Even more storage solutions

 I have mentioned in the past my acquisition of more than a few of the Really Useful Boxes.  These are stackable plastic crates with lids which lock on.  A few months ago I decided to rationalise the storage of my 25mm pointy-stick armies as despite being all neatly labelled, preparation for a game seemed to involve rooting through large numbers of 4 and 9 litre boxes.
I thus decided to move largely to the larger but still quite shallow 10-litre boxes for storage, and to decant the required figures for a game into (usually no more than two) of the smaller boxes for transport.

This means that rather than being scattered across several boxes, my Roman legionaries and auxilia are gathered here in one.

  Similarly we have the 'Persian Cavalry' box.

While the 10 litre boxes can accommodate all but the longest pointy sticks some oddities have to live in taller boxes,  Behold the 'Elephants and Camelphracts' box!

The speakers are dead. Long live the speakers!

A sad demise to report.

When I wrote a post nearly three years ago about my modelling environment (see here) there was quite a bit of interest in my ageing hi-fi system.
Having re-read the post I omitted to mention the oldest part of the system - my 1982-vintage Mission speakers.  One of them has been a bit dodgy for years - needing a slap from time to time in order to function (don't we all?)  More recently the other has developed a disturbing crackle.  It did occur to me to try to effect repairs but I felt that after 32 years service it might be time to let them go.
A bit of research on the interwebnet resulted - as expected - in a trip to Richer Sounds in Sheffield. As usual the service and advice was excellent a few minutes and £70 later I emerged wielding a pair of Tannoy Mercury V1 speakers.

These were soon installed - and despite being half the size of the old Missions the sound quality is excellent.

Richer sounds also provided a cable to link my iPad into the system - useful as I use the BBC iPlayer radio facility quite a bit.  Some minor tidying of the shelf meant that there is now room to prop the iPad next to it's elderly forbears.

2014 review

A couple of days later than intended but here it is.  The blog continues to be an important part of my wargaming life and though post numbers are down to 221 (from 278 in 2013) this still exceeds my 'target' of four per week.  Once again I thank all those who read my ravings - especially those who comment.

Funny Little Wars
Due to the manoeuvrings of a real army we had to put on hold the Tannenberg project but plans are afoot to resurrect this in 2015 - watch this space.  In preparation for this game I added more 'Russians' to my forces.

Command & Colours
The C&C games - both Ancient and Napoleonic versions - continue to be great favourites.  The acquisition recently of part of the collection of the late Bob Plumb will considerably swell the ranks of my pointy-stick period armies so expect to see plenty more of this.

Megablitz
Nothing to report.  No games and not even (I think) any new toys.  Perhaps I'll put together a large game this year.

NATO Brigade Commander
Several games organised by Martin R using his 2mm toys.  Several people have suggested I publish the game when time allows.

Diplomacy
One of the highlights of the year was the PBEM game run by Mad Padre.  This was the first Dippy game I had played since the late 1980s and quite possibly my best ever showing.

Little Cold Wars
This has been the surprise of the year!  From a brief and none too serious chat with Funny Little Wars author PW back in March I knocked together a game and soon a proper cold war style arms race was in full swing.  Playtesting and writing continues and it is hoped to have the thing published during 2015.

Box of cr*p

A few weeks ago I had an excited 'phone call from John A.  He had found a big box of toys on a market stall which he thought might be suitable for Little Cold Wars.  Did I want him to buy it for me?  I expect you can hazard your own answer to that question....
Two weeks ago I took delivery of the weighty plastic crate and have now had time to have a rummage through the contents.  There are around 200 figures of the plastic army men variety in scales from 40mm to 54mm, a number of vehicles and a load of terrain bits.  And bizzarely a couple of trebuchets.
I can use most of the vehicles and have sorted around 80 figures and some terrain - the rest will be on the bring & buy at COW a week on Friday!

The cost of this box of delights?  A massive £8......

Liebster Award 2014

I have (again) been nominated for a Liebster Award!  The first time was in November 2012. My thanks to Herman over at Wargames Obsession for the nomination.  

The idea is to spread the word about blogs which readers may not know of.  I will therefore avoid nominating again the blogs I mentioned in 2012  - though I urge you to give them a look.  I have also not nominated blogs which I know have recently received this award.  My nominated blogs this time are:

Atomic Annihilation - a cheery look back to looking forward to an irradiated future.

