40 for 40: September

 This month, some things have ground to a halt – not surprising, given the new term and various birthday celebrations. Speaking of which:

Weight

Target weight loss: 210lbs. Current weight: 234lbs. Weight lost this month: -2lbs.

I cut myself some slack this month because of my birthday, which was always going to be punctuated with big meals and lots of cake. After all, I’m only having one 40^th birthday! But I’m back on the exercise now and eating a little better, so that should help.

Board Games

This month: 0. Total so far: 50

I received some games for my birthday this year, and we’ve played some of them – but they were Flip 7 and Alibis, both of which I’ve played before at various events in the year. Nonetheless, we had a good time with both, and I’m already past my goal for playing 40 board games in the year so it wasn’t a priority.

Gigs

This month: 3. Total so far: 29

The first two of three gigs I played this month were on the same day, and in the same place: Codfest 2025, where I was playing bass with Sam Draisey and the Revolt. This was an interesting gig; due to time constraints, we cut the first two songs we usually open the set with. It worked, and I think there is something to be said for the idea of managing without some of the things that afford stability. Still, I doubt the Play Doh song will ever be dropped, no matter how much we achieve! The other was an open mic at the same venue run by Mick Brigdale, and it’s always a pleasure to play for him. It’s stationed on the way to the festival as you’re going in, so we’re hardly the highlight of the day, but it’s great to give it a go.

I also played an open mic at the Chindit last Sunday; I’ve done this a few times now and it’s always a nice night. Unusually for an open mic, I had a slightly longer set than I expected, and when I was asked to carry on after I thought I’d finished, I got about halfway through announcing a comedy song when Kirsty – who, owing to her drama training, is a lot better at reading the room than I am – warned me off. It’s good to have those perspectives!

Video Games

This month: 2. Total so far: 14

I anticipated reaching the end of Samurai Warriors 5 quickly last month, and I managed it with little difficulty; it’s not a hard game. There are a few extra modes to beat if I want to give it a go, but by then, I was ready for the game to be over, so I was happy to move on.

The other game was Dragon’s Crown Pro. This was an unusual experience for me in that I was on a time limit; it was on PS+ until my birthday, funnily enough – I had until then to beat it. I managed it, it’s not particularly long and as a side-scrolling beat’em-up reminiscent of Golden Axe and Streets of Rage that I used to play, it’s really good. The art style is beautiful, if a little over-sexualised, the gameplay is slick, and there’s just enough plot to keep it interesting for the roughly 12 hours it takes to finish the main story mode – there is some post-game content, but unless it comes back to PS+, I won’t be experiencing that!

Models Painted

This month: 0. Total so far: 55

You may remember from last month I was struggling to get through a Blood Bowl Human Team. I’m still working on them. Slowly.

The problem is that I’m trying to paint all twelve players at once. It’s not impossible; I do this regularly with my Tyranids, but they rely on a rapid paint style that works for them and wouldn’t work with the Blood Bowl team. As it stands, putting even one layer of paint on them takes a decent amount of time, which for a variety of reasons, I just haven’t had. Still, I’m closer now than I was before, so let’s see where next month takes us.