I’ve not posted anything for a while for two reasons. One was a holiday in Croatia, the highlight of which, in this strange twisted mind set that the ancient walled city of Dubrovnik instills in a certain kind of person like me, was a day kayaking around and about King’s Landing! Never mind the fact that this beautiful and ancient city on the Adriatic is steeped in real history, it was, I have to admit, the Game of Thrones link that really got me excited. ( if you ever go there, then do use this walking guide Walking Guide To Dubrovnik's Game of Thrones) - plus do go kayaking!

The second reason was not so much fun - my elderly mother fell over in the night (on her 88th birthday as well to add insult to injury), and ended up in hospital for a week, and still can’t walk properly, so we have been driving the 60 mile round trip fairly regularly, or staying up there as needs be. This did get me thinking about what you do when someone can’t come in. It’s probably a bigger issue for small rooms that are just starting out, in that it can be very difficult to find someone at short notice.

The other day I was having quite a substantial late brunch - I’d been out to my allotment digging stuff up, worked up a bit of appetite, enough to justify eggs, bacon, fried bread*. I knew I was hosting a few games the next that evening to fill in for another GM who’d had to be elsewhere at short notice because of family illness, but in looking at the rota I saw that that same person was rostered to work the afternoon as well. To cut this story short, with only 30 mins before the first game I packed me and my bacon and egg and fried bread sandwich into a taxi and made it to the venue to run the first session.

That was OK - we’re a supportive bunch, so I was both surprised and delighted to get a bottle of good champagne delivered to my doorstep a few days later. I’m posting the story here because it’s great to work for a good company (HandmadeMysteries btw), and it’s a great reminder about remembering to treat your GM’s well!

*Fried bread - for those who don’t know, think white bread soaked in and fried in bacon fat (although you often need some extra oil) to make a crisp gourmet fat fest.