Me outside the my store on my fave broom:)

So, when you think of your stereotypical witch, what do you automatically think of? Hat? Cauldron? Whiskers?

(Yes, I have those..better get the tweezers out..)Black Cat? OK, come on..Broomstick? Most certainly, a broomstick is a must.  Now although it’s a cliche that Witches ride around on broomsticks (Or is it? Cue the music from the ‘Twilight Zone’) it’s believed that the imagery stems from Pagan ritual of old, where people danced around the fields astride their brooms to encourage the crops to prosper.  And then you have the flying ointment…Don’t even get me started on how that was allegedly applied…
Anyway, I have a love of the ol’ besom, and have a couple of my very own in RL.  I have a rather special one that Fadoodle got me in RL, replete with Ogham script on the handle, and that’s positioned across my door warding the threshold. In SL I also have a couple, but what I really wanted was the quintessential flying broomstick.  Forget your Harry Potter specials (and there are plenty of racing brooms available in world should you fancy one) I wanted a plain old broom that I could sit astride and zoom around the metaverse a-cackling as I go.  
So I’ve challenged myself to review them for you , and blimey, talk about opening a can of worms! There are LOADS of brooms in world for zooming around on! First of all, you shouldn’t find yourself paying through the nose for one of these flying machines; there are a few freebies that are more than adequate, so let’s begin with those.  First up is a Dollarbie from Lost Dog, that Erin Burks told me about which you can get via SLX.  This is a bog standard brown broom with flying script, and the script is very good.  I really liked the avatar positioning and the flyability, but I’m afraid the look of the broom let it down..it just looks a tad too basic for my interests.  However, as a freebie it’s more than substantial, and will certainly allow you to zoom around the grid in style!

Above my stone circle on the Lovely Witch 2 Freebie Broom:)

Next up is a freebie from Little Heaven, and  I fully intend to re-visit this sim and blog about it in a lot more detail in a future post. It’s very dark and post-apocalyptic…Anyways, Lane Luke  told me about a flying broom pose-set available here that was well worth a look.  Indeed it is, and even better this set is absolutely free from a dumpster outside the store (There are lots of things in the dumpster so be warned, you’ll be needing to have a good rummage!) This is a must-have freebie, make no mistake. It’s called ‘Lovely Witch 2’ and  consists of  a set of 10 poses (the best ones are visible on my Flickr) which you wear individually.  The broom rezzes in and you’re positioned in one of a variety of neato poses such as sitting astride, laying down, sitting side-saddle, balancing, flying one-handed…. as you can imagine this is lots of fun and looks brilliant in photos.  I spent ages whizzing around my nomestead trying these out! The broom itself is rather cute, it’s grey and black, with brush element  being so delicate that it’s almost feathery in aspect.  It has a lovely floaty animation and the movement on it is great..in fact, if so inclined you could use this as your posh going out broom because the brush is adorned with black ribbons, and there’s even a hanging loop on the handle:) It’s all in the details folks and this has plenty of them…and it’s FREE! ( Yes, I know I already said that- I’m drumming it in!)  My only quibble is the actual broomstick is too long,  it could do with being a  wee bit shorter for my liking.  That’s a minor issue though-this is an excellent set and I certainly recommend you indulge.  Oh, and if you fancy being a Witch with a difference, then go inside the shop and take a peek at some of the alternatives to broomsticks that are on offer…you can get an intravenous drip-stand and a road sign to fly around on, should you prefer!  A tad twisted, but a hugely cool idea!
Next up in my original broom, from Abraminations.  I like the look of this, I really do…it has a nice texture and looks very broom-like. They should’ve called this ‘Sweep and Ride’, as you can use it to clean your floors, then switch to flying. The sweep animation is pretty straight-forward and looks good, and in truth it’s a great aspect and should be a good selling point, but alas, the flight animation seriously lets it down.  You’re positioned astride the stick and use page up and page down to fly..but movement is ridiculously jerky and you have this terrible habit of flying vertically. I ended up losing my patience with it.  Abranimations do produce some excellent products, but this one ain’t so hot, so if I was them I’d revise it.  After all, why would you spend L$195 on a product like this when the freebies you can find in world do the job just that little bit better? I then ventured over to the Jinko Flying Broom Factory where I found a few lovely pieces, including the ‘Rei Garden Broom’ for L$10.  There is a rather lovely looking umbrella for sale, which you can zoom about on, or carry as a folded brolly, or discharge it and use as an umbrella is intended, ie to keep you from getting wet!  Thanks to Jelo Jewell for the suggestion, and if you wanna take a peek you’ll find the store on River Islet.
So, now onto  my top choice  has to be the utterly amazing broomstick, lovingly created by Siyu Suen that you can get at Illusions, in Carnivale (suggested to me by Nyalee Mirrikh).  I have to confess that I have never visited this store before, but it’s now a firm favourite of mine, and the LM is firmly embedded in my Mysti-tool, ooeerr missus!   This store is an absolute beauty, and sells allsorts of costumes and masks and utterly wonderful items that would not be out of place in a children’s storybook.  Without a doubt, this is the stuff that  fairytales are made of, but without the ‘Disney’.  There’s nothing twee about this store, just quality fantasy items. I implore you to go visit this place- it’s just breathtaking in it’s creation, decoration and layout and I’m so ashamed that I didn’t know about it until now!  My virtual chin was damp with drool at the hats, masks and wonderful creations here.   I mean, I don’t especially  like masks in RL, yet I was seriously considering buying the beauties on display, they are perfect, each are art-forms in their own right.  But I digress, it’s brooms we’re talking and the one that you can buy here is absolute perfection in prim form.  The broom stick itself is the perfect length, with the brush at the end perfectly textured and exactly the right size and shape to look convincing. It’s the pose and animation that make this so utterly wonderful though- your  position is side-saddle and your foot taps away gently to some unheard mystical rhythm. Also when you stand you hop off your broom and hold it. Perfect! It’s just so elegant and stylish and basically it’s the best one I have seen.  I love it.  I love it so much that I want it in RL. It’s pricey at L$315, but you get to choose colours and options ( mod/copy/transfer)
So there’s my verdict..I may have missed some besoms out that I wasn’t aware of, and as I mentioned before I haven’t included the Harry Potter racing broomsticks (Wyvernclaw made by Aubretec and suggested to me by the fantastically named Smallbutt Mighty are supposed to be good for those) but if you’re on a budget I heartily recommend popping along to the dumpster at ‘Little Heaven’ and getting yourself the freebie broom with poses.  If you aren’t on a budget, go get yourself the broom from Illusions and fly around the grid in a proud and happy fashion..no, sod that, just go and buy the lot and enjoy zooming around the grid  in style. 

 In fact, why are you still reading this? Go and buy a broom- you know it makes sense!

(Check out my flickr snaps for more broomtastic photos!)