PBEM 1814 Command Vacancy Filled

Filled indeed, and then some.   The response has been really good, the best ever.  Not only have I filled both vacancies, but I also have three reserves.

I had pondered whether it might be better to wait another month or so to allow everyone to recover from the holiday season and settle to the darker nights.   Glad I didn’t do so.

The campaign, in one form or another, is now in its fifth year.   The campaign has grown and changed during that time, but is basically the same.   That is a long time to keep the command posts filled, especially as there are now twelve of them.

During that time there have been 68 changes of commander, though quit e a few players have taken part in more than one campaign.   In fact a total of 48 different players have held a command post, including the current eight.

So it’s not surprising that I sometimes have difficulty keeping the posts filled.   Last time I asked for volunteers I only got one commander.   For this response was a surprise, but a very pleasant one.

It’s been a very quiet time on the campaign and wargaming front.    My son and his family have spent two weeks with us, as they do every summer.   The arrival of the four of them, including his 7 year old son and four year old daughter transforms our usually quiet house, and even quieter routine, the minute they arrive.

There is very little time for working on the campaign, and even less for wargaming the battles.   Our two grandchildren, like most young children, are full on and wear us out. 

This morning they all left early for the drive to Alicante airport and the flight back to UK.   The shock of their departure, and the overwhelming quiet of the house, is even more difficult to adjust to than their arrival.   We have spent the morning returning the house to its normal appearance.   Ornaments are back on the shelves and containers filled with holiday toys. 

But the silence is overpowering.   We are off to Calpe, our nearest coastal town, for a taste of hustle and bustle and to get away from the silence of the house.   No doubt by tomorrow we will have settled back into our comfortable routine and forgotten the enjoyable chaos of the past two weeks.

And if that proves difficult to adjust to, there is always Christmas with the family to look forward to.