Brazos Evil Empire - odd AFVs and obscure film clips?  Look no further.

Wargaming for Grown-Ups - combining game reports with prodigious figure-painting output.

Kit Noob - 'Proper modelling!'  A useful antidote to the slapdash bodging on my own blog.

Collecting Toy Soldiers - You have to respect someone who describes himself as a 'boring old fart.'

I LIKE the things I LIKE! - you really can't argue with a title like that.

Turkish Toy Soldier - the name says it all - I particularly recommend the Lego post from March.

Bunker Talk - strangely compelling!

The questions and my answers are as follows:

Why did you start blogging?

I couldn't figure out how to set up a website so blogging seemed like an easier option.

If you could change one thing about the wargaming hobby, what would it be?

People taking it way too seriously.

What is best in life?

Friends and family.

Fame or fortune?

Given that you are reading this I am clearly already famous.  Bring on the fortune...

What miniatures are you most proud of having painted?

I think this changes as I paint new toys.  Especially things I had previously told myself I couldn't paint.  Currently I favour my 1970s West Germans.

How do you deal with burn out?

By doing something different.  Regular readers of this blog may have noticed that more then one project is always underway...

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

Search me.

Star Wars or Star Trek?

Frankly I'll pass on both.

If you could only buy from one miniatures company from now on, which one would it be?

I really don't know.  Given that this year so far I have built and painted figure/kits/toys made by at least a dozen companies I am struggling to choose just one.  If pressed I'd go with Airfix - which has been with me since the beginning - and be prepared to do more conversion work.

What is your favourite takeaway?

Curry.

More aid from the colonies

Fellow blogger and all-round good chap Paul over at Plastic Warriors has sent me more presents!

Firstly this fine t-shirt which bears the logo of the RNZAF.  I'm not really this shape - it was draped over a box for the photo.  I'm wearing it now though.  Wrapped in the t-shirt was a good old Matchbox kit of the Sdkfz 234/2 'Puma'.  I am planning to build this and add it to one of my Megablitz panzer divisions.  But not anytime soon.
So in one fell swoop Paul has addressed my shortages of dodgy t-shirts and German armoured cars!  Thanks old chap!

New Year Message, 2014

So it's that time of year again?
The blog continues to feature prominently in my wargaming life, and although post numbers are slightly down on 2012 (278 as against 299), as I was aiming to post four per week I shall continue to do so.  Thank you to all who read the thing, and especially to those of you who leave comments.  They are much appreciated.

Funny Little Wars
A very active year for the 1/32 scale chaps, starting off in February with the game played by David Pinder and Julian Spilsbury which they kindly invited me to umpire.  A classic case of the partially sighted leading the blind!  Several. More tabletop games followed during the year,  but for me the real high points were the lawn games at Sandhurst.  The Little Wars Centenary event in April was a delight, and a great opportunity to meet other devotees.  The Nordic amphibious actions were fun but I really loved the Gettysburg game in July.  There will be more big games, and outline plans are afoot for a Tannenberg inspired extravaganza in 2014.
On the painting front, I completed the large but as yet unblooded Tratvian Army (think Russian) and a few ACW units and odds and ends.  Plenty more still to come.

Megablitz
For the second year running I ran a game at Shrivenham (facilitated as usual by Tom Mouat).  We used loads of toys and the players are still speaking to me, so I think I can consider it a success.  A few new toys were added.  I must give some thought to a game for 2014!

NATO Brigade Commander
A few games, mostly run by Martin using his 2mm (no really!) toys.  I don't think I have added any new (6mm) toys, but I do have some scenario ideas.  Mind you, I said that last year.....

Command & Colours - Ancient
We played a few games and I added some 'new' toys.  We continue to be very keen on this series of games and they provide consistent entertainment.  The additional toys have mostly been sourced from eBay and bring and buys at shows.  They include Egyptians, Assyrians and an assortment of hairy barbarians.  I'm sure 2014 will see regular appearances of this game.

Command & Colours - Napoleonic
A continuing favourite.  2013 saw my Spaniards, Russians and Austrians in action and no doubt we'll see them all again over the course of 2014.

Fletcher Pratt Naval Wargame
Ships from my 1/1200 fleet have seen action several times during the past year, including a rather successful game played on the lawn at Knuston in July.  Several additional ships have joined the fleet, so expect plenty more of this.

