They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.
On the 25th April 1915, members of the Australian New Zealand Army Corp landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula at what was to later become known as ANZAC Cove. Today on this day we remember those brave souls who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country, not just in the Great War but in all conflicts. Although today is specifically one of remembrance for the fallen of both Australia and New Zealand, personally this day is one in which I remember all, regardless of nationality, who have served or continue to serve.
In my country it is unusual for servicemen to receive acknowledgement while in uniform, not so in other countries, and maybe non so much as the United States, so in borrowing a turn of phrase oft uttered in America, if you have served, continue to serve, or even one day hope to serve: Thank you for your service.
I probably have 3 years (possibly 4) of unread Miniature Wargames sitting on the shelves in my painting cave, I know they are unread because many are still wrapped in the plastic that covered them when they arrived in the post, which for any number of seemingly valid reasons I kept up my subscription without actually reading them. Something I plan to redress.
I recently flipped through the last 3-4, and will return to give them an in depth look in time, but at first glance I have to say that the Magazine I remember is not what it once was, whether this is a good thing or a bad will have to be decided as I “catch up” on my reading. But for now I have moved a stack into a more reader friendly area and starting at Issue 403 (when the current cover design was introduced) and I plan to peruse them until I am up to date. I expect that some of the contents therein will inspire some musings here as I moved forward.
To whit,
In “The Last Word”, (issue #453) Colin Rumford and Richard Marsh talk about project inspiration and from whence it came. For me Napoleonic’s was the first period I ever gamed, starting with 1/72 ESCI figures, inspired by a High School History teacher, Bruce Quarries famous book and with one of my oldest friends my fledgling steps in the hobby began with battles in the Peninsular. I dare say ACW was a slow boil where I took a number of tepid steps until I fully committed but the catalyst for the “all in” was after a number of years as an expat the simple act of finding a like minded opponent. WWII Europe in 20mm has existed as part of my collection from almost the beginning and the rules of Rumford and Marsh were a big part of that, though lately I am hankering to focus more on Malaya and the Far East (by way of simple geographic inspiration) but I see no reason why their rules would not work just as well. (though someone I know through a friend has suggested Chain of Command as a nice set of rules)
Prior to the current situation I was content to just plod along painting what I like at a glacial pace but now I find that being denied the choice of finding opponents that I ironically actually have a hankering to do just that. Sadly I am not sure I can get excited about Warhammer or Flames of War, which seem to be the most popular options in this part of the world, or thus a quick google search has led me to believe. So maybe I need to search a little deeper.
And in all that I wonder what will inspire me next? (the Vikings TV series is all ready to accompany my 28mm Dark Age efforts, but what will be “next”?)
Until I decide that I have some back issues to peruse, and inspiration to strike.
The Burger Bar is located inside The Patio, which bills itself as Singapore’s favourite Hawker bar.* While I am not sure if this is true, if you are in the North the trip to 1018 Sembawang Rd might be worth it.
Thankfully the Butcher Classic does not come built as it is shown on the menu and instead is built as such: bun, lettuce, tomato, mayo, meat, cheese, bbq sauce, bun. They list the sauce as their “special sauce” but it tasted like run of the mill bbq to me. It did not come with onion, though it was advertised as so, and was served with seasoned thick cut chips. The lettuce was an arugula salad mixed leaf salad and while tasty did not offer any barrier protection for the un-toasted bun, which at first glance seemed a little small to hold together until the last bite, unless you forsake the chips and devour the burger fast.(as I did) So be warned you need to eat this quick if you don’t want it to fall apart in your hands and wear it.
The patty was cooked through, with no discernible seasoning, however the addition of both mayo and bbq sauce helped avoid that dry burger taste** and kept it a juicy meal. The burger itself cost SGD $9.80 and the beer came in at SGD$7.00. And while this is not a bar/beer review, The Patio (the drink stall this Hawker Bar is named after) has a decent selection of beers ranging from SGD $7.00-9.00 for a standard bottle, or SGD $19.00 for 1 litre of Lownbrau. (they also have Guinness on tap, I think it was SGD $12.00) I know I said Smokin’ Joe was a little ulu when I reviewed its burger, but this place is even further North and while a 6/10 burger might not be worth the effort, if we were including beer offerings in the judging it would edge to a 7/10. It is also only a small side-trek off my usual journey home, which is a plus as a destination, but not in rating it’s burger.
Rating 6/10 for flavour, and $$ for price.
* Hawker bars have been in Singapore for a while, the first I can recall was Bar Bar Black Sheep on Cherry Lane from which various incantations have sprung up all over the island. In a nutshell, a Hawker Bar is a small Hawker Centre, usually only 4-5 stalls, one of which is a bar, they others usually favour Thai, Indian and Western (usually burgers) as their fare. They are usually awesome and well worth the visit.
The Gun Bar 