Old Bert at the Pre-Raphaelite Gallery

Old Bert enjoyed working at the Pre-Raphaelite Gallery. After the initial training period he was soon comfortable enough to work alone in the gallery, answering questions, chatting with visitors and even re-arranging the artworks on occasion. He also became more familiar with Victoriana Square and its residents, so all in all Old Bert was very happy.

After having worked in the Square for a little while Old Bert decided that he should get to know the rest of the sims in the Nation of Victoriana, so one day instead of tp’ing directly into the gallery he decided to take a boat into Victoriana Harbour, a sim adjacent to Victoriana Square, and work his way up to the gallery from there. Old Bert arrived at the harbour and descended from the boat onto the quay. He walked up to some of the fine shops bordering the harbour area, discovering that there was an art gallery in this sim, too. The Tissot Gallery was smaller than the Pre-Raphaelite Gallery and devoted to the work of one artist only, James Tissot, a French artist who spent much of his career in London, around the same time as some of the Pre-Raphaelite artists whose work was on display in Old Bert’s gallery. Old Bert had a quick look around and determined to come back another day when the owner was present.

From there he walked along the promenade, passing more shops until finally reaching the Victoriana Library. Old Bert was pleased to find a library and chose a couple of books to take home with him.

As time was getting on, Old Bert made his way to the Victoriana Harbour Train Station and took the train to Victoriana Square.

He crossed the square to the gallery and began to get ready for the workday, washing the floor and otherwise ensuring that the gallery was sparkling clean and welcoming to visitors.

Old Bert truly enjoyed being surrounded by such beauty and did all he could to make sure that others felt the same pleasure he did.

Later on that day a visitor entered the gallery. She had never been to the Victoriana sims before but like Old Bert was an art lover and had discovered the gallery while doing a tour of the art galleries of Second Life.
Old Bert and the lady began to talk, stopping in front of a beautiful and very romantic painting, “The Black Brunswicker”, in which a young lady is saying good-bye to her handsome beau before he goes off to war. It was an affecting piece, capturing the emotion of the moment, and both the visitor, whose name was Daisy, and Old Bert, were quite taken with it.

Old Bert escorted Daisy around the rest of the gallery, and on reaching the top floor he invited her to have a cup of tea with him. They sat together for quite a while, engrossed in conversation. Finally Daisy rose from her seat, thanking Old Bert for the tea. Old Bert very much hoped that he would see her again and said so as he nervously offered her friendship. Daisy happily accepted.

With thanks to Boye Jervil for photographs of Old Bert

Hibiscus Hastings

Old Bert's Day Off

Old Bert quickly settled into his new routine, going off to work, playing trivia and continuing to explore the metaverse. At the end of one workday (and a very jolly workday it had been since it involved testing beer!) Old Bert decided to take a peek at the Nation of Victoriana, a sim he had found while checking profiles. He enjoyed thematic sims, so he was very much looking forward to this little outing.

The Nation of Victoriana is a collection of sims created in the style of the Victorian period. It is a beautifully built place, done with great attention to detail by the owner and mayor, LittleBlackDuck Lindsay. Old Bert tp’d to Victoriana Square, the heart of the sims, arriving at the train station.

Facing the station and right in the center of the square was a large community hall. Surrounding the square were shops, galleries and a pub. After everything had rezzed Old Bert began to stroll around. As he got to the far side of the square he came across the start of a fox hunt, one of the monthly events held in the sim. It was a colourful scene; Old Bert made sure to stand off to the side so as not to be trampled as the hunt began. He happened to be next to an art gallery and since he was something of an aficionado he entered and had a look around, admiring the many fine artworks on display. Finding himself to be rather tired after his full day at work (!) Old Bert decided to return home and explore Victoriana more thoroughly another time.

On his next day off, Old Bert returned to Victoriana. Being a person drawn to the sea, he started off at Victoriana Harbour.

Next he went to Victoriana Carnivale, a great funfair. There were lots of games and rides for him to try – he played the coconut shy, tried the SLeeBall at which he scored 220, not bad for a first try, took a turn on the Big Wheel and went for a ride on the carrousel. He felt a bit dizzy after that and decided it was time to continue on, so he walked through Victoriana Forest and came to the entrance of the big maze at Victoriana Hedgemaze.

Old Bert spent quite a bit of time trying to find his way around and at the end felt a bit tired and hungry. As he emerged from the maze he noticed a pretty young woman tending the flowers next to a building, which fortuitously turned out to be a tea room.

Old Bert asked her if the tea room was open and was happy to hear that it was. He went inside and chose from the delectable array of food on display which the young woman brought to him along with a reviving cup of tea. Much fortified, Old Bert then continued on to Victoriana Square and the Pre-Raphaelite Gallery which he had visited the day he had seen the hunt.

As Old Bert approached the gallery he noticed a sign in the window saying “Help Wanted”. This gave Old Bert pause. He had enjoyed his time in the gallery and was quite familiar with the art on display. While he liked the work he was currently doing he found it to be physically tiring. Walking into the gallery Old Bert began to wonder “What if I applied for this job?”

With thanks to Boye Jervil for the pictures of Old Bert.

Hibiscus Hastings