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Tuesday 30 October 2012

Reading other people's blogs helped raise my spirits

Today has been one those days that one is glad to see the back of when it is over.

This morning was spent waiting for an engineer to arrive to fix a faulty clock on the gas boiler that warms our central heating and water. The visit was booked several days ago, and I asked for the 'first call' of the day ... a service that I have to pay extra for.

At 8.00am I was washed, dressed, and waiting for the engineer. I was still waiting at 9.00am, ... at 10.00am, ... and at 11.00am, ... but of the engineer there was no sign. At 12.15pm the engineer finally arrived, looked at the faulty clock, ... and announced that he did not have a replacement with him. I think that he sensed that this was not something that I wanted to hear, and he telephoned other engineers who were in the area until he found one who had a replacement clock. He then went and collected it from his colleague, returned, and fitted it ... and at 2.30pm my wife and I were finally able to leave home in order to visit my father in his care home.

I have not been able to visit my father for some time because the car home he lives in has been ‘off limits’ to visitors due to an outbreak of Norovirus (AKA Winter Vomiting Virus). This is highly contagious and can be passed on by touch. The care home is now ‘clear’ of the virus, and the local doctor has finally been able to call to see my father, who is suffering from several medical conditions in addition to his dementia.

My wife and I spent some time with my father this afternoon, and somewhat longer talking to the care home manager. It appears that my father is going to have to have a number of medical tests in the hope that this will help identify the best way in which to treat the medical conditions that are afflicting him. This means that I will have to ferry him to and from the local hospital so that he can have a chest X-Ray and, depending upon the results of the tests, I might have to repeat this several times if he requires out-patient treatment.

On the way home we got delayed by a traffic jam on the M25 at the Dartford Crossing, and by the time I got home I was feeling depressed, angry, and frustrated. After having a drink I sat down at my computer to catch up on the various blogs that I follow ... and this was a tremendous boost to my flagging morale. In particular Steven (and Spike) Page's 'Halloween Special: All's Wells ...' blog entry on their Adventures in Portable Wargaming blog and the follow-up 'Halloween Special: ... That ends Welles' blog entry on their Old Admirals blog did much to raise my morale, especially as they were using some of my rules to fight their battles.

So the message to all the bloggers whose blogs I follow is a big 'Thank You!'. You have assisted me get through a very trying day and helped raise my spirits no end.

26 comments:

  1. Don't know if you follow me Bob but if you do I hope my blog was one that cheered you up.

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  2. Bob

    Thanks for these blog links - I love what I see.
    I hope you days go better soon.
    Cheers
    PD

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  3. Blogging is indeed a tonic.I read the ones I follow every morning before setting off to work at 6.30 am.With a coffee it is a great way to start the day.
    best wishes
    Alan

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  4. Phil Broeders,

    I was not a 'follower' this morning ... but I certainly am now!

    All the best,

    Bob

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  5. Peter Douglas,

    I am glad that you liked Steve and Spike's blogs; I think that they are great!

    With regard to my father, things can only get better ... I hope!

    All the best,

    Bob

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  6. Tradgardmastare (Alan),

    I also find reading other people's blogs gives me a much-needed boost, especially when I am feeling a bit 'down'.

    I generally read the blogs that I follow first thing in the morning as well ... but now that I am retired this is usually somewhat later than you do!

    All the best,

    Bob

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  7. I treat my blog as a bit of self therapy. Reading others blogs reinforces that therapy.

    I get a good feeling when I get a positive comment on my posts and I get an even better feeling when I see the challenges that others face and surmount whether it be within the hobby or just normal life.

    Your blog, Bob, is one of the first I look at!

    Jim

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  8. Jim Duncan,

    Writing my blog is also part of my way of dealing with the problems that life places in my path ... and reading other people's blogs helps me to keep things in perspective and boost my sometimes flagging morale.

    I always look forward to reading your blog entries, and love your style of doing things.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  9. Sounds like a day that's good to be in the past. Best wishes with your father!

    I follow quite a few blogs and find they are a great source of inspiration, both in specifics and just in general raising of the spirits and keeping an interest in various aspects of the hobby. Even when I don't have much energy for much in the way of gaming after long hours at work I read my favorite blogs and keep that connection going. And keep dreaming "one of these days" I will get back into doing some more work on miniatures (which I keep buying), terrain, battles, etc. If I'm not being active I feel like I'm still at least passively participating. :)

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  10. Bob, Spike and I both thank you for your kind words. You have led a lot of good people to our site, for which we are both grateful and humbled.

