Register your interest?

Hello everyone,

As you may have heard, the new Tolkien bio-pic is to be released in New Zealand on June the 6th. Obviously we should go to this, either individually or as a group - who is keen to join us? So far we've got Alex & myself, and Kathy from the One Room LOTR Fan Museum. If you're keen, leave me a message here, on the Welly-moot Facebook page, or email me on jack@welly-moot.com.

If we've got enough people interested, we can organise an evening around it, with possibly a dinner somewhere (Yum-cha anyone?).

https://www.flicks.co.nz/movie/tolkien/


--

On another note, this link seemed appropriate at the moment, what with the events in Christchurch prompting some soul searching for us all (hopefully). The question is often asked - was Tolkien racist? There are definitely racist overtones in the Middle-earth sagas - the superiority of the elves compared to, say, the dwarves is obvious, and is explained well in the Silmarillion. However, was he alluding to his feelings about the Human race?

Read what Dimitri Fimi has to say about it. It makes for an interesting read, I think. (thanks Kathy for the link)

https://theconversation.com/was-tolkien-really-racist-108227

--

One final note - an administrative note, and probably of interest to nobody. As you may have heard, Google is cutting its Google+ service, which means the G+ button will be removed off the main welly-moot blog. I have the distinct impression our Google+ site has never been used by anyone, so feel free to ignore this Very Important Notice. If you don't know what this is all about, just ignore the whole paragraph.
--

  - Jack

Welly-moot #6.4 will be held on July 30

Another meeting coming up, back at the Embassy. We're repeating the theme of last meeting - this time we'll actually get to it.

Reality vs Metaphor
In The Hobbit, the Rock Giants are portrayed as real in the films, but many believe they are just metaphors - what are are thoughts on this? And are there any other instances of this in the stories?

Rock Giants - are they real or did Bilbo imagine them?

So, if you're keen on a good fun afternoon with a bunch of fellow coffee drinkers and cake eaters, come join, and add your $0.02 worth to the discussion - or just come and sit back and enjoy the bun-slinging.

Usual time, usual place: 2:00pm, upstairs at the Embassy cafe. Entry is free and gives lifetime membership as a Welly-mooter, but bring money for coffee and cakes.

  - Jack & Alex

Welly-moot #6.3 report - Forgot to discuss the theme. Oops.

The group met at the Embassy Cinema today, and although our intentions were to discuss the set theme of Reality vs Metaphor (were Bilbo's Rock Giants real or were they a metaphor for something entirely different?), in the end we kinda never got around to it. The discussion went a lot of different ways instead, everything from politics (VERY briefly), various educational models around the world, Bela Lugosi's role in early horror films, and yes, some Middle-earth.

The group was pretty relaxed about it all. Coffee was drunk, cake was demolished. Last week was Armageddon, so that was a nice catch-up since most people had been to it - Wellington's annual Sci-Fi and Fantasy convention at the Westpac Stadium. And speaking of Sci-Fi, the Wellington Sci-Fi group came and sat beside us in the cafe and started their monthly meeting as well. Looks like a good place to hold these things, I guess.


We'll be meeting again in a few months, perhaps we'll get around to the theme then! The silver lining of today's meeting - it's great to see that this is such a social event, and I hope it always stays that way.


Till next time!

Final date change - Welly-moot #6.3 will be held on June 11 (not June 4).

Due to the Sci-Fi/Fantasy convention Armageddon being held over the same weekend as our original Welly-moot scheduled meeting, we've decided to change our moot day to June the 11th.

Apart from the date change, we now also have a fun theme for the discussion:


Reality vs Metaphor
In The Hobbit, the Rock Giants are portrayed as real in the films, but many believe they are just metaphors - what are are thoughts on this? And are there any other instances of this in the stories?

Rock Giants - are they real or did Bilbo imagine them?

So, if you're keen on a good fun afternoon with a bunch of fellow coffee drinkers and cake eaters, come join, and add your $0.02 worth to the discussion - or just come and sit back and enjoy the bun-slinging.

