Mind Candy says they've mixed together some cards from Wave 1 along with the new ones, so that new players still have a shot at getting a whole collection. But they said that some of you probably mainly want Wave 2, as you have nearly all of the Wave 1 cards already!

So to reward all of you who have been with us from the beginning, they've decided to do a special offer from Firebox. They'll be sending out five packs per each order for four packs, which should mean you'll mostly get Wave 2 cards. It will only be in effect for 48 hours, and they're not sure yet when it'll start, but I'll let you know as soon as I hear -- keep checking back so you don't miss it!

The guys at Mind Candy have just sent me this great picture so I just had to say hello! It's of an event called the "London Expo", where Mind Candy had a stall. You can see an actor called Toby Stephens who played "Gustav Graves" in a "James Bond" movie holding some of our puzzle cards! How extremely exciting!

I've selected the best ideas and sent them on to the guys at Mind Candy. Parcels should be winging their way around the world to the winners in the next few days. Of course, if you get up to any adventures while distributing these I'd really love to hear about it - and given your crazy ideas, I'm sure there will be plenty of adventures to be had!

But remember that Mind Candy can only send packs to people who've sent me their address, so if you haven't done so yet, you'd better send your address over quickly!

Just before I go though, I promised my dad I'd let you all know about this puzzle. Apparently the people at Mind Candy wrote it so it's not too difficult - just a bit of fun :-).

In other news, Brede, who I work with on The Column, asked me out this week! On a proper date, not just a friends thing. I've had a bit of a crush on him for a little while now, and I didn't think he'd ever notice me... :-D. It's a bit weird, because we're going away to Tanraga with another couple of friends in a few weeks time, but I think it'll be really great! Wheeeeee! Vacation and new guy in my life!

One sad thing is that I'm only sitting a few desks away from Pietro Salk's old desk. They've left it mostly as it was, although they've cleaned out his old files of course. It's so sad what happened to Pietro; I think they're planning a little Sentinel memorial service sometime soon which I'll go to. I didn't know him very well at all but I remember seeing him in the office last time I was here, and I know everyone at the Sentinel misses him very much.

Amazing Wave Court

We've all been there on school trips, we've all taken pictures of the ancient frescos and spent a happy hour or two lost in one of its mazes. We've all sat through yet another lecture on "Classical Maze Design and Implementation" and, perhaps, silently cursed Mazy Wave Court for ever having been built. But is there more to Council Leader Liern's mansion than an educational day out for children and source material for historians? In the summer heat, I decided to find out.

My first impressions weren't particularly inspiring. Catering to the school holidays, Mazy Wave Court provides a range of events and puzzle trails for children - useful for parents who want to amuse their children for a few hours, not so pleasant for adults who'd like to spend an afternoon away from the hordes of children who invade the park at this time of year. The mansion itself was practically a no-go area for adults. The house was filled with children searching for those historic elements to the building we've all found in our time - the carved mark of three, the statue of Madna with his jug, the six interlinked mazes in the faces of the hexagonal chamber. These historic features are certainly worth another look, but perhaps not when 45 children are taking pictures of them.

But wandering away from the house, I found the hidden treasure of Mazy Wave Court - its gardens. As a child I remember finding the intricately-patterned gardens rather dull, and this seemed to be the opinion held by most of the young visitors to the Court last week. The main mazes were heaving with children, but the outer gardens were calm oases of tranquility. The apothecary garden, dedicated to plants, shrubs and trees which were thought to have healing properties, was wonderfully restful, even offering a discreet stall selling fresh lemonade and various old-fashioned "remedies". I don't know whether it'll achieve its original aim of "cureing the skin of all inflammations and noxious dis-eases" but the strawberry cleansing cream I purchased was certainly soothing.

The furthest garden is a particular treat - it looks out onto Founders Lake, with a small jetty allowing visitors to take out rowboats or simply relax and admire the view. Though the building itself may be awash with children,
the gardens secure Mazy Wave Court a very favourable verdict.