Category: Reviews

England’s Birmingham City may at first glance appear to be an odd choice for a parcel theme; the city today is typical of modern conurbations and to those from beyond its borders perhaps seemingly unremarkable and famous only for a particular motorway / trunk road interchange. However, the city has a long and notable history, one that dates back to at least Anglo-Saxon times as the settlement for a local clan from which its name is derived – Beormingas (“Beorma’s People”), although whether or not Beorma was an actual clan leader or a mythical character associated  with the people who settled there isn’t actually known.

As a centre of commerce, the city flourished from around the mid-1500s, which in turn gave rise to a certain level of wealth flowing into it, such that by the mid 18th-century, it was the centre of the Midlands Enlightenment that allowed Birmingham become a centre of literary, musical, artistic and theatrical activity and, as a result of that, a major driving force behind Britain’s industrial revolution.

However, for their VOIR Gallery parcel build, Simone (SimoneFiore) and Frenchy25, have selected the Birmingham of the 1920s as a founding theme. This was the era of the Birmingham Boys, a notorious gang who controlled horse race betting across the majority of England in thrall.

Occupying 1/8th of a full region, the parcel packs a lot into it without ever feeling overcrowded. Sitting on a sky platform, it offers the aforementioned steam train (admittedly of American design, but that’s the nature of SL when it comes to available content) and canal. Large commercial buildings (including the façade of the parcel surround) mix with rows of (oddly flat-topped)  worker’s houses.

To be honest, I’m not really clear how the Birmingham boys fit into the setting as noted; in walking the parcel, I didn’t see any overt signs of their activities (betting shops, etc.), and as a result, did find myself wondering if the reference may be the result of the TV series peaky Blinders, which offered a fictionalised glimpse of a least one of the founding members of the gang. However, influences don’t really matter here, as there is much to commend the location to photographers, both outdoors and in (notably the pub and warehouse converted to a blues club).

Given this is a gallery space, the art with the parcel can be found discretely parked along two of the façade walls, one of which is occupied by images by Lula (Lulalali) and the other by images by Ness(?) Several of the pieces deal with adult themes, so may be considerer NSFW. In addition, one of the warehouse building looks as if it in the process of being readied as a gallery space, so more art may be added in due course.

In the meantime, the parcel makes for a pleasant visit, and our thanks to Cube Republic for the pointer.

SLurl Details

• VOIR Gallery (Fireball, rated Adult)

Shawn Shakespeare passed me the landmark to Angel’s Nest, a Full region held by Denise Wirtanen and designed by Busta (Badboy Hi) with additional elements by Denise herself. As I’ve mentioned in these pages in the past, hearing or seeing Busta’s  name associated with an region is bound to get me bouncing to take a look, as he has a particular eye for designing environments that I really appreciate – and Angel’s Nest is no exception.

A semi-tropical island marked by a central high peak (the summit reachable via teleport disc), this is a design the brings together multiple themes in a manner that is genuinely breathtaking, and considerable care ha been taken to ensure that visitors can be gently lead around the island via a series of paths that allow everything to be revealed naturally – so much so that I’d tend to recommend not camming around too far in advance so as not to ruin any revelations and allow the paths to lead you onwards.

The landing point is located part-way up  the central mountain, sitting on a broad shelf of rock that is home to a Tuscan style villa and courtyard. The house is furnished, offering a first point of exploration. From here, a number of paths marked by logs set in the loamy soil offer several routes of discovery. Two wind down to the coastal regions while a third curls upwards to twist around the flat-topped tower of the mountain, and a fourth points the way to a lookout point built out over a pool of fresh water fed by multiple falls – which are very much a theme for the island, as more are waiting to be found.

I don’t want to give a blow-by-blow account of the region’s sights – as noted above, they deserve to be discovered naturally;  but I do want to highlight a number of things and offer some impressions.

The first of the latter is the manner in which the island – deliberately or otherwise – evokes thoughts of settings from television and film. Taken as a whole, the island has – for those that many have seen it when originally aired or in re-runs – something of a Fantasy Island feeling. Not that there is any grand villa or guest houses (although the lighthouse just off the main island might be seen as a place where Tattoo might cry, “The ‘plane, Boss! The ‘plane!”), but rather that the settings to be found around the island might be taken as individual fantasy areas for visitors.

Similarly, and a little unexpectedly, the tall mountain with its sliced top carries (for those of us who enjoy science fiction) an echo of Devil’s Tower, Wyoming. Again, not that any flaying saucers or motherships are liable to rise from behind it – but it does give the island an additional sense of place and mystery, whilst its flat top offers a place for meditation – just use the teleport disc in the courtyard of the villa to hop up and have a look around.

In terms of highlights, there are many to choose from, however there two that particularly caught my attention. The first of these again lies off of the main island to the north-east. Rugged and low-lying island in which Busta has placed a – for me – quite eye-catching modification of AustinLiam’s Captain Retreat house (which as I’ve commented on in these pages is a favourite of mine), so much so that I might well borrow elements of the idea from him!

The second is the café-bar located on the south side of the island, overlooking the southern beach. Utilising the Trompe Loeil Yara Treehouse. With the two halves of the structure located on two shoulders of rock and linked by their rope bridge, the café presents an eye-catching location, reached by several routes, one of which rises from the beach to pass under the rope bridge.

