Recently I’ve started albeit very slowly, to do something I used to do as a child: I’ve started to read fictional novels. Not a huge number, just a few this year, but the more I read the more I enjoy the chance to drop into a world that is entirely made up.
20th June 2025
Happy Friday, everyone! And if you are in the UK, happy hottest day of the year so far!
My life is taken up with building models, something that I do full-time across most weeks of the year. Having taken it up as a profession in 1997, there has been little chance for any other pursuits that I would call hobbies, something that was, until that year, what I would consider modelmaking.
Over the years, I’ve played drums in a number of bands, watching a ton of football and spent time gaming on various PlayStations all of which have allowed me to break away from building models, recharge the batteries and come back to new projects afresh.
Recently I’ve started albeit very slowly, to do something I used to do as a child: I’ve started to read fictional novels. Not a huge number, just a few this year, but the more I read the more I enjoy the chance to drop into a world that is entirely made up. Away from a reality that is becoming more and more difficult to comprehend.
As a child I read a lot, as I guess most kids did back in the day. As modelmaking took a hold and my attention turned from story books to those containing pictures of aircraft and tanks, I started to read fiction less and less. Sure, I would pick up the odd Stephen King novel here and there or perhaps a Sven Hassel tome that had been left on a shelf in the house, but these became exceptions to a rule, as paperbacks were replaced with hard-covers; word-only volumes, with publications filled with images.
Last year we travelled to France. In my backpack I packed a few books that I figured would be interesting, all of which were biographies written by pilots that I was interested in reading about. I read them as well and though upon my return I didn’t pick up another book for the rest of the year, the seed had been planted and my enthusiasm to dive into more books when time allowed, started to grow.
Fast forward to our holiday earlier this year and I once again packed some reading books. This time though they were fictional. My wife is an inveterate reader of fiction so has a huge library from which to choose something suitable. That being so, she picked out a few books for me to read a number of which were written by Ann Cleeves, writer of the TV programme, Vera. Liking the show, Liz figured that I would like her writing style and though the books are not based around that character, they are similarly detailed and the characters, well drawn.
So far, I’ve read a number of her books, enjoying the time I spend with her characters. Nothing about them reminds me of work, so each hour I spend book in hand, is a true break away from the day job. It’s also a break away from the online world of social media platforms, doom scrolling, misinformation and endless arguments. It’s everything I need to centre my mind and keep my mental health in check. Perhaps, at last, I have discovered once more that reading doesn’t have to be all about new projects and research, it can be about relaxation and escape which I’m sure is something that we all could do with.
See you tomorrow.
SOME RECENT POSTS FOR YOU TO ENJOY!
- A MODELMAKER’sS LIFE: ALL SQUARE IN SOUTHAMPTON…
A point on the road for Coventry City… - A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: WHY HAVE I NEVER BUILT A LIGHTNING?
Is it time to build BAC’s masterpiece at last? - A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: A TRIP TO BRISTOL…
A trip to a bakers on the rain will be remembered because of a young man on a bridge… - A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: A RELAXING DAY…
A day of Christmas shopping and time on my PlayStation… - A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: HOW MANY MORE KITS DO I HAVE, HALF STARTED?!
When I found a half-built kit up in the loft, I wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed that I forgotten it, or happy that most of my work was already done!
SPENCER POLLARD'S KIT BOX 
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