Napoleonic & ECW wargaming, with a load of old Hooptedoodle on this & that


Friday 6 March 2015

Max Foy's Mad March Mug-a-rama - results...


Well, the deadline has passed, and I must have sat up until several seconds past midnight sifting through the entries. Thanks very much to everyone who sent one – a number of people said they were going to, but obviously thought better of it, and a surprising number sent a note saying, “I’ll take one, ta…” – obviously these are people who visit the supermarket with a reversible jacket, so they can go round the free samples several times – quite right too.

Since the entire episode was a dreadful conceit and self-promotion of my own I can hardly crib about the limited response. After a short ponder, I decided to award one to Epictetus for his stout effort in Limerick form (it would be graceless to mention that my nom de blog is pronounced Fwa) – this is it, and very good it is:

A philosophical wargaming bloggist
Thought a free mug was not to be missed
So for better or worse
His thoughts turned to verse
In an attempt to make the short list

His input to the hobby was duff
His painting was really poor stuff
He had written no rules
And his blog got no views
There was no way that he’d done enough

He suspected that he’d get no joy
With the arguments he could deploy
Still he gave it a go
Because you just never know
With that estimable chap MS Foy

I also awarded one to the worthy A W Kitchen, for straightforward brass neck, since he reckoned he deserved one of my mugs because he had recently broken the handle off his own. I like his style.

Though he made no formal entry, I also feel I should send one to Polemarch, whose blog got me thinking along these lines.


If you 3 gentlemen would care to send me a comment bearing your postal address (which I will not publish, of course) I shall wrestle with the logistical problem of how to send a fragile item through the Royal Mail, so that you may have the pleasure of my ugly mug watching over your wargames.

11 comments:

  1. Well, I missed out! I had a very pithy grovel prepared too but not up the level of that most enjoyable limerick.

    Congratulations to the winners.

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  2. Mugs, Royal Mail - I feel another blog post coming on...

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  3. To win the competition of MS Fwa
    Filled Epictetus with jwa
    Not even the denunciation
    Of his mispronunciation
    Could his moment of triumph destrwa

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  4. Overwhelmed by your generosity - would you let me know how much the postage is and I will send you the money via Paypal , Tony

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    Replies
    1. Not at all, my dear fellow. I appreciate the thought, but I shall not hear of it. Thank you for reading the blog! - Regards - MSF

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  5. Awesome Prizes!
    I may have to purloin the idea in due course also!

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  6. ’Tis a pity I did not find
    This game within sufficient time
    To puzzle deep within my mind
    And deliver smart and witty rhyme

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  7. Not that I am expecting a mug to arrive from 25,000 miles away you understand, but I thought this ballad should get another airing. It is from a war games campaign of over two years ago.

    The Ballad of Ulrichstein
    In eighteen hundred around about o-nine
    Our Army marched off to Ulrichstein;
    We took a little sauerkraut, we took a little 'wurst,
    And when we found the rebels, the veterans all cursed.

    We fired our guns but the Rebels kept a-comin'
    And there seemed just as many as there was a while ago.
    We fired once more and we began a-runnin'
    Seekin' hidey-holes where our arses wouldn't show.

    We looked down the fields and we saw the Rebels come,
    There must have been a couple of 'em, beatin' on the drum,
    They marched so nigh it made our ears ring;
    Then came their musketry, and, Man, did it sting!

    We fired our guns... etc

    Gen'ral Kyle said we'd take 'em by surprise,
    If we didn't fire our muskets or look 'em in the eye.
    We held our fire 'til we saw their faces well,
    When they opened up with cannon fire an' gave us shot and s--hell!

    We fired our guns... etc

    We ran through the hedgerows; we ran through the marshes;
    We ran through the thickets until the sun was set.
    We ran so fast their Hussars couldn't catch us,
    We ran for a week or so and still we're runnin' yet!

    They fired their cannon 'til the barrels melted down,
    Then they grabbed their horses and fought another round.
    They fed them green grass, loaded gravel that they found,
    Turned their tails towards us, and fired into the brown.

    We fired our guns... etc

    We ran through the hedgerows... etc

    We fired our guns... etc.

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  8. Damn! I forgot! But well done the winners!!!

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  9. I considered just smashing the things up and posting the shards in jiffy bags with a tube of superglue - cut out the middle-man - I am confident I can put them in a ball of bubblewrap which will avoid chipping and bangs, but won't help if someone drives a fork-lift truck over them - will look for some kind of box - should get them posted Tuesday or so.

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