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Sunday 2 October 2016

A busy week ahead

Having looked at my diary for the coming week, it looks as if I am going to be rather busy at times. Hopefully I will be able to fit in a bit of wargame-related stuff (including blogging) in the gaps, but experience tells me that what I hope to be able to do and what I am actually able to do are likely to be two different things.

On Monday I am attending a meeting of the London Masonic Lodge of which I am a member. The meeting starts at 4.00pm, but as getting there is dependent upon the suburban railway network and the London Underground (both of which can be prone to unforeseen delays) I will have to leave at least ninety minutes to make the journey. The meeting involves the Initiation of a new Freemason, and as I will be playing a small but vital part (I am the Inner Guard) being late is not an option.

Wednesday will see Sue and I at the National Archives, Kew, hopefully finishing off the research into the military career of William Richardson. Our last few visits have yielded very little information, but over the years we have learned that one can often glean almost as much from what is omitted from the records as from what is included.

If this sounds a bit opaque, perhaps the following example will help. When following a soldier's career using the Muster Rolls, Pay Lists, and Pension Records, one can track their progress up through the ranks. At the point when they cease to be a sergeant and become a staff sergeant or sergeant major, they no longer feature on the standard Muster Rolls or Pay Lists. If they lose their rank, and revert to a lower rank, they reappear. The Pension Records include the date when a soldier retired, and if they are absent from the Muster Rolls and Pay Lists from the date of their promotion to the date of their retirement it means that they have retained their promoted rank for the remainder of their service.

On Friday I have to travel over to Radlett in Hertfordshire for my second Masonic meeting of the week. It is a meeting of the Veritatem Sequere Lodge, which is Hertfordshire's Research Lodge. I am currently the Junior Warden (i.e. the third most important officer in the Lodge) and the meeting will see a new Worshipful Master installed in the Chair and my 'promotion' to Senior Warden. This meeting will not start until 5.30pm, but as I have to drive around the M25 to get to there, I will have to leave at least two to two and a half hours earlier than that to in order to allow for possible traffic delays. (Radlett is to the north west of London and I live in south east London, and to get there I have to go through the Dartford or Blackwall Tunnels. Both have a reputation for serious delays, and as they have now shut Tower Bridge for three months in order to undertake major repairs, those delays are likely to be worse than normal.)

I am told that there's nothing like retirement for ensuring an easy, quiet, and restful life. I have yet to find out if it is true as my life seems to be almost as busy as it was when I was working full-time!

6 comments:

  1. Having seen your schedule Bob I would take some time to yourself when you can. There is no need for you to fill every minute doing something. Give yourself a break.

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    Replies
    1. Jim Duncan,

      Sue and I are already talking about postponing our visit to the National Archives until the following week ... or possibly going somewhere easier to travel to.

      For some reason I seem to have ended up with four Masonic meetings in eleven days (I gave a talk about Freemasonry in the British Army in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, last Tuesday, followed by a Provincial Grand Lodge meeting at Freemason's Hall on Wednesday). This seems to be happening every September, and I am giving thought to resigning from my London Lodge to reduce my commitments.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  2. Beware masonic overload! It always starts with some smart alick saying it's only twice a year or can you just help out in the ceremony. However all these meetings start to stack up. I have long thought one of the more sensible things Mrs Reagan ever said was 'just say no.'

    Guy

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    Replies
    1. Guy,

      Your comment is well-made ... and my wife and I have been discussing what I should do to try to avoid 'overload' occurring in the future. Now that I am IPM of my Mother Lodge for the second time, I don't see myself taking another active office in the Lodge. Once I have passed through the Chair of the Research Lodge in two year's time, I won't hold an active office again in that Lodge either.

      I might well resign from my London Lodge now that it's membership is growing (it was very close to closing when I joined it some years ago), and if I do join another Lodge it will be one that is much closer to home. (There is a Masonic Centre less than two miles away, and I could easily drive there or even get there by public transport.)

      All of the above should reduce eventually Masonic overload ... I hope!

      All the best,

      Bob

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  3. An interesting little introductory book by the look. I downloaded the free kindle preview and it was refreshing that while the author seemed to know more or less what he was talking about thus far, he did not come across as ether an old miniatures gamer nor a GW type. That made ne curious enough to check his blog and a combination of D&D back in the 80s, SCA, real life army and being a scifi writer all sounded just the right sort of background for what I pictured. (Please note I did not get quite that specific in suposition but his writing had made me tjonk of seversll friends).

    I might even cough up a few dollars out of curiosity about the rest.

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    Replies
    1. Ross Mac,

      For some reason your comment has appeared under my previous blog entry!

      What I liked about the book was its simplicity, its lack of pretension, and the fact that you can set up a game quickly and cheaply. It's an ideal book for novice wargamers ... and for more experienced wargamers who want something uncomplicated for a change.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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