Tag: London City

London City in Second Life Remembers Queen Elizabeth II

Screen capture from BBC coverage of the Procession to Laying-in-State today

The State Funeral of Her Majesty The Queen will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday 19th September at 11:00 a.m. BST (here’s a guide from the BBC which outlines all the events from today leading up the funeral). If I were a Londoner, I suspect I would be getting away from the city to avoid the throngs of visitors who want to witness such a historical event. However, for those of us who prefer to stay away from the crowds, virtual worlds such as Second Life (which has always had a strong British community) offer another way to mark the occasion.

Bixyl Shuftan of the blog Second Life Newser wrote on September 8th, 2022:

Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain [has] died…The reaction in Second Life has already started. At London City, a memorial was set up. It included a British flag at half staff, along with a crown on a pedestal with a flame at the base, a guestbook with candles, and three pictures that gave a slide-show of Queen Elizabeth over the years.

So I decided to pop into London City (website), a region of six sims which offers residential and business rentals, and has been a welcoming region for people new to Second Life for many years now. As you can see by the green dots indicating avatars on this map, it’s busy 24/7/365! People are commiserating with each other via both text and voice chat (I usually have voice chat turned off on my viewer; it’s much more common for avatars to use text chat to talk with each other in SL).

The memorial to Queen Elizabeth II (SLURL) is located in the northwest corner of the main gathering spot, opposite the long-running Freebie Megastore.

There are three large signs, each with a slideshow of images from the Queen’s life, a wreath, and a memorial flame.

Next to a set of votive candles (you can light one simply by clicking on it), there is a book of condolence which, if you click on it, you can add a message:

Nearby is a box where you can pick up a free memorial ribbon for your avatar to wear:

Like me, you may wish to come to London City, sign the book of condolence, and chat with other Second Life users around the world about the life and accomplishments of the Queen. Please check the official London City blog for updates on news and events in the region during this time of mourning.

Second Life Steals, Deals and Freebies: Paying A Return Visit to the Freebie Megastore in London City

I am becoming more depressed and anxious about the Ukraine Russia war, and its potential to turn into World War III. I have been spending a lot of time these past three weeks doomscrolling the news and social media (mostly Reddit and Twitter), but I do try step away for a day or two when I become overwhelmed by it all.

So, in addition to making financial donations to various war-related charities, I was out protesting against this senseless war in front of the Freebie Megastore in the popular London City sim in Second Life, standing right next to an effigy of 💩-tin in a garbage can…you know, as one does in SL (hey, it’s your Second Life; do what you want!).

By the way, the minidress in the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag is a freebie from Princess Stuff (details here; scroll down to the bottom), and the No War sign is a freebie from the WENICE sim (details in this blogpost).

Anyways, while I was there, I freecammed into the Freebie Megastore, and I was pleased to discover that they have considerably enlarged their selection of free mesh clothing and footwear:

You can still pick up the free versions of the male Robert and female Jenny mesh bodies from Altamura, as well as a decent selection of free men’s and women’s clothing specifically designed to fit Altamura bodies. The menswear section has been significantly expanded from what I remember the last time I visited, too! (There is also a nice selection of men’s and women’s St. Patrick’s Day outfits, but you’d better hurry down to the Freebie Megastore to pick those up!)

Here’s a look at the mesh women’s clothing section; while the older items come in standard sizing, the newest additions are designed to fit a wide variety of women’s mesh body brands:

There’s also a women’s footwear section tucked into a corner of the Freebie Megastore, which includes some shoes and boots to fit Maitreya, Belleza, and Slink mesh feet!

So, if you haven’t been down to the Freebie Megastore in London City for a while, it might be time to pay a visit and pick up some fabulous freebies! Here’s your taxi.

Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: London City Freebies, Including the Robert and Jenny Full-Body Mesh Avatars by Altamura!

UPDATE Sept. 28th: For a current, up-to-date list of free or inexpensive options for mesh avatar heads and bodies for female Second Life avatars, please see this blogpost. For a current, up-to-date list of free options for free and inexpensive male mesh avatar heads and bodies, please see this blogpost. 

London City is invariably one of the busiest (and laggiest!) sims in Second Life. No matter what time of the day or night, there’s always a crowd of avatars present, chatting with each other or just hanging out.

Just off to the side of the main gathering spot in London City is the Freebie Megastore:

Freebie Megastore London City 29 Aug 2018.png

This is not one of my top four freebie stores in Second Life, because almost all of the items available here are dated, system-layer-and-flexiprim clothing designed for the older SL system (i.e. non-mesh) avatars. However, on my last visit, I did find a pleasant surprise: two free full-body mesh avatars by Altamura! They’re just inside the entrance on the main floor, to the left (here’s a SLURL to take you directly there):

Robert and Jenny Altamura Fullbody Mesh Avatars London City 29 Aug 2018

These are the same avatars which Rumegusc Altamura very generously gave as hunt gifts late last year: the Jenny full-body mesh avatar as a free hunt prize in the Women Only Hunt, and the Robert full-body mesh avatar as a free hunt prize for the Men Only Hunt. just click on each panel and select “Deliver” from the blue pop-up menu which appears on-screen, and they’re yours for free!

As I have said before, I have found that clothing designed for the Maitreya Lara mesh avatar body fits the Altamura female body very well, with a minimum of fuss. Also, the Altamura female mesh bodies have Slink-compatible feet, so any shoe designed for Slink feet should work well with them (the female mesh body gift comes in three foot heights, selectable via HUD: flat, medium, and high). The bodies have fully-adjustable Bento heads and Bento hands, and (in a nice touch) Altamura has included a hand AO which cycles natural hand positions, which you can use with your regular (non-Bento) AO.

IMPORTANT! There is one key difference between the Women Only Hunt freebie Jenny body and the London City Freebie Megastore freebie Jenny body. The earlier WOH version allowed you to remove the head so you could replace it with any other head. Unfortunately, the freebie Jenny body from the Freebie Megastore does not allow you to remove the head. And it’s the same story with Robert; if you picked up the Men Only Hunt version of this head last year, you can remove the head. If you pick it up here at London City, you can’t.

In addition to the Altamura freebies, you can also pick up dozens of free dresses and gowns by Snowpaws, in a small store just across from the Freebie Megastore:

Snowpaws Store London City 29 Aug 2018.png

Just walk inside, and there are two full walls of freebie panels to click (here’s a SLURL to take you directly there). Many of these dresses are mesh outfits available in five standard sizes, but note that some are older system-layer clothing. WARNING: One of the dresses on the freebie wall is actually listed for sale for L$100, so please BE CAREFUL and check before you click the Buy button! 

Snowpaws Freebies London City 29 Aug 2018.png

So, drop by the bustling London City sim, brave the lag, meet some new people, and pick up a free mesh body and some beautiful free clothes!