Life at Thistle Hill

OK this Scares me

2009-02-02T06:03:00.000-08:00

2008-12-20T08:49:00.000-08:00

"Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear." - -- Dinah Mulock

It will never cease to amaze me the power whispered rumor and innuendo and so called facts that are attributable only to "unnamed sources" or what one "heard" can have. I suppose some of it must be intended cruelty and meanness but most is probably well intended or innocent mistake or lack of information or simple misunderstanding. In any case it has the power to hurt, to cause damage and in some cases, even to destroy.

This past year I saw a very dear friend, and great lady, Dame Lapin Paris, 2007 Caledon RFL Captain, leave Caledon because of just such whispers, all of which were, and are completely untrue. Her leaving was a great loss to Caledon and many of us personally. May that sort of thing never happen again.

No matter what your spiritual belief or understanding, this is the season when we all tend to look back at the previous year and forward to the fresh untouched one. I intend to take Miss Mulock's advice to heart and I hope you will consider doing so as well. Let us all try to treat one another with kindness and gentle touch and as the fragile, breakable beings we are.

(Dame Lapin's name in this post is used by permission)

Kintyre and the Open Space Changes

2008-12-16T06:44:00.000-08:00

We consider Kintyre to be entirely public land. It has always been available for the use of any member of the Independent State of Caledon on a first come first served basis. No one has ever lived on Kintyre. We have a sandbox that we provide for all the members of the Kintyre Clan and several of us build there on a regular basis, with others building or Beta testing off and on all the time. All water ways are open to everyone at all times.

The changes Linden Labs are making have provided all the Duchies with the challenge of how to continue whatever their paradigm is, or to change it to fit the new limits. As time has passed, others have announced their plans but we have remained quite on the subject till now. Des has been working will all the Duchies to try to make everyone as happy as possible. Last week we finally came up with a plan that will allow us to continue with as much of our original concept for Kintyre as we think is possible.

What happens next

Because of daily demands and traffic to NCI it is necessary for Nova Civis to be consolidated on a full sim, so the Duchy that was Nova Civis has become the full sim Oxbridge Village. NCI is taking the quarter sim that is closest to Oxbridge. Because Kintyre is part of the larger land mass that includes Oxbridge Village, Greystoke and Cymru, it has provided us with unique possibility that we hope is the solution to our AV and script limits. We are going to keep Kintyre as it is and in addition take the quarter sim that borders Kintyre. A bluff in Oxbridge Village will bring the land up to the level of the bluff the Keep sits on now. The Keep (our primary event space) will move to the bluff in Oxbridge Village. It will be oriented to face Kintyre and we will use landscaping to tie it to the main part of Kintyre. This will effectively remove AV and script limits for large parties and events. St Catans Chapel will remain on the Isle of Gigha, but of course weddings, handfastings, services ect. for the chapel will have to adhere to the new limits.

Also necessary to make this happen are the following changes:

I will move my Glengarry shop to the foot of the bluff in Oxbridge on our quarter sim parcel there. It will face into Oxbridge Village and we will use landscaping to separate it from the event space. Sir Ras and Lady Margulis will move their primary residence to Kintyre, probably on the bluff where the Keep sits now. The beautiful Dark Victorian party build has been removed, and the amazing Labyrinth will soon be gone as well. (we hope that when the dust settles there will be sufficient prims to allow the Labyrinth to return for special events or parties).

What this means to you

Kintyre will remain essentially public land. We will continue to offer Kintyre, at no cost, to members of Caledon for parties, events, weddings ect. The sandbox will remain open for group members to build. (at some point we may need to set a prim and or script budget for those of us that build there on a regular basis, we just have to see how all this works out after everything is moved). If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me or Sir Ras.

Hawkeye and Kora Muircastle!!

2008-12-08T07:05:00.000-08:00

With great joy I announce the return of my father, Hawkeye Muircastle to his loving wife and devoted daughter. My parents are finally and forever reunited! They plan to stay in Caledon for the foreseeable future so please welcome these two wonderful people back to the home they so long ago left.