President Fred

The latest appearance of President Fred saw his alleged death (and about time too!) but I already have ideas for what may happen next in the unfortunate state of Ph'tang.

Sheffield Wargames Society
I continue in post as Chairman of SWS and am pleased to be able to report that paid up member numbers are up on last year.  New members are always welcome - see the SWS website for location details.  Triples is on 17th and 18th May 2014.

Cars
Not strictly wargaming I know, but the toys and I have to get about!

The Saab is gone - long live the er, Saab!

The 9-5 HOT Aero has made way for a 9-3 TTiD Aero. Power down from 250bhp to 180 (though much of the time you'd never know it) but turbochargers up from one to two and fuel consumption down from 35mpg to 48mpg.  And I can fit more toys in it!

Games Played in 2013

As with last year, this list began life on the sidebar of the blog but with the impending end of the year it seems reasonable to give it a post of it's own.  Once again it is pleasing to see the number and variety of games played.

Some Russians in daft pointy hats.

Date, Game, Scale, Rules, Players

2 January, Red Recce, 15mm, Platoon Commander's War, 3

9 January, Cursus Honorum, 7

16 January, Action at Grid Square 24, Fletcher Pratt, 1/1200, 8
23 January, Akragas 406BC, CCA, 25mm, 3

30 January, RCW Square Bashing, 15mm, 3

2 February, Platea 479BC, CCA, 25mm, 1

6 February, Platea 479BC, CCA, 25mm, 3

19 February, Good Morning Vietnam, 6mm, 2

20 February. DB ACW, 15mm, 3

23 February, 1907 invasion of Norfolk, Funny Little Wars, 54mm, 3

24 February, Turning the Tide, FLW, 54mm, 1

27 February, First Bull Run (twice), Battle Cry, 15mm, 3

6 March, Messana(1) 264BC, CCA, 25mm, 2

13 March, Lobositz, Brown Bess, 15mm, 3

10 April, Invasion of Vulgaria, FLW, 54mm, 3

17 April, Covering Force, NBC, 2mm, 3

24 April, Ten Rounds Rapid, 15mm, 2

27 April, Hook's Farm, Funny Little Wars, 54mm, 11

27 April, Advance to Contact, FLW, 54mm, 11

28 April, Withdrawal in Contact, FLW, 54mm, 10

1 May, 2nd Battle of Gaza 1917, Op14, 6mm, 3

8 May, Nisibis 217AD, CCA, 25mm, 4

18/19 May, Ten Rounds Rapid (many times!)

22 May, Aces High (three games), card game, 6

22 May, Once Upon a Time (three games), card game, 5

22 May, Frank's Zoo (four times), card game, 5

29 May, Bailen 1808, CCN, 15mm, 5

5 June, Aggressive Defence, NBC, 2mm, 5

12 June, Grossenfartz, FLW, 54mm, 3

19 June, Cursus Honorum, 6
26 June, Crimissos River 241BC, CCA, 25mm, 3

3 July, Tibbermore 1644, Command & Colours, 25mm, 5

6 July, COW, Operation Vijay 1961, 10

6 July, COW, Gibraltar Strait, Fletcher Pratt, 1/1200, 12

6 July, COW, TEWT, 6

5-7 July, COW, 6 other sessions!

23-24 July, Gettysburg, FLW, 54mm, 6

23 July, Aces High! card game (twice), 5

23 July, Active Service Unit, 5

31 July, Noah's Ark, terrible card game, 4

7 August, 16 Card Carrier Strike, 4

14 August, Bagradas 253BC, CCA, 3

16 August, Siege of Conway Castle, 8

17 August, A Battle Lost? Megablitz, 20mm, 22

21 August, Operation Vijay, (6mm), 7

4 September, Cilician Gate 39BC, CCA, 25mm, 6

10 September, Nordic but Nice, Boilers & Breechloaders/FLW, 28mm, 2

11 September, Dastardly Danish Defence, FLW, 54mm, 3

18 September, Revenge of the Pointy Heads, FLW, 54mm, 4

25 September, Breaking the Line, Battlegroup, 15mm, 3

2 October, Operation Zarghun Manzohnei, Boots on the Ground, 15mm, 5

9 October, Czarnowo 1806, CCN, 15mm, 6

23 October, Across the canal 1981, NBC, 2mm, 4

30 October, Sepeia 494BC, CCA, 25mm, 5

30 October, Sepeia 494BC, CCA, 25mm, 5 (again!)

6 November, The end of President Fred?, PBOM, 15mm, 5

20 November, Mare Nostrum?, Fletcher Pratt, 1/1200, 6

11 December, Wertingen 1805, CCN, 15mm, 5

18 December, Blockade Runner, 6

27 December, Bold Breakout, Fletcher Pratt, 1/1200
27 December, Shut It! boardgame, 6
27 December, Aces High, card game, 7 (three times!)

