Luckily i’m not suffering from the menopause just yet. I do, however, refer to the change in the seasons. I always think that we get a very short Autumn around here. It tends to go from ‘nice and warm’ to ‘windy’ to ‘dark, cold and horrible’ in short order. I don’t particularly mind the darker seasons. On the contrary i like digging my thick winter jackets, warm socks and shemaghs from the wardrobe. The mornings however are enough to test any mans resolve. Dragging my tired old ass from my warm bed seems to get tougher every year i swear. Autumn/winter is also a tough time for us outdoor combat enthusiasts. The change in the seasons affects the vegetation on the site. We go from nice bushy, leaft plants and loads of ferns to lots of browns and fallen leaves. It’s very difficult to steal silently up on a flank when every step sounds like you have trodden on a pack of quavers. Also we need to change our camouflage. During the warmer months i wear predominatly greens (Italian vegetato). In the winter however it’s too green so i switch to MARPAT (Yank marine pattern) which is mainly browns. It’s obviously colder too. Remember how much it used to sting when somebody kicked the football against your thigh in school ? Yep. Now try having a small plastic BB fired at 300-odd feet-per-second smack you on the lip or fingernail. It bloody kills.

Winter does herald the arrival of certain fun times though. Firstly you have Halloween. A perfect occasion for dressing up and being a tool. Then Guy Fawkes night. Lots of beer, hot food and blowing stuff up (parliment anyone ?). Then of course it’s Christmas and new year. However it’s still a little too early to be talking about Chritmas in any depth.

In other news i have once again walked the long and arduous trail that is the ‘costume build’. Still staying with the Imperial soldiers of course. This time it’s a Stormtrooper build. Readers of my previous build (Biker Scout) will know that i decided against a Stormtrooper in the beginning. However i have changed my mind . . .

Expect a long and detailed page about that one soon. I’m hopefully sending my pictures in for clearance tonight. Wish me luck