A castle update!

My apologies one and all for it has been far too long since I have posted here.  I am pleased to report all is well, but such is the pace and involvement of working with the new procedures and protocols that hobby time has been in short supply of late.  I have found that I miss, terribly, the interaction with those of you that pass by these pages and so have looked to Facebook as a means of maintaining an online presence.  If truth be told, I haven't quite got to grips with it yet, but hope that this might serve as a creative outlet in the months to come; do please seek me out, I promise no pictures of kittens!

The main purpose of posting today was to give the briefest of updates regarding the Battle of Schloss Itter project. A couple of weeks ago James and I finally managed to assembly the four boards for the first time in the front hall of my school. It was a wonderful to see the layout as planned and although some elements were not as finished as we had envisaged, we were looking forward to taking some photographs and video. Unfortunately the second lockdown has curtailed our plans again and we are faced with the inevitability that the castle will need to be quietly dismantled and stored away. In the brief time that it was available to the pupils, parents and staff we were heartened by the interest it garnered and so felt that we needed to commemorate the achievement in some small way. To that end James and I have recorded a Zoom conversation to share our thoughts about the concept and construction of the project.  The link to which is at the bottom of this post.

Regular reading of this most humble of weblog will remember that my good friend and colleague, James Walters was the creative genius behind the architectural modelling of Schloss Itter. During the lockdown period James has kept himself busy creating much of his beloved Bexhill West railway station and sharing many of the techniques employed in the castle design in a series of informative tutorials. This channel has gone from strength to strength and any you that may harbour a desire to create your own laser cut terrain pieces will surely find something of interest.

With regards to our conversation, I warn you now that speaking on camera is not something I find comes naturally to me, but I hope that those who have persevered with our journey will enjoy sharing some of our memories with us. Given today is Remembrance Sunday it seemed a fitting day to reflect on the broader purpose of the project, which was to celebrate the end of hostilities in Europe seventy five years ago.

I hope that you are all remain safe and healthy,

Michael

We Will Remember Them