A Quick Update

 Not a lot going on hobby wise - I continue to make incremental progress on my Stalingrad factory ruins - I have a half idea to try out an infantry-only game over the weekend - we will see how that goes.

A few random images of my week

On Tuesday, I had to fly down to Christchurch for work - and it just happened to also be my 63rd birthday (how the actual $%#@ did that happen?!) Anyway, I had a latish flight home, so was able to get my generous employers to pay for a celebratory meal at the airport!

On Thursday, I went with a group of work colleagues an evening event in support of Child Cancer Foundation, which was held at the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) in W Auckland.

I arrived just in time to take this rather evocative image by the entrance, looking west towards the setting sun 

"The aircraft outside MOTAT's main entrance on Meola Road is a fibreglass replica of a Hawker Hurricane. This replica serves as a gate guard and is painted to represent the Hurricane flown by New Zealand fighter ace Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park during World War II."

About Sir Keith Park

Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, GCB, KBE, MC & Bar, DFC (15 June 1892 – 6 February 1975) was a New Zealand-born officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the Second World War, his leadership of the RAF's No. 11 Group was pivotal to the defeat of the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain.

Born in Thames, Park was a mariner when he enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force for service in the First World War. Posted to the artillery, he fought in the Gallipoli campaign, during which he transferred to the British Army. On the Western Front, he was present for the Battle of the Somme and was wounded. He obtained another transfer, this time to the Royal Flying Corps. Once his flight training was completed, he served as an instructor before being posted to No. 48 Squadron on the Western Front. He became a flying ace, achieving several aerial victories and eventually commanding the squadron.

In the interwar period, Park served with the RAF in a series of command and staff postings, including a period as air attaché in South America. By the late 1930s, he was serving in Fighter Command, as Air Marshal Hugh Dowding's senior air staff officer. The two worked to devise tactics and management strategies for the air defence of the United Kingdom. Soon after the outbreak of the Second World War, Park was given command of No. 11 Group, responsible for the defence of Southeast England and London. Owing to its strategic significance and geographic location in relation to the Luftwaffe, No. 11 Group bore the brunt of the German aerial assault during the Battle of Britain. Park's management of his fighter aircraft and pilots helped ensure that Britain retained air superiority along the English Channel.

Relieved of command after the Battle of Britain, Park served in a training role before being posted to the Middle East as Air Officer Commanding, Egypt, in late 1941. Midway through the following year, he took charge of the aerial defences of Malta, then under heavy attack from the Luftwaffe and the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force). When the siege was lifted Park transitioned Malta's RAF forces from a defensive role into an offensive footing in preparation for the Allied invasion of Sicily. From 1944, he held senior roles in the Middle East and in British India. He retired from the RAF in 1946 as an air chief marshal. Returning to New Zealand, he worked in the aviation industry for a British aircraft manufacturer and then became involved in local body politics in Auckland. He died from heart problems in February 1975.

Then tonight, my daughter and her partner came round to our place to share a Thai take away meal - and chocolate cake from the Cheesecake Factory - it was as good as it looks, too!

My "little girl" even got her old dad a very cool birthday present!

I also finally finished reading this book yesterday 

I actually enjoyed it more than I expected to - here is a brief blub on the author:

"Valentin M. Berezhkov was an important part of Josef Stalin's inner circle, where he found himself at center stage of international diplomacy. In his capacity as interpreter for both Stalin and Molotov, he was present when the fateful meeting leading to the Munich Pact took place; when Hitler negotiated the nonaggression agreement with Molotov; when Germany declared war on Russia; at the historic meeting where the Allies formed a united front against the Axis; and at the 1943 Teheran conference. Like a fly on the wall, he observed everything, including Stalin's fear of Hitler. When Berezhkov met with the German leader, the latter was so taken aback with his perfect use of the German language that he refused to believe the interpreter was a Russian native." "Berezhkov may be one of the last survivors of the events that shaped the destiny of Russia and the world. He personally observed how the major leaders of this century related to each other and the circumstances in which they found themselves."

Ok well that's all I have for you at the moment - might well get a solo game in over the weekend and I expect I will make a start on the Peoples Militia, too!