SL London Residents Upset

There are some pretty unhappy people in SL London today and I hope they find a solution soon to their problem. I wrote a few weeks ago about people becoming attached to the place where they first arrive in SL, places they call home and meet their friends for a chat (see A Nice Home For Newbies). Anyway as luck would have it, it looks like the meeting place in Hyde Park near the Dell Café is causing problems because of the regulars who meet there making it difficult for new people to join SL smoothly at the Hyde Park Gateway.

Sunday night I had been asked by SL London Director Das Wade to go over and see a new venue in Mayfair called the Garden Café, where a bit of a party was going on, and to he honest it was a nice place, a courtyard at the back of one of the big houses and ideal for events. Apparently this is the location that the London team have picked for the people from the Dell Café to use as their meeting area, rather than still gather in Hyde Park. I went over to chat to the people outside the Dell Café today, and I can tell you they are not happy, either with the fact that they have been asked to vacate the park, or with the new location, which is so very different from what they are used to.

I spoke to Gandy Gearhead, who had been and looked at the new meeting place, and he explained why he was unhappy about it, he said ‘the new place is like a club and there is no chatting, which is what I kept getting told last nite.’ When I explained to him about the problems the new people were experiencing, Gandy said ‘I get that, could have asked as opposed to throwing everyone out’ I wanted to know what sort of place he would prefer, he told me ‘A quiet one I guess, but I can’t speak for everyone, similar to this.’ (Hyde Park). He added ‘the new place is laggy as hell as well. I’m surprisingly angry about this.’

The new location did not go down very well with Fran Jonstone, she said ‘it’s like slum alley.’ We were joined by SarahKB7 Koskinen who had not seen the new meeting place, but was very upset about being moved away from Hyde Park, she said ‘I'm getting sick of being moved around just so you can pander to the noobs and forget about the people who actually use and live here in SL London.’ Fran added ‘the noobs stay here to make friends and the London greeters can’t see it. They fenced the landing area off now the noobs come and stand here so we get moved again.’

Alex85 Ghost, who seemed to be pondering, said ‘hmm a park, to walk free, but not soo free.’ Gandy, who could see the problem, said ‘there needs to be a compromise, but we need consulting.’ He added ‘Not just brushed out of the way.’

I suggested that I thought they should consider a solution in looking for another nice area, but Sarah said ‘The majority of us wish to remain here.’ Mark Barnside told me ‘I am new and I think of this place as my base.’ I knew just how Mark felt and I do feel sorry for these people who have found the place they want to keep as their meeting place, only to be told they have to move on. These avatars have lots of energy and put their case strongly, but the problem still remains with the new people needing to enjoy their entry into the virtual capital, as their first impressions are vitally important because it determines if they stay in SL or not.

Das Wade is totally aware of the feelings of the Dell Café people and he put round a notice yesterday asking them to participate in solving the problem. I would like to see this nice group of people get together and work out what they need in a meeting place that meets all the criteria of the Hyde Park location. I’m sure if they negotiate properly with the London team something can be sorted out to everyone’s satisfaction.

Meeting Barack In Mr Todd's

Looking around the shops the other day, yes I still love shopping!!! I noticed a couple of stores worth looking at if you are on a tight budget (and who isn't!!). Pixel dolls, owned by Rhapsody Mubble has some great designs in SL Knightsbridge and lots of stuff for around LS100 and I mean nice clothes, so take a look, day wear and smart casual. Next door to Pixel dolls you can get a real posh evening frock from Hopeless Designs, owned by Spinmaster Voo, for as little as LS25. Not to forget Seany1235 Blinker’s shop, House of Blinker, in the same area where you can get some real bargains.

Mr Todds shop is a little bit different in the Mayfair sim, he advertises that he can supply designed items to suit your needs. Mr Todd's Designs is a great service for people starting out in their own business, he can supply individual signs, logos, adverts for events, and even does scripted stuff for people to click on. This is not an expensive service either, he quotes prices from LS50 to LS100 for scripted items. I went into his shop for a look around and was lucky enough to bump into Barack Obama in there, he said hi and let me take his picture, see even Presidents need help with their canvassing!! Also Mr Todd has a full sized Ferrari in his store for all those Formula 1 fans who want to take a look at the winning car (well not this year maybe!). By the Way Mr Todd states that all profits go to charity, what a nice idea!

