Ciaran Laval recently posted about the return of Lumenaria, Kayle Matzerath’s fabulous and whimsical build from Fantasy Faire 2013.Once the location of shops and stores, it now serves as home to the Moles of the Linden Department of Public Works – so it’s become a kind of mole Town, you might say.

As a fan of the build, and of Kayle’s work in general – as anyone who has seen my SL garden knows! – I decided to fly over and take a look for myself earlier in the week. I say “fly”, as the region the Moles occupy can be reached directly from my house, via a flight across Blake Sea and then down the coast of Satori. So I hopped into G-NARA and headed south-east.

The last time I’d spent time in this part of the virtual world, it looked like the Moles were working on a little string of islands for Petites along Souverain, Laugier and Fernandes, just off the coast of Satori. These islands have long gone (or have possibly moved, I’m not sure which), and the “Mole Town” occupies a new region – Meauxle Bureaux – sitting alongside of Souverain and Fernandes, which offer waterside access to the town via the Mole marina in Fernandes and a jetty in Souverain. After landing on the waterway, I left G-NARA moored at the marina area (at least until auto return kicked-in).

The town is pretty much as it appeared at Fantasy Faire, the same twisty little streets leading up to the great hall, the same gaily coloured rooftops and the same formal park area – even the windlight is the same. However, the Moles are now in residence, as the signs outside the doors of many residences announce. They seem to be a healthy bunch; on the stone paved streets sit market stalls offering fresh fruits and produce, as well as flowers for the green-fingered … clawed …. Moles, and bicycles appear the be the prefered method of wheeled locomotion.

However, all the good-for-you edibles doesn’t mean the Moles live a life of abstinence, as Ye Olde Abnor Mole Pub demonstrates. Here locals and visitors are offered the chance to sit down and enjoy a drink or three, play the odd board game or challenge each other to a friendly game of pool. Given the menu on the wall, I’ve little doubt that there may also be the odd bout of impromptu and Pythonesque singing breaking out should anyone happen to ask what’s available to eat. It starts out with fish and rum before proceeding through the likes of rum, apples, seagull and rum and fish, rum, rum, apples and rum, to eventually arrive at rum, rum, rum, rum, rum, rum, rum, bananas , rum, rum, rum, and rum, with a note that bananas are, in fact, off. Enjoy the greeting when visiting as well!

The humour continues out in the street, where an obelisk can be found, upon which is writ is letters large and golden, four of the Good Neighbour Commandments for Second Life Mainland, which may raise a smile when being read – click on the picture to the right for a sample.

LDPW builds are celebrated in the main hall, and clicking on the pictures will deliver a SLurl for those interested. There’s also a gallery of Moles to be found there as well. Lindens also have their spots in the town; Michael Linden, for obvious reasons, has a little place on the “quieter” side of town (in that some of the houses are still unoccupied), while the ever-charming Shaman Linden has a little studio tucked away near the marina entrance.

That the Moles have had homes in SL is not new – sail the waters around some of the mainland continents, for example, and you’ll likely bump into those belonging to Moles past and present. However, seeing a little town like this, where they can congregate and spend time away from the rigours of banging prims together and carving mesh, adds a lot to their presence in SL which, despite being oft critiqued, forms a valuable service. That the town is a re-use (with the creator’s full knowledge and approval, I might add) of a very popular build that may otherwise have lain forgotten and lost, makes a visit to Meauxle Bureaux doubly pleasant.

My only real complaint is that the rezzing areas at the marina and quayside seems to be restricted to land group members. I had hoped to re-rez G-INARA or possibly my Loonetta 31 and do a spot more flying or sailing in the area to see what else may have popped-up; unfortunately attempts left me informed that I didn’t have the right to do so, leaving me with no choice but to use the more boring method of teleporting back home. Nevertheless, a fun visit, and one I’ll doubtless repeat the next time I fancy a long-haul sailing trip!

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