Entry 24: Bringing home the Bacon

The villagers of Revis Island and Revisham, with their organised grid system, were by far the most successful farmers in the whole region. Their produce was shipped to the mainland as well as being consumed nearer to home.

The villagers were pleased with their productivity but wanted a better way to showcase and sell their wares. Jim Snouter, one of the local pig farmers, in particular wanted to display joints of ham alongside his neighbour's turnips, hoping to attract new customers who could have the convenience of purchasing different types of food in one place - albeit from different vendors.

A site was chosen between the villages, allowing relatively easy access for each farmer. Next to the market, opportunistic businesses sprung up. A garage to repair the tractors and a Battery Hut to provide, ostensibly, batteries. Actually the Battery Hut just a cover for a gambling syndicate. Why they need a cover is up for debate. It's not like there are laws prohibiting gambling or police to enforce them.

Entry 23: To the manor born

`JEEVES! Jeeves. Where are you?'
`I'm here Lord Martlebury.'
`Jolly good. Get me a Revis Island Iced Tea please.'
`Certainly, my lord.'
`You know Jeeves, it really isn't boffo that I'm the only rich person in the region.'
`If you say so, my lord.'
`I jolly well do. It's so hard being surrounded by the common people.'
`I think I'll just give your drink an extra something, my lord.'
`If you must. That's the problem of owning this business. It makes me a lot of money but there's no one to share it with. I do miss society.'
`You could share it with your neighbours, my lord.'
`What an absurd suggestion Jeeves. We already make sure the grass around our properity is wonderfully fertilised. Even by the dusty streets. What more do they want? Paved streets for those awful bright blue cars that they drive?'
'Here you are my lord.'
'GAK! What did you put in it Jeeves?'
'Just a little extra somehing. Drink up, my Lord.'

Entry 22: Mine your own business

Want to know the solution to the problem of the mystery resources? Of course you do! Unbeknownst to most people but known to Mr Magnusson, a mining operation had been set up far to the north west of Dartacre. In fact, the mine was nestled in the mountains near a large lake. In 1920, a mining company, without any permissions from the fledgling and almost powerless authorities, set up its operations.

Renee and Edith Despard, who were keen bridge players, found coal and other precious resources in the hills.



They were able to set up a mining operation to extract the minerals. However, in order to work successfully they needed workers. They were a long way away from any settlements and so had to provide the housing for the workers.



Faraway was initially a small town but it grew as rapidly as the extractions from the mine. In 5 years, this small settlement far beyond Lake Despard (as it was now called) had grown in to a populous, but rather dusty, smelly and boring town.

Entry 22 on hold

I'm away from my computer and I'm having trouble uploading images. In the mean time you'll have to look at my CSGf or SC4D entries since they'll work there.

Entry 21: Learning Difficulties

Entry 20: Secret Machinations

As the years and months wore on, industry was booming. Gradually, the industry was changing from small operations to increasingly large.

These large factories of J.B. Magnusson and Son (where they make other factories - the question is if they're the factory that makes factories then which was the factory that made this factory?)

This was unremarkable until it was remarked by one thinking resident "but where do they get their resources from?"

Where indeed?

Simcity Community Magazine

One of the many SC fansites is Simcity Community. They publish a magazine of various articles, about City Journals, custom content and websites. My Network Widening Mod review from CSGdescussions was published there.

Custom Content Reviews

I've got a couple of custom content reviews out.

The first is on the Network Widening Mod and the second is on CSGdesign's Basic Ferry Pontoon.

Entry 19: Fighting Fire with, er, Water

After having installed the water pipes for the thirsty residents, the village of Dartacre could get on with pitting in place what had been planned all along - a fire station.

When Dartacre was a small village, people used to put out fires by stamping on them, filling buckets from the river, or catching themselves alight and rolling around in a carpet.

Many years have passed since then and the village has a number of very flamamble industries not to mention homes and fields. A major disaster was just one careless cigarette away.

A fire station was erected on the edge of Dartacre so to cover both villages of Dartacre and Dart River.

Residents were able to relax in peace, knowing full well that any careless mistake would be dealt with by the volunteer firemen and women and that they would no longer have to roll in their Axminsters, except for fun, of course.

Entry 18: On the Grid

The inhabitants of Revis Island are a pragmatic bunch.

The northern end of Revis Island is a farming region and in order to make the most use of the narrow stretch of land they had to find some way of organising their plots of land.

It was Morten Andersen, one of the original farmers, who came up with the idea of a grid system. A system completely unknown in any other part of the Oak River region.

Morten, a pumpkin farmer, who was 48-years old at the time, was looking at his stone-worked kitchen floor one day and noticed how pleasing the rectangular shapes were to look at and how well they fitted together.

The following day when the new settlers on the island were dividing up the land, he suggested the radical approach. His grid was greeted as innovative by some, but was not welcomed with universal acclaim. As settlers in a new land, the people had shaken off the rigidity of the rules and regulations of their former homes. This new grid reminded them of such rigidity and yet they could not deny how useful this system would be.

Eventually they settled on a compromise. They would keep the grid system but it would not be completely rigid. Each farmer could take a parcel of land as long as it was rectangular, but they could be of varying sizes.