The Toys Of Castle Argghhh!

I got to spend some quality time with John Donovan, lord and master of Castle Argghhh!, and his wife Beth yesterday. It was great to get to spend some time with such fine people. Along with wonderful hospitality, I was treated to a tour of John's toy room, which is incredible. For anyone who is a collector of militaria wondering if they should be jealous of John's collection, just defer to John without argument. He wins. No doubt.

I saw things that I had never seen before. Ever seen a "fencing musket" before? I have. Very innovative bit of kit, that. I would have to say that if the end goal in life is to have lots of toys, John's in the running. If it's judged by weight, he's right in there, too. I don't think that I've ever met anyone who was so undeterred by the mass of a collectible item.

The highlight was the gun salute fired with a Winchester Signal Cannon. Very nice. The steak was great, too... but not nearly as loud.

In any case, as well as being an accomplished blogger, veteran and Rotarian, John is one of the most knowledgeable people I have ever met concerning a wide range of subjects. He not only owns some really neat toys, but he can explain each of them in detail. He's not just knowledgeable, but reasoned as well. It was a treat to hear both of their opinions on a wide range of subjects.

In the blogosphere we are often on our own. It's not like we have club meetings every week or anything. Getting the chance to share blogging with someone who does something similar (I don't think many of us do exactly the same thing as anyone else,) is a good thing.

I'm glad I had a chance to meet them. The world just keeps getting smaller.


I almost forgot that John's Unicorn Watch has finally borne fruit. Last evening John and Beth found the promised unicorn. Details and photographs at John's site.