Have you noticed how February, and not January, is often the cruellest month? It’s all about love and happy and quite often the reality is a complete contrast to that.I’ve just had some really sad news that i need to share with you dear reader, and that is that Prad Prathivi has announced that at the end of the month ‘The Crown And Pearl’ will be no more unless a buyer can be found.

This is heartbreaking news to a LOT of people, and not just because in many ways The Crown And Pearl picked up where The Three Lions finished. The same crowd were there, the same vibe, but eventually C&P developed into a unique identity of it’s own all housed in the plushest surroundings and with some of the best DJ’s on the grid to boot.

I cannot tell you the myriad of fun times I have had there. The place is full of some of the most charismatic, intelligent and plain blinking mental avatars the grid has ever seen. I have so many memories that still make me laugh; Bonfire Night 2008 when myself and many others followed Hellspawned’s lead and decided to sit ON the fireworks that were being let off in the bar. We were flown high up into the air before joining the exploding shards and plummetting back down to earth. It was totally surreal and so much fun. The Crown And Pearl was also amazingly supportive of Dee, and raised funds in her honour for Breast Cancer charities ( It’s always been such a generous venue, time to pay some of that back methinks) Fortunately I have photos of Dee and I dancing there together on the many times that we visited. She loved it.

Let’s not forget Rrishanna’s music nights, which are the stuff of legend. I’ve never known a more eclectic DJ in my entire life, nor a lady with such an extensive record collection covering every single musical style you can imagine. Christmases were often chaotic but great fun too..the madness, the laughs and the drama to boot. Finally, another special memory, my first ever rez-day.. a surprise party was held there for me and the place was covered with ( flattering) photographsof yours truly..I was moved, exhilirated and very,very happy by the effort that went in to that.

I confess,I feel guilty because I haven’t been there as much recently as I should. But here’s the thing, in the back of my mind I *knew* that it was there. I knew that the same faces would be causing a rumpus should I decide to pop by. I guess like many others who were once VERY regulars I became complacent and forgot that these places do not fund themselves, nor do they go on forever if neglected…

I know that it’s the people that make a venue, but I also know that the regulars and new visitors LOVE C&P it with all their hearts and it will be a HUGE blow to the virtual community if it does succumb and close its doors for good at the end of February. Yes, I know that there are other clubs and bars to visit in-world; I visit Republik often enough, but the vibe is different there, and I love it for different reasons. But something that is very different for me between the two venues are the amount of frineds that I have there. For starters, I only really know Amanda and Sable at Republik, whereas at The Crown And Pearl I have friends like Prad, Rrish, The Two Baileys(Longcloth and Dazy),Mowgli, Hellspawned, Marisa, Jacomo, Aribeth, Dellik, Wilds, Bonni, Mysti and many, many more… Some of these people I haven’t seen for an age, but I can tell you that the connections I made with them at 3L and then at C&P have meant a lot to me, and still do. Perhaps C&P was born of the zeitgheist, and now that time has faded, perhaps it should close down? I don’t know..there could be a case to answer there I guess. All I know for sure is that I hope it can be saved. We have until the end of February to see..Here’s hoping.