I met a fellow BDer!!

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

Nogrod then only did the simple thing that he recorded, polished and edited the sound - I am sure a link will appear here sooner or later, if there is interest.

Yeah, only the simple thing of compiling five files ranging from two half a minute rhytmical recordings, two 2½ minute aleatoric ones with a 15 minutes discussion section broken down by accidental bursts of singing into a whole that had kind of a dynamic of it's own and made sense also musically, adding parts of the layers on top of layers from different recordings... You know I do these with my left hand...

But for those who do not have a FB-account there's now a version of it in Youtube as well. You can find it from here.

You can get it from FB as well, from https://www.facebook.com/video/video...=1729962387372.

Wurst is der König für alles es gibt!

[Oddwen]

200 out of 1400+ pictures uploading...

[Oddwen]

That. Was. AWESOME! Utterly worth the thousand dollars and 40 hours of traveling back and forth.

(I would have had this post up a week and a half ago, but I've been catching back up on REB, PandA, H*R, etc.)

I have eight albums full of pictures on my Facebook! I went for quantity over (Rune's) quality, unfortunately. The only events I missed were the erotic cherry eating contest, and the recording of Die Kunst der Wurst's first hit single. The latter because my batteries were dead, and the former because...well, I'm not quite that nasty yet.

Many many many thanks to Nogrod, Aganzir, Lommy, Greenie and cryptkeeper Annina who arranged all of the transportation and housing and meals for so many strange people.

Helsinki and the surrounding areas in the summer is a dream come true. Rocks and trees and forests and seas...not to mention ice cream stands on every corner...streets relatively safe for the bare feet...and a BarrowDowner wherever you care to turn. : )

I was incredibly sad not to be introduced to the famous Theodred, as he disappeared some while ago. Something to do with Grima's Makeup shop, I assume.


Nogrod (Evil Man, nasty wolf), Aganzir (Evil Monster, Evil Zombie, You B****, Pixiediculous, Aghh-aghh!), Lommy (Moo-Moo!),Greenie (Oink-Oink!), I had met last year, but was sad that that visit seemed rushed. I was very glad to see them while they were awake. Noggy is an always-sneakily-recording-things hippie, Aganzir is queen of all she surveys, Lommy is a darling and Greenie is a dearie.

Legate (Messy) is fun to listen to, whether he speaks sense or nonsense or Star Wars quotes or chants about sausage. He and Lommy together were so sweet together it made my teeth hurt. He reminds me of the babe.

The Owl (a bad move), poor owl. Best not speak of it.
Squatter (, Evil Horse, Nasty Wolf), is hilarious, intelligent and inebriated, a punching bag to small children, and long it was that we sang Strong Bad songs by the campfire. Looks like we're gonna have to juuuuuuump...

Hookbill (You dead!, Tyhmä) is way taller than I expected. That's what I get from letting "the Goomba" influence me. Also, he is Alien. He tried to burn down the cabin and steal all of the buses, not to mention being sick everywhere. I don't envy Lommy and Aganzir's having to clean their apartment after he left. He has the power of voodoo. If he ever comes to the USA, we shall have an Awesome Sock Battle and this time I shall emerge victorious.

Mel Gibson (The Gibbinator) was defeated at last.

Esty (), as reported many times in this thread, is super duper nice, super duper knowledgeable, and just generally super duper, even though she kept trying to steer errant conversations back to Tolkien, of all things...or cherries...*wink* Her readings of LotR on her last evening were a major highlight.

Volo (Me-Me) is amusing, and not at all boring. He reminded me that shoes are a prison for your feet, so we cast them off and aired our toes on the streets of Helsinki together. I don't remember if I've ever heard his voice before, but when I did, it was...right.

Alcohol (Karhu, Beleg, Viking Blod, etc.) was a dear friend to many, bringing joy and laughter wherever he went. Oft he would go astray, but merry (and many) were the quests to bring him back, stronger and more plentiful than before.

Pitchwife (Evil moon), I say, indeed! I third the comments about his voice, it was always awesome when he would shout in surprise at something. It was also through Pitchie that we discovered just how silly pouring pancake batter on someone's head isn't.

Elevators (elevators), they take me up, then they bring me down.