Another aspect of the region are the many little place people can gather and sit, all of which should be sought out carefully. But it’s not only the various settings that catch the eye here, but all the smaller details within them and across the island as whole that add a sense of presence to the island.

Some of these – such as the old British red telephone box just outside of the villa – is one of the more easy of these to spot, nestled alongside an old piano that has become a garden feature with colourful blooms (and which has been claimed by some of the local cats!). Others might actually be easily missed – such as the great Buddha sitting on a shoulder of the mountain, and a sculpture of a spear-carrying Angel on an opposite shoulder.

Returning to the teleport discs for a moment, as well as presenting a quick means of jumping directly to various points on the islands, they also provide the means to access a large skybox overhead. Designed by Denise, this offers a Zen garden under a star-filled sky and, across the water from it, a retreat  within a Japanese style house that has a slight BDSM twist.

Rounded by a balanced soundscape and given life through the inclusion of birds, cats and assorted animals, Angel’s Nest is an engaging visit – although some may find they may need to disable shadows / make adjustments to their their viewer to enjoy smooth motion within the region. I’d also note that there is a second region to the south, reached via a footbridge;; however, as this appears to be a private home, we didn’t venture to it, and would advise caution to those considering doing so.

Slurl Details

• Angel’s Nest (rated Adult)

Sugar Mine is a Homestead region I learned about from Annie Brightstar. For those who are not aware of Annie’s work, she curates information on places to visit – regions, art exhibitions, installations, and events – and provides information on them through her Scoop it! pages and via her Twitter feed, which I tend to drop into from time-to-time as it is an excellent reference for things I may have otherwise missed.

The region is the home to Tomster Starflare and his gardener Gioia Sautereau, with the majority of it open for people to explore – providing visitors only attempt to reach those areas accessible on foot from the landing point or via the the teleports. The latter come in two forms: teleport discs and also experience portals (be sure to accept the experience when offered) that take a number of forms: mirrors, doorways, floating portals, stairways, and so on. The “on foot” aspect of visits should be kept in mind, as there is an adjoining region that’s part of the same group, but not necessarily part of the same setting.

As a region carrying an Adult rating, there are aspects of the setting that lean towards BDSM – but nothing particularly overt (in fact, it’s so subtle, you might actually miss it). It is also a place that’s a little hard to describe; carrying a strong industrial thread, alongside something of a deco / steampunk vibe in places, together with hints of dystopia and of futurism. All of which makes for an engaging mix.

Many of these elements are evident at the landing point: an industrial wharf watched over by a steampunk lighthouse, whilst a hover truck floats under the arch that marks the main road  away from the wharf – although there is a route for those on foot that goes via the nearby beach and stairs up the neighbouring headland.

Both the footpath and the zig-zagging road lead the way up to a plaza built on top of tall, deco-style and high-rise buildings. On its way to the plaza, the road offers a view out over one of the more dystopian aspects of the region: a semi-collapsed Eiffel Tower (of which more anon). A hover barge floating off the shoulder of the hill facing it offers a futuristic counter-point.

The plaza itself has buildings on three sides, with the fourth largely open, presenting a view across the waters below to a island that matches the plaza in elevation. Water tumbles from a dam-like outflow to drop unimpeded to the waters below, passing the double lines of tram tracks that appear from a tunnel as it does so. This water drop and other elements at the top of the hill  continue the industrial theme, whilst the three buildings each offer a deco-esque look. One of these forms a cinema,  another a large saloon club, and the third appears to be purely decorative. A  steam-power motorcycle and British Moran Plus 4 add a further mix to the setting.

The club offers a its own rich mix of themes: sci-fi, retro, and more. It is also the place where the fun may well begin, depending upon how you find your way around. In one corner is the image of a flight of stairs. Walk into it, and you’ll be teleported to a building some distance away that might otherwise be an annexe to the bar. This in turn offers two further teleport points – stairs (you’ll need to look for them) back to the main bar, and a doorway to the fallen Eiffel Tower.

The stairway in the main bar is not the only teleport portal to be found there, there is a second that leads to a further room below ground, which also has its own portal. There are more portals to be found elsewhere (notably on the old Eiffel Tower),  but I don’t want to give too much away about where they lead. Suffice it to say that some may be one-way, leading you from point to point (including across the water to that other tall island with its own water tumbling from multiple outlets on hight, and marked by the sliced hull of an old Soviet-era submarine).

However, the portals are not the only means of finding more places to explore – at the landing point, the plaza and elsewhere are teleport discs that offer the means to hop around. most notably, these will also offer the means to reach the region’s caversn – just left-click to select your destination, then right-click and teleport.

For those who wish, dances are available at various points, while the high, flat top of the smaller island offers a semi-natural retreat with a large body of blue water and places to sit. This island also offers a way down to the ground-level buildings that support the high plaza. These have a curious Japanese aspect to their signage , adding a further twist to things, although most are just façades for the most part.

Genuinely unique in its approach and design, Sugar Mine makes for an  engaging visit edged with a sense of being a magical mystery tour.

SLurl Details

• Sugar Mine (Starbright, rated Adult)