Monday, 25 October 2010

And Then There Were Three

SL376226Three what? you may ask. 3 games last monday at the Grimsby Wargames Society.

As you can see left, there was an English Civil War game between Mark Temperton and Mark Alcock. I suspect that Mark won…..

 

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Mike Barnatt, Ron Skeet, James, Dave Tuck and Steve Mercer playing a game of WW2 Russians v Germans using the Blitzkrieg Commander rules.

 

 

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Andy Hamilton (left) and Mal Taylor playing a game of Pirates.

 

 

 

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Mal Taylor’s Pirate Ship. Mal shivered Andy’s timbers because he got the treasure me hearties! 

Steve Walker was also there on another table as he had brought his 15mm WW2 Germans and Romans along for Malc Johnston to do a photoshoot for the new “Official” club website at http://grimsbywargamessociety.webs.com

Malc unfortunately could not make it that night. Steve however didnt mind myeslf taking some photos of his figures. His photos will be my next post……

Friday, 15 October 2010

Blog Action Day 2010: Water

Tapwater

(Photo left by Steven Chisholm).

To be honest when first thinking about this topic for Blog Action Day I was a little stumped. Stumped until I started looking more into the issue of water.

It was then it became clear to me that, like most people, I was taking the water I drank on a regular basis for granted.

Another surprising fact leapt out the web pages about water I was viewing….The amount of water available to the human race for consumption is very limited.

And this is why we take the water we drink and use for washing etc for granted:

Hungary toxic flood

(Photo left by Greenpeace International)

Pollution causes death and disease and renders water undrinkable. It destroys wildlife and habitation.

The photo is from the recent Hungary toxic sludge disaster in which the sludge not only killed people but did damage to property, the ground soil and local rivers. It reached the Danube and all life in the Marcal river, which feeds the famous Danube river, is said to have been wiped out.

Cambodia 2010-SP0_2715

(Photo left by Carl Lacasse)

Almost a billion people on this planet do not have access to clean drinking water. In some nations such as Africa, women may have to walk for miles to obtain any water and even then it may not be drinkable.

In July 2010 the United Nations declared access to clean water and sanitation a Human Right. Those people who are not getting both of those are therefore being denied their human rights.

Thick sludge sits on top of the sea between the houses

(Photo by Leone Fabre)

Lack of water, sanitation and hygiene leads to diseases.

Diarrhoea and worm infestations follow as a lack of these basics we take for granted.

For those unfortunate to live in such unhygienic conditions, illness can result in death.

 

 

Bottled Water causes a terrible amount of waste mainly due to the amount of plastic left over after the water has been drunk.

Most plastic water bottles cannot be recycled and end up as litter. I actually recycle plastic bottles, some from bottled water, being a drinker of bottled water myself. No more drinking of bottled water for me.

It’d be easier to drink tap water…and less waste would result…

In many countries water is hard to come by and clean water is even scarcer. Appreciate the water you have by not wasting it! Follow this link for some water saving tips. 

If you are interested in reading more about water including droughts and flooding, you should read the Guardian’s Newspaper Environmental Section which includes stories and information on the subject.  

Tuesday, 12 October 2010

Blog Action Day on October 15th 2010

Hey,
I wanted to let you know about an important online event I'm taking part in on October 15th, called Blog Action Day. Each year bloggers from more than 100 countries come together and blog about a single important issue, and this year's topic is clean water. The event includes thousands of blogs - including the White House blog and The Official Google Blog - and they're looking for as many blogs to participate as possible, regardless of their size and focus.
I hope you'll think about joining me for this event. If you want more information, check out the Blog Action Day site at http://blogactionday.change.org/.
Hope to see your post on the 15th!