My March 2026 round up

March kicked off on St David's Day and I went to the celebratory parade in the city centre. The parade finished in Cardiff Castle, where I got a pic of this handsome Draig Goch.

I've been busy on the blog again this month. My book of the Month was A History of Wales, my album of the month was by Garbage, and I even posted a throwback snack of the month too. Meanwhile my monthly Blood Bowl game was a Battle of the Undead (!) and we battled away while munching on Easter Crisps.

It was another month with lots of traveling. I had a work trip to London where I got to see the new workwear: fleece tops (just in time for summer!)

It had been a while since my last trip to London and the Paddington Bear Shop in Paddington Station has a big Lego model in the window now. It's really nicely done.

I went to Shrewsbury and spent (most of) Mother's Day with my mother. We got her a 6-player version of her favorite game, Rummikub.

Me and mum also went out on the Saturday night as it was Mother's Day Eve. It was also Pi Day (3/14) and I had a pie. (But I ate the pie without taking a pic. Social media fail!)

At the end of the month, we were back in Shropshire for a few days. We took a ride on the Bridgnorth cliff railway for notalgia's sake. We also went to a birds of prey centre and a couple of football matches.

It's been a mixed month on the political campaigning front. One of the Plaid Cymru candidates in our area stepped down from the election race. On a more positive note, I completed all the stations in our constituency when we went to Cathays on the last Thursday of March.

We also had canvassing sessions in various bits of Cardiff, including Butetown where we were joined by Plaid Cymru's leader, Rhun ap Iorweth. I got a selfie with him.

Butetown

Plasdwr

Cathays station

While out canvassing I also saw this defiance against the fun police!

Cathy and I had a couple of cinema outings. We went to Cardiff Bay to see the new Disney Pixar film, Hoppers. We enjoyed it.

And on our trip to Shropshire, we went to a vintage OG cinema in Bridgnorth and watched The Magic Faraway Tree. We both liked it, and the cinema. I particularly liked this big M&M in the lobby:

I had a decent month of football, getting to 6 games. That included watching Shrewsbury Town play Cheltenham in the company of my brother and our friend Kate.  On the way in, Kate and I worked out we have been friends for over 30 years. 

Later in the month I hit some Futbology milestones at 3 games in a row, including game number 650 at Cardiff Dracs and stadium number 150 in the very next game when I saw Ludlow Town. 

I was the only Futbology user to check in at Ludlow - but I wasn't there on my tod. I had the real pleasure of Cathy's company at the game.

And then on the 31st March, I made it three games in a row with a Futbology milestone badge, when I collected two at AFC Bridgnorth!

The ground in Bridgnorth hasn't changed in the 30+ years since I used to go there with my Dad. It still has the slope and the tea bar. It was a very nostalgic evening for me, and Bridgnorth won!

Futbology triple whammy

Last week I blogged about getting a badge for my 650th game logged on Futbology. What I didn't expect was for my next game to be a milestone badge as well - with Ludlow Town's stadium becoming my 150th football ground.

A couple of days later and I went to watch AFC Bridgnorth v Chelmsley Town. Back in the 90s I used to go and watch Bridgnorth Town - the previous iteration of AFC Bridgnorth - with my Dad. More than 30 years later I hit two milestones at Crown Meadow - 10 matches there and 10 matches with Bridgnorth's main football club in both its guises.

Purists might say that AFC Bridgnorth and Bridgnorth Town aren't the same team, but I don't care. It's my list and I'm counting it as 10 games!

I think this is the first time I've had milestone badges at 3 games in a row. Which make me a happy football nerd.

Riding Shropshire's randomest railway

We took a trip to Bridgnorth, and as is tradition when taking a trip to Bridgnorth, we took a ride on the cliff railway.

Not gonna lie, I love this quirky Victorian mechanical survivor. It connected the 'high town' at the top of the cliff with the 'low town' river wharfs by the bridge with it's funicular runway. 

It's unique in being the only inland cliff railway in Britain. It's also the steepest incline of any British cliff railway. A real niche one of a kind gem tucked away in a back street in Bridgnorth.

You get a view too!

Unexpected book on the charity shop bookshelf

Seriously, would anyone expect this?

(Edit: it's a Monty Python related gag! I realise I am old and my comedy references are also old.)

Futbology milestone

Last night I went to one of the worst local stadia to watch a game, in vile weather. Happily though, Cardiff Draconians won, making this a great game to hit a Futbology milestone!

