for better or worse that it was time to do so once again.

I’m hardly short of figures to paint but I was motivated by the encouragement I recieved following a couple of recent Memory Monday posts which featured two mounted knights I had done sometime ago. Another consideration was that, aside from the one outstanding order I’m still waiting on, I have no deliveries pending. Receiving something in the post offers much excitement during my confinement and therefore there was a need to addess the matter.  I have a feeling I may have to address this need again next week too.  Probably the week after as well.  And the week after that.  And the week after that, and the week after that … !!!

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Coronavirus – Self Isolation Week 11

Day 71 – Today I found myself thinking about 2015 and wondering how many people predicted lying on a sofa for weeks on end when asked “And where do you see yourself in 5 years time?”

Day 72 – The finger pointing has begun and questions are being asked about why certain things were done and why others were not.   The world is full of people who are happy to criticise but unwilling to actually get off their arse and do anything, it’s the easiest job in the world.  Have the various governments got it all right?  Certainly not.  Could they have done better?  Probably.  Have any of them had experience of this sort of thing before?  No.  Hindsight is twenty twenty vision.  Rather ironic given the year is 2020.

Day 73 – My dating days have long passed but I do worry for today’s teens.  With everyone wearing face masks the odds of getting an ugly bird/bloke have significantly increased.  Still I guess it has levelled the playing field somewhat.  As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder which is just as well as that’s about all you now get to see.

Day 74 –  Haven’t entirely figured out why yet but for some reason I seem to be able to get ready for bed much quicker these days.

Day 75 –  The more time I spend thinking about it the more I think we have missed a trick when it comes to making the world a better place.  I have long known the world has its fare share of idiots and morons, those who swim in the shallow end of the gene pool, I just never knew there were quite so many.  The pandemic has allowed these people to float to the top like a form of vile green algae.  We should have skimmed them off the surface and disposed of them while we had the chance.

Day 76 – At about this time last year I was in Amsterdam with She Who Must Be Obeyed and She Who Thinks She Must Be Obeyed 2 visiting the Anne Frank museum.  A very moving experience.  If you didn’t know Anne, before she was found, spent over two years in isolation hiding from the Nazi’s to save her life and the lives of her family.  I haven’t read her diary but I am guessing there isn’t an entry at about the eleven week point where she says “fuck this, I’m off to the beach”.

Day 77 – At the start of the UK lockdown the most vulnerable were told to self isolate for 12 weeks.  Next week will be the twelfth for my family and I.  Whilst a lot has changed it would seem our fate for now has not.  Some lockdown measures have been relaxed by the UK Government but we await the latest safe guarding advice of the Cystic Fibrosis doctors and nurses.  We anticipate no change but better safe than sorry.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) by Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel.  One of my all time favourite records, not so much for the song itself but for the memories it conjures up.  An absolute classic in my book.

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This week TIM has been watching…

Innocent, a four part ITV series.  Well worth a watch in my opjnion.

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Remember…

Your wife wont start an argument with you if you’re cleaning!

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TIM

Welcome to this weeks Miniatures & Musings!   According to WordPress this is my 300th post!

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This figure by Hasslefree Miniatures is titled “Wierd West Boudi”.  I thought I would try a different background for the photo shoot.  The first couple were taken using a white background while the others were done using my usual black one.  Have yet to decide which I prefer so will use both backgrounds again on another figure or two and see how they turn out.

I have also found a supplier who sells 25mm oak cubes, ideal plinths for elevating figures and making them stand out a bit more.  I really like these so going forward I think I will use these for the figures I think are more deserving of a better base and where, in my opinion, I’ve done a decent paint job too.

Pinning a figure direct to the oak is very difficult given how hard the wood is and I didn’t want to use anything like Milliput so I then bought some 25mm square MDF bases to put the figure on before adding it to the cube which explains the dark brown band which runs round the top of the base.  I added wooden coffee stirrers to the MDF base to create floor boards and Boudi was then pinned in place.  All very simple but I didn’t want to detract from the figure.

Although I am pleased with the figure looking at the images I might need to tone down the nose and chin highlights.  I thought they looked fine to the naked eye but I will take another look.

