Monday, December 27, 2021

The Long Bank Holiday



Here in the UK, Monday and Tuesday are both Bank Holidays.  Yes, it is a 4 day Christmas this year.

We hope you can join us for more responsible drinking and partying and we wet the baby's head as the good lord intended.   Pop up parties throughout the holidays and of course the big one on NYE from 12pm SL





Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Last chance to sit on Santa's lap!




It is your last chance to sit on Santa's lap and tell him about all the things you're hoping to get for Christmas!   He's a busy man and soon needs to pack-up his grotto and start sorting our his presents!

Sit on his lap, answer his questions and you're sure of a big surprise from his gift sack.  But hurry, he leaves for the North Pole later tonight.

TP http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/London%20City/70/231/23

Sunday, December 19, 2021

Christmas Panic, Lockdown Special Edition



The last Newswire of 2021. Enjoy!




Jesus or Santa?




We asked you to vote for one option in two simultaneous polls.

We asked "I believe in.." Santa or Jesus.   A very interesting result in so far as Jesus was way ahead, when the poll was first opened during the primetime for American residents.  As soon as the Brits logged in, Santa did so much better and almost caught up.   That should tell us all something!    

In the end, hearts won out over heads, with 53% of those polled, expecting Jesus to come down their Chimney on Christmas Eve, whilst 47% are expecting Santa to turn a few fish and a mouldy baguette into a veritable Christmas Day, fish soup feast.

In contrast, we also asked if you had a wish that you could make come true, would you rather have World Peace, or a million dollars deposited in your bank account?

Voters were a lot more practical for this poll, with only 39% wanting world peace and 61% entering into the Christmas spirit, by taking the money!

Thanks for voting.  Another user poll is coming "soon".

 

'Twas the weekend before Christmas in London City



Thank you for coming to the last Party before Christmas, here in London City.   Demis was the usual plate smashing Greek God, we have come to know and love and the audience were almost as gorgeous!


Sunday, December 05, 2021

Our Tree




The lovely people from Norway have given us a beautiful tree for Christmas, which is so much better than the one they gave us this year in RL.  High Priestess CoffeeQueen blessed our tree with a beautiful prayer, then cast down the RL version with fire, like the good Christian she is..   Christmas really is coming!

RL Tree 2021: CoffeeQueen tells the people of Norway to shove their tree where the sun don't shine.

During World War II, Norway was invaded and occupied by Germany, forcing the Norwegian king and government to create a government-in-exile in London.

The British military also helped train and organize Norwegian commandos to attack Nazi installations in Norway.

As a token of appreciation from the Norwegian people to the people of Britain, a Norwegian Christmas Tree is sent every year from Oslo to Trafalgar Square in London.

Visit the London Christmas tree here and marvel at its magnificent balls http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/London%20City/83/186/23

Wednesday, December 01, 2021

The return of Santy's Grotty




Would you sit on this man's lap?

The adorable, slightly randy and alcoholic gentleman who has played Santa for us for the past six years, has returned once again, a bit worse for wear, to spread Christmas cheer to visitors of London City.

Our very own Chris Kringle has been hard at it and is ready to slip you a big surprise if you sit on his lap and tell him about all the naughty and nice things you have done this year.   Santa will invite you to have a rummage in his sack and pull out something big, spectacular and impressive!

You can't really miss his grotto as its peppered with gin bottles and discarded mince pies

Visit Santa's Grotty here: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/London%20City/83/189/23

Sunday, November 21, 2021

Superlative Amy



Last night we were treated to Amy MacDonald and the Big Band sound in the lead up to the festive season.  Thank you to all who attended.   

A reminder that today at 11am SL time (7pm UK) to join Madame Bailey and CoffeeQueen in Substation for some retro sounds.   Then Katty on the beach for Worlds End at 1pm SLT (9pm UK) for music, quizzes and trivia.






Friday, November 12, 2021

Weekend Freebies!



The lovely people at 'No Shot', have created an exclusive new range of clothing for Freebie Megastore.

Today's offer is a Demin Jacket, Demin Skirt and a top with and without arms, which is colour changeable.

Check back regularly as this line is will be added to daily, throughout next week!

