Big Yellow Taxi

[Cjah 15]

Hmm....I thought this C.J. would be like if you were driving around town in a taxi looking at places of interest and such....

I kinda like this C.J. better then the taxi idea,but it doesn't matter....

 

Well other then that have a nice holiday....Are you going to Barcelona?

 

I hear many ST members get inspired whenever they travel there....

[jacqulina 162]

hope you have a lovely holiday

[rp2005 165]

First, thanks to those who wished me a good holiday - I had a good time, got some sun and spent some time with my parents who I only get to see a couple of times a year now they've retired to Spain. 

Cjah - not Barcelona, unfortunately, I was down on the south coast near Alicante.

 

OK, now on to update 5 ...

 

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/BYTU5.png align=baseline>

People can always understand why the region includes Tain in the name, after all it's the administrative and cultural heart of the region, but why Dornoch?  North Dornoch, as we have seen is, nothing special - OK, it has a very nice hilltop church, but so has Munlochy.

 

5.1  As you drive from North Dornoch to South Dornoch, things aren't exactly inspiring - South Dornoch is poor and it shows ...

 

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/U5_1_PoorSDornoch.jpg align=baseline>

 

... living in mobile homes is common and the commercial sector is far from inspiring.  But, people drive through this part of town because South Dornoch has history ... in the Middle ages it was an important defensive position and boasts a castle that brings in the tourists.  The mayor hopes that the tourist trade can help regenerate South Dornoch.

 

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/U5_2_CastleLocationt.jpg align=baseline>

 

5.2  Dornoch Castle dominates a headland at the eastern end of the region.  From the Middle Ages to the 18th Century most of the affairs of the region were governed from this castle.  It was only with industrialisation that Tain took over.  This historic legacy is reflected in the politics of the region's current name - Dornoch and Tain.

 

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/U5_3_CastleVisit.jpg align=baseline>

 

5.3  In the 19th century when the castle had lost both it's strategic and political importance the Earl of Dornoch built a formal garden at the waters edge; the paths that run around the moat and down to the garden are popular with tourists.

 

 

The most southerly town in the region is Balleigh, a port town that is best known for it's football team Balleigh Town, who dominated the Lochsland league during the 60s and 70s, but who have yet to regain their former glory.

 

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/U5_4_BalleighFootball.jpg align=baseline>

 

5.4  The most important building in the region according to most in Balliegh is the football stadium, home of Balleigh Town.

 

 

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/U5_5_BalleighCentre.jpg align=baseline>

 

5.5  The new plaza compliments the old market hall which has always been the heart of Balleigh which has always been an important trading and market town.

 

 

Dornoch and Tain exists in a world that is a little different to our own ...

 

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/BYT_BritishIsles.jpg align=baseline>

 

The current border of Albion represents furthest extent of the Tuscan empire which was fought to a standstill in the 7th Century by the superior tactics of the Celtic Army.  During the bloody civil wars of the 16th and 17th centuries Lochsland separated from the rest of Celticia and has enjoyed independence ever since.

 

In the 18th century Celticia attempted to retake territory along the Northern edge of Albion, but an alliance with Gaul, that still shows its influence in the buildings of Tain, saw off the challenge.

 

Today Lochsland is an independent state within the Eurasian Federation which stretches from Celticia in the West to Shanghai city state in the east.

 

[oroen 0]

Hmm... interesting rewriting of the history of the British Isles! Nice close-up shots to complement as well.

[Cjah 15]

Great history and a good story line....

That is what is rare nowadays in a C.J.What makes me like this C.J. compared to those??Well this C.J. has a very indept and detailed history and the region is great too.....

 

I can't wait for more update!

[dhoppeii 12]

The castle looks fantastic as well as the football stadium....

[jacqulina 162]

excellent castle

[sloppet 3]

great updates!! very good job so far

[Ma8thew 77]

Just a question, why is Cambridge highlighted in red on the map of Britain?

[rp2005 165]

Date: 5/21/2005 5:41:47 AM Author: Ma8thew Just a question, why is Cambridge highlighted in red on the map of Britain?

quote>

I have no idea - in fact I didn't notice until after it was posted.  I assume it's something to do with the site I downloaded the original map from.  

[Shadow Assassin 336]

Hmm, I rather like this CJ, it's got a nice quiet feel to it.

Hey, maybe Cambridge could be the capital of Albion?

[pissant 0]

This is definitely giving me a Scottish vibe: small settlements strung out between the lochs and the mountains with the occasional valley town. And, of course, a big castle. Makes me miss going up to the west coast with my father.

[aasim45 1]

Good Journal. Nice Snapshots. Could make Picture Postcards out of them...

[rp2005 165]

Thanks for the comments everyone - glad people liked the alternative history lesson

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/BYT_u6_update.png align=baseline>

 

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/U6_1_EvelixOverview.jpg align=baseline>

 

6.1  At the Western end of the region lies the town of Evelix, one of the few places in Dornoch and Tain which is landlocked and therfore isn't built around a bay on the Dornoch Firth.

 

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/U6_2_EvelixTessaCoe.jpg align=baseline>

 

6.2  A recent arrival in Evelix is Dame Tessa Coe, a retail magnate from Albion.  In an ill-advised bout of boasting she claimed that she could make a success of the commercial sector anywhere; the response to that was a challenge to turn Evelix, a nowhere town in the far north of Lochsland, into a commercial success story.

 

Never one to back down from a challenge (however poorly judged!) Tessa has set up a 'modest' home in Evelix and set about her task.

