Heads up, people - Walk To Rivendell event is only one more week away, ...

...so get those costumes out of the mothballs cupboard, polish that sword to a shine, and brush that hair on your feet.

At 10:00am on December the 15th, we all meet at the Kaitoke Forks Carpark (by the Swingbridge), and at 10:15am, we walk! Bring picnics, for eating/sharing on the lawn in front of Rivendell itself. For full details, check the previous post at:

https://www.welly-moot.com/2018/11/15-december-2018-picnic-at-rivendell.html


If you're stuck for a costume, drop Kathy a line the One Room Museum's facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/theoneroomfanmuseum/

... she has a lot of spares, and is happy to lend them out for Koha.



No excuses - See you all there!

  - Jack, Alex, Kathy, Kay, and Emily


PS - In case of bad weather cancellation, check back here on www.welly-moot.com (also on the facebook page)

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

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

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 Picnic coming up November 20! Loads of stuff happening!

On Sunday, November the 20th (in less than a month!), the Welly-moot 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!

It'll be a usual kiwi/Welly-moot picnic - bring a plate; which means bring enough food/drink for yourself, 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 managed to source a couple of cool souvenirs if anyone is interested, but before I pay for a box of stuff nobody wants, I need to know what sort of interest there would be. In a few souvenir shops around New Zealand I've spotted a lovely yellow AA-styled roadsign pointing the way to Middle-earth. I can get some for a good price, and 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.

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

The cost would be $15 each, but I need a certain amount of orders before it's worth it for us. They will 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 I get enough orders in the next week or so, I can order them before the picnic.

Also, I think I've sourced a supplier who can turn our Welly-moot logo (the runes in the red diamond) into an iron-on transfer patch, if anyone is interested? They'd be around $5 or so. Again, email me at jack@welly-moot.com if you want one. If there's enough interest, I'll order them before the picnic also. Wear your geek with pride!

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

That was one successful marathon!

It's finished. It's done. We came, we watched, we survived (most of us). All six extended Middle-earth movies in a row, in a single sitting. Truly, the end of all things.


I hope everyone enjoyed the event as much as we did! Everything went right, from the chosen date of Good Friday, March 25th (which won't happen again until the year 2157!), to the fantastic venue The Roxy Cinema. Thank you again for hosting this for us, you were marvelous!

In fact, a few thank you's are in order.

Thank you first and most importantly of all, to the Roxy Cinema for all their support, and in particular to Alice, who helped so much the whole way through; to Phil and Valentina for supporting it throughout the planning and preparation stages; and to Richard for keeping things flowing at the event itself! And of course to the other, invisible, behind-the-scenes staff who set up, cooked, and cleaned up afterwards for us. You all did a great job!

Thank you to the Roxy also for the amazing prizepacks both before as well as during the event. And of course congratulations to the prizewinners!

Anna receives her prize.

Thank you to the Miramar Events Trust, for you support, and assistance talking to the media.

Thank you to the Weta Workshop, and in particular to Tania Rodger, for setting up the venue in true Weta style.

Thanks to Daniel Tararo and Kris McMeans who blogged, tweeted, facebook, and most importantly, periscoped their way through the event, with live interviews for the world to watch.

Thanks to Erica, Wilson and Luke for recording the event for your documentary. Let me know when it's available to watch somewhere!

Thank you to Chewy from Wellington Rover Tours for supplying the courtesy shuttle, for getting people There And Back Again, and also for printing the much appreciated Survivor's Certificates. They will make great reminders of this mega event.

We lived!

Also thank you to Mojo Coffee for making sure there was enough caffeine to go around for the fans!


A HUGE thank you to all the special guests who came and honoured us with their presence - Jamie Selkirk (with Oscar!), Daniel Reeve, Daniel Falconer, Peter Hambleton, Sanit Klamchanuan, Kim and Warren Beaton, and Sadwyn Brophy. You made yourself so very available to the fans, with conversation, photos, autographs, and (to Daniel Reeve in particular) with your amazing skills.

