Household Portrait

This was something that Christine and I had intended to have ready some time ago, but in between house moves, gardening, winter, and various other sundry things we never seemed to be able to get everyone together for the portrait.

However earlier this month we finally got everyone together for the household portrait. Mrs. Clowes, Giles, Gears and Nell all had their best uniforms on. And Nell is such a slight lass. The staff have been given holidays, with most visiting family. Gears is off exploring but I get regular messages.

Christine has made the rooms in the Rokery comfortable for the moment, until such time as the new house is ready. It's rather more pokey than I'm used to dealing with though I'm sure I'll survive.

A very busy week

This week had been very full for me.

Saturday was the Doctor Who Podshock party at the Doctor Who Experience sim of Katrina - the oldest Doctor Who sim in SL.


Yours truly playing in front of the burning wreck of the TARDIS - last seen hurtling out of control at the End of Time.


A selection of visitors to the party.
(Thanks to Nat Merrit for the photos)

I had a great time and have discovered Trock as a result of some suggestions given to me beforehand. Some very good stuff out there.


Sunday I was back in New Babbage as the guest speaker for this month's Salon.



(Thanks to Bookworm Hienrichs for the pictures)
Despite having a sim crash that took me and half the attendees with it, it went well. I seemed to answer a few "back of the mind" questions that people had about buttons and things. Sadly my knowledge of Bohemian lifestyles is not up to lengthy discussion.

And today was the Big Brass Balls at SteamSky City.


It's been ages since I played here but it was nice to meet some new people as well as have some of the familiar ones turn up as well.

Doctor Who Podshock Party Spring 2010

Join us on Saturday, 20th of February when we all come together once again for a Gallifreyan Embassy/Doctor Who: Podshock virtual meet up!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Katrina/108/240/28

Starting at 1pm SLT Victor1st will be giving demonstrations of the TARDIS console. There are various Doctor Who and Torchwood simulations which many had not seen last time because they did not want to leave the party. So before party begins, you now will have a chance to check out the various incarnations of the TARDIS console room, peruse the virtual Doctor Who museum, and more. Perhaps even visit the Torchwood Hub.

Then at 3pm to 6pm SLT yours truly will mix the tunes for another fun party. I've been digging into the archives of Doctor Who music and by the gods there's some scary stuff! Fear Not though, I won't be subjecting you to all of it. There's some more boppy tunes to get your TARDIS tapping and your Daleks dancing.

See you there!

Farewell Edison.

*sighs*

The tea chests and moving crates are littered through the house. Mr. Giles and Mr. Gears and tackling the heavier stuff while Christine and Nell are wrapping ornaments and packing them into straw and boxes.



We moved to Edison in May when the realities of finance were faced and giving up the quarter sim in Rothesay was the only practical option. True we didn't move into a bedsit in Edison but it was still sad. This time however the choice has not been ours.

Edison will cease to exist and the sim itself will be reborn as another part of New Toulouse. While we have some friends there, including its owner, NT was never a sim that had any pull for me. Gators and swamps, zombies, and worst of all, NO WINTER! We were offered a spot in the forthcoming Jardin sim based on the Garden district of New Orleans. Historically this area tried very hard to break away from the French architecture and styles and move towards a more Anglicised look. It might have worked, but I felt I would be like some of the people in Caledon or Steelhead who had a house there because it was cheap, not because they had any particular affinity for the sim.

So we're currently passing notes and looking at options but New Babbage may become not just a work and social destination, but home as well. I wonder if the sootites are ready for Christine's spit, polish and elbow grease? :-)

Either gentlemen with no necks and large knuckles may start visiting people in Wheatstone to make them *offers* or there may be one or two *disappearances* in the Palisades.

Either way they will have nothing to do with me.

Bedlam in Babbage - the Cocktail!

This Saturday afternoon join Edward Pearse at The Clarendon for a stout mix of tunes, distilled from a spirited source.

Still good for what ales you.

Servant's Livery Suit

After a great deal of procrastination, Pearse'd & Cut is proud to announce the release of a Servant's Livery Suit to accompany the Maid's Uniform already in stock.

Based on a 1900 pattern of Domestic Servant's Uniform the suit should be the perfect addition for those needing to clothe their male staff in something more formal.



Available from Pearse'd & Cut Victoria City, New Babbage and Edison.

English as she are talked

Although I've not teased her about it for some time, for a while there was much good natured ribbing over accents and the apparent difficulty in pronouncing "Warwickshire".

But surnames, like place names, will often retain a spelling from five hundred or even a thousand years ago while the pronunciation changes with emigration, education or isolation.

Some examples of surnames not pronounced as they are spelt:

Beaconsfield - Beckonsfield
Beauchamp - Beecham
Belvoir - Beaver
Cholmondeley - Chumley
Marjoribanks - Marchbanks
Wemys - Weems
Hairstones - Hastings
Eyre - Air
Geoffrey - Jeffrey
Colquhoun - Cohoon
Urquhart - Urhart or Urkurt
Dyllwyn - Dillun
Waldegrave - Walgrave
Cockburn - Coburn
Mainwaring - Mannering
Cowper - Cooper
Froude - Frood
Knollys - Knowles
Gower - Gor
Meux - Mews
Kerr - Car
McLeod - McCloud
Ruthven - Ri’ven
St. John - Sin Jin
St. Clair - Sinkler
Bourne - Burn
Featherstonehaugh - Fanshaw

Additionally, the printed page will alter the way a word is pronounced. In Scots (also known as Lowland Scots) there was no Z (Zed). There was however a character called a Yogh. This made a nj sound (smiliar to the ñ in Spanish).

The character looked like this: .

With the introduction of moveable type, it was found easier to substitute the Z block for the Yogh and just pronounce it the right way. But lack of education and an influx of people who could read English but not Scots gave a shift with such names as Menzies or McKenzie, which should be pronounced mingis and makenyie respectively.


Is it any wonder that the old practice of "sound the word out" will only further confuse rather than assist though who read the language rather than speak it.