How bad was the venue and the weather? This bad:

Easter crisps

Bryan bought these for us to snack on while we were playing Blood Bowl this month. (Read my match report)

Easter is the really big chocolate holiday and, it turns out, crisps can be chocolatey too. The cocoa flavouring on these made them look like the much-missed Bovril flavour crisps of yore, but they tasted like chocolate before a mild spicy tang kicked in. There is a potato aftertaste as well. 

Although we both liked them, Bryan and I agreed that we didn't want to eat too many of them in one go. But these would be an ideal snack for chocoholic friends.

Battle of the Undead - Blood Bowl match report

An exciting double debut in mine and Bryan's monthly Blood Bowl match up - a brand new team, the Tomb Kings, and a first use of the new Season 3 rules! The main new rule we used was 'Secure the Ball', which means any player can pick up the ball as long as they don't roll a 1 on the dice.

The Tomb Kings seemed like an easy-to-play, fairly average team on their debut. The team's players are undead players from an Egyptian style necropolis. Their big guys, the Tomb Guardians, are very strong, but overall the team felt a bit under-powered, except for their throwers.

I was playing the Necromantic Horrors team that I debuted last month. They were boosted by a star player called Wilhelm Chaney, but he didn't really do very much. 

The first half was chaotic, and we ended up with the line of scrimmage pivoting 90 degrees and just a general mass brawl. 

One of my werewolves eventually got free and made a dash for the end zone. He was one yard away from scoring and needed to roll for an extra yard. The dice betrayed him and he fell over, with the ball rolling into the end zone.

Bryan couldn't get his players near enough to thwart the score and on my next turn, Wolfie stood up, moved one space, secured the ball and scored. 

The second half was more mayhem. Eventually I scored a second down following an incredible passage of play, failed dice rolls, fumbles and pure dumb luck!

Bryan was setting up for a pass downfield but went for one more block before he did so. He rolled double skulls, ending his go. My werewolf then blitzed his ball carrier, the ball bounced to two of his players who failed their rolls to take possession of it, before landing on one of my flesh golems.

The golem picked it up, provided a hand-off to the ghoul next to it, which rolled two agility rolls to a) collect the ball, and b) escape the grasp of another player and sprint free. The second agility roll needed to be rolled twice, which it could do because it had the Dodge skill. Then it ran into the end zone.

That proved to be the final score of the game, as there were only two turns left. 

Final Score: Tomb King 0-2 Necromantic Horrors. The weirdos win the Battle of the Undead! 

Purchasing another part 1 of a partwork

That time of year again, when a Games Workshop partwork starts. I've bought a few of these over the years as they're a fun way to get some really cheap models and sometimes other things like paint. I've assembled a small Space Marine squad off previous partworks.

This year it's olde worlde Warhammer getting the partwork treatment, with some pieces from the 'Spearhead' sets attached every week. 

I don't know much about "Spearhead" as a game concept. They are basically small complete armies that you can use for combat games. 

I bought this because the figures on the front included two skaven figures. I know the skaven are meant to be plague-ridden giant rats, but I have a soft spot for them.

The figures are push-fit meaning no glue is necessary, although I can't imagine getting the pieces off the sprue without a set of clippers. Despite being push-fit, the figures were very detailed. 

The two skaven figures are a 'Grey seer', which is a skaven priest-shaman, and a 'warlock engineer' who comes with a telescope and is leaning on a rudimentary musket.

The grey seer is standing on a ruined plague bell, with rats emerging from it. Ordinary rats often join in with skaven attacks.

The engineer with the wonky eye-glass is probably my favourite figure. It must act more like a periscope than a telescope.

The other main figure is a 'Lord Veritant' who comes with a small, vicious pet called a 'gryphcrow'. It's a small gryphon. 

I found the Lord Veritant harder to put together than the skaven figures. The flaming brazier piece was painful, as the two halves had sharp points on them. Those are unhelpful in a push-fit model.

The Lord Veritant is one of the 'Stormcast Eternals' who descend from heaven to rid the world of evil creatures like the skaven. I like the gryph-crow, but am less keen on the vanquishing angels. Team skaven for me.

Having both figures and some dice in the first pack means that the purchaser can start playing micro combat games straight away. (If they have time or inclination. Truthfully, I have neither.)

I tend to only get the first part of a partwork like this because it tends to be the most bargainous issue. Although, according to the back of the packet, you can get three rat ogres attached to part 2, which is more expensive than part 1, but cheaper than buying the figures normally. I could add a rat ogre to my skaven Blood Bowl team, so I could maybe give one a makeover and fashion him some Blood Bowl armour.