Tidying up

As previously mentioned, I have been putting things straight following a period of domestic disruption caused by building and decorating work.  One of the items I had to move was this 200x80cm bookcase - one of IKEA's finest - which lives on the landing outside my toy room door.  Clearly I had to empty it first - which revealed just how much stuff it held!  Before I re-stocked it therefore, I decided to thin out the contents a bit and have it looking a bit neater than before.
It is now much tidier - but then it was pretty bad before.

The shelves hold mostly wargaming and modelling books.

The wargames books - the oldest acquired in the mid-'70s, the newest a couple of weeks ago.

I have a full set of these splendid little Airfix books.  They took many years to accumulate.

The lower shelves house various wargames rules, boxed games and these ring
 binders which contain various articles archived from magazines.

Donald Featherstone 1918 - 2013

I have just learned that veteran wargamer and author Donald Featherstone died yesterday.

There can be few wargamers who have not in some way been influenced by Don's books - especially those of us whose ages run into double figures and start with at least a '4'....

While I never met Don, I know that he was pleased to see many of his books reprinted as part of the History of Wargaming Project.  I found two of his books (Naval War Games and Air War Games) early in my wargaming 'career' and both have proved hugely influential.  It was with considerable pleasure therefore that I contributed photos, a revised chapter and a game to the expanded edition of Air War Games published last year.

I'm sure that much will be written about Donald Featherstone over the coming days, so I will add simply that his place on my own bookshelves is guaranteed.

My tatty 1966 edition of AWG

The 2012 edition

Another rummage box!

 

After sorting through the giant box of plastic figures given to me by Mark H, the (many) survivors were collected by Richard Crawley (better known as Counterpane).  Richard reciprocated by presenting me with another box of plastic figures - all 1/35 and 1/32.  As well as a number of Airfix German paras, some earlier periods are also represented.  No doubt there will be a few bits useful for Funny Little Wars games.  I am looking forward to carrying out a full stocktake!

Plastic fantastic

I was recently presented with a large cardboard box (thanks Mark!) which I was assured might contain things of interest to me.  On opening it I was greeted by the sight above - hundreds (or even thousands) of 20mm plastic figures!

I have now had a chance to rummage thought the contents and liberated a few ancient/dark ages hairy barbarian types in the process, together with a couple of boxes worth of Revell TYW infantry.
Mostly the figures in the box are Napoleonics and therefore of no interest to me.  Would anyone like to take them off my hands?

The power of the press

Just a quick post tonight.

As a result of the newspaper article (see Monday's post) we had a prospective new member show up at the Sheffield club tonight.  After some introductory chit-chat from a couple of members he was prevailed upon to take part in a game and subsequently sat in on another.  So if you're reading this Peter, welcome and we hope to see you at the weekend!

Little Wars Centenary

In celebration of the centenary of the publication of Little Wars by H.G.Wells, Mike at Black Hat Miniatures has announced this special 54mm figure of HGW playing with some toy soldiers (and wondering if it will ever catch on as a hobby for grown men?)

Mike writes "The figure is a 4-part metal casting and comes with tiny toy soldiers and a house.  This is a quick picture of the first master casting, but it should be in a production mould this week and up on the Black Hat shop for £5.00 a piece."

What a delightful idea - mine is already on order!

Poll dancing

My poll on the format of the blog has now closed and the results are in!  61 votes were cast and the scores on the doors are as follows:

80% of voters (49 votes) are in favour of the old (current) format.
9% (6 votes) preferred the 'new' flipcard format which I tried out for a few days in early March.
6% (4 votes) either didn't know or care
3% (2 votes) claimed that "I don't read this rubbish, I just like internet polls."

