Last week, I was engaged upon my normal household activities. With feather duster in hand, I was flciking over my books. As you may appreciate, this can take some while. Not only are there quite a few to dust (last count I had about 60m of shelving) but dusting does tend to lead to browsing. As I my wandering duster gently caressed the numerous works of ancient authors standing proudly in their black Penguin Classics one particualrly battererd volume seemed to claim my attention. It was Herodotus. The Father of History, the Father of Lies. This volume I bought when I was 15 through a scheme my school ran. (No Amazon those days.)
The years flew away as I opened the volume and began to read about the Hellenes and the Asian and how the trouble had all been caused by the Phoenecians abducting a Greek princess and the Greeks making a big thing of it.
The book naturally falls open to the role atthe battle of Platea. I felt the stirring for a phalanax - my 15mm Peter Laing one being "lost" in the divorce - for gaily coloured Medes and bow armed Persian. But no. I must resist. My powers are too weak. I need to master my techniques on drab modernity before essaying Ancients. Think Centurion! Think big, clanking chariots ... scythed ... 20pdr and how many horses? .... 4 horses ...
Eventually, I battered down this urge by painting my lovely Pendraken Flak 18/36's.
A few days later I was catching up on my podcasts, and scupper me, Tom (Persian Fire) Holland had done a new version of (yes, you guessed it) Herodotus. He talked of his favourite bits and I remembered mine. Platea – Hoplites in bronze, proud plumes nodding in the sunlight the sparkled on leaf shaped spear blades – each one marking the stand of a proud Greek.
I am weakening. I have looked again at the Pendraken pages for Greek and Persian and Mede and Scythian ...
I downloaded a copy of Herodotus for 79p onto my Kindle, so I can listen to it whilst dusting. I know this feeling, I shall soon succumb and be adding to the lead mountain even though I stall have 1944 and Korea and some Dark Age stuff to finish. It was ever thus!
Then this morning, I inadvertently put my iPod on shuffle. The first song to come up was "O'er the Fields and Far Away" ... and I recalled my now defunct British Napoleonic armies ... ranks of immaculate scarlet tipped by a streak of green coated riflemen, ...
I'm doomed. , but I suspect I'm not alone.
Ancients have got me in their dread clutches again too.
Yup
Ah the joys and perils of browsing the bookcase!
I overdosed on Ancients just by browsing the Impetus Army Lists... I now have about 16 armies... :o
I caved in. Bought some Pendraken Greeks as "samples".
I never wanted to be rich anyway. May as well just have my salary diverted straight to Pendraken and ask Leon for pocket money. :(
With mountains of lead and plastic to keep me busy and a tight budget now I'm retired I think I'm safe .... unless Clib or Techno wind up sculpting Mycenaean Greeks and Trojans at which point I am as doomed as Ilium herself :)
You do know that Mr Techno is laying aside whatever he is doing and is reaching for "The Illustrated Big Book of Myceneans", and Mr Clib has just put his favourite Brad Pitt movie into the DVD player.
Unfortunately it's "Thelma and Louise".
Quote from: fsn on 30 November 2013, 06:36:13 PM
You do know that Mr Techno is laying aside whatever he is doing and is reaching for "The Illustrated Big Book of Myceneans",
No I'm not !.....I'm crayoning in my 'Noddy goes to Toytown" book at the moment. :P
Cheers - Phil.
Keep it in the lines Phil!
It's difficult Will.
The crayons are ever so fat. :D
Cheers - Phil
;D ;D ;D