Sunday Night Fencing

At last Sunday night arrived, and my darling wife returned to our home! Much joy was there as we caught up following her trip away over the Thanksgiving period. I was one happy Kitty indeed!

After my love's understandably short visit, as she had unpacking and post-holiday chores to attend to, I paid a visit to Colonel O'Toole, or Hotspur as I call him now we are friends, to take a turn once more on his En Garde! run.

I had a bout with Hotspur to start with, a close match but one he ultimately won. He is very good with his epee. You will see I am not even on the scoreboard at this point - you need to win a bout to achieve a mention!

However, my next bout saw me do just that! I fenced against Miss Bryndal Ellison, the then leader of the board, and amazingly managed to win! This put me straight into the number one spot, by virtue of the scoring system whereby you score more the greater the difference between your opponent and yourself.

My moment of glory was short lived, however! A few moments later, Caledon's foremost proponent of the epee, Colonel Exrex Somme, arrived, and took very little time in beating me! At least Eugenia took a picture of my brief period as top scorer, and with gracious thanks to her it is reproduced at the end of this post, as proof of the event!

En Garde! is a very enjoyable game, and is enjoying a period of great interest in Caledon at the moment. I do hope it lasts, as it is a sport suitable for both sexes and all PCs - perhaps it will be a discipline which will restore pride in Caledon's sporting prowess, given how we are doing at football recently!



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Now playing: Raveboy - Get Up 4 Dancecore (Rob Mayth Vs Pimp Code Remix)
via FoxyTunes

The Tiny Terrors Of Raglanshire

Sunday arrived, and with it the promise of my beloveds return. First, however, there was the small matter of the second ever match for the Caledon National Football Team.

We had been challenged by the team from Raglanshire, appropriately known as the Tiny Terrors, being as they were Tinies. We did not however turn up with any false hopes of an easy win, we have enough Tinies in Caledon - The Gun Bunnies being a good example - to know just have tough these little cuties can be!



We lined up for the first half, on the Raglanshire pitch, a similar team to our first outing - Mr Jameson Despres, Myself, Mr Iason Hassanov and Mr Roy Smashcan - but we were joined this time by Colonel Hotspur O'Toole, whose skills more than matched his willingness to play.

The Terror's home field included goal nets, a scoreboard, and even an umpire, although his role was more window dressing, as SL Football is a game of tip-and-run more than anything!

The first half started well enough, and by the end of the allotted 10 minutes or so we were only trailing by the one goal, Raglanshire leading 3-2. Colonel O'Toole had to leave us at this point, but the Earl Primbroke gamely stepped in as a substitute. Even his skills were not enough though, as the final score was 6-2 to the Terrors!

The whole affair was most enjoyable, and ultimately the scoreline is irrelevant, as the fun in playing, and the graciousness of our hosts, more than made up for a few crestfallen faces. The terrors are a very capable team, and we of the Caledon Tartans will need to sharpen our ball skills for the return match, though I think it safe to say we shall not be outdone for hospitality or the warm welcome any visiting team will receive when we have a home field of our own!

Well done Raglanshire, a great game very well played!

A Saturday Night In Caledon

Saturday came, again with Kacy away for the holiday period, and I was very glad to be a Caledonian on this day. At a loss for what to do, bereft as I was of my wife, the Nation stepped in and made sure I was kept busy!

You may have read on other Caledonian blogs - for instance Colonel O'Toole's or Miss Lavals - about a new combat game called En Garde! Based on a RL card game, this is one test of swordmanship that doesn't rely on having the latest, fastest PC to win. The participants are dealt a hand of "cards" that determine movement, attack, defence, etc, thus eliminating differences in hardware.

Miss Ordinal Malaprop had just set up a public piste near the telehub in Caledon Prime, so I TP'd over to have a look. I fought a number of bouts, including against the game's developer Mr Rifkin Hapsburg, and may have found a system I have some facility for! The picture shows me crossing sword(stick)s with ACM Trenton, with Miss Malaprop looking on. I later signed up to her team, The Caledon Sabres, so any bouts I now take part in will add to the team score as well.