 

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/U6_3_EvelixIndRedev.jpg align=baseline>

 

6.3  The strategy is to engage the residents of the town to help her buy up the industrial areas that form the heart of the old town and which the residential population would love to see relocated.  Dame Tessa is currently negotiating with Lochsland Electrity Board to relocate the town's power transformers so that this area can be redeveloped.

 

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/U6_4_EvelixECMarket.jpg align=baseline>

 

6.4  The first phase of redevelopment has already been a success.  A big chunk of industry has been pushed out of the centre of town and this magnificent market hall has been built as the centrepiece of the new commercial zone. 

 

 

Onlly a short update this time - I hope you enjoyed it ...

 

[dhoppeii 12]

Great update...love that Market Hall.....

[oroen 0]

I like the idea of redeveloping the old industrial areas.

[rp2005 165]

One of the nice things about choosing a vague and meaningless title for your CJ is that with the introduction of a simple plot device you can switch regions really easily.

Here's the tacky plot device ...

 

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/SITT_Letter.png align=baseline>

 

... and pictures from the new region will appear later today.

 

[rp2005 165]

C J Reader?  Yeah, you thought that was you, didn't you?  No.  It's me, Christopher James Reader - I'm your narrator for the next couple of updates.

I used to work for a SITT company, the Lochsland Oil Trust.  But competitors stole a march on them and SITT pulled the plug.  Luckily Eurasian Employment Law meant that if they had an equivalent post elsewhere in the group they had to offer it to me.  So here I am on my way to Albion - new job, new opportunities, new life!

Things didn't start particularly well ...

 

... the flight with Aer Celticia was fine, but it took an age for the baggage handlers at Wessex International Airport to get stuff unloaded.  I must have waited an hour by the baggage carousel before the first suitcase appeared and mine, of course, was one of the last to appear.

 

God, I love airports!! 

 

 

 

Still, at least a comfortable room and a bar awaited me at the Holiday Inn near the airport.  That's where I spent my first night in Albion - the hotel; not the bar!

 

 

 

From the Holiday Inn I walked back up to the terminal building and caught the shuttle bus to Bedford.

 

Once in Bedford I picked up the keys to a rented bungalow which would be my home while I got to know the area and decided where I wanted to live long-term

 

 

 

Work was with an administrative section of SITT itself - very different from the Oil Trust in Lochsland, but my skills are pretty business independent, so it shouldn't be too much of an adjustment.  The offices are in a decent location - down by the canal - I've even got a Sainsbury's within walking distance so I've got a reason to get away from my desk and stretch my legs at lunchtime.

 

 

I had a couple of free days between arriving in Bedford and starting work, so I decided I'd take the canal trip from Bedford across to Potton.

 

 

Highlight of the canal tour and the reason for the trip to Potton was one of the region's major landmarks - the thing that adorns the cover of the current edition of the Lonely Planet Guide to Albion.  I'm referring, of course, to The Park of the Vengeful Goddess and the huge statue that dominates it.

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the reawakening of this CJ.  I'll try not to neglect it for so long in future

 

[oroen 0]

Glad to see you back. I quite enjoyed this when you started. The canals look great, especially with the Euro w2w buildings alongside.

[FrenchBread 0]

Great CJ, come nice canals and castles

[rp2005 165]

oroen and frenchbread thanks for your comments.

 

Update 8

 

I decided to skip the return canal journey and left the boat at the Mayor's house which is right on the canal side at the Park of the Vengeful Goddess

 

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/U8_1_PottonMayorsHouse.jpg align=baseline>

 

My next destination was at the North end of Potton at the library of Wessex University's History and Theology Department.  So I flagged down a passing taxi and headed up through the centre of town.

 

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/U8_2_PottonGreenSquare.jpg align=baseline>

 

As the taxi took me North we passed Green Square which sits at the centre of Potton.  The original plans called for this area to be a large plaza, but this didn't go down to well with most people, who thought it would be a windswept wasteland.  Local democracy is strong in Wessex an a referendum was raised in which the people voted for a formal park rather than a plaza.

 

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/U8_3_PottonUniMuseum.jpg align=baseline>

 

Wessex University's Department of History and Theology occupies a magnificent neoclassical building which also houses a small museum popular with tourists and the department's library which is where I was heading.

 

The aim of visiting the library was to find out more about reverence for the Goddess which is particularly strong in this part of Albion.

 

As everyone from Lochsland knows, Albion was conquered by the Tuscan Empire in the 6th century - an occupation that persisted for over a hundred years.  The Tuscans brought with them a new religion, Christianity, which suppressed the native Pagan beliefs, but never totally replaced them.

 

When the Plague reached Albion in the 16th and 17th Centuries the people saw it as a punishment for abandoning the Old Gods.  Many of the pagan beliefs were resurrected, but none gained in strength as much as belief in the Goddess.  Her Vengeful incarnation - generally depicted as a sword-weilding woman in flowing robes - was especially venerated.

 

Today the Goddess is still highly respected by the people of Albion, and particularly those of Wessex.  Though, as Albion is a secular state, she is now far more a symbol of national independence and strength than a figure of worship. 

 

 

By the time I had finished reading night had fallen and it was time to take the train home to Bedford.  A short walk brought me to Potton's main station ...

 

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/U8_4_PottonStation.jpg align=baseline>

 

 

On the way home I scanned through my Lonely Planet Guide to Albion, making plans for exploring the other towns in the area.  Amongst the photos for Wessex was this aerial photo of Potton ...

 

http://www.atitlan.org.uk/BYT/U8_5_PottonNight.jpg align=baseline>

[BarbyW 40]

Superb update, RP. I missed the last one but this is great. You really make the city come alive.

Barby

[Fairlane500 8]

An awesome alternate history here, and I like the look of your small towns, they seem extremely realistic.