Reminder - Welly-moot Picnic at Rivendell is only a week away (Feb 1)!

Get your picnic sets ready, dig your costumes out of the closet, and come and join us next week, February 1st, at the Kaitoke Regional Park (north of Upper Hutt), where the group will join up at the Forks carpark at 10:00am.

It's only a week away at this stage, and the long range weather forecasts are still looking good, so it's all on!

First, you can decide if you want to join us in costumes - Kathy will be there from The One Room Fan Museum, with a good selection of LOTR costumes that are available for a gold coin donation. Costumes are absolutely not compulsory, but Rivendell seems like a totally appropriate location to don them one more time.

Once we're ready, we will go for a good walk through the forest across the swing bridge, traversing the roughly 45 minute track in a counter-clockwise direction, which will take us right in to the grass field beside Rivendell and its archway. The carpark is close by, so feel free to leave your picnics in the cars during the walk. If you don't want to walk, no problem there either - you can look after the picnics until we get there (I hope we can trust you with the food!).

Closer to 11:30 / noon, we will start the lunch. At some point I'd love to get a nice group photo.

That's the plan - and it's all of the plan. Nice and simple!

If anyone has questions, or needs a ride, drop me a line at jack@welly-moot.com, I'm sure something can be arranged.


See you at the carpark at 10:00am on February 1st!

Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/d1UVJQm9tLpmiEie8


NB - if the weather turns sour on Saturday, we'll postpone till the next day, Sunday 2nd of February. If they're both rubbish, we'll decide further, and watch this site (www.welly-moot.com) for more details.

  - Jack

Rest in Peace, Christopher Tolkien.

It is with great sadness that I have to write this - it's just come to my attention that Christopher Tolkien, the son of J.R.R. Tolkien, has passed away, at age 95. Without him we would not have the Silmarillion, or any of the other reference works, or more recently any of his full tales of the best Middle-earth backstories. He was a protector and staunch defender of all his father's works, for some 91 years. Famously he protected it even from his father:

"I (then between four and five years old) was greatly concerned with petty consistency as the story unfolded, and that on one occasion I interrupted: ‘Last time, you said Bilbo’s front door was blue, and you said Thorin had a golden tassel on his hood, but you’ve just said that Bilbo’s front door was green, and the tassel on Thorin’s hood was silver’; at which point my father muttered ‘Damn the boy’, and then ‘strode across the room’ to his desk to make a note."

His work is at an end. We shall remember him.

The Welly-moot sends its deepest condolences to the Tolkien family.


"He was strong in life - may his spirit find its way to the halls of his father"

Next event - Picnic at Rivendell, 1st of February

Welly-moot, in association with The One Room Fan Museum, presents:

Rivendell Picnic 2020

We haven't had an event for a little while, and I think it's high time. What better way to celebrate the new decade with a Picnic at everyone's favourite LOTR location - Rivendell!

We're all getting together on February 1st, (with Feb 2 as the Plan B bad weather day). We're basically using the same plan as last year, since it worked so well.

Here's the outline:

• Meet at the Kaitoke Forks Carpark (by the swing-bridge), at 10:00am
• Adjust costumes (Hell yes! In costume through the rainforest!) (*)
• At 10:15 or so, we cross the swing-bridge, and walk the main track. It'll take about 30-45 minutes, although possibly a bit longer depending on costume.
• The end of the walk will get us to the Rivendell grassy lawn, where we unpack our picnics
• After the picnic, all join for a Welly-moot group photo by the Archway.

Plus anything else we can think of on the day, or before. We're open to ideas, so drop us a line anytime!

The final plans will be published here as the time comes closer, so check back here often. Please share on your social media as well - the more the merrier!

  - Jack


(*) Bring a Middle-earth costume of your own - or if you're stuck, Kathy will be here with The One Room Fan Museum's amazing costume collection, which you are welcome to wear on the day for a gold coin donation.