Then the ladies of the Caledon Early Birds stepped in - Dame Abigail Raymaker and Miss Soliel Snook to be exact - with an impromptu and informal dance at the Bird's Nest. I have a particular fondness for the cocoa that the ladies provide there, so headed over for a pleasant time spent chatting, and skating, amongst friends.

The rink is open at all hours throughout this winter season, and thanks to the kindness of one member of the Early Birds, there are free skates provided to enable you to take a turn about the ice.

Later on, to finish the evening, I made my way to Colonel O'Toole's home above Middlesea, and took part in an imformal fencing tourney using his En Garde run. I duelled with both Hotspur and Sir Amplebeak Tinlegs before I took myself off to bed.



A night spent with friends old and new, that served to get me through a time without my love, and has given me tales to tell her on her return. Thank you Caledon, one and all!




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Now playing: Johan Nilsson (DJ Irish) - Assorted Trance Volume 19 (D I G I T A L L Y - I M P O R T E D - European Trance, Techno, Hi-NRG... we can't define it!)
via FoxyTunes

Keltish At The Smugglers

Kacy's Thanksgiving holiday was to last until Sunday, so I had to fill three whole days on my own!

Friday night took care of itself, with the opening of a new hostelry in Caledon Wellsian, The Smugglers Cove. I wouldn't normally go to the opening of a new pub, but there was to be a live performance, so attendance was a must!

The Smugglers is a very well-built pub, with a crackling fire and a rustic feel. It is set up for RP as well, being damaged enabled, to allow for bar room brawls and the like. An interesting idea, I wait to see if people take up this aspect of the place.

One feature I was pleased to find there was the backgammon table! I am not claiming to be a very good player at all, but I do enjoy playing the game in RL, so just had to have a go here! The table in fact looks very like a set I used to play on with a friend a few years ago, which made the experience even more fun.

I played against a Miss Bailey, and after a very good game, lost handsomely! The landlady of the Smugglers, a Miss Sandy Burgess, said she too had lost to Miss Bailey - is this lady a backgammon hustler, per chance?

The band arrived, and the place began to fill up. Keltish are a three-piece combo playing Irish and Scottish traditional music, on bhodrain, guitar and fiddle. They were actually simulcasting to us in Caledon from a gig they were playing in Washington DC.

I danced, as well as lag would allow me, at one point there were 50 people in the sim, either at or en route to the performance! I spotted a few faces from Caledon amongst the audience, but I have to say the majority of the crowd were tourists visiting from the mainland, especially for this gig I suspect. I found that a bit sad, as we don't often have live musicians performing in Caledon, so any venue that seeks to redress this balance needs the nation's support! It was such a good experience though, that hopefully word will spread and we shall see more of my fellow Caledonians at future events at the Smugglers.
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Now playing: Johan Nilsson (DJ Irish) - Assorted Trance Volume 19 (D I G I T A L L Y - I M P O R T E D - European Trance, Techno, Hi-NRG... we can't define it!)
via FoxyTunes

Morgaine

Thursday was Thanksgiving for a lot of the residents of the Grid as a whole, and Caledon specifically, including for my beloved wife, so I had to find my own amusement, Kacy being with family for the holiday period.

I took myself off to look at Morgaine, the latest of the Caledon sims, and which closes the gap to the north of the Firth. To some extent, that is, given that it takes the form of a floating mountain over some straits!

The first picture was taken a few days earlier, when I happened upon the Guvnah allocating parcels to new residents. To stand upon a map of a sim is one thing, to see it in the raw entirely another.

At the time of my visit, the mountain had yet to be installed, but I will be making a visit to the levitating peak itself with Kacy in the coming days, so pictures will be forthcoming.

Here you see Morgaine in its part-made form, the straits and archipelago taking shape in the remnants of the crater left by the mountain when it tore itself skyward.

There is an artefact of historical interest in this otherwise empty landscape. An impressive black marker stone has been set up, to record the fact that with the coming of Morgaine, Caledon is now over 2 million square metres in area! Two square kilometres of virtual steampunkery! Fair takes your breath away to think on it!

There is a corresponding marker, celebrating the breaching on the 1 million square metre barrier, standing on Aether Isle, below the Steam Sky City. What floating structure awaits us at the 3 million square metre mark I wonder?