A special thank you to Jed Brophy for being there right throughout the event, and getting just as tired as the rest of us! Your dedication is amazing!

A HUGE thank you from me (Jack) to the rest of the Welly-moot committee - Cinnamon, Alex, and Kris. Cinnamon, I forgot to mention you in the speech before the first movie - but I couldn't have done it without you. Alex, you were always by my side. And Kris, my costume looks amazing, thanks to you!

And last, but not least, thank you so much to the amazing fans we managed to convince to part with a not-insignificant amount of money, some who came dressed up, some who flew from halfway across the world, and at least one who walked about 40kms to get to the cinema on time. Your dedication to these films is always amazing, and knowing that support existed made the efforts to organise this so much easier.


Thank you all - I for one, enjoyed this event immensely! I trust everyone else did also!

   - Jack Machiela
 

Marathon Event Timings

Here is a complete timeline of the events planned for this mega-marathon.

Thursday March 24th:

• 12:00 – Rover Courtesy Bus leaves from iSite (20 seats)
• 12:30 – Daniel Reeve at Roxy, Calligraphy Demonstration
• 13:00 – Welly-moot competition prize handover
• 14:00 – HOBBIT 1: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
• 17:03 – Break
• 17:15 – HOBBIT 2: DESOLATION OF SMAUG
• 20:22 – Dinner Break with Daniel Falconer
• 21:15 – HOBBIT 3: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES

Friday March 25th:

• 00:00 – Midnight Break
• 00:15 – LOTR 1: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
• 04:03 – Break
• 04:15 – LOTR 2: THE TWO TOWERS
• 08:11 – Breakfast with Kim and Warren Beaton
• 09:00 – LOTR 3: RETURN OF THE KING
• 13:24 – Survivor's Lunch - Handout of Souvenir Certificates
• 14:30 – Rover Courtesy Bus returns to iSite

Note that the movie start-times will be exact; some of the other times may be approximate.

As you can see we have some amazing VIPs coming, and there is one other special guest expected, who will be MC-ing throughout the event; I will announce him VERY soon!


  - Jack

Wellington Rover Tours is providing a courtesy bus with driver, to and from the event!

Scott from Wellington Rover Tours (Wellington's biggest LOTR touring company, and oft sponsor of the Welly-moot) has kindly donated the use of a 20-seater bus (with driver Chewie), to take a limited number of people from Wellington central to the Roxy, and afterwards bring them back again.

If you don't have any way to get to the event and don't want to use public transport while you're in LOTR costume, then let me know at jack@welly-moot.com, so I can put you on the list.

Although this transport option is 100% FREE, there is a STRICTLY limited number of seats available, so please let me know AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! First in, first served. You snooze, you lose. Early bird gets the worm. Etc.


The bus will leave from the iSite at 12:01pm, lunchtime on Thursday the 24th, and will make its way to the Roxy. Since there's plenty of time before the movies begin, you may be able to convince Chewie to take you all to the very first LOTR filming location on top of Mount Victoria first... :)  I'll leave that open!

A full event itinerary will be posted in the next few days. It'll have a number of other surprises on it! VIP's you say? Muahahaha!

  - Jack

Ultra Marathon - one free ticket to give away!

Heya everyone, I'm not sure if you saw this on TheOneRing.Net, but the Roxy Cinema has donated an amazing prizepack including a ticket to the full event, to give away to one lucky winner!

All you have to do to win it is to send an email to ‘competition@welly-moot.com’ with your best fan-story. It could be anything – the day you met one of the actors; your worst hard-luck story; what got you into Tolkien; – anything. Make it good, in less than 300 words! You’ve got until Wednesday the 16th, midnight (Wellington time). The Welly-moot committee will judge the best story, and they’ll be in touch with the winning entry!