Changing the subject completely, the photo competition run by Manager Seany1235 Blinker was won by Georgianna Genesis with her profile picture of the sunlight shining on her. Well done Georgianna it was a great shot!!

Happy Rez Day TXBarbara!!!

Happy 2nd Rez Day to beautiful Underground Club Host TXBarbara Bailey from Virtually London (lite).

New Apartments And Houses

My fellow writer Hibiscus Hastings has written a great report called ‘The Ephemeral Nature of Second Life’ for our sister publication ‘Our Virtual Trilogy’. Basically it tells of the short life of things and sometimes relationships in SL. SL London is no different to the rest of the grid in that way, buildings have been and gone, new managers have arrived and altered things, and the virtual capital continues to grow.

We hold some things dear to our hearts in SL, it really is like getting born and then growing up with familiar things that create our past and mould our future, similar to real life, only locked into a small part of our imagination and emotions. With me I suppose a thing that stays in my mind is my old virtual office in the fabulous copy of the DMGT building, Northcliffe House. It had been my first in-world job as Assistant Editor to Virtually London (Lite) and I had been pretty excited and happy about it and I had adored the office space that came with it. Then, a few months down the line, I had been told that the offices were to be pulled down leaving only the shell of the building, and for both me and Hib it was a very sad time. We have our beautiful new office in one of the SL Kensington houses and we are very happy with that, but the old office will be a fond memory for a long time.

I got a call from Cleopatra Charleville, the new Manager of the Kensington sim (well done and congratulations Cleo!!), she told me that the old Northcliffe House building is being converted into brand new apartments so there will be new life pumped into the virtual building. I went over for a look and the first apartment was almost completed. Taking up a big chunk of the floor space, it is modern and very roomy and the largest living quarters I have seen in SL London. Cleo tells me that the apartments will be 700 Lindens a week, which sounds expensive, but when you consider the space you are getting, it’s worth the money. She is offering the first month at a reduced rate of 600 Lindens. I have mixed feelings with the conversion as the offices were so nicely made, but I am glad that the building is being put to use and anyone moving in there will have an amazing home. Even the lifts inside the building have been renewed and it will be a really posh place to live. I think you ought to hurry if you are interested in living in the high class Kensington sim, as the apartments are bound to be snapped up quickly, so if you are interested contact Cleo in-world and she will be able to help you.

One of the other SL London team members has been really hard at work too, Director Brie Janick called me over to SL Knightsbridge to take a look at the houses she was installing there. Brie has a great eye for design and colour schemes, she has just furnished her own house in SL Kensington and it looks stunning. No mean feat, creating a whole street, and Brie was making an excellent job of it. Once again, these spacious houses are really nice and the area, a stones throw away from the Underground Club and all the shops in SL Knightsbridge, would be an ideal place to have as your home. For the Knightsbridge houses contact Brie in-world.

Disco Inferno Fun At The UGC

It was Disco Inferno in the UGC on Saturday night., ‘Get your flares on’ Brie IM’d me, ‘and come and see Seany’s hair’, she said! I got my flares on, but alas they paled into insignificance compared to the beautiful ‘Saturday Night Fever’ disco outfits that were there. Flower power or what!! Massive flares, sequin covered jumpsuits and huge, yes in Seany’s case, totally huge hair!!! In fact I thought there was a thunderstorm going on in the club with a big black cloud taking up most of the room, it turned out to be Seany’s hair!! I had a job taking his picture, as the hair had a life of its own! only kidding Seany, it looked very Jackson Five!

Brie was dj’ing and Ruby was the host and they did a great job keeping the crowd happy, we had hits from Donna Summers through to the Village People’s ‘YMCA’ and the atmosphere was electric.

The Underground club is such a good place for themed events, as the experienced Staff, along with manager Seany, have that professional touch knowing just how to decorate it and how to get all the people in. On the 4th July they had a great night celebrating both America’s Independent day and Canada Day, by combining the two it made a very colourful spectacle with all the American and Canadian flags on display. That night Corolla Korobase was the dj and Elizabetta Westland was the host, both doing a fantastic job and making it a night to remember!!

