Movie News / Tolkien News

Welly-moot Now Officially Affiliated with the Tolkien Society

Posted by on February 9, 2012 at 3:01 am

Welly-moot is a group of Tolkien fans who meet in Wellington, New Zealand to discuss their love of his work. The group was started in 2011 by Middle-earth Network’s own Jack Machiela, but as of January 3, 2012 (which also happened to be Tolkien’s 120th birthday), Welly-moot is now an official “Smial” of the UK’s Tolkien Society. The Society categorizes its divisions as “Smials,” which is a word that Tolkien invented for the lavish hobbit holes inhabited by the more affluent hobbits of The Shire.

Jack has been a “Lord of the Rings” tour guide for over 8 years. He takes fans to locations across New Zealand that were used during the filming of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. He has met a number of celebrities, including Peter Jackson, Andy Serkis, Richard Taylor, and the list goes on! He also loves to meet fans of the films from around the world, which is what prompted him to begin Welly-moot.

It all started when Jack set up a few coffee meetings with other Hobbit fans. During one such meeting, he met Kris, a member of the Tolkien Society. After a number of meetings, Welly-moot was born, and now that it’s an official Smial, he and Kris will be running it together.

According to Jack, it’s easy to become a member. “You show up to a meeting, and bam! It’s done! The cost at this stage is restricted to how much coffee you drink, and how many cakes you eat on the day.”

Here is a schedule of Welly-moot’s upcoming meetings:

  • February 26th, 2:00pm at the Embassy Cinema
  • April 29th, 2:00pm at the Embassy Cinema
  • July 1st, 2:00pm at the Embassy Cinema
  • August 26th, 2:00pm at the Embassy Cinema
  • October 28th, 2:00pm at the Embassy Cinema
  • December 30th, 2:00pm at the Embassy Cinema

These dates are subject to change, so make sure to watch the Welly-moot website, along with its Twitter and Facebook pages to keep apprised of upcoming events! The website also includes links to the meeting minutes from past “moots,” so you can catch up on the happenings of the group.

If you live in New Zealand, or plan to travel there this year, try to stop in at the Embassy Cinema for a Welly-moot!

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Author: Lily’s first experience with Tolkien was when the eccentric Mrs. H performed all of the characters from The Hobbit in her seventh grade class. In high school, she felt obliged to decline a second date with a boy who said he had no interest in reading The Lord of the Rings. In college, she unwisely decided to reread her beloved copy of The Hobbit during finals week, with only semi-disastrous results. When not writing for Middle-earth News, Lily tries not to unnerve her coworkers and family with her extreme geekery, but somehow, Star Wars, Star Trek, Sherlock, Merlin, Doctor Who, The Princess Bride, Back to the Future, superheroes, Disney movies, and of course, Tolkien, seem to have relevance in EVERY conversation.

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