Come on, Gertie!
I want Charlie to win!
I'm team Gertie
I'm all for a Gertie and Herbie ship 
They do seem like they get along extra well.
I couldn't possibly comment: I'm trying to stay impartial. In fact, Isobel was probably my favourite, grumpy trait and all, although I've ended up liking most of them.
One small piece of news from last week that I somehow managed to miss when writing the chapter: Womble has had a foal. I hope this is a sign that the horses are happy in their new home.
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Week 10: FishingWeek ten starts with a singed Gertie working on her Social Networking skill (i.e. watching videos and giggling to herself).
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She still hasn’t got round to having a shower by the time they’re all teleported off the island again…
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…and piling into taxis. (And why don’t they share? A taxi each is ridiculous. I suppose it’s my fault for not telling them to ‘go here with’. Just as well no-one’s eco-friendly.)
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One at a time, they arrive at the diner/grocery store for a fishing class. (And what has that taxi driver said to make Charlie look so suspicious?)
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As with the gardening a few weeks ago, they don’t seem exactly overcome with enthusiasm for their new skill.
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Soon they’re back home, looking vainly for this week’s objects.
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Oh well. Back to the chatting and pillow fights.
Many hours later, Gertie notices that the stream around the island looks a little different. Maybe this morning’s lesson will come in handy after all.
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Before long, she’s caught a fish, although it’s not exactly impressive.
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Tuesday’s big event is Charlie cleaning up his dirty dishes at last – and breaking the dishwasher. As if to compensate, the bathroom’s now in a horrible state. I’m really itching to make him clean it. (He eventually does this on his own but not until nearly the end of the week.)
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It’s not a big week for skilling. Herbie does manage to catch a couple of fish (standing inside a tree at night, so the screenshots are rubbish) and Gertie has several fits of enthusiasm.
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Progress is slow, though. They’d far rather stop and chat. I wonder whether Alan, who has the angler trait, would have been keener?
On Wednesday, Jancis pops up with another ‘pet for adoption’ message. Yasmin has now had a foal. (As with Womble’s baby, I’ve completely forgotten its name.)
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By Friday lunchtime, Gertrude has reached level 3, Herbie has made some progress but still hasn’t made it to level 2 and Charlie’s not fished at all. So Gertie becomes Head of Island for the third time and, inevitably, chooses to kick Charlie out. They have repaired their relationship a little this week and the bar has moved from red to green but they’re still a long way from friendship.
Incidentally, if either of the others had won, Gertie would have been evicted. Despite being attracted to her, Herbie likes Charlie more.
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And so Charlie teleports across the stream. As he turns to leave, he waves to Herbie (but I completely fail to get a screenshot
).
Since all of the skills that can be learnt from computers or TV have now been used in the contest, the final Fun Day is about all things technological. I thought Herbie would head straight for the computer, since IT is one of his favourite topics of conversation, but instead he walks around contemplating his surroundings for an hour or two.
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After a while, he sits down at the computer but, rather than playing chess, as I half-expected, he goes for the more exciting games.
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Gertie’s been sitting in her armchair reading
The Warlock of Palladia for the umpteenth time. Now she wanders outside, still in her nightie, spots the new stuff and heads straight for the virtual reality goggles.
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I think she likes them
.
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But then she puts them carefully back down on the ground and goes indoors for a bubble bath instead.
Herbie eventually gets bored with computer games and switches on the TV instead. An educational programme, perhaps?
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No, it’s back to the games.
And, in the last half-hour of Fun Day, he too discovers the goggles.
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Is he floating?
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Yes, he certainly is. He and I are both having great fun but the clock is ticking and I have to tell him to stop and take them off
. Time for bed, Herbie.
Edit: Thousandth post!