By the way, dj Janis called me and Hibiscus over to the club Monday night and there were two bananas dancing, it was ‘best in yellow night’, so they got right into the swing of things!!

Spotlight on.......Hotstuff Gothly

There is one lady who well deserves the spotlight on her and it was a pleasure to ask her all about her second life. Hotstuff Gothly is a warm lovely person with a wild sense of humour. If you visit the London Underground Club and see Hotstuff strutting her stuff, you can bet you are in for a fun time, as Hots’ fast wit is so entertaining! You will normally see Hots with her best friend Nils Tomorrow adding a touch of real glamour to the club.

I asked Hots what she thought about SL London and she told me ‘London is my home town RL, I grew up in town so I guess that’s where I wanted to be, London is a wonderful sim and its getting bigger and better, I’m looking forward to seeing Soho when its finished.’ Talking about SL as a whole, Hots said ‘Oh I loved SL from the start, I had a wonderful mentor (Gem) she looked after me so well, her partner (Bob) made me clothes and yes I made mistakes like walking round with boxes on and hair with Demo sticking out my head and odd bits of clothes like we all do to start with, but we all soon learn.’

I wanted to know how Hotstuff joined SL and what happened when she did, she said ‘Well I first heard about SL maybe two years ago, my daughter is very interested in fashion design so we were looking at these photos of avatars here on SL and wondered what they were, finally I joined SL using my real name and after a while I found I really didn’t like being called by my real name in SL, so when my daughter joined and had a brand new avatar I wanted a new one too, so Hotstuff was born about a year ago now. Hotstuff was my nickname given to me by an old friend and it kind of stuck, so now you know lol.’

I mentioned that Hots always looks beautifully turned out and I asked her about her favourite places to shop, she told me ‘Well shopping is a must here in SL, I’m so lucky that Nils my best friend makes wonderful clothes, she designs and fits Hotsey out with her gorgeous dresses! I also shop at Adored and UK Couture and get my shoes from stiletto moody and VvB heels.’ Asking if she made any of her own things, Hots said ‘Oh I tried, but failed, it was awful, I made a t-shirt once it looked more like a tent after I finished, I’ll leave the building to the experts.’

I asked if Hots travelled to other sims, she replied ‘I’ve got a fantastic motorbike I won at a def leppard gig and love riding it with my friends.’ Do you own your own place in SL? I asked, she said ‘Well I had the island next to Nils island store for a while, but these days my home is in the store cupboard in Nilseys store lol.’ I wanted to know what other hobbies Hots had, she said ‘oh I’m a lucky chair fanatic, I just love winning.’

What did Hots think about SL romances? She said ‘its great that some people fall for each other here on SL, I have lots of really good male friends and I’ve been to a few weddings, there always fun!

As Hotstuff is such a regular visitor to the UGC I asked what she thought of the SL London nightlife, she said ‘Well you can always find me at the Underground club in Knightsbridge with my guitar in hand rocking the night away! All the staff, DJs and hosts are great there and the people there are the best, we always have a great laugh and they play some great rock music. That’s where I first met Nils Tomorrow, we just clicked and have been best mates ever since, we get called "double trouble" and the "terror twins" by our friends but we always have a great laugh wherever we go. I missed the SL Def Leppard Show in Hyde Park due to RL and I’m a huge fan, I’ve seen them loads of times, I think a huge party in the park would be fantastic with live bands, hey we could call it London-stock . I’ve also got some very good friends that are DJs so I often hang out with them while they work.’

I agree with Hots, a party in the park would be a great idea!! Many thanks for sharing your story with me Hots!

Lindens From Boston Labs Visit SL London

I had a message from SL London builder Menolly Riederer on Tuesday when I logged into SL, Menolly told me that the people in the Boston division of Lindens Labs had teleported into SL London and had a great time. When I asked her about them, Menolly told there were ‘9 of them in fact’ and she continued, they ‘included Darv, Kate, Pathfinder, Siz and Monty.’

SL London builder Rails Bailey told me ‘We met Siz at the Helen Keller Day, got talking as you do with Lindens, Menolly invited Siz to London, not really expecting a visit - as you do, few days later a posse of Lindens turned up to visit London, they were quite taken with the horse rides in the park, Menolly guided them through HP, Mayfair and Chelsea, then they had to leave due to LL Meetings and whatnot.’

