Fiasco 2015

Today I made my annual trip to the Royal Armouries in Leeds for FIASCO 2015, presented by Leeds Wargames Club. This was more of a product recce than purchasing trip, but I bought a few things.

Minifigs Napoleonic Ottoman figures sampler packs for their new range

2 packs of Minifigs Ottoman Line Infantry and a Perry ammo cart

I am preparing my paper on Wellington Invades France. His opposing Marshal was Soult.  A couple of days ago I remembered there was a biography of Soult published a few years ago - I should find a copy. By coincidence there was one at the fair.

There were some interesting demo games, including a Star Wars games, based on the rebel attack on the Death Star ( very current ).

A very pleasant morning trip.

"The Pacific" and "Nazi Megastructures" (timewasting?)

I have been catching up on a few television programmes that I had recorded.

First up - from Sky Atlantic - "The Pacific" - produced by HBO, Playtone and Dreamworks - a 10 part series following a group of men through the Pacific Islands campaign. This series was very well done. Each programme had a three minute introduction using maps, original film from the time and a voice-over explanation by Tom Hanks. The early episodes had some back-story and action from Guadalcanal but as the series' story progresses through Pellilau, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, the action sequences get better and better, and the experiences of the young men and their struggle to survive and keep some sanity come to the fore. A very good series.

Related to this series was a programme from the second series of "Nazi Megastructures" about the Japanese response to the American successes in the Pacific theatre, the formation of the Kamikaze squadrons and the design of suicide aircraft.This is a branch of military history that I have little knowledge of, in particular, the Yokosuka MXY7 "Ohka", a rocket propelled plane that was two-thirds bomb, 2,600 pounds or 1200 kgs of explosives. The Ohka was slung underneath a medium range bomber and flown to about 25 miles from the target. The Ohka would be released, the pilot flew it as a glider to within striking distance and switched on the rocket engines to power into the target ship.

The Japanese had a few successes and some US Navy ships were lost.

Now that I have watched these programmes I am feeling a little guilty of time wasting as I should be preparing my talk for York U3A next month. I am getting on with it and the research is very interesting, but sometimes the spirit is a little reluctant.

"Selma"

I watched this film on Blu-ray and I really enjoyed it. It is about the 1964 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, led by Martin Luther King. Even though we know how this ends, this a good drama that is well told. The performances by David Oyelowo (as MLK) and Carmen Ejogo (his wife, Coretta) also show great insight into the effect of being a leading light of the civil rights movement had on the Kings family life. Also great performances from Tom Wilkinson (as President LBJ) and Tim Roth (Gov George Wallace)

(Usually, at this point I include a copy of the poster for the film, however, yesterday I uploaded Windows 10 and today the upload pictures function on Blogger is not working. This could be coincidence...maybe...)

"The Martian"

Cinema trip to Cityscreen in York on Saturday to see "The Martian". Wow. As a lover of sci-fi films and of the films of Ridley Scott, my totally biased opinion, this is an excellent film, we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Metropol Parasol, Seville

OK - I have vented my anger at the travel company and I am feeling a bit better. I want to share some of the really good sights we saw in Andalusia, starting with this, the Metropol Parasol in Seville.

The guide told us the locals called this building "The Mushrooms". It is a public space and a small food market. When B and I saw it, we stood looking up, mouth open, both saying "wow" and "fantastic". We know that not everyone on the coach trip agreed with us, we could hear the murmured grumblings, but we thought this was very bold and brave of the city authority to erect this very contemporary building.

These are postcards from the gift shop.

These are our photos.

Street level

Take the lift, step into one of the domes

Rooftop walkway

I liked this so much I bought the mug

Trip to Andalusia

We're back, safe and sound, from our coach trip to the cities of Andalusia. B has returned to work this morning, I am at home catching up on the e-backlog and sorting out the two bags of washing.

For the most part the trip went well except for a major disappointment. The flights were on time, the coach was comfortable, a good driver and a very good guide. We stayed in three hotels, one of which was decidedly tired but that was only for one night, at the third hotel we changed rooms as the first room really stank of stale cigarette smoke. Also, we now know not to eat the evening buffet meals at Spanish hotels, the quality of the food was very poor. On the other hand, eating at bars, tapas style, or at restaurants was very good.

A few photos, first, from Ronda.

Next, Seville

Then Cordoba

Finally, Granada

"What was the major disappointment?" I hear you say. Well... the last day was to be a visit to the Alhambra. This was to be in two parts, visit the Alhambra Palaces, then visit the gardens. This should have been the highlight of the trip and the visit we were really excited about. However, on day two of our trip, the guide announced that the gardens visit would proceed as planned, but the Palaces trip would be the night before, at 10.30.....10 ******* 30 AT NIGHT... and there was nothing to be done about this, the times are allocated by the Palaces' staff to cope with the numbers of visitors but not to worry, the site is floodlit and is a magnificent experience. (Floodlight my a**e) When we got there it was almost pitch black, the so-called floodlighting seemed to be a dozen 40 watt light bulbs. At some places, I could hardly see my feet, never mind the buildings. It was too dark to take photos, the palaces are too big for camera flash equipment. We really are so very disappointed and angry. We were not told by the tour operator that we may have to make a the night visit, I would not have booked the holiday if I thought there was a chance we would not see the Palaces properly. So I'm complaining to the tour operator (a probable waste of time) and I am removing Riviera Travel from my list of good companies to buy from. Never again.

Spain tomorrow

Hello, bonjour. I've not had much to say of late so, following my gran's advice (if tha's nowt for t'say, say nowt) I have been quiet for a few days.

Tomorrow we fly to Spain for a tour of the main Moorish sites in Andalusia. Seville, Cordoba, Granada. Looking forward to it.