Friends, as I look around our wargaming world, I am reminded of a line in the film The Last Place on Earth, in which the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, having reached the South Pole, hands out cigars to his comrades and says, "How good it is to be alive!" Consider our good fortune: Campaign Eckmuhl and Napoleon's Russian Campaign have been released, with the promise of more to come from HPS; talented amateurs are turning out high-quality variants and scenarios faster than they can be played; vigorous competition and good fellowship abound among our ranks, with a small stream of new comrades stepping up alongside the grognards. A good time for your Editor personally, as well: Did I mention that my series of battlefield photo-essays on The Campaign in Italy, 1796-97 won the "Best of the Napoleon Series" award for 2001 on http://www.napoleon-series.org? Ahem, ahem.
Among the good things to be enjoyed, I encourage you all to seek out opportunities for face-to-face meetings with fellow NWC members. E-mail is a fine medium, but is richly supplemented by even a few minutes of direct conversation. I was fortunate enough to be among the seven NWC stalwarts who gathered at the International Napoleonic Fair in London on 17 February, 2002. Let the pictures tell the story:
Left to Right: Malcolm Cumberlidge, Ian Travers, Tim Goodwin, Greg Morgan, and Tony Dobson at the International Napoleonic Fair, London, 17 February 2002
The same crew: Take 2!
L'Armée du Nord: Capitaine Malcolm Cumberlidge, Colonel Bill Peterson (singing La Marseillaise), Colonel Greg Morgan
Capitaine Cumberlidge, Colonel Peterson (not singing, Dieu soit loué!), Colonel Morgan
L'Armée du Rhin: Colonel Mark Eason. Like the AdR Dispatches often do, Colonel Eason arrived late for the photo session...