All this time later, I still have no idea what I'm doing. I have made a number of good friends through the blog, for which I'm very grateful, and overall I have relished the experience greatly - I've really enjoyed the writing (I always enjoyed writing) - and I have gained a lot of excellent advice and some important motivation for progressing my hobbies. So - all good, no regrets at all, though I am still perplexed by the occasional death threats...
Anyway, my bluff seems to be called - the scorer is reminding me that time may be up. What to do?
To be honest, I find the world in which I now live is darker and sadder than I had hoped, and (an irritation too far?) the dreaded New Blogger is still sufficient of a pain in the wassname to put me off doing lengthy posts with lots of photos. It would be ridiculous to keep posting just to keep up my batting average - it might become obvious that I have nothing more to say. Nothing helpful, anyway.
It would be too melodramatic to just delete the thing - I would certainly regret that sooner or later, and it would be - well - embarrassing. The one thing that is really saving it this morning is I started reading some of my earliest posts, and I remembered a few things, and I felt a little better about it. So what I'll do is have another quiet spell, I've decided. If I have something to say, I'll think about saying it. If something has happened in my hobby world that I'm pleased about, I may well share it.
Please don't send food parcels. To everyone who has read (or glanced at) this blog over the years I offer my best wishes - really appreciated. To the people I've got to know through my involvement in it, my most sincere thanks for everything. Look after yourselves.
Well done on reaching the 10 year mark and best wishes for the next ten.
ReplyDeleteLove the picture that you used with your post! Congratulations on 10 years of Blogger. I think the secret is to just post when you really feel like and not feel obliged to. I was worried when my post count started to drop over the years..but to be honest it just goes to show that sometimes I have better things to do. The blog can always wait...and sometimes posting is just procrastination from painting! :-)
ReplyDeleteI was feeling a bit like that myself but I switched back to old blogger (designed for old bloggers) and now feel more like posting. For me the whole point of the blog is to help keep motivated but that motivation can come from other things so it's not actually vital for the hobby. Blogging does seem to be on a gradual decline anyway but I'm not fond of any other social media so I intend to decline slowly with it!
ReplyDeleteTony, congratulations on keeping the blogging spirit alive for ten years. Job well done, there! I enjoy your non-wargaming posts as much as the on-topic ones. You allow an interesting and often funny look at life from your side of the world. I have enjoyed your writings very much over the years. In times like these, we need more of your insights, humor, and self-reflections, not less.
ReplyDeleteAs for the New Blogger, I find it actually easier to use than the Legacy version. Photos would jump around the page, disappear, and in general be hard to pin down. Most of those issues seem resolved in the new regime. Formatting seems more intuitive too. Fonts seem to be different between the two versions, though, and that is frustrating at times.
My days will be a little less pleasurable not having a new post from you hit my reader. I understand your motivations and I occasionally wonder if blogging is worth the effort it consumes. For me (at least for now), it does.
I will miss seeing your elegantly, Old School based figures battling across your hexed table and wonder how the Freitag Battalion is holding up on campaign.
Sheesh, this is starting to read like a eulogy. Best wishes.
Congratulations on 10 years of Blogger.
ReplyDeleteHello old chap,
ReplyDeleteA world without MSFoy would be a bleak prospect for sure so I would say keep on keeping on!
Where else will I get some sane commentary on life, the universe, and everything in it?
All the best,
DC
Congratulations on your anniversary Tony. I have enjoyed your blog immensely over the years, I have found much interest and amusement and learned a great deal, as well as having that supremely enjoyable experience of vicariously fighting the Battle of Espinosa on your table with your figures. I share your dismay at the trajectory that the world seems determined to follow, and to be honest I relish your posts as an oasis of sanity and humanity amidst the encroaching gloom. Clearly you should do what feels best for you, but I hope we will continue to hear from you whenever you feel the urge to post. Take care, and very best wishes.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations and thanks for a decade of interesting/enjoyable/sometimes amusing or infomative, posts.
ReplyDeleteThere are days when I look at my shrinking blog reading list and begin to feel like an era is passing and I feel a bit like those who kept typing up monthly newsletters as email groups started taking over.
Hope you do indulge the urge now and then, the receiving channel is open.
Ross
'shrinking reading list'? Oh dear, am I too late to the party? I hope not!
DeleteDavid, I am still discovering new blogs for my Reading List. Some may fade away but others seem to step in to pick up the slack.
DeleteHey Ross, add mine to your your Reading List!
Congratulations on 10 years of great writing. I remember when I first found your blog ( perhaps 5 years ago?) I went right back to the start, and read almost all of it over a few weeks. Inspirational! But of course, it shouldn't be a chore, it should be a pleasure, so don't feel obliged to post, only post when it's fun. I suspect you may be someone who just loves to write, so I hope it will continue to be fun. I really do hope so!
ReplyDeletep.s. I was keen to see some Vauban-style siegeworks action..
DeleteCongrats on keeping going for 10 years , I've stuck to the old blogger myself , have a break and see how it goes , Tony
ReplyDeleteFirstly congratulations on keeping us informed and entertained for a decade and your right the world is a darker and less friendly place bit it will be all the more darker without an input from yourself. Us oldies have to stick together and make our presence felt.
ReplyDeleteTake a break, have a pause but come back
Congratulations and jubilations, but you would be a hell of a miss. How would we follow your WSS project, a break may well be the way to go but don't go for good.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes,
Paul.
