KeepYourPowderDry has made it to 8!

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Happy bloggiversary*! 8 today. Cue elderly relative asking how it feels to be 8.

Jings and crivens, never thought I'd be able to keep this up. This year saw the blog clock up over 1 million views, and receive its 500th post. Both statistics I find slightly bonkers.

Just checking the 'supplies' for the KeepYourPowderDry bloggiversary party

This year has seen a big jump in views, just shy of 400k in 12 months.

The top 20 performing posts list makes interesting reading: five of my coat colours in the top 10 (this year sees the Royalist post out performing the Parliamentarian post for the first time); my Epic posts and Which Figures posts also continue to be viewed a lot. Good to see some ECWtravelogue posts rounding the top 20 out too. Best performing 2025 post was my Irish Catholic Confederacy command.

This year's blogging highlights:

Amusingly someone plagiarised my blog and then tried to 'internet-one-up' me using my research. They were quite rude, then went silent when I pointed out that I wrote the text they were using. Made me chuckle.

I still feel very proud when seeing someone out and about following my directions for battlefield (which is usually Naseby), as does receiving 'thank yous' from self guided visitors who haven't got hopelessly lost. (My Naseby guide comes in at #5 in the top 20 posts of the year, hopefully everyone made it back home and nobody is still lost somewhere near Sulby Hedges.)

This year has seen a significant step forward with the, now inappropriately named, ECW travelogue, pretty much 'ticking' all of Scotland. My working map of places to visit is getting more and more 'blank' areas. Hopefully next year will see some good inroads made into the south west of England.

Regular readers (who must now number in the 20s) will be familiar with my annual statement of doom:  'I think I've run out of things to write about'. Well clearly I haven't, because I'm still clearly churning stuff out.

Once upon a time I posted whenever something popped into my head (which was often), then weekly, and for the past year or so bi-weekly. Going forward I expect a return to 'whenever something pops into my head', which will translate as 'not very often'. Expect ECWtravelogue updates, book and rules reviews, and maybe a rewrite of some much older posts. I've pretty much run out of stuff to paint, and places to store it (Napoleonic figures don't count, as there is absolutely no joy to be found painting them).

Now it is time to for my annual thank you list. To everyone who has linked to the blog, generally said nice things about it, or supported it via Buymeacoffee, my nearest and dearest who continue to tolerate 'whilst we are near, can we...' - thank you! Without you all, the blog wouldn't be what it is.

Here's to another year.

* still haven't decided upon how to spell this portmanteau, should it be one 'g' for bloG, or two because I use bloGGer?

If you enjoyed reading this, or any of the other posts, please consider supporting the blog. 
Thanks.

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