Another Year Draws To A Close in GHQ

As is customary amongst many fellow blogging wargamers at this time of year I'd like to close Tales From GHQ for 2022 with a brief review of the past year. I hope it will be at least of passing interest to my loyal reader, so without more waffle here goes...

With regard to games played; a very respectable total of 44 has been achieved. For much of the year in terms of wins to use a football metaphor I was relegation fodder it seemed but my form picked up towards the year's end and I ended by recording 19 wins, 19 defeats and six drawn games. My usual bang average performance then over the year! In past years we have managed more games, a knock on effect this year then from the pandemic I'd guess. Aside from Phil and Jon I also welcomed a new GHQ Irregular in Paul, an old chum from my days at Alumwell Wargames Society. Looking ahead to 2023 I hope to see more of all of them across the tabletop battlefield here in GHQ.

In spite of my hand and eye issues and taking other health and family issues into consideration I still achieved a decent total when it came to painted figures and new units and periods deploying into GHQ. In all I completed 616 figures over the year. For the first time in goodness knows how long I managed to paint some 15mm figures even! This was in response you might recall to Matt's challenge to do something new outside my comfort zone. The resulting Cold War Gone Hot project in 15mm plastic, resin and metal occupied a fair chunk of the latter part of the year and featured in Wargames Illustrated as well. As the year turns attention though returns to 28mm figures and the SYW expansion project. I hope to have something to show for that early in the coming year, though my mojo is sadly very weak at the fag end of the year. Two wider family bereavements in December partly bear the blame for this I'm sure.

With the winding down of government restrictions on our personal freedoms as the Covid pandemic eased further at the start of the year wargames shows were once more back on the agenda. I'd attended the Other Partizan in October '21 (the first for perhaps 18 months?) so I was looking forward, admittedly with some trepidation, to their resumption. No WMMS of course, although I have heard that it may be back in 2023, but I did make it to Hammerhead and both the Partizan shows as well as a last minute trip to Colours. They were all humming with activity and it was good to meet many friends once more. All things being equal I hope Phil and I will get to a few more shows in 2023, time will tell...

In addition to the welcome visits to shows once more I managed to visit Wargames Foundry's Factory Shop, make two visits to Games Workshop HQ, a visit to Warlord Games HQ and finally a visit to Wargames Illustrated HQ. The latter was even more interesting for the tour Dan took me on of the behind the scenes areas.

Turning lastly to my vague aspirations on the hobby front for 2023 I must confess that despite the ever present siren lure of a new period I have nothing planned even in embryo. I've long cherished a desire to try the Mexican-American War, I even picked up the Osprey guide in Hay-on-Wye at the start of the month, but the available 28mm ranges just don't appeal sadly. Anyway, I have a considerable Lead Pimple of figures awaiting the brush for my SYW expansion project, so I really think that will have to do. Is it finally an age thing? I hope not, but who can say...?

Although my blog is about wargaming in the main, I'd like you to humour me as I sign off the year with this small reminder of George VI's first wartime Christmas broadcast in 1939. It's perhaps a tad syrupy for some C21st tastes but it contains an important truth for me in that we set out each day not knowing what may become us and ours, so perhaps we should end by reflecting each day on family, friends and neighbours and their value to us, far outstripping the few figures we might cherish. Happy New Year!

"I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: " Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown". And he replied: "Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way".