I know that doesn't quite add up to 100% but don't blame me.
So for the time being at least we'll be staying with the current layout.  Flipcard looks great but for the moment at least takes far too long to load up - even with a wired fibre-optic broadband connection to the interwebnet.  Maybe this will change in the future, so I'll keep an eye on it.

Meanwhile what passes for 'normal service' will be resumed...

A blog post ain't a blog post without a photo of some toys.  Does anyone else have a corner of a shelf full of crap like this?  10 points to the first reader to identify all the toys...

Games Played in 2012

This list began life on the sidebar of the blog but with the end of the year it seems reasonable to give it a post of it's own.  I started the list in January 2012 to serve as a reminder that I'd actally played quite a few games!  I'll do the same for 2013...

Date, Game, Scale, Rules, Players

28 December, Aces High, 4(card game- played four times!)
28 December, Doodlebuggers, 1/72 (three games)
28 December, Ten Rounds Rapid, 15mm, 2 (twice)
28 December, the Guns of Toblerone, 10
19 December, Lightning North Africa (card game), 2
12 December, Doodlebuggers, 1/72, 3
6 December, WW1 Naval Game, 1/3000, 8
28 November, Gaza 1917, Op14, 6mm, 3
18 November, One Hell of a Gamble (Cuban Missile Crisis), 21
14 November, Tigranocerta 69BC, CCA, 25mm, 3
7 November, Ponyri 1943, Memoir'44, 15mm, 2
31 October, Harbour Raid, Fletcher Pratt, 1/1200, 8
10 October, Belbeck Valley, NBC, 6mm, 2
3 October, Border bother, Little Wars, 54mm, 6
26 September, Trouble in Ph'tang, PBOM, 15mm, 5
12 September, Crocus Plains, CCA, 25mm, 3
6 September, Tibbermore 1644, C&C, 1
5 September, Bussaco 1810, CCN, 15mm, 3
30 August, Tigranocerta 69BC, CCA, 25mm, 1
29 August, Shut It!, 4
28 August, Tigranocerta 69BC, CCA, 25mm, 1
27 August, Gumbinnen 1914, Op14, 6mm, 3
26 August, Crocus Plains, CCA, 25mm, 1
15 August, Square Bashing, 15mm, 3
8 August, Gibraltar Straits, Fletcher Pratt, 1/1200, 8
25 July, Operation Cold Feet, 11
18 July, Goodwood, Memoir44, 15mm, 3
6-8 July, 10+ sessions at COW 2012
4 July, Solferino, 6mm, 3
30 June, Assal Uttar, NBC, 6mm, 2
27 June, Bagradas, CCA, 25mm, 3
25 June, First Bull Run, Battle Cry, 2mm, 1
23 June, Bagradas, CCA, 25mm, 2
9 June, Krisis at Kharkov, Megablitz, 20mm, 18
6 June, Funny Little Wars, 54mm, 8
4 June, Carrhae (twice), CCA, 4
4 June, Rollbahn Ost, 3
30 May, Carrhae, CCA, 25mm, 3
23 May, Memoir 44, 15mm, 3
19 & 20 May, Rollbahn Ost (about 20 games, 3 players each)
16 May, Agrigentum 261BC, 25mm, CCA, 3
9 May, Rollbahn Ost, 15&20mm, 4
2 May, Le Cateau, 15mm, Op14, 2
25 April, Khafji 1991, 6mm, NBC, 4
23 April, Call it Qids (SoA game about Kadesh), 2 & Send Not to Know,15mm SCW, 5
18 April, Ten Rounds Rapid & Airfix Fighter Command, 3
4 April, Airfix Air Traffic Control, 3
28 March, North Cape, Fletcher Pratt, 9
23 March, Battling the beastly Boers, Funny Little Wars, 2
21 March, An Inconclusive Scrap, Funny Little Wars, 6
14 March, Fire & Movement, 2
7 March, Guise 1914, Op14, 3
29 Feb, Far East troop convoy, Fletcher Pratt, 1/1200, 16
25 Feb, Memphis Mangler IV, Vietnam btl/rgt level game, 20
13-16 Feb, Guise 1914, 6mm, Op14, solo
15 February, Jarama (SCW), 15mm, Memoir of Modern Battle, 2
8 February, Quatre Bras, 15mm, Command & Colours, 3
1 February, Border Clash, 54mm, Wars of Empire, 2
25 January, Convoy PQ-19, Fletcher Pratt, 1/1200, 12
19 January, Portable Wargame (twice!), 15mm, 2
11 January, Mons 1914, 15mm, Op14, 3
4 January, Ligny 1815, 15mm, Brown Bess, 3

New Year Message

As 2012 draws to a close I shall once again briefly review 2012 and look forward to 2013. 

