Days off and I am keeping myself busy with the latest build, a Tiger 1 in 1/35 scale. A happy distraction from the madness that appears to have engulfed the world. Closer to home and my dad is once again in hospital. My parents divorced nearly forty years ago and we have no happy memories of him. Sadly, some of our relatives in Ireland don't understand our anger towards him and are not happy with us. I have thought long and hard about seeing him again and as one cousin said, making peace with him. I realised that I don't have to because I grieved for him many years ago and moved on with my life. He was a selfish man and his addiction to alcohol made our lives...interesting.  My brother and I along with my mum bore the brunt of it and in many ways it set me off on the various paths which have brought me here today. 

Back to the modelling... It is fair to say that I have become slightly obsessed with this hobby. with twenty odd builds under my belt and accessing a variety of media for information, other builds and modellers. It makes me happy and I am at peace doing this hobby. It's fun and I am absorbed in each build. As a kid it was this, reading and cycling that kept me together so that returning to it after many years does feel like I've come home. Add tea, music and the cats and I am a very contented man indeed. If the news reports about the expected winter weather are correct I may have to batten down the hatches, keep warm and model to my hearts content until we emerge blinking in the weak spring sunshine of 2018! For anyone that asks...yes, many of my completed models have the odd cat hair attached. An inevitable consequence of curious cats, glue and paint. 

TTFN.