Visit Freebie Megastore (slurl)

Visit No Shot in-world (slurl)





Monday, November 08, 2021

Exclusive - Brand New Freebies



 

The lovely people at 'No Shot', have created an exclusive new range of clothing for Freebie Megastore.

Today's offers are a colour changeable Flirty Striped Mini Dress, a Flower Dress and High Strap Sandals. These Freebies are made to fit every conceivable body type, and are yours for a click of a button.

Check back regularly as this line is will be added to daily, throughout the week!

Visit Freebie Megastore (slurl)

Visit No Shot in-world (slurl)

Sunday, November 07, 2021

Time becomes normal again



After a confusing week, where our Daylight Saving had moved and the USA clocks had not, we are at last in sync again, as the American clocks catch up.  This means that here in London we are back to the usual 8 hours ahead of Second Life time and we couldn't be happier.

Today at 12pm SL / 8pm UK, join Bailey and Coffee for Substation and at 1pm SL / 9pm UK, Katty will be legs akimbo on the Beach with World's End.

Here are some pictures of Sir Tom of Jones, who appeared in London yesterday.







Monday, November 01, 2021

It's that time of year..



 


This went to press a tiddly bit sooner than we anticipated.  Fear not, the Illuminations are going up as we speak and will be ready in time for Guy Fawkes Bonfire Night on Friday 5th November!


Meanwhile, you know that it is heading to that certain season of the year that you either love or hate, when you see the return of the Clucky Bucker.    Good luck, we're all counting on you!




Sunday, October 24, 2021

Going Wacko for Jacko



Here is the scene from last night's Party in The Park with the MJ concert.
Details of next week's show to follow shortly..







Monday, October 18, 2021

Halloween Places



With well over a hundred Halloween destinations to choose from in the Second Life Destination Guide, we have whittled them down to what we believe to be the Top 25 haunts to visit!

Go through the scary Halloween Portal located in the London City Hub, to enjoy some great builds and frighten yourself silly.






Sunday, October 17, 2021

Newswire! William Shatner in Space and Bill Clinton with the Clap



It's the Newswire!
Earth Shatnering news as TJ Hooker blasts into space, Bill Clinton gets Clap and Superman goes mincing.




Wednesday, October 13, 2021

William Shatner's mission in space, a success



Astronaut, William Shatner, lands on Earth.

It was so exciting to see William Shatner, aged 90, become the oldest man in space today, as he blasted off aboard the Blue Origin starship.

The six man crew under Kirk's command, naturally returned safely.

Visibly awestruck, perhaps shaken and very emotional, Shatner touched back down to earth 12 minutes after take off.

He stood alone, from the other astronauts, collecting himself and processing what he had experienced.   He was speaking aloud his thoughts, which gave huge insight into the emotions involved with this, the most extreme sport he has ever been involved with, and there have been many.  

On landing he said, "I hope I can maintain what I feel now. I don't want to lose it. It's so much larger than me and life." 

He was already a Starfleet legend before blast off,  so the only title we can bestow on top of that, is that of Astronaut.

Watch the stream below to see the take off, and the landing footage and interview, from 22 minutes in.



 

To Boldly Go.. The Shat in Space



William Shatner beaming with pride

Due to forecasted winds on Tuesday 12 October, Blue Origin’s mission operations team has made the decision to delay the launch of NS-18 and is now targeting Wednesday 13 October,” the company said in a statement.

Stardate: 111021.2.30pm BST.

Wishing William Shatner and the rest of his crew aboard the Federation Starship USS Blue Origin, the very best of luck as they blast into space today on a top secret mission.

The Captain, 90 year old Shatner, has come out of retirement once more, to save the world as we know it.

James T. Kirk and his crew of just three (presumably Spock, Dr McCoy and Scotty), will launch at 1.30pm GMT which is 2.30pm in the UK on Tuesday!

Hailing frequencies are open thanks to Lt. Uhura, so you can watch it live everywhere on this planet on every news station.

Good luck Jim!

Watch it live here:  Live Stream on Youtube






Friday, October 08, 2021

Premiere: Fleetwood Mac on Saturday



British-American Rock Band, Fleetwood Mac,  appear in London City with a brand new show.