Usual time, usual place: 2:00pm, upstairs at the Embassy cafe. Entry is free and gives lifetime membership as a Welly-mooter, but bring money for coffee and cakes.

Welly-moot #6.2 report - Eowyn's Choices

The second Welly-moot meeting was held at Embassy café today. Alongside of regular members, we have new visitors; Maria and Logan, both are big fans of Tolkien’s world.

First, we started with updates and news around the table – the upcoming charity event with Royd Tolkien on April 12 (http://www.welly-moot.com/2017/03/royd-tolkien-coming-to-wellington-at.html), news about Wellington Movie Museum (ie, no news, more delays), and new movies; especially “Ghost in the Shell” with both Jack and Alex as Extras.

--
Today’s theme was "Eowyn's Choices" - a theme we received from Astrid from Austrian Tirol Tolkien Smial. Astrid is asking different groups some Tolkien themed questions, and is collecting answers, possibly to be published at a later stage. We'll keep you updated!

In The Return Of The King, Theoden King had laid the faith of their people into Eowyn's hands. However, she secretly fought alongside with Kind and her brother and she could have easily died.

Questions;

(1) What is she now? – Is she a traitor, a rogue, just a huge egoist, irresponsible or what?

We all agreed that she is none of them, and certainly not a traitor. Ryan and Kay spotted the excellent point - if Eowyn was a male, King Theoden would have asked to stay at home? It is obviously not because all men were expected to fight with the King.

As everyone knew that the fight had no hope to win and everyone was expected to die during the battle. If everyone died in the battle, then all women and children who were left behind would be killed by Sauron anyway, so there was no point to remain as the successor. Eowyn chose to die alongside with the King and her brother to try to protect the world and people. Maybe she betrayed her King but not her people.

Alex brought a more romantic answer; because Eowyn was heart-broken by being rejected by Aragorn, she lost her hope to live and she chose to die.

An interesting question members pointed out – “Was it irresponsible of her to take Merry with her to the battle?” After some discussion, we concluded that it was not irresponsible. She was going to be left behind and so was Merry who both wanted to fight for their love ones.
 

A quotation from the movie, when Aragorn asked her what she was afraid of, then she answered “a cage”. If she did as King asked, she was like being a cage without freedom or her own will.

(2) Is she a great heroine of her time, after all?

We all agreed “Yes”. However she had to disguise herself to be in the battle and killed the Nazgul. She is a heroine and a fighter. She did far more good in the battle than she would have if she'd followed the king's orders.

(3) To WHOM did she pass on her responsibility for the Rohirrim? Especially as it had to be operated in secret? Any optional leader at hand was to join Theoden's army, after all.

As like other stories, there is always someone to inherit the throne; maybe descendant of Hamma or Gamling, or second/third cousin of Eomer and Eowyn.

We had a great discussions about Eowyn today and it was so much fun. We have decided to have this kind of discussion with different themes and topics for future meetings. If you have any ideas, topics, or questions you want to ask Welly-mooters to discuss about it, please email to Jack (jack@wellymoot.com). We welcome anyones’ participation.

Finally we had an announcement. Jack and Alex have decided to remain at the helm Welly-moot and we are having a new committee member, Kay who has attended all meetings since last year and been supporting us. Jack will lead us as the President of Welly-moot, and Kristi, Alex, Cinnamon, Daniel, and now Kay will support him and the group as Committee members.

The next meeting is on Sunday 4 June. See you there.

Jack & Alex

Theme for Welly-moot #6.2 - "Eowyn's Choices". March 26, 2017.

Way back in December 2011, Welly-moot had a visit from Astrid from the Austrian Tirol Tolkien Smial (at Welly-moot #0.6). She's been back in New Zealand in 2015, and amongst other things,  visited Rivendell:

Unfortunately she wasn't here for our picnic last month, but she has set us a challenge for our next meeting. Astrid has started a little Tolkien project of her own. She is asking different groups some Tolkien themed questions, and is collecting answers, possibly to be published at a later stage.


