WEST END

[thundercrack83]

Welcome to OSITM number three, Paul!

I love the teaser--great way to start things off! I will definitely be looking forward to seeing how things come together!

Dustin

[Jmouse]

Oh yes, yes, yes! Paul has opened LE again for the first time in a couple of months, and obviously hasn't lost his touch! I can see great things coming along soon!

Later...
Joan

[Pat]

Paul that is looking sooo good there!!! Yea speaking of bad puns you will so love the bad pun i unlease in the podcast lol 

[bat]

Those are nice two lots there!
Looking forward to more...

[Sheep49]

Good lots. I really like them. The second one reminds me of the building in Kew Gardens in London. Though, on the 2nd lot, I would suggest making trees not so regular, I mean, scatter them in the lot. And the colour of the trees in the first lot is kinda irritating for me

But since you opened LE for the first time in a couple of months, I can safely say that this lots are magnificent

See you later!
Piotr

[paroch]

Dustin:  Thanks Dustin – OSITM3 was the impetus I needed to get West End back on track.  I just hope I can keep up with Pat, Bat and Robin this month – both in quality and quantity.

Joan:  I kinda guessed you'd be pleased to see some LE work in the pipe!

Pat:  I'm looking forward to the podcast and am sure the puns will make me chuckle– still not listened to the first one.  Is there a simple link to it??

Bat:  Thanks my friend.  More have already been put together.

Piotr:  Thanks for your comments.  The greenhouse is actually the Palacio Cristalino by Riptide but is similar to the ones at Kew Gardens.  Thanks for your suggestions – trouble is they've already been plopped in game and it took an age, so I'm not going back now!!




Today we're going to look at the educational heart of Piccadilly.  Now before you all ask where these amazing University buildings can be found – I have to tell you that as far as I am aware they have not been released.  They are the work of SC4's greatest school builder, JBSimio.  I was fortunate enough to have a memory stick with me when I met Jon (JBSimio) earlier in the year.  Jon, I hope you like the layout I've used but all the credit has to go to Jon for these great buildings and lots.


Here's an overview of the area.  You can see that the University and College share a campus and are the two largest educational facilities in Piccadilly.  I think this picture also gives a feel for how much green space there is in the city.  You can also see how the high rise buildings tend to be spread along the major roads.



Let's get a bit closer to see the layout of the Campus.  You can see it's bordered by the railway on two sides.  I hear that their degree in Trainspotting is one of their most highly subscribed courses!!



Here are the main university buildings, housing the admin, classrooms, library and research facility.



Simio Hall is the main building – and appears on many of the postcards that tourists to Piccadilly buy.  The small chapel of St.Jon is crammed with students on the night before the exams – all praying for easy questions!



Michigan Hall and the maintenance building.



The dorms facing the railway are very popular with those on the Trainspotting course.



The residential buildings around the university have a kind of village feel to them.  It's a popular place to live in Piccadilly with plenty of bars and restaurants.  I have to admit I was very pleased with how the diagonals worked out.



I was surprised and pleased when these SFBT apartments set at an angle grew like this.  Some of these low wealth apartments are used by students who can't get a room in the main campus dormitories.



Home to the University football and athletics teams and the site of plenty of high drama over the years. 
Also, it's funny how sometimes you spot an "error" in a picture you're preparing for an MD update that you hadn't seen before.  The dip in the road right in front of the tennis courts would have been easy to correct if only I'd seen it before taking all of the pics!



And here is the Adamport college located at the northern end of the campus.  This is where students go between High School and University (16 to 18/9 in UK terms).



A final overview of the area, but this time from taken from the north, looking south.  If you look carefully you can also see how many trains pass by the campus during rush hour.  The West End rail network really does shift a lot of people.


Now, before I sign off, I thought I'd give a few more little teasers of the planned development for the peninsular.......




I have to thank Riptide and D66 for their great props which I have used extensively in putting these together.

I'd say development is about 80% complete now and I hope to show you the results soon.


'til next time.......................