The band was originally formed in the late 60's, but became world famous in 1977 with their album "Rumours", and had a procession of chart hits with tracks released from that album, including, Sara, Gypsy,  Dreams, Go Your Own Way, Rhiannon and more.

You are invited to the premier performance of the London City Players, performing their tribute to Fleetwood Mac this Saturday.

The Party starts at 12pm SL time (8pm UK) with the band on stage an hour later at 1pm SL time.

Friday, October 01, 2021

Oktoberfest at Madame Lala's



It's time to celebrate the jolly music of German Bands (oomph paa paa) as Madame Lala's celebrates Oktoberfest on Friday night from 1pm SL time (9pm UK).   Free Beer, Jolly People and no mention of Angela Merkel or Brexit.

Madame Lala's  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/London%20City/241/38/23

Sunday, September 26, 2021

Winter of Discontent UK - But Don't Panic (buy)



In Great Britain, what started as a food shortage has rapidly escalated in to a shortage of everything, from gas, electricity and petrol. 

 Join us for todays news, as history repeats itself by drawing parallels from Edward Heath's 3 day week in 1974 to Jim Callaghan's Winter of Discontent of 1978.

But don't take it too seriously..     

Saturday, September 11, 2021

9/11



 


Lovingly dedicated to the memory of the victims and brave souls who lost their lives in an atrocity that shook the world on September 11th, 2001. 



Wednesday, September 08, 2021

Exclusive: Brand New Free Male Clothing and Accessories







Brand new clothing for Signature Gianni, Belleza, Slink and Classic Avatars!

The incredibly generous people from 'No Shot' fashion, have created and donated ten brand new and exclusive Male clothing items to the Freebie Megastore.

This male clothing is exclusive to London City and won't be seen anywhere else in Second Life, and they are available completely Free of charge!

Visit Freebie Megastore to collect these items http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/London%20City/104/212/24

and please visit the No Shot store for other free items and introductory offers





Thursday, September 02, 2021

London City Community Gateway rebuild




Our builders have been busy rebuilding the London City Community Gateway, from the ground up.

Based on real life Hyde Park, the largest green space in London, the new Gateway build offers a fun way to impart information to new residents, as well as engaging them in various activities to be found in the region.

Hyde Park, built in 1637, is steeped in history, and where possible we have included as many features that you would expect to find in the park, with handy (i)nfo icons that can be clicked for information about each attraction.



We have also included the beautiful Chinese Pagoda, the Diana Memorial, The old Police house and a nod to Battersea funfair, whilst including tours and information boards to assist new residents on their initial visit.




A Handsome Cab (Horse and Carriage) will also take you on a full tour of the region, so that you do not miss anything, but there still remains many secluded spots, off the beaten track, to find for yourself.



Residents can sail the Serpentine, explore the park and speakers corner, visit the holocaust memorial, Marble Arch and also win some Linden Dollars at the Amusement Arcade, whilst gaining invaluable knowledge.



Residents can visit the Dell Cafe and the Lido with their friends, ride a hot air balloon, and even try taming an eagle!  If they get stuck, specific help boards will assist, can be clicked for more information, and also a link back the relevant knowledge base for expanded help.



Most of the attractions have interactive features, so please come and take a look at the new London City Gateway.   As always, the end of the tutorial leads to our main social region, London City, and the freebie store, where help is on hand to get your avatar looking amazing!



London City Gateway is located here: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/London%20City%20Gateway/170/189/23


And finally....  we have cleared some space on the ground floor of the Freebie Store, for some brand new Men's clothing arriving this weekend!






Roy Orbison in Concert on Saturday



Join us on Saturday in Regent's Park for Roy Orbison in London City.

Roy Orbison, The Big O, was an American singer/songwriter best known for his songs, Crying, Only The Lonely, Oh Pretty Woman, Running Scared, You Got It and many more hits.

Contrary to popular belief, the reclusive Orbison wore big black sunglasses not  because he was blind or cross eyed.  He adopted them because he suffered terrible stage fright (which prevented him touring) and found them to be a useful shield between himself and the world outside.

Roy died in 1988 aged just 52.  A year later, You Got It became the final song of Roy Orbison's to chart inside the top ten.

He has a brand new Album just released with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, which hit the record stores on 3rd November.