Shasta (Eee-Eee!, wrapped in leathaaaa, Nasty Wolf) was someone I knew from WW reputation only. He's an amazingly vibrant person, always singing & dancing or wanting to, even though his trip was fraught with peril and frustration and France. We had great times singing together on the swings at the beach, though our particular song repertoires only overlapped on "Bohemian Rhapsody".

Jon Snow (Jon Snow) was a no-showing, no-knowing illegitimate son, so we made fun of him. It's a good thing he didn't make it though, we would have given him the Sean Beating of his life and he would have cried all the time, and then Aganzir would have been upset with us.

Rikae (Evil mama) & Mac (Evil papa) were, alas, the people I spent the least time with. A lot of their time was taken up urging the Wereduckling (Awwww) to unleash violence upon the evil and the English. They are lovely together, very nice and a very wicked couple. I would have loved to have plotted Simmish things with Rikae.

Kath (Woof-Woof!) has been called "The Normal Brit", but I personally would call her something more like "The Not Gibberingly Insane Brit", since she does have a very silly streak to her as well. She is also sweet and caring and puppy-cute.

the phantom (the pantsdom) appeared in all of the Paper Telephones, Stories and most of the other games, so it was like he was actually there, unable to protest his own mistreatment, which is just the way I like it.

skip spence (, "Play Twinkle Twinkle", Nasty Wolf) - always grinning, always musical, and his thirst for the Tango is insatiable. He attempted to teach me to dance, but I failed. His dance with Pitchie was no doubt largely due to the rumors of Pitch's very high score in the cherry eating contest.

Rune (Nasty Cobbler, Sniffle Spreader) had a cold when he arrived, so naturally (Rune's Quality Plague) it spread to several Downers. He then lorded it over his victims (only me, at that time), taunting them, dancing around them and singing, and irritatingly being able to breath through his nose. Otherwise, he's a very fun young man, and I shall write another poem about him when I have more than a couple of hours to devote thought to him.


You had all better make it to Britmoot, or I shall be very sad.

Originally Posted by Aganzir

the nastiest things were without exception written by her.

But they weren't the only nasty things being written...

I don't want to wait another yeeeeeearrrrrrrrrr!

When I think of my Finlandmoot things,
Then I don't feel so baaaaaaad...

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

And the circles and the ages and the ages...

Or words to that effect. I was the first to leave Finlandmoot, dragging reluctant heels back to the featureless void that is reality. Naturally, having more time than anyone else to spend on documenting the whole affair in tediously minute detail I've done nothing of the sort. I start out with good intentions like 'today I'll post my perspective on Finlandmoot' only to find long afterwards that the time has been expended in looking up references to Dwarves in HME or driving to London. Or taking the ferry across the river to eat mussels and drink beer. Come to think of it, this would be a pretty good place for a Downsmoot...

Such directionless stalling aside, it falls to me to reveal the truth behind the headlines. I was there: I know where the bodies are buried; I recall only too well how narrowly the Barrow Downs avoided war with Estonia, and how Estelyn had to sneak out of Finland disguised as a newt. The image of Nogrod dressed as Venezuelan shepherd and waving an egg-whisk in the direction of Sweden will stay with me forever. I digress, though. Perhaps it would be better to start at the beginning.

As some of you may have noticed, I haven't been around much for about five years or so. It was therefore something of a surprise when I received an invitation to a new Barrow-Downs event. I recognised one or two faces on the list, so I replaced my old passport and booked myself some flights (actually this took quite a long time, but the magic of prose allows me to compress it all into one sentence).

Skipping forward a few months, it turned out that Oddwen and I were supposed to arrive within ten minutes of each other, and that I was to land first. This turned out to be a shameless fabrication on the part of British Airways, who got me to Vantaa half an hour late due to some sort of aerial traffic jam. This was not an auspicious start, but it wasn't the worst airport disaster of the week. Stumbling dazedly out of baggage reclamation, still reeling from trying to read the Financial Times on the flight, I was hailed by some odd-looking people. Either this was my first meeting with my hosts or I was about to be mugged. Perhaps both.

