That quiet period which mainstream media calls the Silly Season is underway so I plan to concentrate on WMIK research while I have some time, writes Bob Morrison.
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Much as I love Mediterranean cuisine and exploring exotic places under a hot summer sun, I have a very low tolerance threshold for ankle-biters so I mostly stay put (in Hameldaeme) at this time when almost everybody else in the Northern Hemisphere appears to be heading for the beaches.
With defence manufacturers and the bulk of the non-deployed military both taking their annual holidays during the ‘Summertime Silly Season’ there are normally fewer news stories to work on than usual (and only one rather difficult to get to and unfeasibly expensive to cover European defence exhibition is taking place in August) so I therefore plan to try to use any spare time over the next few weeks to research what I hope will be a series of future features on the evolution of the WMIK (i.e. Weapons Mount Installation Kit) Land Rover Defender ~ something which has been on the back burner for ages.
Of course we all know that no plan survives first contact but if things pan out the way I hope they do this month, when not test driving a Utility 4×4 on loan from the manufacturer I intend losing myself in the archives while I search back through 35 years of original photos and a mountain of paperwork to try to ensure I eventually get that WMIK story right.
The downside to this is that some weekdays I possibly won’t be uploading the usual three to five fresh pages onto JOINT-FORCES; though please rest assured I will still endeavour to upload the important topics at the earliest opportunity and, much as it is tempting, I won’t be sitting under a palm tree sipping real ale in the pub garden of my Devon local….. even though I can see said establishment from my studio’s south-facing picture window!
Fresh stories on here might turn out to be be a little slower than usual at being uploaded during August, but if you are looking for something to read please remember that all 9,250+ pages published on JOINT-FORCES since March 2018 are still viewable. Also, if you are taking your annual holiday in August I hope you have a great time and that the weather stays fine for you.
UPDATED 02 August 2026 12:30 BST: I wondered if this research might be a bad idea and, just a few hours in on Day One, having taken a supposedly short coffee break from trawling through my film archives, I have already fallen down two internet rabbit holes!!! Oh very, very dear :/
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PS: In case you have been wondering why there were no Gormley’s Gear reviews uploaded in July, Mike and Jean have been moving house and although they have now almost completed the operation, setting up a new office took much longer than expected plus their broadband provider let them down badly. An historic old pub coincidentally reopening in the village around the same time they moved in almost certainly also impacted the workflow, but Mike assures me regular contributions should be restarting soon.
Bob
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