I contacted Siz Linden and asked him what he had thought of SL London, he kindly got back to me and said ‘We loved our tour of Virtual London. The Boston Lab does a Second Life tour once a week to interesting places in Second Life. Its a good opportunity for us to get out an about to meet residents and see what's going on in SL.’

He continued ‘I met Rails and Menolly at the Helen Keller event and they mentioned the London build. It just so happens that I'm going to London in RL next week so I wanted to pay a virtual visit first. Everyone loved the tour. Menolly and Rails told us about the horses we could ride and that was a big hit with everyone. Nothing like the clomping of hooves and the neighing of horses to add to the nice effect.’

Siz added ‘Another highlight was a little bungee jumping off the Tower of London. I particularly enjoyed jumping off while still on my horse. There were a lot of people in SL London and riding as a herd of Lindens on horseback was a great way to see the sights and residents. We will have to go back for a return trip to see the rest of the sights.’

I’m sure SL London would love a return visit by the team from the Boston Labs and I hope I’m around to get some pictures! I would like to thank Menolly, Rails and Siz for their comments and also Menolly and Siz for providing the great photographs!

Great Shoes and VL Fashion Dates

Firstly I make no apologies for showing a pair of shoes as the main picture. I thought they should take pride of place as the most beautiful shoes in SL. Our very own SL Londoner Neve Hancroft wore them the other night in the Underground Club, stunning us all with the price she had paid for them!! I’m not going to tell you how much, but Neve was really pleased with them and we all thought she looked great!!

Glamour plays a big part in SL and most people love all the dressing up and designer clothes to be had in the virtual world. Well VL Fashion week is getting closer, the dates have now been confirmed for 18th-25th September and top SL builder TD Reinard has been hired to build a brand new catwalk with some great lighting. There will be entertainers for the opening and closing of the show and I expect parties will be held afterwards!! If you want to be part of it, or just want to know more, contact the show organiser Cleopatra Charleville in-world.

I had to use one of my model poses for the picture, trouble is I only have poses from over two years ago from when I first joined, and they were free, I think the models you will see on the catwalk in the VL Fashion week will look a little more professional!!

Changing the subject, if you fancy yourself as a photographer and want to win some money, Manager Seany1235 Blinker is holding a photography competition. You just need to get yourself a great profile picture and enter it onto the board in the Underground Club in SL Knightsbridge! What’s it take? a couple of minutes! go and have a go, you might be quids in if you do!! The voting opens on 12th July so you have a few days left to take part.

British Invasion!

On Saturday, June 27th, a “British Invasion from the 1960’s to Now” party was held at the Underground Club. The club was all done up in red, white and blue, and so were the avatars, since a best in Union Jack contest was held. Avatars interpreted this theme in all sorts of ways, from wearing red, white or blue, to complete outfits made from the flag. Seany1235 Blinker took the latter approach, from top hat to shoes, he was all Union Jack. On the other hand MacKenzie Bluebird chose to use one of the colours of the flag, blue, and go from there; she wore a pale blue dress and was indeed a “bluebird”, as her name says. Gerr Finesmith very skilfully created a Paul McCartney outfit (from the Sgt. Pepper days) and he looked strikingly like the former Beatle, a true representative of the British Invasion. Winner of the best in Union Jack contest was Truthsprincess Baram.

DJ Janis was in charge of the music, choosing a wide variety of songs from the 1960’s to the present, playing everything from the Spice Girls to The Cure. There is so much music to choose from that the UGC could hold a party like this once a month and probably never repeat a song. TXBarbara Bailey was the host, welcoming everyone and making sure all were having fun. TXBarbara also was involved with the decorating of the club, which looked outstanding. British icons such as the Beatles, Twiggy and the London taxi, to name a few were to be found throughout the club, reminding those of us who remember the original British Invasion of those exciting days.

Hibiscus Hastings

SL Milkman Gerr Doing His Rounds!

It's nice to see that some of our traditions are not dying out, what with the big supermarkets taking most of the trade, it was lovely to see that there is still a service for milkmen in SL London!! Can't beat it can you, that friendly knock at the door and a smiling face delivering your milk, cream, eggs and spuds, especially to old and infirm avatars who can't get out much and perhaps the milkman is the only visitor they have! Aww sad you say!! but I'm only kidding!! this is our own wonderful Gerr Finesmith with yet another of his great inventions, and it's perfect, right down to his crate of milk.

