Cuppa at Colonel Bills

Can't believe it's been more than a month since I last posted. The challenge is hoovering up my life and I find it odd to post the same stuff twice. Work and life have also hoover up my time - Covid 19 planning is exhaustive and exhausting.
So the plan was to take today off and travel down with the guys to Hammerhead where we are putting on a "For Joshua" game.
However because of perfectly sensible reasons relating to work and C-19 responses we couldn't go. Annoying and 100% the correct decision.
Therefore I have a free day off work and a free weekend. The downside is that I had placed a collect at show order with Colonel Bills, and collect at show orders come with 10% discount and no postage. I mailed him last night and we agreed that I could go down to his home this morning and collect my purchases. Which is fine as it's only an hour away and the nearest town, Barnard Castle, is a nice spot to walk around.
So off I set this morning and picked up my purchase.

These are all Forged in Battle and were a bargain at £60 for all 8 packs, one of which is a double sized pike block

Stu, Colonel Bill is his nomme de guerre, was a great host and we chatted over a cuppa. We got to talking about his business and the lines he is starting and those he is discontinuing. Xyston are one of the brands he stocks and I've bought them before. They are excellent figures, I prefer Forged in Battle but these are almost as good. So He made me an offer and I picked up these

Gallic infantry and cavalry

Successor pikes and cavalry and some Arab camels, £65 or all 8 packs (4x£12 and 4x£8)

So why all these. Well my lead mountain has been strip mined and I've nearly finsihed the 10m &YW army - 6 inf regiments and 2 cavalry ones - plus some Prussians, fewer of these, 4-5 infantry regiments, a cav regiment and loads of heavy artillery. Once I've painted them the prussians will go on to tick over. 

I needed a new project and i loved painting my 15mm ancients - Pontus and Classical Indian. Now I can go for loads more armies in the near and east, Thracians, Galatians / Gauls (if I want), Parthians and others.

I also picked up 10 pack of Forged in Battle Romans and Gauls from ebay today at £10 each. So I've spent £225 today for 17 packs of 15mm figures. That will keep me busy for a while.

Also found out yesterday one of the guys at work paints napoleonics but doesn't play. So he's coming over to be educated. Bit concerned as he is ex forces and may actually know how to do this properly, on the upside he was in the Navy