    I, too start my morning by seeing "what my friends are up to". Many days one of you posts something so good,that at work I'm like a kid at school waiting to get home to try it.

    This is a very good crew to run with,
    -Steve

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  11. reading all the great gaming blogs is like taking a "Pimms Cup" at just the right moment!...or maybe a Martini on a tougher day...(and not a Martini Henry... ;)

    Dave

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  12. Fitz-Badger,

    Yesterday is a day that I am glad is over and now just a memory.

    I sometimes wonder how we (that is wargamers) coped before the Internet, the website, and the blog were 'invented'. We had to rely on the (usually) monthly appearance of wargames magazines through the post or on the shelves of our local model/wargames shop. There was very little 'dialogue' between wargamers unless you knew someone 'down at the club'.

    Nowadays we can get a daily boost to our wargaming spirits from the numerous blogs, Yahoo Groups, TMP, online magazines etc., ... and I suspect that it is actually keeping people in the hobby who might otherwise have drifted away.

    From my personal point-of-view this is a 'golden age'. I can design a wargame, make it available online for other wargamers, and get feedback in hours rather than days, weeks, or months, thus keeping the design process dynamic and maintaining my enthusiasm.

    All the best (and keep reading the blogs!),

    Bob

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  13. Steven Page (and Spike),

    There is no need for thanks; your blogs are so great to read that they deserve to be far better known throughout the world of wargaming. I am just pleased that you enjoy reading what I write, and that some of it inspires and enthuses you.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  14. Littlejohn (Dave),

    For me a perfect day would start with a batch of excellent blog entries to read, a full cooked English breakfast, and a glass (or two) of Buck's Fizz.

    A Pimm's would be my ideal afternoon drink during a break in a lawn game using 54mm figures, matchstick-firing guns, and H G Wells' rules.

    I have never been much of an enthusiast for Martinis (shaken or stirred!) ... but I would love to own a Martini-Henry (with bayonet) so that I could at least imagine what it must have been like to be at Rorke's Drift.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  15. Chin up old stick, there's nothing like the little solidarity the blogosphere provides.

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  16. Conrad Kinch,

    Absolutley spot-on old chap!

    I couldn't have put it better myself.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  17. Bob, what goes around, comes around.

    I know I am not the only one who has looked at your own blog, enjoyed the posts and really had fun going back through the older library of information you've been putting on the blogosphere for years. I've always enjoyed what you have to say - you put in a huge amount of work into your blog and it really shows. Like some of the other comments here, I've really enjoyed blogging over the years as a way of ordering my thoughts, focusing on getting things done, trying out new things, spreading hobby ideas and above all meeting new people in the hobby. I can't really think of my hobby now without blogging being a part of it.

    Here's wish you and your family better days ahead than the one you described (waiting for tradesmen is really frustrating), and keep up the great blog.

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  18. Some days bite you, and this is when we need our support networks, and I guess blogging provides another connection with like minded people.

    So be kind to yourself, and continue to be most excellent.

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  19. Hi Bob,
    You're right, reading blogs is a real fillip at any time.

    Why not read mine? It's crap but I do my best!

    Regards
    James

    http://thedancingcaketin.blogspot.co.uk/

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  20. Sidney Roundwood,

    Thanks for your kind words.

    It is truly amazing how many of us find blogging and reading other people's blogs so useful ... and blogs have the added bonus of sharing ideas and enthusiasm with strangers who become friends.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  21. Ashley,

    The last few days have been real 'biters' ... and the support I have had from people like you has helped me cope.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  22. The Dancing Cake Tin (James),

    What a wonderful name for a blog! I shall visit it as soon as I can.

    Keep reading the blogs!

    All the best,

    Bob

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  23. The Angry Lurker,

    I always enjoy reading your blog ... and meeting you at various wargame shows.

    All the best,

    Bob

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  24. Hey Bob,wishing you all good thoughts and hoping your recent travails resolve soon. Do keep blogging!

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  25. Cliffordbeal,

    Thanks for your kind words and support.

    Today has been another day that I am pleased to say is almost over ... but I suspect that there may be a few more like it that are as yet to come.

    All the best,

    Bob

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