Fortunately the natives were friendly, although some idiot had put the steering wheel on the wrong side of their car. We were whisked into Helsinki for a bit of sitting down, which I hadn't done since getting off the plane. Back at Nogrod's place we were regaled with a fine dinner of roast duck and wine, which was the opening salvo in a barrage of alcohol that lasted for the remainder of the trip. Some might say that I'm not obliged to drink it just because it's there, but those people are, not to put too fine a point on it, wimps. This was my first experience of Nogrod's granite death-fortress, and I must admit that the large collection of cookery books came as something of a shock. Unlike most of the people who bought those books, though, he can actually use them. We ate very well while staying there. Some of the details are a bit hazy, but by this time there were six of us: Me, Nogrod, a very tired Oddwen, Thinlómien, A Little Green and Legate of Amon Lanc (I always thought that was a nice title).

After varied banter, we went for a walk in the park. I've been to London, so I know what to expect from a city park; I was therefore completely unprepared for Helsinki's version, which is simply to end the city and call the countryside just outside a park. There was enough room for a hockey pitch (on which people were playing ice hockey without ice), an archery range from the XV Olympiad in 1952, and everything between us and Lapland. The obvious message was that you don't want to get lost in Helsinki or you'll end up at the North Pole three months later. It was a lesson I was glad to learn, just as I was pleased to discover that settees have been placed at strategic intervals around Helsinki for the comfort of passing walkers. The most logical and reasonable explanation we could think of for the random sofa was that someone was moving to the forest one piece of furniture at a time, which tells you everything that you need to know about the rôles played in Finlandmoot by logic and reason. Returning to the Dark Tower of Nameless Dread, we whiled away the remainder of the evening in Downish wise. Thus ended the first day.

At this point I have to admit that I can't remember in what order everyone turned up. I know that by the time we went to Suomenlinna and - more importantly - a Finnish supermarket, Hookbill and Estelyn were in evidence, and on that day I also encountered Aganzir for the first time. I do remember that we left Oddwen sleeping as only someone with transatlantic jet-lag can, but that she joined us later. The fortifications at Suomenlinna were sadly inadequate as a base from which to conquer the universe, there being no working guns and a café instead of a magazine. Legate and I walked over them together, and realised quite quickly that the Downs will have to launch its campaign from a different national monument, and that I can't read Russian. Once Oddwen arrived, we all sat down for a picnic at the beach, just like the Secret Seven, except there were eight of us and everything else was completely different too. Later on we were joined by Pitchwife before wending our weary way back to the Command Centre.

Day Three saw Estelyn leaving ludicrously early in the morning to pursue her dark paths through the fabric emporia of Finland. Nogrod, Pitchwife and I preferred a more civilised and altogether slower start to the day. Eventually, at the crack of noon, Pitchwife and I were ready to venture outside. Nogrod remained on guard against the arrival of more invaders from across the sea while we hijacked a bus. I realise that it will seem strange to other Downs members, but somehow we ended up in a bookshop (I think that Kirjakauppa may have been the first Finnish word I learned, but more of my linguistic exploits later). We met Aganzir, Estelyn and Hookbill for a trip around the Ateneum, where there was indeed very much art. Some paintings depicted snow inside a living room, which reminded me of my student days. By this time I’d just about begun to get the hang of saying ‘kiitos’ and smiling like an idiot; when people think that you’re a fool you can get away with more. Speaking of cultural exchange, Aganzir proved to be very keen on the phrase ‘creepy-crawly’, as I discovered while we were admiring some metal insects.

Back at Nogrod’s castle of doom, we were ready to receive the next batch of inmates, this time Macalaure and Rikae, who had brought with them my nemesis, the Wereduckling. They seemed like such a nice family, which just goes to show how masterfully their disguises had been prepared. We were soon to discover that they came bearing destruction and torture, but who hadn’t? I think that it was on this evening that we all headed over to Thinlómien’s place to clutter up the recreation room. I remember drinking gallons of Karhu, being repeatedly assaulted by a small child, playing Paper Telephone and badgering Rune to come and join our depraved revels. By the time we repaired to the student flat I had ceased to exercise due caution over what I was drinking, which resulted in my consuming something that the girls had been hiding in their fridge to keep the world safe. It tasted of pink death, but I drank it anyway. This proved to be something of a tactical error.

