Sims come and go as we all know so it is always good to be
able to report that some sims are in it for the long haul. One such sim is The Highlands of
Scotland. I wrote a spot light on them
back in 2012 and thought it would be good to revisit the Scottish themed sim.
Lauraclaire Benelli strives hard to make The Highlands of
Scotland in SL replicate the Highlands in RL.
There are lots of things to
see and do across the SL Highlands. Experience the numerous events that take place
celebrating all that is unique and special to the region. Expect a warm welcome
from Lauraclaire and her staff and enjoy the best of The Highlands rich
heritage and culture including spectacular music, storytelling, and of course the
world famous ceilidhs.
Lauraclaire Benelli is the main face (read CEO) of the
Highlands of Scotland these days, and is very much a true Scottish lass through
and through. She joined SL on 28th February 2007. Lauraclaire’s
real-self worked for Local Government for 34 years (20 in HR, Teachers Staffing
and the last 14 years in IT where she found my love of the
Internet. She plays the Oboe in an Orchestra and loves to sing in choral
groups, the main one being Paisley Philharmonic Choir.
Lauraclaire’s RL daughter was having a party at home one day
and sent her packing to a hotel. Laura picked up a magazine to read and in said
magazine was an article on Second Life.
The article intrigued her so much that she downloaded the viewer on her
return home and she has been here ever since….
Lauraclaire started her Second Life in a Nightclub called
Ally B's. She created a second account 4 weeks after signing up (Elizbeth
Beaumont) and they 'both' were dancers for Ally Boyle. Liz stayed there
for a few years, becoming a manager within the first few months and working
between the main dance club and a ballroom while Lauraclaire moved on to a
couple of small clubs before hosting at La Vista Club. Then on 24th March 2008
a notice was handed out via True Brit Group asking for an interested person to
run a Pub in the Scotland Sim of Inverness. The rest is history.
Lauraclaire gets a lot of pleasure bringing a REAL
Scotland to Second Life. There are many Scottish style clubs and parcels
in SL but The Scottish Highlands is now the only fully Scottish set up.
They are often asked by visitors if they are an authentic or true Scottish
Highlands' Sim, well not only are most of our DJ's Scottish but many of the
support staff are too, and their Depute is an adopted Scot because of his great
love of the country/culture (even Scottish Gaelic). If you are planning a RL holiday in Scotland the
friendly people of The Scottish Highlands in SL will give you a lot of good
hints, tips and B&B's to stay in. They have a good team
to run their events and have 3 sponsors, Magnus Brody (born and brought-up in
Stirling, the Gateway City to the Highlands), Evil Piers (An Englishman who
loves what we do and helps to sponsor) and EllCee Tabac (one of the original
Shareholders, who has constantly supported them).
The amenities you will find on the sims include, two
lovely venues, The Loch Ness Inn (Aldourie Castle Exterior) and Brody Castle
incorporating The Caledonian Ballroom. The Castle is open to visitors. Our
Jacobite boat tour still runs and they have a ski-jet and row boat on the loch
for all to use. They also now have a bike rezzer and a horse rezzer which
are great fun. Magnus, sponsors the second sim, Urquhart, and about two
years ago transformed it into a light residential area centred around Loch
Events generally
run from 1pm slt every evening, including Live DJ's most nights, the
weekly Trivia Quiz (one of the very few regularly run live in all of SL), a
Classical Ball every second Sunday and an ecumenical service weekly at the High
Church. They also have a Mahjong venue
which is competitive and very popular. Mostly, the gatherings
every evening (as it is 9.00pm in the RL Highlands of Scotland) are about the
bleather and the banter - they are gesture free and chat about real stuff in
the Loch Ness Inn.
The stores
available include SF Design, The Tartan Shops, EllCee's
Emporium, LC Fashion, SLC Mesh Fashion, Stitches Creations and Mamia
Household and Garden.
Then there is
Nessie their lovely wee Loch Ness Monster.... who pops up every so often to
make sure everything is as it should be.
Lauraclaire
comments “We want everyone to enjoy everything we have to offer and come meet
us. As Magnus would say. ‘We are unique in what we offer’”.
Posts
A fantastic place... . suggest you all go visit it.....
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Evil Piers