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Some weeks ago Jan noticed that there was some mould on the end of the shelves we keep the model soldiers and scenery on. There was no damage to the soldiers, nor indeed on the actual shelves. But we did not want to risk it spreading, so we decided to wash and treat the whole unit.

Mould is an annual problem here in southern Spain. Despite our best efforts to keep the house warm but well aired, we have a few patches on the ceilings each winter. It is easy to clean, and then is ok for the rest of the year. But this is the first time we have had it on a wooden surface.S

We got a bottle of special cleaner from the local shop, who understandably is something of an expert! The cleaning would be easy, but finding temporary homes for all the soldiers and scenery was another matter.

The whole thing took almost two weeks. First all the shelves had to be cleared, and I checked each stand of soldiers as I did so. Fortunately no damage to soldiers or scenery, not even our very old paper German town houses.

Then I took the unit apart and cleaned each shelf and the units itself. I decided to varnish then at the same time, and that also took longer than anticipated. And now I had to find space for all the shelves to dry.

Finally I decided it was best to paint the room whilst it was empty. There was one small damp patch on the ceiling, but no sign of mould. Despite this I use special paint which is mould resistant.

Yesterday all was finally finished, and I had the much more pleasant job of putting them all back on the shelves. Not really very much to show for almost two weeks work, but it is all very clean and pristine.

Now at last I can set up a wargame and put all of that hard work to good use!