Feb 1 Picnic yesterday - What a great day!

(edit 1 - 2020-02-02 9:30pm) - added more photos, courtesy of Dianne)

We started off with fairly uncertain weather yesterday for the picnic - it was windy and cloudy here in Johnsonville in the morning, with a bit of light drizzle - but as we drove north of Upper Hutt to the Pakuratahi valley, it started to fine up as we got closer. Sure enough, the sun broke out, and the picnic couldn't have gone better!

caption: Alex and Jack

 I think we had a record breaking group size; I counted more than thirty people (and three dogs!). Really good turn out, and thanks to everyone for making the day a success. A few people who had cancelled ended up coming as well (thanks, Brian & Harrison). A few faces we haven't seen for a (long) while, as well, and two people from my running group turned up, always up for a good walk (thanks Cameron & Sarah). Well met and well done!

caption: Getting into costume, and getting into character

But the biggest thank you, once again, goes to Kathy for bringing her fabulous costumes. Her collection of costumes has become really something. If you want a personal cosplay session, drop her a line, or visit her at The One Room LOTR Fan Museum in Newtown. She'd love to host you!

( http://www.theoneroomfanmuseum.nz/ )


The park was starting to get a bit busier with other visitors, and we had more than a few sets of curious eyes cast at us. One young mother with her two kids wanted to take photos of us, but I convinced them to join us on the walk, in costume. Nice going!

Brand new members! (© Dianne)

Alex took a few photos of the walk and the picnic - here's some (if you're only seeing one picture here, you may have to click on the link to get back to www.welly-moot.com for the rest).

[edit: Also included are Dianne's pictures (as marked " © Dianne"))

caption: Crossing the swingbridge

(© Dianne)

(© Dianne)

(© Dianne)

(© Dianne)

(© Dianne)

(© Dianne)

Picnic

My costume didn't have pockets, so I didn't have my camera with me. I'm relying on other people to send me the best pictures. Contact me on facebook or send them to me here on jack@welly-moot.com - I'm more than happy to post them here.

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

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.

15 December 2018 - Picnic at Rivendell

Hi Welly-Moot crew, just a reminder about our upcoming picnic at Rivendell (aka Kaitoke) on Saturday 15 December.

The plans are:

• Meet at the Kaitoke Forks Carpark (by the swing-bridge), at 10:00am
• Adjust costumes (Hell yes! In costume through the rainforest!)
• Kathy's bringing along costumes from the One Room Fan Museum too, so there will be plenty for everyone
• 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!

Afterwards, if people have any energy left, Emily has invited us to her place for a cuppa, chill out and debrief! Details provided on the day.

We've prepared a poster (thanks Kay). Feel free to circulate it or post it anywhere someone might be keen.

See you Dec 15th - hopefully the weather gods and all the Ents and whoever will give us glorious weather! Cheers, Kathy

Announcement! - Next Event: Walk to Rivendell - December 15, 2018

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

- Walk to Rivendell, 2018 -

We've got a fun event coming up for everyone - another visit to Rivendell in Upper Hut's Kaitoke Park. We haven't met there as a group since the official opening of the Elven Archway, courtesy of LOTR Tour operator Ted Guise. I personally haven't been there for over a year, and I feel like a good walk! Who will join us?

The archway

 Here's the plan:

• 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

 In the meantime, here's a few photos from the original opening, to whet your appetites.

Fish-eye lenses are awesome

The event was well-attended!

The last stragglers on the path

Four heroes, ready for battle

The professor himself, and Lord Elrond

Where there's a picnic, there'll always be hobbits

Using Legolas' White Knives as picnic cutlery? Sure, why not!

Looks like meat's back on the menu. We don't want to exclude anyone. Baby-food anyone?

Alex on the bridge with Gandalf. She did pass.

Moot Report: Welly-moot #6.1 - Picnic at Rivendell

The first Welly-moot meeting in 2017 was held today at Rivendell. We had a bit of wind but otherwise very summery weather for our picnic, with plenty of sunshine. We enjoyed meeting up with friends and families along with Welly-mooters. Kay was the first to arrive, and she had brought a lovely Hobbittish basket full of food. Thanks Kay! And since everyone else did the same, there certainly was plenty to go around!

