I am indebted to reader Susan Paquot, and her partner Buckeye Scorpio, for pointing me in the direction of Muirhead Nude beach. Susan asked had I ever visited it. I hadn’t and was rapidly zooming over there on receipt of her notecard. Thank you, Susan, it’s a lovely little beach which appears to be set in the centre of a non-naturist community.

And this is how RL naturism should be, and how SL naturism could be too!

What it lacks in size, it makes up for in a couple of lovely features, as well as delightful architecture around it (and reminded me of England’s Cinque Ports, a little). While set in the ‘East River Community’, suggesting a NY connection, the build reminds me of Hastings, Dover, Hythe, New Romney and Sandwich. Eagle eyed historians amongst you will, of course, know that that bread and filling you have for your lunch is named after John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, (see photo below) although Montagu didn’t invent the ‘meat inside two slices of bread’ we often have at lunch, as it is recorded that Hillel the Elder, a prominent Jewish religious leader around the time of Christ, was making ‘sandwiches’ of sorts during Passover.

The two elements I was particularly taken with were the changing/beach huts and the diving board with a large selection of dives (see pics 1 and 2 above). I’ve never encountered this dive set before, and I always love to try new things in SL, so I spent quite a bit of time on the diving board. I’ll not show the pic of the less than lady-like bellyflop into the warm waters below! 🙂 )

Thanks for the heads up, Susan, and I’m delighted to include Muirhead as another naturist beach. I will be going back to practice my diving skills!

Work continues on ‘Issue 2’, and I wasn’t sure whether to include Lupe’s Magic Forest Naturist Island, a new sim to me, in the posts that form the ‘magazine’, but I feel it’s important to keep you up-to-date on naturist locations as quickly as possible, so rather than wait the two weeks until ‘publication’, I’ve opted to post this now and stick with ‘location reports’ in the magazine as planned.

I do intend that, eventually, some of the locations I feature will be re-blogged. The facilities and landscapes change in SL, so I see no problem in featuring locations again and again. If you own a naturist sim, don’t be afraid to keep me informed of developments at your sim, or even that your sim exists. I don’t believe for a moment I know of every location (as a recent notecard from a new beach, to me, makes obvious…more of this in a subsequent post) so while I promise to get SL nudist news out for SL users, it’s a two way thing, so please, I beg you all to keep me informed. Got a new balloon ride? Pool? Let me know! I’m happy to visit, report it and let the readers know.

But back to Lupe’s!

It is a beautifully landscaped sim. Wild, with lots of trees, ferns and little hidden clearings where you will encounter odd little building elements. A tiny cemetery? An old ruin? An upturned fishing boat? 

Yes, I did encounter a BDSM cross. Maybe it works, but it didn’t work for me. (No, I have no intention of using it, but I do need to research these things for you). And there were rugs that offered some sexual content. Again, they didn’t appear to work for me in terms of rezzing the pose balls, but maybe that’s linked to membership of the sim, or isn’t active yet.

OK, OK, there will be an argument that this makes it not a ‘genuine’ naturist sim, with ‘genuine’ naturist values. Maybe, maybe not. While I broadly agree with that sentiment -a lack of sex poses is generally a plus in my book- I’m not discounting Lupe’s from being a ‘genuine’ sim because the build is excellent, the sense of lighting superb, and that BDSM cross (there may be other poses around, I don’t know) was discreetly hidden away, and I wandered for quite some time before I found this (or the cuddle rugs). And it does include the word ‘naturist’ in its name, which for me is often a giveaway that the builder/owner actually understands there is  a difference between genuine social nudity (naturism) and being a nude beach (which often is SL code for ‘sex beach’). I’ve IMed what seems to be the owners or managers, so maybe we can get some input from them as to their vision of the place.

Whatever, it remains a remarkably well done build, and the photos provide some little sense of the lighting and the wild, natural look of it. Once again, a builder has excelled themselves in not ‘overcooking’ it. There’s also a small pool (with ‘sitting and relaxing’ poses, as opposed to sex balls), a teepee, and some things I’m sure I missed. Once away from the entrance, and what looks like a dancefloor (there’s also an intan on the beach), the build remains wild, and looks lovely. Go visit!

I do regular searches for nudist locations. For my own exploration, yes, but also for your benefit, I hope! So when I saw a new one, Frenetic Jungle (note, the sim has closed already, as of 25/3/12 and the link has been removed), pop up in search, I sent some of the staff over there to do a little bit of a photo essay and a report. It also gives me the opportunity to introduce you to a new writer, Areola, and our photographer, Harry, whom I know from my days scribbling for the 2ex blog.

So without further ado, let me hand you over to Areola and Harry…

Bonjour! I’m Areola Mamelon (Areola Resident) and I’m Ella’s new writer for the SL Naturist blog. If you wish to IM me, please do so, as I do speak English. 

Harry, the SL Naturist photographer, and I have been over to the Frenetic Jungle Nudist Sim to explore and report back. I like the attitude explained in the link to it, which reminds us not to confuse sex with nudism, and each are very different concepts. There are no sex poses here, so if that is what you wish for, go somewhere else. 

It is a slightly odd build, kind of medieval with modern touches, but beautifully put together with some fantastic arrays of flowers where you can pose alone or with a friend for photographs. Harry and I enjoyed exploring it, and I hope I do not do the owner/builder a dis-service to say it feels like a work in progress. I think it is, because being new (I was visitor 166, so it is obviously very new) it is wishing to attract visitors and be slightly altered maybe to their needs.