(Astrid:)

As Tolkien seems to kind of forcefully "sneak back" into my life lately, I decided to start a little project. I raise a question, concerning things Tolkien that left me curious for some time, and collect answers and ideas...

Here is my challenge for WELLY-MOOT fellowship:

Reading LotR about Eowyn leaving for Minas Tirith among the riders, I was wondering about two unexplained facts:

First – beside any motive Tolkien had displayed for her action… there remains the fact that she ignored her responsibilities!
After all she had been second in line after her brother in royal hierarchy since her cousin had been slain on the battlefield. And Theoden King  had laid the faith of their people into her hands before when she had led them to Dunharrow (book version!). So in her decision to join the battle on Pelennor, just in case she would have died alongside her King and her brother – most likely outcome in opposite to the final story, she would have ripped her people of leadership entirely!
So I ask myself -  what is she now? A traitor, a  rogue, just a huge egoist, irresponsible…??? Or is she a great heroine of her time, after all?

Second – to WHOM did she pass on her responsibility for the Rohirrim? Especially as it had to be operated in secret? Any optional leader at hand was to join Theoden's army, after all.

So, there it is; a theme for our next meeting. We're going to need someone to take a few notes from our discussion, so we can send her our findings afterwards. In any case, it sounds like a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, with lashings of coffee and scones. Come join us!


The meeting will be held, as usual, upstairs at the Embassy Cinema, starting at 2:00pm. All are welcome, including non-members. Bring money for coffee (but lifetime membership is free, as always).

Welly-moot #5.5 will be on Sunday 25th September

As promised, here's the announcement for the next moot - we will be meeting at the usual time of 2:00pm, in the usual place of the Embassy Cinema, upstairs in the Cafe, on Sunday the 25th of September.

For the afternoon's theme we will be discussing the diverse landscapes of Middle-earth. I'm keeping this deliberately vague, so everyone can come at it from their own angles. Does the map of Middle-earth make sense in a geographical sense (I've always been slightly worries about the "squareness" of the Mordor mountains, for instance). We're lucky here in New Zealand - Tolkien's landscapes are all around us.

Some creatures seem to have become part of the landscape. Think of the Ents and the Huorns, who basically make up a large part of the forest. Or those Stone Giants - did Tolkien intend for the mountains to be self-aware (think Caradhras), or was Peter Jackson taking artistic liberties?

How did Tolkien make the landscapes of Middle-earth into their own character?


So, come and join us for an in depth discussion. As always, meetings are free to attend, and attendance gives you membership for life. Bring money for coffee & cake from the cafe!


See you all Sunday!

Welly-moot 5.4 report (brief), plus an announcement

On July 31st, we held the fourth Welly-moot of 2016, which ended up being a very pleasant afternoon. The theme of the day was the nature of life and death in Middle-earth, which ended up being a very lively discussion, and the coffee flowed freely.

I also announced my intentions to step down as the defacto president of the group by the end of the year. I've been running the show for the last six years (counting the Noldor days, aka the First Age). In that time we've organised a good number of events, had a lot of fun, and we have got a good little group going on. I'm taking a new direction in my life and want to step away from quite so much of the "All Tolkien, All The Time" that I've been doing for the last 13 or so years.

Don't get me wrong; I'll still be running LOTR tours at Rover Tours and Flat Earth Tours, and I'll still be attending Welly-moots - I just won't be involving myself so much in the running of it; the blogging, the event organising, and the networking. I'm also not extending the collection of LOTR Cool Stuff quite so much.


I'm feeling very positive about the changes ahead, and I know the Welly-moot will fare well without me at the helm.

There are various tasks that could be handed over. At the moot, Daniel offered to take some of them, and I suspect he could do with a helping hand in a few places. If you're keen to get involved, let me know, I'm sure many hands will make light work, and two heads are better than one, etc.

Anyway, more details on all this when it actually happens (end of the year!), in the meantime, it's time I announced the next meeting (next week Sunday!).

  - Jack

(Finally, an announcement...!) - Welly-moot #5.4 is coming soon!