My Father will have much to tell us of the trials and adventures he has endured in his long absence, but for now we simply celebrate the great joy of a holiday season spent with our family together!

Kora Muircastle is home!

2008-12-06T14:56:00.000-08:00

My beloved mother, Kora Muircastle has joined me in Caledon to await further word about my father. All these years that father has been missing Mother has never once considered remarriage. Many suitors pursued the beautiful lady, but she rejected them all saying that true love never dies. I wonder if somewhere inside, she may have suspected he had survived. Against all odds this loving couple will soon be reunited. Mother brought with her the faded photo that was the catalyst for the search that finally found my darling Father. I share it below.

Hawkeye Muircastle

ALIVE???

2008-11-21T15:34:00.000-08:00

Can it be? I have received word that my father, who was lost at sea when I was a toddler might indeed be alive! My mother has written that she has had word that my father might well be alive and living among the natives in the West!

I was so overcome after reading her letter that I had to take a long walk and consider the possibilities. My mother, of course, decided to retire after I reached my twenty-fifth birthday and abdicate the Duchy to me. Then there was that long drawn out legal mess when my cousin and I determined that we did not wish to marry one another. And this last year was bliss as my cousin and I were able to happily divide the duties of the Duchy and manage it together. Now this!! Imagine! I have only the stories my mother tells me of my father and one faded photograph to know him by. Alive? I am breathless with the possibility of it. And happy and I hope I do not disappoint him and oh my!! Alive!

DISCO 1970

2008-04-09T20:27:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night Kintrye was turned into a 1970s Disco for the night. Some stories are so much better told in pictures rather than words. All photographs are by Miss Shaylee Greenspan. Only first names are used to protect the guilty

Bob Rockin' the night!

Duck

Roy (with hair????)

Honey

Dar

Ras

Patty

70's night

Fauve

Marcus

Shay

Becky

Erotic Victorian Show and Sell

2008-03-31T11:52:00.000-07:00

Saturday evening I attended the Gala opening of the Erotic Victorian show and sell to benefit SL Relay for Life. I am seen here dancing the night away with Mr. Aberdon Enigma and celebrating the very successful opening.

The exhibit, which showcases the beautiful work of Miss Becky Book of Caledon Penzance, has earned more than $L57,000 as of this morning. Music for the event was provided by Mr. Duckthulhu Dagger of Caledon Independent Broadcasters and the affianced of Miss Book. Mr. Dagger, a cancer survivor himself, donated all of his tips from the opening to SLRFL. The show continues in Thistle Hill Keep, Caledon Kintyre until April 5, 2008. (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Kintyre/129/128/54)

An in depth review by Lord Bardhaven may been had here http://bardhaven.wordpress.com/2008/03/31/barely-caledonian/.

If you have not yet gone, go! If you have, go back and buy some more! You may never again have the chance to see so many lovely Caledonians in such a shocking state of undress.

My Rez-Day

2008-03-05T12:22:00.000-08:00

Its my Rez day and I feel that it should be marked in some small way. I will not post a "What I have Learned" post. Personally I find those tedious and preachy. I am still making my self anew every day, still trying for some small measure of success. I know that I have made terrible mistakes and done foolish things. I have never intended any real harm to anyone, but that does not mean that harm was not done and for that I am deeply sorry.

I have made some dear friends and laughed a good deal, and I have cried more than once. I have tried to give back to the community that I dearly love in the only way I know how. I know that as long as I am here, those things will all continue. I hope with more success and fewer mistakes.

So many of you have touched me so deeply and profoundly and I thank you all for that. You make my life richer. I want to share two things, neither of which are original with me but two things I am trying very hard to live now. One is what my dear friend Captain Jaksoi Pak said to me when things were particularly difficult. "Dar, love the ones who love you and to hell with the rest" The other is something I read in a profile a few months ago. I wish I could give the gentleman credit, but I do not recall his name. It said: "There are three kinds of people in SL. Awkward confused newbies, arrogant long timers and heroes. Be a hero to someone new".