[art128]

very great update my friend , you do a very great work on the campus
and also, great work on your city 

[bat]

That's a great 65th update there! 13 Great images! Also nice lots there and nice work on the LE! The pictures of the university and college are excellent, fantastic work... Also great overview of this part of your city...

Looking forward to some pictures of the (planned) development for the peninsular...

[Jmouse]

The University layout looks terrific, Paul, but not surprising considering your skill and the beautiful buildings you had to work with! And the surrounding areas just add to an already great scenario. I agree with your comments in 65.07 - the diagonals look really good and provide an interesting contrast. Then 65.08 finishes off this unique and very pleasing layout.

And you're right, I'm really happy to see you back in full swing, and back to working with LE. You have a creative talent that would be a shame to waste.

Later...
Joan

[Pat]

Hey Paul I think you can do it my friend and if you are up to it me and Robin are going for a 125 month reply!!! are you game?  I cant wait to see what you have in store!!!!

[JBSimio]

This is the update I've been looking for ever since July!   

The university looks great, Paul.  I always enjoy seeing how other people use things... because it's almost always done in ways that I hadn't really thought of.  Your arrangement is no exception.

65.02 is particularly interesting to me.  The overview sums things up nicely and gives a good feel of the entire campus.  The thing that jumped out most to me is that the only driving on campus is the small service drive to the maintenance building and Michigan Hall.  It's a perfect example of things I'd never consider myself and the result is really nice.

65.04 just made me laugh a little bit.  "praying for easy questions..."  Priceless!   

65.08 is another great look.  Those SFBT apartments fit in perfectly there and look as if they could really be off campus student housing.

The stadium completes the whole area.  I really like how the whole thing turned out!     Thank you for all your kind words... and also all the names.  The way you're going with this tile, I feel like I should come to Piccadilly to sign autographs or something!   

See you next time!

JB

[paroch]

Replies and all to follow later - but as it's OSITM and the rest of the guys are being ultra active, I thought it only right I try and keep pace with a new pic.

I've pretty much finished development in Piccadilly now.  I think the only changes will be any little bits I spot when I go back in to take pics for the next couple of updates.  So I thought it was time to show you an update of the whole city tile.




Needless to say the "secret peninsular" has been a bit blurred!  Not sure how that happened

[Pat]

Paul did you spill your tea there so Derry would have to come to New Castia to get all that water again lol.... anyways looking good and I cant wait to see how that gets cleaned up over there 

[Jmouse]

Oh Noooooooooo!! At least 10 seconds of shame for blurring the good stuff and teasing us like that! *Paul hangs head and counts 2-4-6-8-10*

Otherwise, Piccadilly looks great. That's exactly the kind of quad I always hope to produce but never even come close! Anyway, I'll be watching to see what turns up on that peninsular - I'm sure it will be well worth the wait!

Later...
Joan

[Simpson]

Hi Paul 
First, congratulation for this third OSITM 
Second, these updates are looking perfect
Third, I love the general picture 

Super work my friend

[tooheys]

Also, it's funny how sometimes you spot an "error" in a picture you're preparing for an MD update that you hadn't seen before.  The dip in the road right in front of the tennis courts would have been easy to correct if only I'd seen it before taking all of the pics!

Flat Paul, flat 

OSITM x 3, well done mate, you do deserve it 

Love the campus, nicely put together, a great choice of buildings. The dorms are a good example. I have to ask, are they the growable lots? (or did you make them ploppable). If the former, you must have a lot more patience than me to wait for identical lots to grow 

Have  a fun month

Cheers

Dave

[bat]

That's  a great city there! And looking forward to the rest of it...

[paroch]

Arthur:  I'm glad you liked the campus – thanks for dropping by.

Bat x 2:  Thanks for your comment – I'll try not to have toooooo many teasers of the peninsular.

Joan x 2:  Cheers Joan, glad you liked the campus and diagonals.  And yes, I enjoyed the LE work.  I'm not normally one for teasers but am using OSTIM as an excuse to do so!  I think you'll like the end result though.

