Sunday 25 October 2020

A Welcome Retreat

Sometime between 0830 and 1400 hours on Tuesday 27 October (NZDST) and again between 1400 and 1800 hours on Sunday 1 November two strange events will affect our world (although many may be thinking just how much stranger things can get in the world at the moment). This strangeness might manifest itself as simply as a picture frame tilting on a wall, the weather might abruptly change, water in fish tanks and swimming pools may slosh about, and shelves may tip or sway - it might be wise to secure delicate and valuable objects.

And what, you ask, is this phenomenon? The answer is simply that the centre of gravity of the earth is about to shift. It has happened every year over the last 36 years, although never on the same day, and in extreme cases tsunamis may result, crops may fail, governments have been known to change and global warming can weaken or intensify.

The root cause of all of this is a group of wargamers making their annual pilgrimage to Lake Tarawera for a wargames retreat. This sudden movement of several thousand metal figures, buildings, model trees, bottles of wine, beer, aperitifs and food causes the earth to tilt on its axis.

Given the tumultuous times we live in I am not sure that any of us really believed that this event, that we eagerly await every year, would happen this year.

We are fortunate in that we live in a country we have managed to keep COVID pretty much under control, thanks to our small population and that as an island nation separated from our nearest neighbour by more than 1000 km we are able to secure our borders. It is hard for me to imagine just how difficult things are for readers in countries facing the second wave.

Still we are not immune to the economic impact of the pandemic with tourism, one of our largest industries, decimated. My employer, heavily dependent on tourism, has layed off 4,500 of its 12,000 staff and many more of us have voluntarily reduced hours. The impact of all of this on mental health by way of stress and anxiety cannot be underestimated and is plainly obvious on the faces and in the actions of work colleagues. 

I must admit that when last week it looked like a new cluster of infection was developing and another lockdown seemed possible, my heart sank. But now as that possibility begins to fade I am incredibly  grateful to our host for making possible five days of gaming in the company of good friends.

So be ready for that gravitational shift and if you listen carefully you may just hear that ”YAHOOOOOO” that will be emanating from my car as I get under way.

20 comments:

  1. Have fun, Mark! I look forward to your reports from the front.

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  2. Well let's hope you all get away for your gaming get-together and whilst there, the World doesn't shift off its axis too much. Have fun and for those of us facing varying degrees of second wave lockdown, I can safely say we are all jealous!

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    1. We have been remarkably lucky to retain some degree of freedom. Hopefully we can sustain it.

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  3. Glad to hear you are keeping well , here in the UK we trundle from one farce to another lead by clowns - I envy your politicians .

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    1. We have had our problems with politicians - we have just come through a general election x but thankfully the border controls have been generally effective.

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  4. Nice post Mark...I have plans for something similar including a few pics of the lead being repositioned southwards. We HAVE been lucky with Covid but as the Good Soldier Svjek infers above, our government and their policies have been part of our luck..we could have tried to carry on letting in tourists etc, to protect the economy and if we had, I don't think we would be going to Tarawera tomorrow!

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    1. I think we did remarkably well at containment. The politicians will take the credit, but unquestionably the real heroes are the Ministry of Health staff who managed the contract tracing that, although not perfect, is a damned sight more effective than some places where they have given up trying to contain and are just managing the damage.

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  5. Jealous...me!
    Damn straight....

    Have a splendid time sir.

    All the best. Aly

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    1. And yet in a way you will be there...the first game off the rank is a large Crimean War game with close to 2000 figures - 80-90% of which are your designs!

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  6. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! Our 3 man Fridays are always a joy.

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    1. That first beer will be a mark of celebration!

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  7. This will be great, and I can't wait to hear the reports. I know what you mean about the clusters cropping up here and there, and we were on a knife's edge forty or so days ago. I was initially a little sceptical at how containment morphed into elimination, but looking at how quickly it can get out of control again I'm not sure there is another way until we get a vaccine.

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    1. I am not convinced about a vaccine...they still don’t have one fir SARS yet and that was eleven years ago.

      What was so alarming about our last cluster here was that the infection carried by one member of an evangelical church group exploded to around 200 cases in less than a week.

      I listened to a radio report about the situation in Taiwan where in a population of 23 million they have had 550 infections and 7 deaths. They clearly have an understanding of what is required go handle this, but they aren’t recognised by the UN so much of their success is not reported by the WHO.

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    2. I suspect we will get a vaccine that is only around 80% effective, and with a few unforeseen nasty side-effects for some parts of the population. With hindsight now I can understand the nervousness around SARS and can remember all the precautions we had to go through especially in places like Singapore. I was quite blase about it at the time and thought it was a slight over-reaction but we were obviously very lucky that the worst of it mutated away.

      Yes, I don't think the WHO has covered themselves in glory on this one and this is one area where I agree with the basis of Trump's argument. I remember at the time scratching my head at the WHO's reluctance to call it a pandemic because it hadn't at the time spread to enough continents when it was clearly only a matter of time and wondering why, as the peak world health organisation, they weren't trying to get out in front of it. I don't think it would have made much difference given the reluctance of some countries to address the virus head on, but it would have made some difference. I believe the WHO does some great work elsewhere, particularly in places like Africa and with issues like ebola where the politics doesn't matter, but they let themselves down severely over COVID-19.

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  8. I think everyone will be looking for lots of photos and commentary Mark.We will need to live vicariously through the Kiwi effort.

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    1. I think between Keith and myself we will manage a few (hundred) photos!

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  9. A week of gaming seriously jealous... Don't quite have the guts to suggest it to my good lady :-)
    Have a great time.
    Cheers
    Stu

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    1. Thanks Stu, although a family illness has caused some issues and I may not make it down for all of the games, if at all.

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