I did not find any help at all in SL before coming to Caledon in mid-April of last year. There I found people willing to sell me land they did not actually intend to sell at the same price they paid just to give me a chance to live in this place I had come to love. I also found a friend that helped me buy my first AO, others who taught me so much and asked for nothing in return. I received gifts of every imaginable thing and some one could never imagine.

And I laughed, a lot. I found love and friendship and yes heartbreak.

Thank you Caledon. You have been good to me.

Kintyre Chocolate - a History

2007-09-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

The renovations in Kintyre continue. The chapel is almost done, the chocolate well is producing at a brisk rate and work on the keep continues.

Also slated to be built is a bridge to connect the small island of Gigha with the mainland of Kintyre.

As work progresses on the chocolate well (thanks to Mr Drystan Knight's tireless efforts), a number of questions have been asked about our fine chocolate production and interest has been expressed in the history of our chocolate. The Duke Regent Kintyre provided Miss Cornelia Rothschild with some books and his own research of the history and she has been kind enough to write the following history:

Kintyre has been populated for more than 5000 years by various peoples, all of which have contributed to the region's rich store of history, culture, and folklore. However, when one says 'Kintyre' nowadays, one's conversation almost invariably ends up wandering towards the subject of chocolate.

While Caledonian scholars are aware of ancient Kintyre legends which make mention of a certain substance known as 'the blood of the gods,' prized and revered for its fortifying properties and delicious taste (somewhat akin to the substance from Greek legend known as ambrosia, which likely also derived from a more ancient, Indo-European source), Kintyre's first recorded brush with chocolate can be traced back to the 14th century.

At that time there was a chapel present on the island of Gigha (pronounced 'gee-ya') known as St. Catan's Chapel. The entire region being highly religious at the time, the brothers of the St. Catan's order had become convinced that the native dragons which would alight at the top of the nearby mull were symbols of Satan himself, and that it was their duty to slay or drive them away.

One day, a member of the order known as Brother Beauford was engaged in the business of chasing off a dragon which had chosen to sun itself on the top of the nearby mull, and had consequently fallen asleep. Brother Beauford chose to plague the dragon with rocks and sticks, and, naturally, happened to wake it. As Brother Beauford ran down the side of the mull in terror, screaming at the top of his lungs, the dragon gave chase. It, being in a playful mood, picked Brother Beauford up in its massive claws and flapped out towards the sea, where it flung the monk.

As was typical for Beauford, his mouth was wide open when he hit the water. While sea water entered his mouth, something sweet did, as well. Its taste was so delightful that, for three years afterwards, Brother Beauford swam the bay into which he had been plunked looking for the source of the wonderful flavor which had washed into his mouth with the brackish water.

Finally, after many attempts, Beauford managed to locate a spot where something dark and delicious was leaking out of a crack in the bay floor. He harvested some of the material and presented it to his brothers, who were immediately as intoxicated by it as he had been. The dragons were quickly forgotten about, and the brothers focused on the extraction and the marketing of the newfound substance.

Sadly, Brother Beauford caught pneumonia on his last swim, and died a week later. The end of the St. Catan's order came when the Pope himself blamed an outbreak of acne on the substance from Kintyre, now identified as chocolate, and declared it to be of the devil. The chapel was immediately shut down. It was then that the Duchy of Kintyre was formed, in order that some governmental structure might be put in place to protect its peoples from the evils of chocolate -- evils such as the aforementioned acne, light-heartedness, sensuality, and the dreaded "sugar high."

It was not until the Pope passed away and a new Pope, a chocoholic who had fond memories of Kintyre chocolate, took the Papal throne that a bull was decreed permitting the processing of chocolate in Kintyre again. (See Smythe, 1897 for a well-researched thesis on the declaration of chocolate as an evil substance and the ensuing backlash's effect on the Protestant reformation.) The region, sitting on vast reservoirs of the magical substance, was immediately placed into a position of power, and has been producing the best chocolate in the world ever since.

St. Catan is still the patron saint of chocolatiers. Kintyre's culture has also been shaped by its most abundant natural resource -- chocolate is present in many festivals and post-14th century folklore, and the Kintyre Chocolate Festival attracts thousands every year from the country of Caledon and beyond.