Ross Fisher

A lovely build. The boat does look very Viking though, was that intentional? Or am I misreading it?

Ah, magnifique! Thankyou so much for this!

Thanks! I'm really enjoying writing this storyline. It's got a great combination of humour and pathos. Really speaks to my own personal outlook.

What happens next! I thought his train of thought got cut short by an explosion! Seriously though, I'm loving it. Wishing you the luck of the day!

At last things were starting to fall into place! Beauchamp's strategy seemed to have the approval of the redcoats, and the interest of the greenbacks. Now was the time to put it all into action. As Hercule looked back over the column, a frown crossed his face. It wasn't like last time; fighting on his own soil, against a familiar old foe. No! Now they were facing strangers, on a strange shore. Shoulder to shoulder with horse-eaters and night-cappers. What a world we live in. Where now were those gallant heroes of the Juniper Groves? Those brave young bastards with fire in their bellies, and powder on their lips. They were gone. Over the hills or under them. And all that was left was one old soldier, trading on long-spent victories. He waved to his aide; another bright young thing with mustard on his mutton. "Signal the men into position." He muttered quietly. "Oui Général." Was the curt reply. And what an army they were! Colonials, Tribals and Nuns. Untried, untested, unready. Jules claimed they had fought and won battles before. But what does a priest know of battle? He waved Georges over. "Let's have something with a bit of body behind it, shall we?" "The Chateau Marôt, perhaps?" offered the chef. "Uh, yes. Yes I suppose that will do." The man disappeared back to his wagon to find the relevant crate. "You intend to drink your way through the battle?" asked Jules, all snide superiority. As usual. "We each have our own little ways of coping. Mine has served me well." "Just be sure you're sensible to the needs of your troops, brother." "In my experience, Jules, once you point your men at the enemy, they either take care of themselves, or they don't. Either way, my drinking isn't going to change that." The Bishop just huffed, and grumbled back to his own people. But what did that matter? It wasn't like bows and spears were likely to affect the outcome of this battle, anyway. "De la Tour?" He called. "Oui Général?" Came the young man, trotting up. "Unfurl the colours. Remind everyone who the greatest warriors on this battlefield are." "Oui Général!" He replied, happy and willing. Dragoons. Now that was a modern man's soldier. None of this 'irregular' nonsense. He looked along the line at all those tense, expectant blues. It was certainly something. "Men of Oleon!" He roared, his voice carrying back all the way to the artillery. "I know you can gut this cowardly enemy and wipe them from this isle! But now I want you to prove it to me! Pour le roi!" The deafening roar of the reply startled his horse, but it brought a smile to his face. The old soldier drew his sabre and prepared to fight his final battle. Little did he know that at that very moment his king and master had put the final flourish on the paperwork that would confer his family the greatest title they had ever held. Their crowning achievement. And at the same moment, a young woman in the village beyond the walls of the Chateau Guemain was delivered of a son. Hercule the Younger was a delight to his tired mother, and met with the approval of his calculating aunt. Things were all falling into place.

Actually, it's very apt for the setting. One of the reasons Nelson was so popular in his own time is that every time he won a victory, he spent loads of his own money on publishing pamphlets and distributing them to the public. Thanks so much for organising this! Now to earn the next one!

Thanks everyone for your kind words! I'm very happy with your responses. I'd be very happy to see other people having a go at adding to the Pigeon Post. I also like the idea that builds can fit a category without being the most obvious thing you think about when you hear that subject. I'd be interested to see some wild interpretations.

Very good spot!

Classy as always. Hope your lug enjoyed it!

Back on Terraversa, an entrepreneurial veteran Legionnaire has set up a dovecot. Homing pigeons return to the island they were raised on. They can carry information and ideas across miles of open sea even quicker than a ship, and with far less risk. Suddenly, information gathered at places like Lloyd's of Londa of Kingsport can now be used by all kinds of people.

Ahhhh, a fantastic build. As always, the lighting is perfect

mmmm, send in the heavies!

Good build, good story. My favourite fact about the guillotine is that the last time one was used was after the first star wars film was released.

Very stylish.

Unsubstantiated rumours! But the build is lovely. Works well in both lightings.

Really nicely done! And I salute the decision to include a section of the settlement wall.

Ah lovely. Nicely done

Just to really confuse things, I think I've done this the wrong way round. Last time I applied for a promotion to Marquis because I'd missed a year, worked my butt off, and built a royal property, which was one of the requirements. This time round I applied for a promotion to Comte, which is the rank below, and was probably technically what was awarded last year. So yeah, I'm *actually* applying for the higher rank, but I missed doing the "Comte" storyline last time, so I'm doing that now. Go on, make the Bish an Arch!

Nice story!

Ah, nice work. Where do you park the horses when they're not in use?

I got this one from Wikipedia. Everything there is shown under creative commons. Not an issue at all. Plus, the way Eurobricks works, we're only linking to the original content. The content owners could simply take it down if they didn't want it used elsewhere.

Ah, I love it! This is going in the Bishop's biography. Here's the original artwork for anyone interested:

Speedys was always closed when I went to the pub. It's looking a bit scraggly now...

I love the reference to Speedy's. London AFOLs used to meet in a pub behind the real version.