Hobbies

There was a group of four of us who were really into Warhammer (initially the Fantasy Battle version, then 40,000) at school. We had what feels like a lot of battles but in reality was probably only two, maybe three. These things were full-day events, starting about 9am on a Sunday and lasting until about 4-5pm (with a lunch break!). We would take over our dining room for the day, it was so much fun! There would be weeks of negotiations at school lunch breaks in the run up to the event - what were the rules we were using, who was playing what, was siege artillery allowed, do we have reinforcements that sort of thing.

I really used to enjoy the book-keeping side of things, building armies, looking at stats, checking the rules, making sure everything was balanced.... We couldn't afford all the figures / models when we were playing, so we used card tokens the same size as the figure bases, with a name or description on instead. I spent so many hours lost in my own world playing and preparing for games! It wasn't until I was a little older that I could begin to afford the miniatures, but by that point in my life I had mostly given up the hobby.

It's great to have it back in my life!

Sudoku, although this is intermittent.

Growing things, orchids, flowers, pretty much anything from seed. I have a 12ft palm, trees, shrubs, various things I gave grown from seed. All my window ledges and garden are filled with plants.

Reading. Although I am finding this hard and the moment.

I assume it was one of the common ones, a moth orchid, phalaenopsis.

Lots of people think they are hard, but they are quite easy.

The problem is they are often half dead when you get them. So people think they can't grow them. But they did nothing wrong. To see why, you need a little background.

They have been initially grown in compressed peat like pellets about 2-3 cm in diameter and 4 cm or so long. They are then potted up and grown on in glasshouses at maybe 25 degrees, with reasonably high humidity and probably kept on damp capillary matting, with dappled sun or bright diffused light. They are cooked for a few weeks to trigger the flower spikes, then returned to the warmth.

They are then taken from this, put in a truck that is cool, on the dark and sent to a shop.

They like to be above 18 degrees C. Much below this they go dormant and can rot more easily, so need to be kept dry.

The shop then waters them from above, doesn't give them good light and keeps them cool. The roots start rotting. The leaves are fleshy and have lots of energy and juice so keep it going for a few months. The plug of peat keeps it too wet if it is not in a hot house and watered from below.

You buy it thinking it is fine, but the roots are in trouble. The flowers go limp so you water it a bit more. This finishes off the roots. It is not just a question ️of waiting for it to give up.

If you want to grow one, look for one that is a bit dry in the shop. Don't worry it takes months to kill it with dryness. The leaves wrinkle and the flowers dry but it won't die for 6 months or more. Wet kills it much faster, in a week or so depending on temp the roots start dying if it is too wet.

When you get it home tip out the pot. Tease out the roots. Try not to bend or break them if you can help it. Remove the plug of peat. If the roots are wet in the centre leave it for a few hours, or even a day or two to dry out. Repot. Do not squash the bark and stuff down. Just tap the pot a couple of times to settle it. Do not use soil.

You ideally want a see through pot. If the roots are green it does not need water. Wait till most are silvery. Water from above letting the water run out, or better, put it in a tub of water 3/4 of the depth of the pot for a couple of minutes, then drain. You can use rainwater if you want but they can take tap water. Use some orchid food, but keep it weak. They don't need it every watering. A east facing window for morning sun is ideal, south is too hot. Or keep with some shade, e.g. on the inside of a net curtains from april-sept. Direct sun overheats the leaves and burn them. They may develop a red tinge, which is anthocyanins which are its sunscreen.

Do not get water in the centre of the leaves ever. In the winter this can start the growing point rotting in one night. If you do soak it up with some tissue.

They grow on trees in the wild. The root is the wire inside the fleshy roots. The fleshy part is like a sponge that soaks up water and nutrients. That is why they can go dry without a problem and grow roots in the air.

If roots grow outside the pot don't worry, it is normal. You can water these roots too or leave them.

Hope this helps. There is more, if people are interested.

Ask your library if they give free reservations for disabilities - e.g. I get free ones for autism, which saves a lot of money. The only thing they don't cover is British Library loans which are mega expensive.

Reading - no. 1 hobby

Gardening - also reading gardening books

Cooking - as above

TheCatWoman said:

I'd read the back of cereal boxes if there were nothing else.

Love it!

Mine aren't much more than doodles. I like to see what I can achieve in a short period of time rather than being terribly detailed. Yes, fun is the thing.

I like gaming too! I play minecraft with my brother and I've got animal crossing, stardew valley on the go as a single player 

I like colouring more than painting, but I occasionally do it 

my sketching just consists of doodles - fun to do so I don't mind 

reading is a must 

we have a gardener so I can't really get into that - did have an orchid once and it survived maybe 2 weeks before it died (I'm not good at looking after plants haha)

Would love to see some photos! 

I wasn't into Warhammer but I remember my brother was and he had quite a collection of it!

Reading is good!

I tried to get into photography but couldn't 

gaming is good! 

Reading is a fab hobby to have - I've recently got a library card and plan to use it to read books that aren't the authors that I would buy - have to wait a little though as I've got 9 books to read at moment!!

sounds good! I'm into reading and jigsaws as well (have to get 500 pieces or less though otherwise it becomes to overwhelming!

Cool! I've been recommended Warhammer back when I was a teen. I build Gundam models though, mostly HGs and SDs

Gaming. I especially love games from the 90s and 2000s. Currently I'm playing the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection

Drawing. I draw manga. I even have some self published works on some sites  https://globalcomix.com/a/jam-2 https://www.webtoons.com/p/community/en/u/_zh3bp0

Building mecha models. Mostly Gundam models, HG, SD and non graded 1/144 scale because they're all I can afford mostly. I do own MGs of the Shining Gundam and the Master Gundam though, as well as an RG Gundam Wing Zero EW

I used to collect Pokemon cards, I still have all my old tins, decks and my entire card collection though. I still treasure them.

I used to do Warhammer and Blood Bowl right up until my eldest was born. The game was always a good laugh but making scenery and painting was so relaxing. 

Ukuleles! Playing, repairing and now attempting to build. 

I used to enjoy reading loads but I spend so much time reading at work nowadays it lost it's appeal day to day so is kept as a treat for holidays.

Painting and sketching. 

For me reading a  nessescity, I'd read the back of cereal boxes if there were nothing else.

I like to garden and cook, but again with cooking not doing so isn't really an option.

I don't think I really have the time or money for hobbies, I've started doing ancestry research again, but only for about 30 mins a day, using my Artificial Friend to help me.