The prizepack includes the following:

• LOTR postcard set (10)
• Hobbit postcard set (10)
• Middle-earth teatowel (Thorin’s Map)
• Middle-earth key-ring
• Red eye of Sauron pin/badge
• Hobbit Hole collectible
• Middle-earth Location Guidebook (hardcover – Ian Brodie)
• 2 x 1 litre bottles of Hobbiton Gingerbeer
• 1 x Box of Scorched Almonds
• 1 x Bar Whittakers Chocolate
• 1 x Pkt Popcorn
• 1 x Roxy Cap
• 1 x Roxy Notebook
• 1 x Roxy Pin
• 1 x Middle-earth Marathon ticket

So tell us your best story, as soon as you can, the deadline is in the next four days!

Also, please share this one far and wide on your favourite social media.

Finally, keep watching this space - there's still a few more announcements and surprises to come for this event!
 

Shoutout to our Japanese followers!

As lots of you have already discovered, the tickets to the Ultra-Marathon are now on sale!  Check the Roxy's ticket office website,

A quick message from Alex to any Japanese LOTR fans who are interested in joining the movie marathon on the Welly-moot website: http://www.roxycinema.co.nz/page-event-3.php

Dear Japanese friends ー 日本のみなさんへ

今回のこのイベントー Movie Marathon にご興味がある方で、日本語で質問や問い合わせをされたいは方は、是非私Alex Ishikawaに直接メールして下さい。メールアドレスはalex@welly-moot.comです。できるだけお手伝いさせて頂きます。いつでも気楽にメールして下さいね！

(English translation)

Dear Japanese friends - to Japanese people - If you are interested in joining us for this event - Movie Marathon - and wish to talk or send any enquiries in Japanese, please contact me, Alex Ishikawa, directly. My email address is alex@welly-moot.com. I will try to help you as much as I can. Please feel free to contact me anytime!

Can I ask our Japanese friends to share this on your social media please, as much as you can?




And obviously this message applies to any other nationalities as well, but the communications will have to be in English I'm afraid. :)

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

The End Of All Things - The ultimate Middle-earth Marathon is ON!

So, it looks like we're all go, the event is live, and tickets have gone on sale!

We got ours - how about you?

Over the last few days, we've had confirmation that the Roxy Cinema is helping us celebrate the completion of Sir Peter Jackson's in style.

Together with Welly-moot they have arranged for all six of the EXTENDED versions of the movies to be shown in a single extremely long session, starting at 2:00pm on March 24th (Thursday before Easter), and ending around the same time the next day (Good Friday March 25th).

A few weeks ago, we asked people to "like" the facebook event page - now we're asking you to put your money where your mouths are, and go and buy the tickets.

Tickets are on sale online through the Roxy's own website at the follwiong address:

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

...so go and get yourself a ticket to a history event. Tickets are $250, and costumes are compulsory encouraged! Welly-moot will be providing some cool spot-prizes for the best or funnest costumes!

There WILL be further announcements, so keep watching this space!

If anyone has any questions, send them to me or to the Roxy (through their link above).

And see you all there!

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

Event: The End Of All Things

"For the Quest is achieved, and now all is over. I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things"

- Frodo Baggins, March 25, T.A. 3019, Orodruin

Now that the last Hobbit movie has had its Extended Edition released, we've come to it - the final release of the final movie.

This is it.

The End Of All Things.

It all ends on March 25, 2016.

--

For the last few months, here at the Welly-moot we have been planning the longest celebration yet; a Once-in-a-Lifetime, Ultra-Mega-Super-Marathon. All six extended movies in all their glory, in the best place in the known world to see it; the Roxy in Miramar.

Only, we're not doing it over the course of six weeks; we'll be there for over 24 hours, in a single sitting.


We've been in talks with Roxy to organise this gargantuan event. Tentatively, the plan is this: We get together on Thursday March 24th, 2016 (the day before Good Friday). An Unexpected Journey will begin at 2:00pm, with the Return of The King finishing around the same time on Good Friday.