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Now playing: Skydive - Circles (earthbounds big wave remix) (D I G I T A L L Y - I M P O R T E D - European Trance, Techno, Hi-NRG... we can't define it!)
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The Bridge At Six Months, In Sepia

As a homage to the fact that we live in Caledon, a VSF/ Steampunk themed independent Nation upon the Grid, I here print some appropriate versions of the snaps from the preceding post, altered in GIMP to appear as calotypes. Mr Fox Talbot would be impressed, I am sure, at how far his process has come!



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Now playing: David Gray - Sail Away
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The Bridge, Six Months On

On Monday my darling wife and I returned to the site of our first ever date, some six months ago. The Bridge To Nowhere has not changed, indeed much like Kacy it is as beautiful as ever, but our relationship has grown and deepened in ways I would never have dared to dream of, back then.

On our first visit, which you can remind yourselves of here, I was acting as Kacy's guide to the Grid, after she contacted me having been a reader of my blog for a while. Truth be told, I was already hopelessly in love with her, and felt a strength of emotion such as I hadn't felt before. Perhaps this time?

However my track record was not good in matters of the heart, so I was restrained in my wording of our first times together. Gradually it became more apparent that my future wife shared my feelings, indeed had to some extent fallen for me through my scribblings, and love bloomed quickly.

It was a hard learning curve for me, to accept that someone wanted me as I was, that I had no need to be or act any other way than what came naturally, but in the end Kacy's patience, honesty and careful handling of my fragile heart won out, and finally I allowed myself to believe that this was a love that would last.

And now we are married! The most incredible feeling in the world that a man can feel, is to be wed to the woman who completes him. I am so very blessed to have Kacy in my life, to stand at her side as her chosen partner in SL.

It is said that everything changes when one gets married, and so it does, but perhaps not in the way it is generally portrayed. I love this amazing, magical woman more than ever, and every day is a joy for me, just as it was when we first started out on this journey together. And Kacy tells me it is the same for her, indeed her actions telegraph this to my heart all the time, especially those times when words just are not enough to express the feelings that pass between us.

The lost, halting, hideously unsure Djinn of six months ago is now a glorious Cat, strengthened by the love his angel has given him, to the point where he is himself more than he has ever been, more secure, more confident, and definitely more happy than he ever thought he could possibly be.

We cannot know what the next six months will hold, but with my wife beside me, I welcome all that it may bring, and we shall return to our bench again to see where we have got to. I love you Mrs Scaggs!

*I don't usually barge in on my husband's posts, but this one needed a few words from me, the overjoyed Mrs. Scaggs. These six months have indeed been an amazing, love filled journey for Mordecai and I. I never knew a life like this, a love like this, was possible in Second Life. I think we have made our Second Lives so full and rich, filled with love and laughter, shared with each other and good friends. My life changed the day I met my then Guardian, I giggle now thinking about how we played that part here on our blog, when really we were desperately in love with each other. Perhaps we share too much here, or aren't in character enough, or tell enough grand tells of all the silly adventures we have day in and day out, but we do have a record of our love. A beautiful account of our love story, our life together and how happy we are to be living it with each other. And that to me is the most precious thing, and hopefully, dear readers, warms your hearts as well. Mordecai showed me so many things, made me believe in the innocence of pure, true love, and I feel blessed everyday. I love you Mr. Scaggs, so so much!*

Your daily dose of besotted-ness brought to you by the Scaggsess!!

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Now playing: David Gray - This Year's Love
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Beaumont - Wormser Handfasting

Saturday 3rd November saw the very happy occasion of the Handfasting of Her Grace Beaumont, Duchess of Caledon Kintyre to her consort, Sir Zenmondo Wormser, Earl of Machrihanish, and I was very honoured and happy to attend.

Held at St Catan's Chapel on Caledon Kintyre, the simple but moving ceremony was very well attended, as this was one of THE weddings of the year in Caledon.

The chapel was beautifully dressed with red and white roses, and the bride and groom looked every inch the perfect couple, she in a stunning dress of antique lace (a Kintyre heirloom I suspect) and he in his Clan tartan.