This is probably the best point at which to mention what the Icelanders would no doubt call The Saga of Shasta the France-trapped. He had been expected the day before, but had called to announce that he was being subjected to the worst torture an Englishman can imagine: being stuck in Paris for the night. The French had done what they do best and deranged his travel plans, which apparently were the only things about him that hadn’t been deranged to begin with. By the point that I’ve reached, he was in Helsinki, and wisely spending most of his time asleep. As it turned out, he was merely husbanding his energy for concerted lunacy.

Also at this gathering was Volo, who apparently owns no shoes. He makes up for this by wearing an unfeasibly large hat and rather a fancy weskit. It’s just as well that he and Skip brought hats with them, because I’d left mine at home in the belief that they’d come to harm if they went anywhere near an airliner.

Speaking of Skip, he and Kath at last deigned to join us in Joutsaa, which is quite simply beautiful. We drove out in convoy, but I was in the most dilapidated van in Europe with Nogrod (the driver), Estelyn, Hookbill, Oddwen and Aganzir. If you’re going to travel half-way across Finland with a bunch of unreliable maniacs, I recommend them.

It was a stroke of genius to get us all out to the cabin, sawing up trees (kill the Ent, kill the Ent), cooking over open fires and taking saunas. I discovered a one-litre beer glass that was perfect for doing Darth Vader impersonations, if you can impersonate Darth Vader, which I can’t. Oddwen can also do some interesting voices, but the real stars of our evenings around the fire were Nogrod, A Little Green and Skip. It was during this time that I really started to relax, although this was a mistake as it allowed Wereduckling to sneak up on me and eat me to death on more than one occasion. It was after a day of such treatment that the final horror was unleashed and Rune joined us. The circle was complete, and the universe was doomed.

There isn’t enough space on the forum’s servers for me to give a very detailed account of Joutsaa. Suffice it to say that I went fishing with Skip and Aganzir (the boat is apparently unsafe for eighteen people, so we had to take turns), played werewolf for the first time (and was on the winning side, because we really were that good). We played the longest game of Apples to Apples in living memory on the veranda of a log cabin, and witnessed the frightening woodcraft of the Downs membership from the relative comfort of an open fire. We ate pancakes with berries we’d gathered in the woods that very afternoon and spent a lot of time in the lake. A number of us also fell over spectacularly, especially Rikae. It’s interesting when you reach my advanced years and crosswords seem like a pretty wild way to spend an afternoon to have your banged head carefully examined by a concerned teacher. People have been calling Kath ‘the only normal Brit’, but I think ‘least immature’ is probably a better way to put it. I’m not sure whether to find that galling or reassuring. Having said that, when the only other two Britons present are me and Hookbill it’s not surprising that such comparisons spring to mind.

The last night in Joutsaa was spent largely sitting in a lake, rambling on about politics with Aganzir. I ended up getting about two hours’ sleep before the journey back to Helsinki in our amazingly still functional bus. I can impersonate a pillow or a footstool with equal felicity. Then, after a long-overdue shower, I donned my best Theakstons T-shirt and headed off to look at some church boats with Nogrod and Esty. Apparently they weren’t Viking longships, but they were the closest thing to them that I saw in Finland. Eventually, Esty and Nogrod poured me into a bus, which would ferry me to the Slut Walk. This journey, incidentally, reminded me why most people have working mobile phones. I was reduced to scribbled numbers and occasional telephone boxes, but fortunately I’d remembered to bring some blind luck, which got me to the station in time to join the march. Present there were Aganzir (our fearless leader), Hookbill, Oddwen, Shasta and your humble correspondent. We walked as we’d often walked before, exploring Helsinki in what I’m going to start calling ‘protest tourism’.

Back at Lommy and Aganzir’s place, we watched the obscene Glaswegian Harry Potter video that had so captivated the junior Downers and then headed off a bar (at last) to play ‘Truth Be Told’, which is a game in which no truth is told at all. I find when trying to recall the game that my memories have been suppressed. Something about Rush Limbaugh dressed as Scarlett O’Hara floats up from the depths of memory like a dead sheep in a reservoir. Anyway, we laughed a lot. Then everyone else turned up and we went to dinner.

