First of all a very big thank you to all that wished me well yesterday on the occasion of my 60th birthday - the thoughts and good wishes were very much appreciated.
I had a quite wonderful day out with my wife and daughter at Colchester Zoo - not our usual birthday celebration for sure - and a really nice family meal in the evening when my son was with us after finishing work for the day. The zoo was really good and my daughter took some stunning pictures of the assorted wildlife - we managed see all the big cats up close - and even the weather turned in our favour with sunshine but not too hot to walk around in.
I received a goodly haul of presents and so felt thoroughly spoilt!
Now 60 is not really a significant birthday as such other than being the end of another decade. Having said that the circumstances around this birthday did give me pause for thought. My wife and a very good friend of ours were all 60 this year and, pre pandemic, the plan was that the four of us (Including our friends husband) were going to celebrate on a joint basis. This was supposed to ave happened in May but was obviously cancelled - we had planned a weekend away. Our friends husband has an auto immune disorder and so has been virtually a prisoner for best part of a year now - we last saw them both in September of 2019 although have been in contact via phone and FaceTime etc. They live just outside of Exeter and I wonder when we will be able to get together again.
As I write this I am sitting in my man cave surrounded by my ‘stuff’ with a gnawing feeling of unease. How much of it do I need? How important is it all? Is my collection fit for purpose or is it an overblown caricature of what I actually can find a use for?
My next decade will be an important one as retirement will be featuring at some point, potentially with a downsizing as well. With this in mind many decisions will need to be made, some hard, others less so. More than ever my birthday has drawn attention to the fact that the clock is rolling ever onwards and so I need to be sure of my future direction in our hobby and so can make my plans accordingly.
26 comments:
Best wishes on your birthday , being recently retired I can give you a thumbs up about it being brilliant !, so look forward to it and start planning .
David,
That’s a nice collection of presents ... although I’m trying work out the wargaming potential of Matchmakers, Fruit Pastilles, and Brazil Nuts! Are they to sustain you through your wargaming?
All the best,
Bob
Don't forget to apply for your over 60 London Oystercard, it's one of the better things about reaching this esteemed age!
Sounds and looks like you had a great day ol boy?
Happy 60th!
Congratulations Young Man.
You can't go wrong with a bottle of Bombay Sapphire - many happy returns of the day.
A belated Happy Birthday and the sweet treats are a bit of a blast down memory lane. A few more years before I hit 60, but events over the past few years have allowed me to really revaluate what's important in my life. Another good culling of my lead mountain, rules etc was on the cards, until lockdown put the caibosh on that!
I would say don't do anything rash. I've got figures I don't paly with for 10 years, then out they come for a spin on the table. The best piece of advice is probably to find yourself a wargame executor. That is, a fellow (younger) wargamer who can help dispose of your collection if there's no one in the family who is interested.
I cleared out a load of books to take to a wargaming bring and buy in July. Still sitting in a heap on the floor!
(oh, and happy birthday. Looks like you covered all the essentials)
Hello there Good Soldier Svjek,
One of the things about getting older is that you realise the amount of potential time you might have left is less than it was! In my opinion it then places a premium on making the correct choices!
All the best,
DC
Hi Bob,
Absolutely! I reckon you could get a HOTTs army out of those consumables but I am not taking that as a challenge!
All the best,
DC
Hi Brian,
I will look into that but don’t you have to live in a London borough?
All the best,
DC
Hi Ray,
That it was!
All the best,
DC
Hi Jonathan,
Many thanks old chap!
All the best,
DC
Hi Jim,
Many thanks old chap! I certainly don’t feel particularly young after the exertions of yesterday!
All the best,
DC
Hello there Maudlin Jack Tar,
It could go very wrong and very quickly if I opened it!
All the best,
DC
Hi Steve J,
I seem to have been on a rolling road of reorganising over the years but it really needs some careful thought going forwards!
All the best,
DC
Hi Trebian,
I have made provision for the main elements of my collection but there is still a lot of stuff that would be of value to someone but not in a monetary sense. It needs a proper, ruthless sort out.
I am a leading authority on getting rid of things soon easily and then regretting it!
All the best,
DC
Happy birthday, Dave. All the best. Oh, and keep everything, you'll just have to buy it again if you don't.
It's been a crazy year but we have to make the best of it, and it looks like you managed to do that. I suspect you won't forget this birthday. And of course, Happy Birthday to you!
Many happy returns David.
I’m a few years behind you, but it seems to me that time is too precious to be agonising over your hobby collection. Enjoy!
Happy Birthday, as another 60 plus year old gamer I share your concerns about the collecting side of the hobby. Then I play a game and think I really need more (insert name of thing I don’t really need here). It’s a war gaming thing.
Hello there Charles,
I wish I could say that I make a decision and stick to it but that would be slightly less than accurate....
If I am honest I seem to be less and less likely to get any figure painting done but cobbling ships together would be the exception - besides, it is a lot of fun!
I do need to have a substantial clear out though although this is mostly stuff of negligible value.
All the best,
DC
Hello there David in Suffolk,
Many thanks old chap and you are absolutely right - this has been a year to remember (for all the wrong reasons for the most part!).
All the best,
DC
Hello nundanket,
Many thanks old chap! Agonising is probably the right word but I really do not know why as my collection is pretty small (my wife would not agree with this though!). The largest single component is probably my book collection and that really does need some pruning.
I think the biggest single problem I have had over the years is tha I like the idea of painting and owning armies of figures but translating that into a practical reality never seems to happen. I do not consider myself to be lazy but I really do not enjoy painting figures. Ships, tanks, aircraft, robots, space ships or anything non organic is fine But figures really do not do it for me.
I do have some cunning plans though....
All the best,
DC
Happy Birthday
If your house is like my house the sweeties will disappear quickly while the books may take a while before they are read ;)
Have fun!
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