I asked Gerr about the milkfloat and he told me he made it some time ago and that it was really his first attempt at making a vehicle in SL. He said that it is rather slow at the moment (I thought to myself, sounds safe for me to drive then, fancy a ride Hibiscus?). Anyway, if you hear some bottles rattling along the road, you will see it's SL London's milkman Gerr, give him a wave and buy a pint!!

It Wasn't Gossip, They Are In SL Chelsea

A little while ago I wrote about the Warner Bros sim GossipGirl, I covered a couple of stories for CNN when the GossipGirl Region was having fun with street carnivals and stuff and to my shame I even got ejected and had a bit of an argument with the organisers (I still think I was right!!). Anyway that is all in the past and since then I interviewed the lovely Amy Pritchard (avatar Twig Tomorrow) on the 27 November 2008 for Virtually London (lite). Amy's company looked after the GossipGirl sim. So it is with a little sadness that I read that the GossipGirl sim has now closed. I took a final look yesterday, and although all the buildings are still in tact, the streets were nearly empty of avatars. This sim had been one of the big successes of Second Life, as the GossipGirl show has a lot of loyal followers who have entered SL because of the virtual version. I can verify how loyal they are as they gave me a hard time when I got ejected, well done them for sticking up for the show they love!! (I was still right though!).

Anyway, I had heard that there was going to be a big event happening in SL London a couple of weeks ago, but not told any details, we at Virtually London (lite) are a bit like mushrooms, kept in the dark and fed on manure! (I'm being polite here!) So I had to stumble over it myself yesterday, part of the GossipGirl sim has been moved to SL Chelsea. Apparently it was opened on Tuesday, so perhaps you out there knew about it before me, which wouldn’t surprise me! While I visited there today I told some of the newcomers about the Underground club, so say ‘Hi’ if you see a few Gossipgirl fans exploring SL London.

Does this mean that Warner Bros are still involved with SL? Well GossipGirl is their baby, so who knows, I don’t!

By the way, the other popular club in SL Mayfair is having a Canadian Day celebration on Saturday and there is money to be won, so check it out!

Nil's Fashion Show

One of our top SL London designers, Nils Tomorrow had a fashion show on Saturday night and the audience was thrilled to see her beautiful range of clothes on the catwalk.

Nils, who has been in SL for two years, is also a women’s wear fashion designer in real life, and in her biography she says about SL ‘I tried to maintain my design philosophy here as creating real life looking clothes, specialized in dresses with prints and a wide selection of different fabric qualities.’ And Nils has succeeded in bringing real life looking designs into SL, the dresses, whilst being chic, are highly wearable too, catering for the younger stylish SL women who enjoy looking ‘up to the minute’ with their clothes.

Nils has used a variety of fabrics ranging from satins to jungle prints and the long bodiced, short skirted style dresses bear Nil’s stamp, making them recognisable to the fashion collector. The clothes are sexy without being flashy, well tailored without being boring, Nils adds little touches with belts, lace and unusual necklines, but you can spot a Nil’s design, she has established her own mark on the fashion scene.

People in SL London probably became most aware of her talent when she designed the uniform for the hosts in the Underground Club in SL Knightsbridge, using a range of bright silks, she created the fun dresses bearing the club logo and the hostesses were only too happy to wear them.

Nils quotes she ‘First started NILS ISLAND STORE in an island location which was my homeland, that store still stays as the main store. I also sell in 13 different locations, both in malls and separate shops.’

Asking Nils how she came to hold the catwalk show she told me ‘I have been offered to rent a shop lately in Classic W/Style Corp. by Anrol Anthony. When I went there I liked their huge shopping area and accepted her offer. Two weeks ago I got a catwalk offer from her. I knew that in this region they also train and promote models in SL, I have been called as a judge for those events as well before. Since I have known how professional they handle these events, I accepted her offer, actually all I did was send her about 30 items from my collection bests and they have organized everything from music to the models. I would like to participate to events from now on like this, as it helps to introduce my collection and at the same time also support such events to promote SL modelling.

I would like to thank Nils for inviting me to her fashion show and wish her every success for the future.