This was the last evening we’d spend together, so we made the most of it by eating, drinking, collecting all the restaurant’s stuffed toys on our table and dressing one of them up as Rune. We then piled back to Nogrod’s Doom Fortress for tea and cakes, or more accurately Danish mead and lots of beer. Estelyn had brought with her the silliest Lord of the Rings film any of us have seen, courtesy of the Russian society, and we played far too much of the two-line story game: five simultaneous sheets that eventually contained some of the most disturbing and ridiculous statements that we’ve ever produced. Since Estelyn and I were in REB together, that’s saying quite a lot.

Once the little ones had been packed off back to the nursery flat, there seemed little point in sleeping as I had to be up in three hours to catch my flight. Therefore Nogrod, Pitchwife and I spent some time looking through Nogrod’s quite impressive library: Snorri in Finnish, sagas in Danish, the most dilapidated copy of LR in the world; the list is practically endless. We talked, I avoided falling asleep, and finally Nogrod saw me into a taxi and I was, as they say, out of the saga. It seems that the best of the Moot was yet to come, but such is the punishment for those who can’t arrange enough holiday.

Normally I’d add some impressions of the various people, but I think I’ve imposed on the Forum’s time enough. Suffice it to say that it was obvious from the start that I was among friends: people with whom one could comfortably build a guillotine or barbecue a head of state. It would be to the great impoverishment of mankind if this company were never again to be assembled, and I hope that I’ll have the opportunity to meet each of them again. Special thanks are due to our hosts, Nogrod, Thinlómien, A Little Green and Aganzir, who gave their bus passes, their time, their money and so much energy to organising the whole thing and catering for half the Downs. A week is too short a time to spend in the company of such excellent and admirable folk. May your beards grow ever longer, and your feathers never fall.

[Pitchwife]

Reposted from the RotR 2012 thread:

Originally Posted by myself

IN THE MEANTIME...

... for all those around Europe who won't be able to make it to RotR (or who just can't wait that long), how about having a Wurstlandmoot sometime next spring (like, say, around Easter)? I'd be pleased to host, if there's interest. We live half an hour's drive from Frankfurt-Hahn and about an hour from Frankfurt International, so picking everybody up at their respective airport would be no prob with a bit of organisation. Our house easily sleeps ~8 people (10 with a little piling), and if there should be more, there's a youth hostel in a very nearby village. We live in a pretty rural aerea, but close to the cities of Mainz, Koblenz and Frankfurt and the Middle Rhine Valley, which is one of the most beautiful pieces of Germany with lots of historic attractions (indeed, a day tour by ship on the Rhine, passing the Loreley and one castle after another, is something to write home about).

Discuss.

[Kath]

I've done that boat trip Pitch, it is well worth it. :-)

[Mithalwen]

So have I. I was interrailing and staying with friends in Koblenz and the first thing the boat passed was a nude bathing site. I hope they didn't get as sunburnt as I did (only bare arms and feet).

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Nogrod

Yeah, only the simple thing of compiling five files ranging from two half a minute rhytmical recordings, two 2½ minute aleatoric ones with a 15 minutes discussion section broken down by accidental bursts of singing into a whole that had kind of a dynamic of it's own and made sense also musically, adding parts of the layers on top of layers from different recordings... You know I do these with my left hand...

That 'simple', of course, was an irony, in case it wasn't clear to people

[A Little Green]

My emotional jet lag is still half on after almost a week. It was a real treat to host a bunch of such amazing people. Among my favourite moments during the Moot were the mornings at the cabin, waking up in a room full of sleepers and thinking, ”My biggest problem in the world at the moment is how to get out of this room without stepping on a 'Downer.” Needless to say, I miss each and every one of them and would trade my current dilemmas for that one any day.

Esty (Grandma) was warm and open and lovely, genuinely interested in everything and everyone. I miss our few serious discussions about life and music (want more of those!!), as well as not being the only hopeless quote-machine with a song or a quotation for everything anyone says.

Hookbill ((Dead) Horse, Jim Snow, Wurst McWurst or Tyhmä) was both more and less crazy than I had thought, kind and sweet and entertaining and an essential part of our group. I miss our slow mornings of making tea and talking about serious stuff or random stuff or not talking at all.