Although our original plan was to have a mid-winter christmas get-together like last year, life seems to have gotten in the way, and we can't commit time. We do have a doozy of a topic for everyone though!

The discussion will be a light breezy one - nothing less than the nature of life (and death) in Middle-earth. The elves are immortal, while men are not. How does that all work? And if you thought the elves had it good, the Maiar and the Valar are even more immortal, if there is such a thing. Or are they? Melkor/Morgoth gets kicked out of the Valar - does he die? Is that even a meaningful question? And what of Saruman?

Now, I'm counting on people to do a little bit of homework on this one - check your Silmarillions and your Unfinished Tales once more. If you don't have access to those, then the Encyclopedia of Arda is a great place to start looking instead (http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/).

Of course, if this is all just too heavy for you, feel free to bring your own topics!


New members are welcome as usual, and membership is free, and for life. Bring money for coffee and cake at the Embassy cafe, though.

See you in a few weeks!

  - Jack

Welly-moot #5.3 Report

The Welly-moot group met yesterday at the Embassy Cinema. We have new members whom we met at the Middle-Earth movie marathon in March this year. Welcome Kay, Molly and Helena!

Unusually, we didn’t have a specific Tolkien topic for this meeting. We started as usual with a round table discussion, with updates, and we shared our experiences of the movie marathon. After that, it became a very enjoyable non-topic discussion.

We discussed the upcoming Armageddon Expo in Wellington next weekend; the excellent Hobbit Location Tour "Hairy Feet Hobbit Locations" in Piopio Waitomo; the latest Superhero movies (X-man, Avengers, Captain America, Superman vs Batman, etc), TV shows, costumes, etc. The Welly-mooters are a wealth of geeky knowledge, and we had no problem filling the afternoon with a wide range of movies, TV series or characters.

Some updates for everyone.

• There is a Middle-earth-themed LARP event (Live Action Role Playing) in Queenstown later this winter. We will update as soon as we have more details, on this site. In the meantime, if you're interested, follow them on facebook.
• The new Rivendell Rebuild project for Welly-moot is the Bilbo bench/statue in Kaitoke Park. We have two wonderful Sculptors to give us a hand. We will be pushing this project forward this year!
• We're also organising a Welly-moot craft meeting, hopefully for later this year. The idea is to have Kim Beaton (who you may have met at the Marathon) show us how to sculpt a beautiful miniature Hobbit door, to decorate your garden with. There will be somecosts associated with that, so will keep everyone updated as we go.

The next Welly-moot meeting is to be a mid-winter party like we did last year. The date will be Sunday the 31st of  July. It will be fun so don’t miss it.

Also, some Welly-mooters are going to the Armageddon with their own costumes this weekend. We (Alex & Jack) will be going on Monday the 6th, if all goes well. See you there!


   - Alex & Jack

May 29th is coming up fast - Welly-moot #5.3!

It seems we haven't had a "proper" meeting for aaaages, what with the Ultra-marathon coming in between them. High time to remedy the situation!

In about a week and a half, the Welly-moot will meet at the Embassy Cinema, upstairs in the cafe, at the usual time of 2:00pm. The topics covered will no doubt include "how we all experienced the Ultra-marathon", and what have we all been up to since then.

I would like to invite people to bring their own topics as well, and there's one or two things I'd like to put to the group, for the future of the Welly-moot.


So if you want to have a say in how things will go from here, please, DO attend!


As usual, attendance is free, and ensures lifetime membership to the only official NZ Tolkien Society. Bring money for coffee and cakes from the cafe.


See you there!

  - Jack

Welly-moot #5.1 Report - ("Faramir & Eowyn")

The Welly-moot group met today at the Embassy Cinema, to discuss another aspect of Tolkien's world - the relationship between Faramir and Eowyn.

It was a lively discussion, with all sorts of wonderful points being raised. Did Faramir think he would be the reigning Steward (until Aragorn showed up), and how far was Eowyn from taking up the mantel thrust upon her by King Theoden, before they both met?

