4 days in Malaga

I was very fortunate to go on a long weekend to Malaga, with my (almost lifelong) friend, Jim, who used to live there and so knew how to find the real city that many tourists miss. 

It felt like we went on the opposite of a 'lads weekend' because we actively avoided the tourist trap bars full of other holidaymakers. Our main focus was going to watch Malaga FC play a home game. We booked some extra days either side of matchday just in case the game time changed - and then it got scheduled for late on the Sunday evening. 

So we did some tourism stuff. The extra days gave us time for plenty of sightseeing and tapas. One of the main sights to see in Malaga is the Alcazaba Castle. We then climbed the hill behind Alcazaba to the Gibralfaro Castle on the top. The views across the city were incredible. 

We could see the football ground in the distance too!

We saw the beach

And the lighthouse in the port

Went to the Picasso Museum

And the Cathedral

Had delicious seco at Picasso's favourite bar, which serves fortified wine from barrels and has authentic sticky floors

Had churros at Casa Aranda

Were entertained by chatterbox parakeets in the park. They were in raucous nest-building mode.

The parakeets avoided the free-range cactus

And most of all just enjoyed walking round and discovering stuff!

I've got to say a big thank you to Jim for being such a great guide, sorting out so much of the travel admin, and being a patient translator when I asked him what some random words meant! Both of us felt sad when the trip drew to a close and we had to head out to the airport. At least we got to ride on a train before getting on a plane!

Pancake date

For Pancake Day, Cathy and I went out for pancakes. I took an awkward selfie showing us with our pancakes.

Blood Bowl night of horrors

As it was Friday the 13th, I decided to debut my Necromantic Horrors team (boosted by a werewolf star player that I built a few days ago). I also debuted my Blood Bowl themed t-shirt that Bryan and Elaine got me for Christmas.

The phrase "Nuffle giveth and Nuffle taketh away" was very apt as my team of zombies, ghouls, golem, werewolves and wraiths started strong, putting two opponents into the casualty box. But gradually the game turned towards the lizard-men, who had star player Anqi Panqi making a debut for them. And my dice rolls couldn't keep up. (And, truthfully, my tactical understanding of the necromantic team was very poor.)

The necromantic team benefits from most players having the "regeneration" skill. This gives a coach a 50/50 chance of a player avoiding becoming a casualty and missing the rest of the game. A number of players were saved this way but the body count was so high, regeneration couldn't save everyone!

On top of that I was soon a haunted bedsheet down when one of my wraiths got sent off for trying to foul an opponent. To make matters worse, I tried to "argue the call", rolled a 1, and got ejected from the ground.

The Lizard-men went ahead towards the end of the first half, a skink making an extra dashing yard to score. 

Anqi Panqi didn't do very much on his debut for the lizards, but Roxy the Kroxigor bossed the midfield, making two successful blitzes and also carrying the ball for several yards before a team-mate fumbled receiving the ball from her. 

That loose ball proved crucial, as one of my werewolves, who was back on after regenerating, got hold of the ball and charged downfield.  Despite being surrounded by three players at one point, the lycanthrope managed to score a very unlikely equaliser on the penultimate turn!

So the final score was 1-1, which I almost felt embarrassed about, it was so undeserved. 

Album of the Month: The HU, Rumble of Thunder

Another band I discovered through Planet Rock and another CD I got for Christmas. The song I heard was their cover of Iron Maiden's The Trooper, which caught my ear. Sometimes I can tell from just one song that I'm going to like a band. I added the album to my wishlist even though The Trooper wasn't on there. It was a gamble that paid off.

The HU are Mongolian. They formed after heavy metal music was legalised in Mongolia, only a few years ago. Rather than trying to ape Western metal, they use electric versions of traditional Mongolian musical instruments combined with Mongolian throat singing, which works well in the metal genre. There are pictures of the trad instruments made metal in the CD booklet.

They also sing most of their songs in Mongolian, which I also like about them. I admire their authenticity as they try to make heavy metal that reflects their Mongolian culture, instead of just copying a narrow version of "metal" as it has developed in the UK and USA. 

As a fan of physical format media, I was very pleased with the bonus trading cards of the band members that came with the CD. You don't get this sort of thing when you just ask your smart speaker to play something. It was a nice surprise to discover them when I opened the CD. 

On the backs it gives the instrument the band member plays.

Musically, several tracks are quite nicely heavy. They tend to be up-tempo and almost aggressive. But Triangle is brilliantly melodic, while Mother Nature is a soft piece, befitting it's topic. 

This is the deluxe CD with three bonus versions of tracks that include guest artists singing lyrics in English. I didn't feel that added much and preferred the Mongolian original versions, but it's good to see artists like William Duvall (Alice in Chains) and Serj Tankian (System of a Down) embracing the HU and working with them.

Details

Year of release: 2023

Tracks: 15 (including 3 bonus tracks woth guest musicians singing English lyrics)

Favourite track: Triangle - this regularly gets repeated when I play the CD in the car

Tracks to skip: clicking in at 8 minutes and 59 seconds, Black Thunder is a bit long. 

Boostin' the rosters - a Blood Bowl update

A while back I bought a couple of Blood Bowl star players, and with a possible debut for my 'necromantic horrors' team this month, I've gone on and built these characters. 

So say hello to wicked werewolf, Wilhelm Chaney, and giant lizard player, Anqi Panqi. 

Anqi is a fearsome-looking dude in a dinosaur skull helmet. He was a fun build and will probably be a pain to paint.

Wilhelm is a very dynamic sculpt. I found affixing his tail difficult and I suspect it may come off if he gets knocked over in a game.

I do like how Wilhelm's stats include how many balls he's buried.

Meanwhile, Anqi keeps getting in trouble for saying stuff in post-match interviews. Probably lewd stuff if his awards for innuendos are any indication. But, then his name is Anqi Panqi, so what else could we really expect?

These resin models require superglue and are fiddly, resulting in a condition I call "superglue fingers". I'm hoping the coating will wear off by match day!