The vows were spoken in Chat, each pledging themselves to the other in the most moving of ways, and then it was done. Two individuals had entered the chapel, but they were leaving as a single coherent entity, a wedded couple, and I for one wish them all the happiness that such a state brings.

After the ceremony I gave my congratulations to the newly weds, and retired for a catnap, the reception being in a couple of hours time, at quite a late hour for my time zone, and I wished to be fresh enough to attend. In the end I slept a bit too long, and was a trifle late to join the party of the roof of Castle Kintyre, but I don't think anyone noticed!

The reception was a grand party, with music being provided by Radio Riel, the Earl Primbroke attending to the turntables with a mellifluous mix of (19) 80s music. The use of Voice was prevalent, and it was a wonderful thing to be able to wish my friends all the very best in their new life together, in this way. I do enjoying hearing how people sound, sometimes it fits ones image of them, sometimes it
surprisingly doesn't, but it is always a joy.

Sadly I was without my wife again, weekends are not the easiest time for Kacy to get IW, so I spent most of my time listening as opposed to speaking. I do rely on my angel to smooth the waters of the social melee for me!

As ever my Box Brownie was showing its age, so I only managed the one usable shot of the reception, but it does at least show the superlative fireworks display provided by His Grace Vollmar of Cymru throughout the night!

A wonderful nights gaiety to end a very happy day, certainly for the wedded couple, and in closing I would like to offer a few words of congratulation from the homeland of their clan;

Deep peace of the running wave to you.

Deep peace of the flowing air to you.

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.

Deep peace of the shining stars to you.

Deep peace of the infinite peace to you.



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Now playing: Rialdo Shepherd - Sour Mix (D I G I T A L L Y - I M P O R T E D - European Trance, Techno, Hi-NRG... we can't define it!)
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Bauerhoff Samhain Formal

On Friday night I was very happy to attend Lady Amber's latest Sabbat Ball, held to mark Samhain, aka Halloween, the Old New Year's Day.

Sadly my beloved wife had RL commitments (the start of a sporting season, I wish her every success in getting to the top of the league), and as usual when I am bereft of Kacy I tend to become aimless. Thus a Ball held by one of our good friends was just the thing to snap me out of my ennui.




Held at Lady Amber's Dance Pavilion in Caledon Cay, the event was very well attended. The Dames Bauerhoff (Lady Amber and her new wife Miss Abigail Raymaker) looked the picture of autumnal elegance in their stunning outfits as they welcomed the celebrants.

This was a Formal Ball, so the Dance Card system was in operation. Try as I might to hide in a corner, the Ladies of Caledon took it upon themselves to look after me, and I enjoyed very pleasant waltzes with Miss Honey42 Merlin, Her Grace Beaumont of Kintyre and Lady Amber herself.

The music was provided by Radio Riel in the guise of Lady Diamanda Gustafson, who was debutting her new DJ rig in Caledon. A very impressive build, and her playlist was a wonderful mix of traditional and reworked English Country Dance.

This was the first of Lady Amber's Sabbat Balls that I had attended, and after such a delightful evening spent with friends old and new I shall definitely be attending her Yule Formal. Though not a Wiccan, I am happy to help a friend in marking the Old Holy Days, particularly when it is done in such fine surroundings and in such a pleasant manner. It is my fervent hope that Kacy will be able to enjoy the next one with me.




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Now playing: Rialdo Shepherd - Sour Mix (D I G I T A L L Y - I M P O R T E D - European Trance, Techno, Hi-NRG... we can't define it!)
via FoxyTunes

All Hallows Eve On Cymru

His Grace Duke Vollmar of Cymru held a party for All Hallows Eve, and we were delighted to attend this first party that our friend has thrown.

His castle was the perfect setting for such an event, and whilst he had said come as you are, we couldn't miss out on an opportunity to dress up for a night out! I wore one of my old skins and a pair of wings, whilst my darling wife bought not one but two new outfits, combining them to very great effect to produce a Poison Ivy Fairy look. You can see how stunning Kacy looks in the last picture.