Pat x 2:  Wow, 125 replies in one month.  That'll be tough but I'll try and keep pace with you, Robin and Bat and see where we end up.  Hehe, yeah, Derry's tea caused that blur!

Jon:  I am pleased you liked it.  When I posted them I did wonder what you'd think.  I can only imagine how much time and effort you put into creating those buildings and lots, so I wanted to at least do them justice.  As for the small amount of parking – you're absolutely right and to be honest, I didn't really notice that until I was putting the update together.  Clearly more parking is needed and if I did it again, I'd probably make a large car park where some of the SFBT apartments are.  I'm glad you liked the names (was trying to recall your surname but couldn't get it in my head!).  And the autograph session is planned in a local book shop 

David:  Gee, thanks for those great comments.

Dave:  No need to tell you who I thought of when I spotted that dip!!  The university buildings are all ploppable, but the apartments in 65.08 (the ones I called Overflow Dorms) were all grown and it was a pure fluke.




I thought today would be a great opportunity to share with you all a great British tradition.  West End is located in the British Isles and is the only UK authored MD in OSITM, so I thought it's only right to give you this update.

All the Brits here will know what we mean by BONFIRE NIGHT.  But I really don't know whether this piece of British history is well known outside of the UK.......so here goes:


Bonfire Night is celebrated across the UK on 5 November. The date marks the failed attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament by Guy Fawkes along with a group of co-conspirators in London in 1605.

The intention was to kill King James I and wipe out everyone in government. The group were Catholic extremists who wanted to return England to the Catholic faith. One of the conspirators had a friend in the Houses of Parliament and sent a letter to him, warning him to stay away from the House on the day the attack was supposed to take place. The letter was intercepted and handed to the king.

Meanwhile, Guy Fawkes and friends, having formulated their plan, known as the 'Gunpowder Plot', had rolled 36 barrels of gunpowder into the cellars of the Houses of Parliament, and were waiting for the king to arrive when guards broke in and arrested them. They were tortured and executed.

Nowadays on Bonfire Night people organise their own parties or attend big organised fireworks displays. They stand around the bonfire,

set off fireworks and eat lots of nice warming Bonfire Night foods, like sausages and jacket potatoes.

They might also remark...

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot,
We see no reason,
Why gunpowder treason,
Should ever be forgot!



...Which sort of suggests that people rather admire the cheek of Guy Fawkes, trying to blow up Parliament, and that's why they celebrate Bonfire night, rather than celebrating the fact that his plot failed and he was caught!

Fireworks that are sent up on Bonfire night have really evocative names like, Roman Candles, Mount Vesuvius and Golden Shower.

There are also Catherine Wheels that spin and Sparklers that children write their names in the air with.


Children make life-sized effigies of Guy Fawkes which are called Guys, to put onto the bonfires.

The English have been burning effigies to mark Guy Fawkes' treason for almost 400 years. The tradition started in 1606, the year after the Gunpowder plot failed. In these first bonfires, called 'bone fires' at the time, it wasn't an effigy of Guy Fawkes that was burned, but one of the Pope. It was not until 1806, two centuries later, that the people started burning effigies of Guy Fawkes instead.

Children make a Guy by stuffing some old clothes with newspapers, craft a head out of material, and either draw a face on it or buy a special cardboard Guy Fawkes mask.

For a few days beforehand children are pushing guys around in prams, push chairs and go-carts, saying 'A penny for the guy'. Adults then give them money - how much depends on how good the guy is. The money is then spent on sparklers, or at least it would be, if children were still allowed to buy fireworks in the UK, so it is probably spent on sweets instead.



And excuse my photoshopping skills – but here is a picture of the Bonfire held in the park in Piccadilly next to the Golden Viking Casino.


As I sit here posting this I can hear loads of fireworks going off outside, so I guess I'll go outside now and wish you all a Happy Bonfire Night.


'til next time....................

[Simpson]

The picture looks very good, very nice park my friend 

[Pat]

Hey Paul thank you for educating me on who and what Guy Fawkes did!!!  I nice little tribute indeed and I cant wait till the next update!!!