My 54mm Field Surgeon, Dr. Doosweet B.A. prepares to down his New Year tipple.

You may wish to look back at the appropriate post from this time last year.  The blog continues to feature prominently in my wargaming life, and I was pleased to see that I managed 299 posts in 2012 (nine more than in 2011!).  I shall continue to aim for about four a week.

A load of angry Russians near Kharkov.  20mm toys.

Megablitz: I wanted to run at least one large game in 2012.  This took the form of the very successful 20-player Krisis at Kharkov game played at Shrivenham in June.  As well as a number of veterans I was pleased to see some 'new' players at this event.  Some of whom are still speaking to me.  Not many new toys have joined the collection in 2012, though as I type this the varnish is drying on a small batch of Soviet vehicles.
I intend to run a game in Sheffield in 2013, with more possibly to follow.  As usual, any announcements will be made here and on the Megablitz Yahoo group.

Pakistani M48 and M47 tanks.  1/285 scale toys.

NATO Brigade Commander:  A quiet year in the NBC front, although we did re-run the Khafji and Assal Uttar scenarios and Martin put together the WW2 game now known to history as 'Von Gow's Express'.   A few new (mostly WW2) toys have been added and I do have a couple of scenarios planned for the WW2 and postwar periods.

Naval gunners man a classic Britains 4.7inch gun.  54mm toys.

Funny Little Wars: Last year I had largely completed the Forbodian Army and was planning to make progress on either a French style force or a Naval Brigade.  The Naval Brigade is mostly complete - and even includes a pair of gunboats, while the other project underway is the Tratvian (think Russian) Army.  In addition to a number of FLW games at the Sheffield Club I was most fortunate to play a game with FLW author PW in his garden during one of the few days of the British 'Summer'.  In March.  The heady blend of sunshine, cake, gaudy toy soldiers and splendid company made this one of the highlights of the year for me.
In 2013 I intend finishing the Tratvians and the other outstanding odds and ends for the other two forces, and possibly to start on yet another army.  I know I shouldn't but.......
The popularity of FLW at the Sheffield club (where four of us have armies) suggests the possibility of more local games - though (as the rain bounces off my windows) I suspect they'll be mostly indoors!

A damn handsome chap wearing a fez

Op14: I was about to type "Relatively quiet on the Western Front and not much noisier in the East."  Loooking back at my posts, however, indicates that we played six Op14 games during 2012!  Our most recent outing was to Gaza (giving me the opportunity to 'Fez up') and we have a few more such games planned.

Command & Colours (Napoleonics): We played a few games of this with my 15mm toys.  One more scenarios are available (or I can be bothered to write some...) the pace might pick up a bit.

Classical Warfare (CCA): My 25mm chaps had several outings and increased greatly in number during the year.  Hell, I even painted some.  I expect many more such games during the coming year.

A French (Vichy) cruiser having a bad day.  1/1200 scale model.

Fletcher Pratt Naval Wargame: A rather tentative experiment when unleashed on the members of the Sheffield Club in late 2011, this now has a modest following and there are usually plenty of volunteers for a game.  The 'Harbour Raid' game in October went particularly well, and the year has seen ships of four navies in action on the parquet floor.  A huge expansion of my fleet was reported in April, and since then a modest number of other vessels have been 'commisioned'.  Expect more nautical nonsense during 2013.

Wargame Events: Along with other members of Wargame Developments, I attended Triples and The Other Partizan with our popular Rollbahn Ost game.  It was particularly nice to meet a couple of my blog commentators at shows. Other notable events include the Memphis Mangler game at Shivenham.
In 2013 I'll be involved in running WD's Ten Rounds Rapid game at Triples and both Partizans.  A special event this year will be the Little Wars Centenary.  This will include great deal of toy soldiering and more besides.  Information via the FLW Yahoo Group.

As always, I hope to meet many you during the coming year.

It remains only for me to hope that 2013 is all you wish it to be.