Today's meeting was a relatively small but fun get-together. Everyone brought their own experiences in Middle-earth and we shared our stories.
Jack opened the meeting
of eight people; Jack, Alex, Franziska, Martin, Annabel, Wayne, and Ash & Cinnamon. We took turns giving updates about current Hobbit related events; everything from Hobbit 3's first viewing date, to the planned expansion of Wellington's
airport runway.
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| Jack, and a rare photo of Alex, who usually takes the photos (thanks Annabel for sneaking this one in!) |
Martin
brought a copy of The Hobbit 2 Official Movie Guide (by Brian Sibley), and shared his Laketown experience as an extra. He does end up appearing in the movie, so that was all worth it.
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| Martyn (right) shows his scenes in the movie to Franziska (left) & Cinnamon (centre) |
Ash brought his Sting replica, which is a beautifully made United Cutlery weapon. Compare with many unofficial replicas, it is so well made;
beautifully decorated and gorgeous Elven patterns, and the real
leather sheath still smells fresh.
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| Martyn, and Ash with Sting |
Cinnamon shared her photos with the actors and crew from the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. It seems she's managed to meet quite a few of them, including John Rhys-Davies.
The
highlight of the day was Franziska’s presentation. She brought her laptop
and had prepared a slideshow of her experiences in New Zealand's Middle-earth. She has been to many Lord of the Rings and Hobbit filming locations in NZ, and has met many people who
have been involved these movies. You can find her wonderful experiences on her blog,
Hebin thîr lîn mi nguren, as well as (a lot!) of fan-art about Middle-earth's elves.
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| Franziska has had a great year in New Zealand |
Sadly, Franziska is leaving NZ and will return to
Germany soon. Franziska, from everyone at the Welly-moot, thank you for bringing your enthusiasm and
passion. We will miss you…at least until you return, which I'm sure will happen at some stage!
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| Franziska also baked some Lembas for the group. None left, sorry. |
We
had some discussions about what activities we can do or join for the release of the
last Hobbit movie this December. There are some possibilities, however none
of them are certain yet. We will keep everyone informed of any updates on this website.
After the meeting, we paid a visit to the Weta Cave. Some of members have not been there for a while
and as it was the 60th anniversary of the release of LOTR, they had some great specials on some of their books. We had a quick
chat with the staff and a number of Lord of the Rings tour guides who were just at
the shop, and we took a photo with Franziska, and Tom the Trolls.
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| Wayme, Cinnamon, Ash, Jack, Alex, and Franziska, with Tom the Troll outside the Weta Cave |
Till next meeting!