Not only was the party the first that Viderian has thrown at Cymru - our wedding reception being hosted there as opposed to being a party of Viderian's own - it was the debut of the newest radio station in Caledon, CIB, or Caledon Independent Broadcasting. This new station is the brainchild of Her Grace Beaumont of Kintyre and her consort (now husband) Sir (Sir) Zenmondo Wormser, recently made up to the Earldom of Machrihanish.

Sir Zen spun some goodly choons and the crowd danced their collective socks off. And later their
shirts and skirts! I do wish this new broadcaster all the best!

We had a thoroughly enjoyable time at the party, and extend our grateful thanks to Viderian, Dar and Zen. We look forward very much to the next bash!


**UPDATE** As Her Grace Beaumont has pointed out in her comment, CIB is actually the creation and idea of Sir Drystan Knight of Caledon
Regency. My apologies to said gentleman. Sir Zen is one of their DJs, and Her Grace will be acting as a host.


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Now playing: Aries - Deuces Wild (D I G I T A L L Y - I M P O R T E D - European Trance, Techno, Hi-NRG... we can't define it!)
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Cheyenne's Rez Day

Last weekend my angel and I had the very happy occasion to celebrate my sister Cheyenne's Rez Day. Only a couple of weeks younger than me, Chey was actually rezzed on our wedding day, and it is to her great credit that she held off having her party for a few days.

It was actually a triple celebration, not only to give thanks for my sister's first year in SL, but also her (and our) dear friend Exuberance's rez Day from a few weeks ago, and her other SL brother Peter's Rez Day also! So there was a lot of joy in the air indeed!

The party was held at Chey's club, the Dragon Skybar, high over her island paradise of Pele. I took a lot more snaps than these 3, but none of them really came out, either due to lag affecting the rendering, or the age of my PC showing itself again.

What no picture can show, however well rendered, is the happiness displayed at such an occasion. I owe my sister Cheyenne an awful lot, in terms of emotional support through difficult times, and the deep and abiding friendship that I have with her, a friendship that I would not have were it not for SL. Indeed I wouldn't have any sisters at all if I weren't upon the Grid!

Many many many Happy Returns, sister mine, from myself and Kacy. Our family would not be complete without you.

Thank You Everyone!

My beautiful wife and I were overwhelmed with the outpouring of congratulations and well wishing that we have received from everyone in Caledon, friends known and the new friends we are making.

We were given many gifts, so by way of a thank you some of them are pictured here. The first image shows Kacy and I wearing the outfits Miss Eladrienne Laval gave us, Kacy was thrilled with her dress as she had been admiring it some days earlier at Miss Violet Schnabel's RL Birthday Party, and I was very pleased with receiving this ensemble! Also shown are our new AO's that Her Majesty Kamilah gave us, we are now the picture of Victorian properness!

Then we are pictured wearing the outfits Miss Fuschia Begonia and Professor Alfonso Avalanche gave us, wonderful Regency-style ensembles. We are stood with the wonderful dinner setting Her Grace Eva Bellambi gave us, now we will have to throw a supper for our friends!

The last two shots showing my beloved wife (how wonderful it is to use that word for Kacy) and I taking turns driving our new train! My sister Cheyenne and her partner Sweetie gave us this, at present it runs around our lawn, but once we have the land we shall set out a rail system akin to hers on her island of Pele.

We also received a balloon from His Grace Erasmus, Regent of Kintyre, which we have enjoyed flights over Caledon in already, although I didn't take any snaps at the time! Dame Lapin gifted us a wonderful fireplace, a very grand piece indeed, which will look wonderful when we build a Hall to put it in, and our good friend Colonel O'Toole gave us a Wok, complete with combat anims for those times when Kacy needs to instill some discipline into our marriage!

Another very special gift was received from Her Grace Beaumont of Kintyre and her consort Sir Zen, a "living" fish that he has created, which breeds, and talks, and does a host of other things as well. We are currently building this AI a fitting tank to live in!

If I have forgotten anyone or a gift given, my humblest apologies, we really were overwhelmed with the generosity shown us. More so though by the generosity of spirit shown, we married for ourselves, so it came as a great surprise to realise the interest in our little event to the whole of Caledon. It is a truly wonderful, caring community, where such magic as love and weddings are able, nay encouraged, to happen. We look forward to being seen about our home state as the Scaggses for a long time to come!