I love the way where some sims are not too busy in their build, and this is one such build. Because of this, it has a fresh feel and I adored the landscaping.

The sim also has tree houses for rental, so if you wish for a home on a naturist sim, maybe this could be for you? I think Frenetic Jungle is a sim we need to watch as it develops in the coming weeks and months. I shall return.

UPDATE 26th MARCH 2012: FRENETIC JUNGLE HAS CLOSED ALREADY

…that Calista’s ‘Vibes’ nudist camp has closed. 😦 It was a lovely little build, and I’d recently had some photos taken there for this blog (see elsewhere in the post).

The good news, I hope!, is that Calista has apparently commenced on a new build somewhere, so hopefully it will be a naturist place that all of you can enjoy. I shall provide more information as I receive it.

In the meantime, here’s a few photos to remind us of how lovely it looked, and in particular the lovely, natural looking poses sitting around in the palm trees provided! 🙂

In other news: I’ve a couple of days off work later this week, when I expect to more or less finish off Issue 2 of the SL Naturist, apart from the inevitable tweaking that will continue up to the publishing deadline. So it looks like we will publish on March 1st, so make a note and come back to see and read the magazine in a format that edges towards that which I have in my head.

‘I’m a widow, and a granny, and my mobility isn’t that great, so the internet in general is an essential tool for keeping in touch with the world outside. I don’t remember where I read about SL, but I tried it and immediately loved the whole idea. I’ve not been playing that long, but I’m pretty hardcore about it at the moment, logging on daily and exploring for a couple of hours each day at least. I’ve already made good virtual friends through it and I hope that continues to grow.

Naturism? I used to sunbathe topless, 30 odd years ago, and that’s been the extent of my immersion in that lifestyle, but I am entertained by the idea and I do visit a couple of clothing optional places in SL. It’s a small part of my SL existence. I know SL is an opportunity to reinvent yourself, but I came into it imagining everyone would be their age, and so I picked a granny name (Granny Canaria, also a little indication as to where my husband and I did vacation for many years). Of course, once I was in, I’m finding 60 and 70 year olds being 20 somethings, but I was stuck with the name. And I also felt uncomfortable with being a younger me because that’s not my experience anymore. I am who I am now, shaped by the experiences of my younger self.

I’ve found finding ‘older’ skins to be a problem, but I’ve managed to get my hair colour correct, hahaha, and also buy a walking stick that I also use in RL (I’m more in need of hip replacement than hip hop). I’ve grown to love ‘Granny’ because she’s different from many avatars. She’s pretty unique, in my experience, although I’m sure others wear older avatars.

I just enjoy SL, and enjoy sitting ‘people watching’ or ‘avatar watching’, in some sims. I engage in conversation, of course, and I’ve had to fend off the advances of some guys who fantasises that younger guy older woman thing, but for now I’m happy enough to take each day at a time and enjoy SL. Ah, no thanks, I’m happy enough to pose in my undies rather than go nude for you dear.’

‘….is guys randomly saying ‘hi’ in IM, and then telling me how sexy I look. The worst ones just ask for sex’.

Not my words, although I fully understand where the speaker’s coming from, and support her sentiments. No, those are the words of one of the people I’ve interviewed for issue 2 of SL Naturist. Our interviewee goes on…

‘Sometimes I respond and ask if they’d take that approach in RL. Some say ‘yeah’, which is probably why they’re single. Most of them tell me they’re single anyway. Or divorced. I wonder why? It must be to do with their sparkling personality and lack of manners and etiquette. They wouldn’t speak to women like that in RL. Why should they be able to speak like that in SL? I usually tell them why they’re creeps, and then mute.’

So…ladies…what’s your take on this? You can use the comment box anonymously. I’m glad to say this isn’t a problem in the genuine naturist sims, and I generally only encounter the problem, if at all, when scouring new sims (which may not be genuinely naturist). This blog/magazine will work best if there’s some interaction, so please don’t be shy.

Oh, incidentally, I’ve now amassed enough of a collection of photos, and it’s a collection growing daily, to ensure that all subsequent posts will contain at least one photo.

I’m away from home until Friday. I’ve got my computer, but SL time isn’t expected to be on the agenda (business trip). So I’ll leave you with just a few outtakes from some of the photo sessions we’ve been conducting for Issue 2, and give you an indication of the pictorial loveliness that awaits you in Issue 2. 🙂 Lots of models, some of whom speak to the SL Naturist. Some provide names while others, willing to be photographed, prefer to remain anonymous.

For those of you asking about the apparent lack of activity on the blog, fear not. On (or around) March 1st I’ll be publishing ‘Issue 2’ of the ‘magazine’, across 3-4 lengthy posts stuffed with photographs. I’ve been speaking to SL (some of whom are RL) naturists, photographing them, exploring SL ‘nude space’ and generally typing a bit in order to have some kind of unified ‘whole’ to the magazine. I hope to concurrently release an inworld version, but that’s proving slightly problematic due to my lack of computer skills, and making it look right (i.e. text over photos, etc). Still, there’s three weeks to go, so I’m hoping I can have it ready and looking as I wish it by then. I’m also experimenting with photo editing software to give the ‘magazine’ a colour/b&w sort of feel too, and this is also a little bit of a learning curve. Catch you soon! xx Ella.