The group, which consisted of thirteen committed members, had a great cultural variety amongst us - New Zealand, England, Scandinavia, USA, Japan, Germany, Polynesia, to name a few backgrounds. We talked about child-naming traditions for Middle-earth, and how they relate to the real world, as well as the stranglehold that misogyny has over Eowyn, and how it affected her life choices. From there we somehow covered the subject of hair-cutting traditions on Rarotonga, and how that was also reflected in some ways in the reverence Gimli held over the locks of Galadriel's hair. From the real world to Middle-earth, and straight back again indeed.

In the group today were a number of members who return to us after long absences, including Ryan, Jennifer, and Hawk - welcome back guys! One particularly long absence was from Jens Goetz from the German Tolkien group. Jens has been to the moot once before, way back in 2012, dressed as our German Gandalf! As before, he brought a song for us!

"What really happened in the Green Dragon" -by Jens Goetz

Today he was in "normal" clothes, but tomorrow I have the honour of driving him around the Middle-earth locations of Wellington in my other job as a LOTR tourguide. Looking forward to it, Jens!


Apart from the theme of the day, we also of course had a big excited discussion about our huge event, The End Of All Things; the Ultimate Middle-earth Marathon. Since we have the green light, we know that tickets are selling rapidly, so if you're thinking of attending, please buy tickets as soon as possible. If you leave things too late, you may end up missing out. Please get in touch with either Cinnamon or myself if you need any assistance in any way. We're on facebook, email, blog messages, texts, phones, etc, so no excuses! :)

It very much looks like this event will be an awesome one. Every announcement today was exciting. We're getting sponsored by Mojo Coffee, who will be providing bottomless brewed coffee throughout the event. There will be VIP guests - one has been confirmed, and possible more as well. I will be announcing things as soon as they firm up 100%. It looks very much like Weta is dressing up the Roxy Cinema, possibly with original props. We're doing it in style!


More information to come soon. In the meantime, to book a ticket, please go to...:

         http://www.roxycinema.co.nz/page-event-3.php

Roxy Cinema Events booking

  - Jack

Welly-moot #5.1 Theme - Faramir & Eowyn (January 31st)

If it's not too late to mention it, happy new year, everyone! Get ready for another geeky nerdfest of Tolkien Trivia!


This month we will explore the relationship between Faramir and Eowyn. It's a curious one; they meet, get engaged, and marry despite (or perhaps due to) all the troubles around them.

Both had high hopes for the future, which was dashed on the rocks for both of them by Aragorn (although for different reasons).



So, dig out the books one more time, and make sure to watch the Extended Edition of the Return Of The King (their meeting in the Houses of Healing is fleshed out a lot there), and come and discuss your findings with us at the Embassy Cinema, at 2:00pm, on Sunday January 31st, the first Welly-moot meeting of 2016.


Also at the moot, there will be further announcements relating to our BIG event, The End Of All Things. It looks very much like we've got the green light on it - I heard on the grapevine today that tickets will be on sale via the Roxy Cinema in the next few days. Get ready with your credit cards!

Tickets will be strictly limited, and those who followed the instructions given earlier will be given first preferences to the tickets, so please DO send that email to events@welly-moot.com as soon as you can - I fully expect the tickets to go VERY quickly.

For more information, check out the facebook event page as well.


Meanwhile, see you on Sunday January 31st, for the bi-monthly moot!

  - Jack

Welly-moot #4.6, Report - Galadriel's Gifts

The last Welly-moot of 2015, moot #4.6, was held on Sunday the 29th of November at the Embassy Theatre.

We started with an ‘OMG’ announcement for Welly-mooters. We will post it on this website shortly so keep eye on it. It's pretty awesome, but we have to get the details right before we can announce it properly. Expect something pretty exciting in the next week!



