Who Me?

Hmm, what to say about myself that does not sound pretentious or flippant? Well, middle-aged and carrying a bit more weight than I should. Father of two and Partner to none. A wargamer by obsession, a video engineer by profession. I love to travel and stare at Old Masters that hang in the various galleries around the world.

I live in Melbourne and have done so for about 8 years having come from Queensland.

I game most periods and in most scales. I started in the early 1980s (like so many of us I suspect) and played 28mm Wargames Research Group 6th and then 7th edition Ancient rules with a particular keenness for the Teutonic Order. In fact I still have miniatures from that collection. I also dabbled with 15mm Napoleonics with Empire 3 and 4. Later I moved very heavily to 28mm Colonials using Larry Brom’s most excellent rules, “The Sword and the Flame”, I have a rather large collection of colonial French and British with various opponents. That particular interest lasted for almost 10 years and I still play but not as regularly as I would like.

A little later on I discovered the joy of 15mm WWII and was very keen also on Privateer Press Warmachine/Hordes and have a Skorne force that regularly gets its arse kicked by my various opponents.

Moving to Melbourne has opened a veritable cornucopia of gaming, I have been a member of the Nunawading Wargames Association since I moved to Melbourne and a fine collection of people they are! The problem now is that I have so many options that I need to focus my attention. In the 5 years that I have lived in Melbourne, I have built, collected and played

• 18mm French War of Austrian Succession
• 28mm English Civil War (Parliamentarians)
• 28mm Afrika Corps for Chain of Command
• 28mm Early war Pacific Japanese for Chain of Command
• 28mm Early war Australian Militia for Chain of Command
• 28mm United States Marines for Chain of Command
• Japanese Pacific fleets for General Quarters III
• US Pacific fleet for General Quarters III
• 15mm Russian WWII Eastern Front
• 15mm German WWII Eastern Front
• 28mm Empire of the Dead factions – Sons of Anubis and the Peelers
• Heaps of random fantasy figures
• 28mm War of Spanish Succession English

And the list goes on and on.

Finally I just also want to say.

I have always been a wargamer, it has provided me with intellectual stimulation but most importantly it has provided me with friends. A good friend of mine once said to me that without hobbies how do middle-aged men make friends? Personally, I don’t think a truer word has been said. One of the great tragedies of our time is that even though we have the best communication and connection tools that have ever been, we, and in this, I mean Middle-aged men, have never been more alone. I thank every day that I have a hobby that has always provided me with great friends. Collected interests are the best way to meet people and maintain human connections that give us meaning. It really doesn’t matter what the hobby is, it could be anything, as long as you share it with other people. A final word – If you don’t have a hobby, get one.