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!

Weather looks good, Picnic is on!

The forecast for today is for cloudy spells, windy but little chance of rain - that's good enough ! See you all there!

Hang on to your capes. :)

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

Welly-moot Picnic coming up January 29th! Loads of stuff happening!

On Sunday, January 29th (at the end of this month!), the Welly-moot #6.1 will gather in Rivendell, in the grass fields beside the filming location. Essentially I'm planning for it to be a noisy, messy, chaotic gathering of as many of us as can make it there. Come in costume if you can (and if the weather is up to it).

We plan to start setting up around 11:00am on the grass, to ensure we have the spot. The rangers have made it clear that it's a first-come-first-served spot, so let's all get there early!

We have a few activities planned, but only loosely. If anyone has (soft!) cosplay weapons, I gather we have a few people with skills to show us how to protect Imladris from the darkness. No projectile weapons please (except perhaps Frisbees!)

If anyone has a barbecue, that would be most welcome as well. Can everyone keep me informed as to what we're all bringing - I'm happy to act as a go-between if you want to bring extra meat etc but don't have a BBQ yourself, or vise versa. KEEP ME INFORMED though please! At this stage I've not got a Barbecue confirmed, so check first. Really.

It'll be a usual kiwi/Welly-moot picnic - bring a plate; which means bring enough food/drink for yourselves, and share it around if you wish to. As long as everyone does this, I'm sure there will be plenty to go around.

So, can everyone let me know if you're intending to come to the party, either leave me a message on the facebook page, or via email at jack@welly-moot.com. I don't check the google+ page very often (is anyone actually using that, btw?).

--

Something different - I've now sourced a cool souvenir if anyone is interested - a lovely yellow AA-styled roadsign pointing the way to Middle-earth. I managed to get some for a good price, and will pass them on to our members. Please send an email to me at jack@welly-moot.com if you'd be keen on having one. They measure around 45cm long, 10cm high. I will have a small box of them with me at the picnic, but first come first served if you didn't preorder.

Middle-earth sign, 45cm x 10cm (made from MDF) - $15 for Welly-moot members

The cost would be $15 each. They will (barely) pay for the various Welly-moot expenses that I've racked up over the last 6 years, so drop me a line if you want a cool sign.




If you're not yet a Welly-moot member, simply turn up to the picnic, and you will be one (make sure you come and talk to me about it though - I won't do a head-count on the day!). Membership is free, and for life.


Anyway, expect a few more posts in the next few weeks, with more picnic details. See you all there!

  - Jack

Welly-mooter Sanit releases his first art book!

Sanit Klamchanuan, our talented and very own Welly-mooter has had his first book of art published, and it's a gorgeous "colouring-for-adults" print book!

Sanit with the new book

Weta Workshop's Sanit Klamchanuan (who you may remember as the creator (and wearer) of that amazing Dwarven costume at the opening of the Rivendell Archway, as well as at the Ultra-Marathon at the Roxy earlier this year) got the inspiration for the book after his work was exhibited at Wellington's Thistle Hall a a few years ago.

The colouring-for-adults art book, titled Ni Tan, is a collection of black and white sketches of fantasy creatures from around the world, that have inspired Sanit over the years. You'll find more than a few creatures that obviously also inspired Tolkien.

I've seen an advance copy of the book, it looks great. It's not a cumbersome tome - and the nz$20 (us$15) price tag reflects that. You can get the book via mail-order at the publisher's website (Olorin Publishing) at this address:

https://olorisbookshop.com/collections/non-fiction/products/ni-tan

If you're looking for other Middle-earth related books by independent authors, they have a great selection there. Alternatively, they also have links to their Amazon shop, where it's also available.

--

From the blurb on the publisher's site:

Sanit Klamchanuan is a Thai New Zealander, living in Wellington, New Zealand. He has always enjoyed drawing. This book is his first book and is his take on fairy tale creatures from around the world with a little Thai twist.

Olorin Publishing also published Welly-mooter Peter Kenny's book (from the Brisbane Tolkien Society) of Middle-earth poetry, Dreams Of Another Land, available for us$18 here:

https://olorisbookshop.com/products/dreams-of-a-another-land

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