Today though, three new Welly-mooters joined us - Tara & Chad, and Jade. Apart from her many creative skills, Jade also works as a guide at Weta Cave, and turns out to be very knowledgable on all matters Tolkien. Tara and Chad are travelling fans, and are currently visiting (more than a) few Middle-earth locations around New Zealand. Once they were introduced, we continued with the roundtable introductions and some general updates as usual. Great news are Sinead’s new job at Weta Degital, and new documentary project related with Tolkien from Will & Erica - looking forward to offering our assistance when the time comes closer!



The moot's theme was "The gifts from Galadriel". We are sure you know all the gifts, but here is a friendly reminder for you just in case.

Before the parting, the Fellowship members were given Lembas, Elven cloaks, Elven brooches, Elven ropes, and boats.


At the parting, Galadriel presented specific gifts to each member of the Fellowship.

• Aragorn – Elfstone and a sheath for Anduril
• Boromir – his golden belt
• Merry & Pippin – Silver belts
• Legolas – Galadhrim bow with elven hair string, and plenty of arrows
• Sam – a box marked with a silver rune "G for Galadriel". Inside the box was some earth from Galadriel's orchard and a silver nut from a Mallorn tree.
• Gimli – Three strands of Galadriel’s hair
• Frodo - Phial of Galadriel

There followed some interesting discussions;

• Based on the history of the relationship between Elves and Dwarves, Galadriel’s offer to Gimli is unique and remarkable.
• Galadriel had the foresight and so she prepared very special gifts which would be useful on their journey later on.
• The gift from Galadriel who is high-elf, to Legolas who is low(er)-elf.
• How Boromir’s gold belt and Merry & Pippin’s silver belts were used on the story.

It was suggested that in the movie, perhaps Galadriel doesn't give Boromir any personal gifts because with her foresight, she knew that he was portrayed by Sean Bean (who always dies). A good theory!




One sad item of news - one of our longest Welly-moot members, Annabelle, is moving to Hamilton with her two Hobbits. We would like to thank Annabelle for all your contribution to our little group, we will miss you. We wish you the best in your new life and hope we will meet again soon. Remember, you're a member for life!

Our next meeting will be on Sunday 31st January 2016. Keep checking our website for an exciting announcement! Talk to you soon.

  - Alex

Welly-moot #4.6 this month (nov 29th) - Galadriel's Gifts.

This month's meeting (almost) coincides with the date that Samwise remembers about Galadriel's gift to him - the little box of seeds. He uses it to regrow the trees around the Shire, cut down by Saruman during the Raising of the Shire (if you don't remember this bit from the film, you really need to read the book!).

For the theme of the meeting we will share stories about this gift, or any of the others that the Fellowship receive after their stay in Lothlorien. The cloaks, the Lembas bread, Sam's rope, Boromir's golden belt, or Gimli's three golden hairs - they are all incredibly special, and often it's not until you read the other books (Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, etc) that it becomes clear just HOW special they are. Which gift was your favourite? And why?


Come share your stories, or come listen to other people's tales, at the end of the month, on Sunday November 29th, at 2:00pm at the Embassy Cinema. It'll be the last Welly-moot this year, so come and meet the crew one more time!


  - Jack

Welly-moot #4.5, Elrond - report

Our Welly-moot #4.5 meeting was held last Sunday, 27 September at Embassy Theatre.

We started with a roundtable introduction for the new Welly-mooters; Elanor, Ayumi, and Noriko, and longtime absent but now returned Welly-mooter, Ryan. After some general updates from Jack and shared updates, we started talking about today’s theme "Elrond".


Gladly most of members had done some homework of researching about Elrond and we shared what we found. Jack started by presenting a short biography about Elrond; when he was born, his early life, his adult life, and his children. Especially interesting was that Elrond is not exactly half-Elf and half-Human but 9/16 Elf, 3/8 Human, and 1/16 Maiar.


The discussion continued about his parents and his children, especially Arwen about, and how she met Aragorn, and how Elrond felt about it.

The ultimate question posed was “Do you choose mortal life or immortal life? “ Elrond was given a choice and remained as an Elf but his brother Elros became a man.

Everyone had different views and opinions, and so the discussion was going on and on. We had good robust moot, indeed!