Gentlemen - you are all very kind - if I had any tears left I'd be shedding them now! I am not planning to die or anything, and I expect to be back before too long, but I just need a breather. Of late I find that most of the things in the world I feel strongly about are negative things - I need to walk away from some of this, do some healthier stuff. I owe a number of you emails in any case, so I will certainly be in touch. If anyone needs to contact me, and doesn't know my email address, you can reach me through the one in my Blogger profile, or you can even leave a comment here - mark it as TOP SECRET or something if it is not for publication! Or you can get Mr Trump to send a tweet. Or you can chalk it on his Mexican Wall - better keep it short.
ReplyDeleteThe world shall hear from me again. Take care - these are tricky times. If the Fat Fool loses the election in November I will definitely have something to say on the general theme of Schadenfreude.
See you around.
I can only echo what others like Jon and David in Suffolk have said. Congratulations on 10 years of entertaining blogging. Hopefully you’ll be back in these parts of the interweb soon.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Fat Fool losing the election....for a minute I thought that Bojo had called a snap election.....
Congratulations on Ten year’s blogging Tony...
ReplyDeleteI too am in agreement with the majority... take a holiday, rearrange or annoy plants in the garden or take a walk along the shore and throw stones at the North Sea... but please continue to share your humour and hobby with us.
You are after all one of those who are responsible for my dive ( some may say decent) into the world of vintage (shiny) Napoleonic wargames ,myself and your other acolytes need constant attention and support...
Love the birthday cake picture...
When my friends Alan and Michael turned fifty we made a cake and covered it in candles and cut out toy soldiers printed on edible paper..
Who would have thought that they could have been so flammable....
Well... everyone enjoyed the bonfire so no harm done 😁...
All the best. Aly
I've greatly enjoyed your blog as well, Tony. Post whenever the spirit moves you... or not! Best wishes regardless!
ReplyDeleteTo echo the sentiments posted above, well done on the ten years, and please do keep us updated when the spirit moves you :)
ReplyDeleteI don't always comment, but I always read your wonderful posts. If they are to be fewer and far between from now on, then I'm sadder for it, but never mind: it's the quality that counts, and that will never diminish.
ReplyDeleteBest regards
Matthew
Sorry to hear of your decision to shut up shop for a bit, but understand completely. I hope you come back soon, fully refreshed...and full of more nonsense for our general entertainment.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on 10 years, that is certainly a publishing achievement.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are keeping the blog in existence, so it is there for when you are ready to next post. Mood is certainly an influencer in what we do and it is a changeable thing. Mid year, I was ready to cut right back on my blog stuff and move instead to my Commanders site, where it doesn’t take comments and I don’t keep stats of visitors etc and there is a greater sense that I just put things up for myself rather than anyone else, I don’t even have to spell correctly or be right :-)
Anyway, that sentiment sort of passed and what surprises me is that there always seems a constant stream of things that cause the urge to write.
As for New Blogger, I am have decided that it is good, based on the fact that Google could easily have let it whither on the vine, but it didn’t, it put a ton of investment into it to ensure it is up to date with a mobile platform functionality, now I can blog on my iPad just as easily as I can on my Chromebook - for all those who predicted the death of the blog and the transfer of everything to Facebook and Twitter, thankfully we have been saved from that and the long ramble format lives on.
As for the world, I am becoming increasingly less interested in how others are influencing it and more content with just looking after my own acre .... which of course includes my wargaming bubble.
Hope your break brings you back to once again spilling the e-ink.
Firstly Happy Blog Birfday! 10 years is a long time, trust me I know.
ReplyDeleteIt'd be very sad if you no longer post, I hope we can carry on viewing all your great posts for another 10 years!
Please, please don't delete the blog. It's stuffed full of gold nuggets that I know I'm going to need some day. I may even get off my electronic butt to print some flags. The poor lead souls are tired of waving empty sticks around
ReplyDeleteI know it's intimidating to keep a blog going, that's been my excuse for never starting one. Not to mention crappy software (software guy speaking)
So take a break. Sometimes it's good for sanity. I've just picked up a brush for the first time in 18 months. I've now realized that I was trying to churn out too many figures and got burned out....
Best wishes
John
John Webster, aka JohnLobster
Happy blogday
ReplyDeletePlease, please do not delete your blog. It's full of gold nuggets. Not to mention the flags. I know lots of tortured lead souls that are tired of waving empty poles. Now I'm feeling guilty. I'm sure the Aspic jelly will keep everything fresh over time
I know it's hard to keep a blog going. That's my excuse for never starting one. Not to mention the crappy software.
Take a break, it's important psychologically. I've just picked up a brush after 18 months and it suddenly clicked. I was trying to churn out too many units and got burned out. I need to mess around more with fewer figures
Best of luck
John
John Webster, aka John Lobster
Very many happy returns sir, and one of the most thought provoking blogs on the net.
ReplyDeletePlease don't delete it!
In eight years, it will be old enough to drink.
Tony,
ReplyDeleteYour posts are always interesting, humorous and though-provoking. I really enjoy your writing style and content.
Congratulations on ten years and I do hope that another ten will follow.
Regards, James
p.s. Like all new things, particularly computers, the new blogger interface becomes easier to navigate and, dare I say, superior to the old the more that one uses it.
Hello Tony:
ReplyDeleteThis is so late that it’s almost in time for your blog’s 11th anniversary, and while i don’t stop by as often as I should, I always find your posts funny and informative. I admire your decency and your hobbling in equal measure and look forward to many more posts and the odd bit of hooptedoodle. Cheers, Mike
It would be a sadder world without your blog, Tony. Oh wait, I see I posted here on 10 August. How funny.
ReplyDelete