After we enjoyed sharing in everyone's scrumptious treats and conversation, and singing with guitar by Daniel, we took off for a mini-tour of Rivendell, guided by Jack. We enjoyed the summery afternoon with sunshine which we hadn’t had for a long time in Wellington.

Thanks to everyone who came today. And anyone who couldn’t make it today, see you at next meeting at the Embassy Theatre on Sunday 26 March. We will post more details next month.

Meanwhile, check out the photos!

Always beautiful at Rivendell

 

Food looking good, ladies! Also: Food! Looking good, ladies!

Heroically sucking in my stomach

Just a quiet cup of coffee, and a nice spot to drink it

Ever the tourguide

Through the sun shimmering - a vision, as a mirage, appeared at the gates of Rivendell. Lo, it was the lady Arwen herself!

We moved the tables back into the shade a number of times.

Always nice to have a bit of live music, guys! Thanks for bringing the guitar!

Picnic this Sunday 29th - get ready!

Heya everyone!

The Welly-moot picnic at Rivendell is on this weekend! At this stage everything is going ahead. It looks like the weather is being kind to us - the Upper Hutt forecast is for dry weather, if a little windy. There should some sun, even. I know we could all do with some of that, lately!


I would love to hear from you if you're thinking of turning up - just to give me an idea of the numbers.

 So, if you're thinking of coming, can you drop me a line on jack@welly-moot.com please?



The plan is to meet at 11:00am, at the Kaitoke Regional Park, at the grassy field beside the Rivendell filming area.

However, if the weather is a bit wet, we're moving it to the camping area - I will try get some signs up, pointing the way once you get the the park. The ranger will also be made aware of our plans.


If you need directions, there's a Google Map at the end of this blog post.


Bring the following:
- Lunch
- A barbecue (we're not sure if anyone is bringing one yet, so PLEASE email me!)
- A costume if you have one,
- Soft swords (ie, not metal) if you have some, (no projectile weapons please!),
- As many people as you can find :)

Also, I will have the "Middle-earth" road signs with me - if you haven't preordered one, there will be spares there but please get in quick, as they will most likely sell out.  $15 for members, $20 for non-members.


If the weather turns REALLY bad, we may cancel, so please do keep an eye out on the blog or the facebook page before you come out. We will confirm in the morning, before 9:00am.

Hope to see you all there!

  - Jack


Oh, and PS - here's the map!




Bring

Sad news - the picnic is cancelled. :(

Really didn't want it to come to this, but we're cancelling the picnic this Sunday.

After the week we've all had, with earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, floods, tornadoes, and an uncertain weather forecast for Sunday, and a still-soaking-wet picnic ground around Rivendell, we've decided to call it off. It's not something we do lightly.

So, to repeat - the picnic is cancelled. We will announce a new date later, but expect it to be no earlier than January.

My apologies if you had a bunch of stuff planned - I know we were all really looking forward to it all.

There will be another day!

  - Jack

Picnic in a week - get ready!

Heya everyone!

The Welly-moot picnic at Rivendell is on in a week's time! At this stage everything is going ahead. I would love to hear from you if you're thinking of turning up - just to give me an idea of the numbers.

 So, if you're thinking of coming, can you drop me a line on jack@welly-moot.com please?


The plan is to meet at 11:00am, at the Kaitoke Regional Park, at the grassy field beside the Rivendell filming area.

However, if the weather is a bit wet, we're moving it to the camping area - I will try get some signs up, pointing the way once you get the the park. The ranger will also be made aware of our plans.


If you need directions, there's a Google Map at the end of this blog post.


Bring the following:
- Lunch
- A barbecue (we're not sure if anyone is bringing one yet, so PLEASE email me!)
- A costume if you have one,
- Soft swords (ie, not metal) if you have some, (no projectile weapons please!),
- As many people as you can find :)

Also, I will have the "Middle-earth" road signs with me - if you haven't preordered one, there will be spares there but please get in quick, as they will most likely sell out.  $15 for members, $20 for non-members.


If the weather is REALLY bad, we may cancel, so please do keep an eye out on the blog or the facebook page before you come out. We will confirm in the morning, before 9:00am.

Hope to see you all there!

  - Jack


Oh, and PS - here's the map!




Bring

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