Happy Christmas 2023 - Peace and Goodwill to All.

 

Well another year is fast coming to a close and I write this Christmas greeting to all my readers with somewhat mixed feelings, conscious of the time of year when we celebrate hope and goodwill to all, but at a time of a major war in Europe and a bloody conflict yet again in the Middle East.

Last Christmas saw us enjoying the delights of Christchurch, New Zealand with a bit of Christmas Morning Punting on the River Avon.

This blog is avowedly apolitical and very much designed to be a sanctuary for those of us who enjoy the finer qualities of life that are the characteristics of friendly social interaction, artistic endeavour and historical enlightenment bestowed on the serious followers of our hobby, but it is a challenge in these times of conflict to enjoy those delights when one is only too aware of the suffering of others.

I know the relationship with time changes dramatically the older we get, but it is hard to imagine how quickly twelve months has passed when I look at this picture of Carolyn and me enjoying Christmas 2022 in Christchurch NZ.

Personally, I have enjoyed an amazing fourteen months that saw Carolyn and I enjoy four of them, from the end of October 2021 to February this year, exploring the other side of the globe from Vancouver on the Pacific coast of Canada, to Hawaii, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia and Singapore that was a life changing experience in so many ways and for the better; this together with my eldest son Tom and his now fiancée Beth, announcing their engagement last Christmas, with plans to marry in summer 2024 and my younger son Will settling into his medical career in Cardiff with a new house and partner, Ollie, and equally much to look forward to in the New Year.

Peggy with her Christmas collar, and ready for fun!

Our lives have been changed irrevocably with Tom and Beth adding to their family with a new Labrador puppy, Peggy, now eighteen months old and the love of my life as Carolyn and I have become once a week doggy day carers.

Big-battle fun this year in Wales with the Trafalgar refight, and plans for similar events going forward.
JJ's Wargames - The Battle of Trafalgar 2023

All this and an absolutely non-stop rollercoaster year in the hobby with much to write about in my End of Year-New Year Blog Review in time for New Year's Eve which will have a look back on key themes here on JJ's and plans for 2024.

Yet more fun on the water in 2023, with the Bantry Bay game at the Naval Wargames Society Meeting at Yeovilton in October.
JJ's Wargames - Naval Wargames Society Weekend 2023 - Fleet Air Arm Museum Yeovilton.

The header for this Christmas Greeting alludes to the current and ongoing main theme which is my deep-dive into the Naval Age of Sail era and the development of the collection of model ships for planned games going forward, and I'm looking forward to having some more and interesting things to write about in that regard here on JJ's in future posts.

But that will have to wait until the festivities are over and I have time to get back to my desk to prepare future posts and so in the meantime, I would like to wish all my readers, contributors and followers of JJ's Wargames, a peaceful and happy Christmas and hoping Santa rewards all good little boys and girls, oh and Labradors.

Happy Christmas

JJ