Kath (Dog-dog, Mutterwurst or the Normal Brit) is a cuddly sweetheart, lovely to everyone every single minute of every single day! She is the ideal person whether you want a hug, a serious talk or a moment of hilarious banter. I miss our tired airport afternoon of baked potatoes and gossip.

Mac (Evil Papa, can't remember if he was nicknamed something else as well) is kind and helpful, but has also a very evil laugh and a lovely, quiet, sardonical sense of humour. I miss his hilarious facial expressions, whether at the baby or just in general.

Oddwen (Malice, Manfred, Horace, Manflesh, Keine Wurst or Mew-mew) is reversed. No. She is wicked and hilarious, easy to get along with, an amazing singer and just generally awesome. I miss her way of flashing a really happy grin whenever our eyes met.

Pitchwife (Tom Bombadil) got more hilarious by the day, and his performance in the Erotic Cherry-Eating Contest provoked Legate to shout ”I can't watch!” He is also very kind and helpful, always volunteering to lend a hand in whatever needed doing. I miss his catching voice and the unexpected dirty jokes that always took us by surprise.

Rikae (Evil Mama, she, too, probably got some other nickname as well but I can't remember any!) is gorgeous. There's just no other word. She also brings me in mind of an elf and has a lovely laugh. I miss our brief conversations about forests and writing on the back seat.

Rune (Sad and Unpredictable Piece of Danish (Quality) Meat) turned up too which was only appropriate as a Finlandmoot is not really a Finlandmoot without him. He was great with the baby which was cute, and I miss trying to read his Danish newspaper over his shoulder: ”A man was stoned on the beach?” ”Yes.” ”Yay, I know Danish!”

Shasta (Evil Dragon, Dinner, Kinderwurst or Ee-ee) was just as much of a darling as I remembered though he did climb trees instead of rocks this time. He is charming and cuddly, and I miss playing with him in the swing or on a seesaw, as well as our random fights (I usually never fight with anyone!) and shared outbursts of Danny Boy.

Skip (did he ever receive an unflattering nickname? If so I can't remember it ) too provided us with no surprises but continued to be his smiling and good-natured self, among other things playing ”Twinkle twinkle little star” countless times for the Wereduckling. I miss Nog and his jamming sessions that were among the cutest moments of our time at the cabin.

Squatter ((Dead) Horse) is a lumberjack with a really nice voice. He is hilarious and entertaining as well as kind and polite, and I miss how all our talk turned, in the end, to dissing either Scotsmen or Mel Gibson or both.

Last but not least, the Wereduckling was adorable, and provided us with much entertainment and entertaining nicknames (a good part of those mentioned in this post are given by her). It was concluded that every 'Downs gathering should include a toddler. I agree; she brought such cute sides out of people! I miss her giggles and her singing, and yes, even her tugging at my earrings in the car.

Naturally, the Moot also featured the Finns and more-or-less Finns, ie. Nog (Evil Man or Vaterwurst), Legate (Messy or Wurst Ja!), Volo (the phantom), Agan (Bad Monster, Pixiewurst or Penguin-penguin), Lommy (Evil Egg or Darth Wurst) and myself (Mean Dragon, Autowurst or Evil Papa Fish).

[Hookbill the Goomba]

You know, I did write out a post for this thread the night I got back but there were technical difficulties (read: I closed the tab by accident). But I think I can remember what to say...

So, yeah, Finlandmoot was cooler than Lommy's frozen penguins! But lets talk about some of those peoples, shall we?

The first Downers I met were Legate and Lommy who were patiently waiting for me at the airport, ready to have me bagged, tagged and shipped off to some people trafficking group. If not for my pre1996 computer-like speed, they might have gotten away with it too!

It took me a few minutes to make my brain click that these two interesting peoples were actually those Downers that I'd known for years. Once it slotted into place it was as if we'd known each other for a little more than five minutes.

Legate is a fine chap with hair that would melt your heart (seriously, it's on fire a lot of the time). He can effortlessly flick from serious business man to absurd wide-eyed-death-glare maniac in moments! It's really quite impressive!

Lommy is charming and has this hyper streak that makes every conversation that bit more exciting! She was always very sweet and endearing, but also something of a grounded counterbalance to the craziness that was Aganzir. Not that Lommy isn't also a bit bonkers - she most certainly is!!