Tickets will be around the $250 mark. Not a bad deal, for 6 movie tickets, 3 Roxy-quality meals, snacks, and staff to look after us for that length of time. Also, the theatre will be themed out for us, Roxy-style. We all know they're up to the job!

There WILL a few more surprise announcements coming, as soon as we confirm them.

--

Here's the crunch - we need your commitment to turn up! At this stage we will be taking names and email addresses of people who can commit to this event. This is a first-come-first-served event, with STRICTLY LIMITED SEATING. The Roxy isn't huge, and food needs to be ordered WELL in advance.


If you can make it to this event, please do the following:

1. Send an email to "events@welly-moot.com", with a Subject of "The End Of All Things".
2. Tell us how many tickets you want.
3. Tell us a full name, and a working email address for EVERY TICKET REQUESTED
4. Expect further announcements soon.

Failure to follow the steps may result in confusion and extra work for us, and no tickets for you. Please make this easy for us.

Once we have the required numbers confirmed, we will be asking people to pay the tickets in full, most probably before Christmas.


We will try to keep things fair - if you've been around for the last few Hobbit years, you know we had lots of people interested in past events, so please book early!

Also, please SHARE this page around on your social media, or print it out and pin it to the notice board at the office. There's also a Facebook page set up, so please share that one around also.

  - The crew at Welly-moot

Welly-moot #4.4 Mid-Year Christmas

On Sunday the 26th of July, the Welly-moot was held at the home of myself & Alex. I didn't mention this at the moot, but it was our 30th Tolkien get-together! Rather than a "proper" Tolkien-related theme, it was more of a purely social gathering this time, for existing members to get together and enjoy spending a very pleasant afternoon in each other's company.


Not much to report really; the food was excellent - thank you everyone for your contributions - and the conversation flowed well. A very special thank you to Cathy from Canada (not present at the moot, unfortunately) for providing the most excellent Maple flavoured coffee - I'd been saving it for a special occasion. :)


We all had an opportunity to meet with some of the regular members' less regular partners, which was really nice. I also had a chance to show off some of the more precious things in my collection, which seemed to be enjoyed by the group.


No real news to report this month. I'm still in talks with the relevant people about our special upcoming event (!), and I'm hoping to finally be able to go public on that soon. Keep watching this space!

One item - you may have noticed that the official Welly-moot pins, designed by our own member Annabel, are no longer available in Silver, just in the Bronze. If you don't have yours yet, order one soon! They look fantastic. To place an order, just click the "Add to Cart" button on the right hand side of the Welly-moot.com site.

For the people who had contacted me wanting to join this meeting but where not yet members - the next Welly-moot will be held as a normal meeting, with new members accepted again. Details are on our Calendar page.

I think the last meeting of this year, in November, will be a special one - it will mark the 5th anniversary of the existence of the group. Might have to have some prizedraws for that one!

Also: I'm taking suggestions for our September Welly-moot theme! Email/facebook message me!


  - Jack

Coming up: Mid-year Christmas moot July 26th

This July the 26th, the Welly-moot will be held at the home of Jack and Alex, as a mid-winter Christmas moot (welcome to the southern hemisphere!). As this is our home, we won't be taking on new members this meeting.

Please RSVP via email to let us know you're coming, and to get the street address. If you're not sure if you're an existing member, drop me a line also!

The event will be the same as previous years, and we're once again aiming for a "bring a plate" lunch, so please bring something yummy to share. Home-cooked will receive the best compliments (hint!)...


Details of the lunch:

• Arrive here at around 11:00am
• Lunch will be served around 12:30pm
• Finish when we're good-and-done

 
So, one more time - please send me an email to let me know you're coming. We cancelled last time due to lack of RSVP's.

My address is jack@welly-moot.com.


  - Jack & Alex