 

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Well It Made Me Laugh …

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Back In Business

Having removed the figures I had up for sale on Ebay I have now put them back up again!  My biggest concern was how to post items that I might manage to sell given my personal family lockdown circumstances.  Pre Covid-19 I never needed to look for alternatives as I simply had items weighed at the post office and off they jolly well went.  Well it turns out I can pay online, download a label and simply pop the little chaps into the post box without so much as seeing anyone or touching anything!

What will they think of next?

I can also report that the sytem works as a very nice chap based in Germany kindly bought one of my Hasslefree figures.

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Coronavirus – Self Isolation Week 10

Day 64 – For obvious reasons apps such as Zoom have become increasingly popular and with it a new form of vanity has grown.  I saw today that people have been working on their background images.  Not wanting the world to see that they live in a shit hole some people have been going to great lengths to portray a better image of themselves to impress others.  I can’t be having with it.  I’m content to simply sit outside in the back garden and people can make of it what they want.

Day 65 – Much to my surprise my kids continue to handle the lockdown situation well.  The reality of our lives is a simple one.  For She Who Must Be Obeyed and I 80% of our life style remains unchanged.  Of the other 20% I would at a guess say the changes forced upon us have produced positive results.  Cancelled holidays and not being able to go to the pub have been the biggest disappointment, neither of which is a really big deal.  For the kids though the figures are reversed with 80% of their world having been turned upside down.  By now I would have thought we would have killed one another but currently the wounds are superficial.

Day 66 –  Notwithstanding that some lockdown restrictions have been eased little appears to have changed in our world.  My best efforts to try to obtain materials for jobs I have the time to do but not the stuff continue to fail.  Well that’s what I have been telling SWMBO.  Fortunately model suppliers remain largely unaffected.  Such is life.

Day 67 – The press continue to pour out nonsense.  Why is the UK behind France when it comes to getting back on track some have asked?  Well as I understand it Covid-19 is highly contagious which leads me to think more densely populated places will find it harder to come out of lockdown.  Having spent all of 30 seconds on Google I can tell you that the UK and France as at 2019 both have a population of 67m people.  France however is 2.3 times bigger.  Now I’m no expert but maybe, just fucking maybe that has something to do with it!

Day 68 – Came across this today.  As far as I can determine it isn’t fake news.  If it is correct then it tells me two things.  Another one will follow.  Something has to be done about China.  Not sure which one worries me more.

1957-1958: H2N2 – originated in China.
1968-1969: H3N2 – China.
1997-2004: H5N1 – China.
2003: Sars –  China.
2006: Bird Flu –  China.
2013: Porcine Pestivirus – China.
2020: Covid-19 – China.
2009: Swine Flu – some say  it originated in America. But most agree it was probably China.

Day 69 – My growing concern is that more and more emphasis is being placed on using common sense as a means to combat coronavirus.  When I look at the people in my area and consider they are the result of the winning sperm I don’t hold out much hope.

Day 70 – Today I had two things I needed to do.  Twenty minutes would have gotten both tasks done.  I managed neither.  Worse than that they were carried over from the day before.  It may have taken 11 weeks to achieve it but I think I have finally unwound and learnt to chill.

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This week TIM has been listening to …

“Lola” by the Kinks.  This song came out in 1970.  It’s a classic.  Whilst the theme does nothing for me the track and lyrics are excellent in my opinion and just goes to show that some people were just as sexually “confused” back then as they are now.  The subject matter, popular in todays society it seems, isn’t therefore new, just more fashionable it strikes me.

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This week TIM has been watching…

The BBC series “Clique”.

Having watched “Normal People” a couple of weeks ago BBCi Player suggested among others that I might like to give this a try.  There are two 6 part series.  I enjoyed the first, it was a bit different.  The second series was OK but I might have done better to have left a gap rather than watching one after the other.  Worth a watch though given the current circumstances.

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Remember…

Sometimes understanding what a woman wants is very difficult.  It’s like trying to figure out what colour the letter seven smells like.

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TIM