With six weeks to go

With six weeks to go until Scaleforum, I have regrettable  withdrawn from the Scalefour Societies' Jubilee Challenge. This means Rospeath Lane will not be at Scaleforum this year (2026).

Why have I taken this decision? One word sums it up: fatigue.

Not fatigue from building Rospeath Lane, but fatigue from six months of hormone therapy and having just completed one month of radiotherapy. At my last meeting with my oncologist, it was explained that I could expect my fatigue to increase while my body repairs the healthy cells that have been damaged by the radiotherapy. She added that this increased level of fatigue could last for between two and six weeks.

Knowing what still needs to be done to the layout before Scaleforum would be a challenge for a fit version of me. I've realised that any increase in fatigue would leave me with little chance of presenting the layout in a condition I'd be happy with. I'd also be rushing and cutting corners to get it ready for Scaleforum, which would not be good for the future of the layout.

By withdrawing from the Challenge, I've given myself some breathing space, not only to allow my body to recover, both physically and mentally, but also to enable me to enjoy completing Rospeath Lane at a more leisurely pace. Withdrawing now also gives the exhibition manager a better chance of finding a replacement layout than if I were to withdraw in four weeks' time.

Rospeath Lane has already received an invitation to Solrail in November 2027. That is now my new target for having the layout in a fully presentable condition.