Sad news is one of our active members Seiko is leaving Wellington and going back to Japan. We originally met her at the Archway Opening Ceremony at Rivendell this year. We enjoyed having her with us, sharing her passion for Middle Earth. We will miss you, Seiko.


Good news is Ryan has come back to Wellington. He had left almost 3 years ago. Ryan, welcome back to New Zealand and we are happy to have you back. Let's hope it is permanent this time!


Next meeting is on Sunday 29th November. We are hoping to have a special guest for the last Welly-moot meeting this year. We will announce as soon as we can.

 Keep checking our website. Talk to you soon.

  - Alex

Headsup - Welly-moot #4.5 ("Elrond") is tomorrow at 2:00pm!

Don't forget, the next Welly-moot will be held tomorrow September 27th, at the Embassy Cinema, at 2:00pm.

The subject will be Elrond, so let's see what interesting facts people can find out about him. Here's one: although Hugo Weaving ended up playing him in Peter Jackson's movies, apparently David Bowie expressed considerable interest in playing him also.


We'll see you there! Usual rules:

New members welcome!
Membership is free, and for life.
Bring money for coffee and/or cake from the Embassy Cafe.


  - Jack

Welly-moot #4.5 - Elrond

At the end of this month, on September the 27th,  the next Welly-moot will be held once again at the Embassy Cinema, at the usual time of 2:00 pm.


Since we've reopened Rivendell here in the Wellington region earlier this year, we thought it might be interesting to see who runs the place, and how he got there. Lord Elrond, father of Arwen, is the topic of our discussion this meeting.

So come join us, bring your books (since Elrond has been around for quite a while, he's in quite a lot of the tales), and let's figure out his backstory, his relationship with Gandalf, and let's meet Arwen's mum, her brothers and her uncle.


The meeting will be open to new members again. Membership is still 100% free (although bring money for coffee and/or cake), and membership is for life. Please "Share" this post around your various social media hangouts.


See you all there!

  - Jack

Welly-moot #4.3 report ("Gandalf")

Welly-moot 4.3 meeting was held last Sunday, 31 May at Embassy Theatre.

We started with Jack’s greeting and updates with some projects as usual. There were some exciting updates for the members. We promise that we will post them here on the Welly-moot site as soon as we are able to announce it officially. It won’t be too long so keep your eyes out for it.


Next, we took a moment to remember Andrew Lesnie, who passed away at the end of April. As fans of Sir Peter Jackson’s movies, especially ‘Hobbit’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’, we all know of Andrew’s contribution and passion for movies. You will be remembered, Andrew.

[Picture] Andrew Lesnie (1956–2015)

--

The theme of the day was “Gandalf” – What are your favourite passages in Tolkien's writings that describe Gandalf's wisdom, humour, and personality?

The most popular and famous one was this one:

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us”

Alex shared her memory with Ian McKellen and her story why she came to New Zealand. She is not the only one to choose this quote, some other Welly-mooters from overseas have been inspired by this phrase also, and that is why they are in Wellington now.


There are some phrases from Gandalf are applied in our world as well. The phrase which Gandalf says to Denethor, Steward Gondor, when Denethor refuses to listen to Gandalf's advice on ruling the city. Denethor says "the rule of Gondor [...] is mine and no other man’s, unless the king should come again". Gandalf responds with:

"Unless the king should come again? Well, my lord Steward, it is your task to keep some kingdom still against that event, which few now look to see. In that task you shall have all the aid that you are pleased to ask for. But I will say this: the rule of no realm is mine, neither of Gondor nor any other, great or small. But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I also am a steward. Did you not know?"

Gandalf is alone amongst the five wizards (or at least amongst the three we know) that he tries to own nothing, and rule nothing, and have no house of his own. Middle-earth is his terrain, and he keeps his eye on the larger picture.


Then there's the phrase from Gandalf to Frodo:

Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends."

This applies our world as well. No one has the right to make judgement for any lives to live or die.