Party starts at 12pm SL (8pm UK) with the Concert and hour later at 1pm SL.

Teleport:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/London%20City/121/111/24


Friday, August 27, 2021

Dolly Parton, Saturday



In concert on Saturday: Dolly Parton, the Tribute show in London City.

Dolly Parton, was terribly poor for the first five minutes of her life, and then became wealthy beyond the dreams of Avarice for the next 70 years, but hasn't lost touch with her humble beginnings.

Partly because no one wants to hear songs about a billionaire with tax return problems, when poor and broken hearted sells better. Dolly has endured over the years by reinventing her image over and over.

Come party with us on Saturday from 12pm SL (8pm UK) with the concert an hour later at 1pm SL.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/London%20City/101/105/23

Sunday, August 15, 2021

This weeks news and gossip!



Here we are again, with the entire world's news and gossip in just 3 minutes!

It is the only news you ever need to see/hear.   

Please like, subscribe, comment and make your feelings known!   Enjoy!

Sunday, August 08, 2021

The London Riots - 10 years on



2011 - Buildings destroyed in Croydon during London Riots

Today commemorates the 10th anniversary of the London Riots, which lasted from 8th to 11th August 2011.

Living in the London area, this was very much on our doorstep and fellow Londoners will remember just how frightening it was, to see huge gangs of thugs smashing up everything they saw, looting every shop they went past and then torching buildings and peoples homes, massively overwhelming the police for those 5 days.

The protests started in Tottenham, London, following the death of Mark Duggan, a local man who was shot dead by police on 4 August.  He was known to be in possession of a BBM Bruni Model 92 handgun (a blank-firing replica of a Beretta 92 converted to fire live rounds), given to him 15 minutes before he was shot.

Several violent clashes with police followed Duggan's death, along with the destruction of police vehicles, double-decker buses and many homes and businesses, which rapidly gained the attention of the media. 

Overnight, mass looting took place in Tottenham and in nearby Wood Green. The following days saw similar scenes in other parts of London, with the worst rioting taking place in Hackney, Brixton, Walthamstow, Peckham, Enfield, Battersea, Croydon, Ealing, Barking, Woolwich, Lewisham and East Ham.

10 years ago, we made this rather jerky video in London City.  In those vintage pre-mesh days we had to work with the tools we had.  




 

Monday, August 02, 2021

Pulling the plug on Gacha's



Our World's Worst Gacha to be destroyed!?

In a decision bound to cause severe upset,  Linden Lab has blogged that the immensely popular Gacha systems used by thousands of  content creators, will cease to be allowed beyond August 31st.

Gacha's really took off when the gaming rules became much stricter, preventing 'games of chance'.

Arguably, although a prize is won every time, some are or more value than others, making Gacha's a game of chance too.

Being the mainstay of so many shopping events, it is inconceivable that this news could possibly be received well by the community and this is bound to be a very interesting thread to follow.

The post reads:

Due to a changing regulatory climate, we’ve had to make the difficult decision to sunset a very popular sales mechanism for content in Second Life.  It’s widely known as "gacha", and is defined by a chance-based outcome as a result of a payment.  

We know that creators plan their content releases far in advance and will need to re-tool their products, so to mitigate the impact to those affected, we are giving a 30-day grace period, until midnight SLT on August 31.  After that time, selling content via gacha machines will no longer be permitted in Second Life.  Enforcement won’t start until September 1; after that date an Abuse Report for “Gaming Policy Violation” will be the preferred method of reporting this content to Linden Lab.  

We will continue to allow any sales where a payment is given for a known item, which means that items that had been purchased as “gacha” will be allowed to be re-sold as long as the buyer knows in advance the item and quantity they will receive. We will, of course, still allow fatpacks, and any other currently-allowed distribution mechanisms. 

We did not make this decision lightly and we understand that it will impact creators as well as event organizers and certainly the shoppers! We look forward to fun creative ways of engagement that will come instead. 

We realize that this announcement may leave the community with questions.  This forum thread is going to be monitored and we will answer any related questions in there.

Click the link above to see the post on the Lab's blog.


It's a Heatwave!



Get those summer costumes on, its the Heatwave and BBQ season!