Jack pointed a slightly different character of Gandalf in the book The Unfinished Tales. Gandalf appears to have known all along about Saruman's visits the the Shire, and about his secret addiction to the Halfling's weed. At the Great Council meeting held in 2851, Gandalf appears to have smoked for the first time in front of the council, and defended its use a a way to clear his mind. He recommends it to Saruman (actually knowing full well that he already uses it). Jack's quote isn't a quote as such, but a description of Gandalf's last response to Saruman, as the meeting come to an end:

Gandalf did not laugh again; and he did not answer, but looking keenly at Saruman he drew on his pipe and sent out a great ring of smoke with many smaller rings that followed it. Then he put up his hand, as if to grasp them, and they vanished. With that he got up and left Saruman without another word; but Saruman stood for some time silent, and his face was dark with doubt and displeasure.

Subtle as a brick, is our Gandalf.


As we all know that the common idea or image of Gandalf is ‘father’ figure. When Gandalf is saying good-bye to Hobbits, he says:

You must settle its affairs yourselves; that is what you have been trained for. My time is over: it is no longer my task to set things to rights, nor to help folk to do so. And as for you, my dear friends, you will need no help. You are grown up now. I have no longer any fear at all for any of you.

Here it goes. Not only people but Hobbits, Dwarves, and even Elves rely on him. Gandalf has such heavy responsibility (or burden) on his shoulder in the Middle Earth.


Gandalf is one of the most important and centre characters in Middle Earth. We think because of these characters we are enchanted by the stories of Tolkien’s.

--

All in all, a good meeting, and a terrific discussion. We're looking forward to the next one!

Gandalf! - Theme for Welly-moot #4.3, May 31st at the Embassy

Greetings, Welly-mooters. On May 31st, at 2:00pm, we will meet at the Embassy Cinema in Wellington. Spread the word, and get ready! Our topic for the next Welly-moot is:

GANDALF

Gandalf, © John Howe (*)

Who doesn't wish for a helpful wizard to call on now and then for advice on life's choices and help in dealing with trolls? Granted, Tolkien's wizard had a penchant for steering friends into uncomfortable and downright dangerous situations and sometimes leaving them to figure things out for themselves. He chose his companions well, though, knowing they were each up to whatever might come.

What are your favourite passages in Tolkien's writings that describe Gandalf's wisdom, humour, and personality? Have any of his words and deeds written of by the Professor influenced you in any way so that you did, in fact, have a wizard by your side? Is there still a place for the wandering wizard in our modern life? Bring your favourite quotes and scenes, art pieces and mementoes of Gandalf the Grey and the White.

“When evening in the Shire was grey
his footsteps on the Hill were heard;
before the dawn he went away
on journey long without a word.

From Wilderland to Western shore,
from northern waste to southern hill,
through dragon-lair and hidden door
and darkling woods he walked at will.

With Dwarf and Hobbit, Elves and Men,
with mortal and immortal folk,
with bird on bough and beast in den,
in their own secret tongues he spoke.

A deadly sword, a healing hand,
a back that bent beneath its load;
a trumpet-voice, a burning brand,
a weary pilgrim on the road.

A lord of wisdom throned he sat,
swift in anger, quick to laugh;
an old man in a battered hat
who leaned upon a thorny staff.

He stood upon the bridge alone
and Fire and Shadow both defied;
his staff was broken on the stone,
in Khazad-dûm his wisdom died.”

    - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Ah, but that it did not, Frodo!

  -Kris

--
Also at the meeting, we will discuss a few other items - notably we will talk about the "One Last 'One Last Time' Time" event that was previously hinted at, as well as a few other Tolkien related projects in the works behind the scenes. We may not be in a position to reveal everything online afterwards, so if you want to be in-the-know, you'll have to attend the moot!

  - Jack


--

(*) The Gandalf illustration is © John Howe, and used with permission from the artist. If you haven't been to his website yet, it's time you did! John Howe was intimately involved in the shaping of Peter Jackson' s Middle-earth, and looking through his Galleries, it's easy to see how much of that was kept intact in the movies.