Speaking of which, Aganzir is mad! MAD, I TELL YOU! I had met her very briefly before, long ago in the cold of winter. But here in Finland we got better acquainted. When not regaling us with her vulgar dreams of vulgarity, she was usually biting people or else teaching small children to bite them for her! That being said, it all hides deep down (I think it's VERY deep down under many layers of malicious and insane violence) a very caring person who always managed to keep us organized. Sometimes resorting to making this odd clicking noise that will haunt our dreams forever!!

Now then, Nogrod is a blast! A laid back old greaser who will never be too old to rock and roll (but shall always, we pray, remain too young to die)! His hospitality was grand and he was an excellent host. When not under pressure to entertain one could imagine him pulling a pipe out and blowing smoke rings above all our heads while he pondered philosophical and, at the same time, drew offensive paper telephone pictures.

(I realise I'm going out of order of when I met people already, but who cares, really? You do? Well, sorry... um... Have a cup cake).

Esty I'd met at a few Oxonmoots. Every year she gets younger, I am sure of it! Though she has been stealing a lot of magic rings lately... Anyway, she always brightens the atmosphere and can be just as sharp and vile as the rest of us when she wanted to, no longer bound by her moderator oaths! Her bright colours and personality are always welcome at a moot!

Squatter, once again, is a fellow I was already acquainted with. Southerner though he is, we share a mutual love for all things on the odd side. Though hatless, he still remained a fit and proper member of our group.

A Little Green is a fine soul possessed of a gollum impression that puts other to shame. Though sometimes quiet in the mass of madness going on all around, she always had this look about her - that she was plotting SOMETHING! She can play a mean guitar and whatever that magical instrument of witchcraft was! More often than not the first to wake and make absurd teas - and this is something I can respect. We had many a discussion of the politics of the day as well as just general silliness.

What to say about Oddwen? Well, she certainly has earned her place as The Downer's odd expert! Also a budding photographer, judging by the sheer volume of snaps she took, Oddy has that mad-cap laugh and down right terrifying grin that will steal the scene if every she chooses! Always ready to lend a helpful word of humour and more than capable of slipping into the background until you least expect her to jump out and KILL YOU... um... I said no slander, didn't I?

Volo is a dark horse, and also a brilliant fellow of messianic proportions! Also, he defended my honour against those who said that corduroy was not cool. IT IS, by Eru's mighty beard! He's a dear for allowing me (and others) to constantly steal his hat and sunglasses. That's what Jon Snow said.

Mac, of the impressive beard, won my affections when I spotted him sporting a Green Party T-Shirt. Not that he hadn't already impressed us all with his wood cutting skills!

He and Rikae made a lovely addition to the moot - wouldn't have been the same with out the pair of them bouncing off one another with deep thoughts and craziness in equal amounts... Okay, maybe the crazy was a little more, but you get the idea! I'm trying to be nice! Don't call the men in white coats!

Shasta I hadn't interacted with much on-line, an omission I regretted very quickly! He's got a sharp wit and a nothing-but-nonsense attitude to pretty much everything around him! He seemed to appreciate the dark, rude and over-the-top humour that flew around - even encouraging it a lot of the time! The guy needs a Stetson, though.

Skip is Mr. Cool. He glided into the moot in a pair of shades and it wasn't long before he had his hands around a guitar. A mean werewolf player, but with a wolfish grin that nearly gave him away. Always laid back and probably with a beer in his hand, I'm sure he could probably drink Rune under the table, but nobody would notice. Except him. He'd know, and that would be all that mattered!

Rune is a man I'd met a few times before. I like meeting him because he's taller than me and this makes me feel normal. He gained something of a reputation though his business of selling quality beef... And other quality 'products' and 'services'.

Pitch is someone to be reckoned with! Sharp as Narsil and wacky as Mr Blobby with a concussion! Calm and collected, he takes his time with thoughts, but when they come out he usually has this way of blowing us all away with something completely brilliant or completely mad! Usually accompanied by a puff of smoke! And he was not offended by my woefully limited knowledge of German, which extended to "wurst" and a couple of Kraftwerk lyrics.

Kath I'd met once before at a long forgotten Oxonmoot, so it was nice to meet again properly! She was called "The normal Brit", but I know for a fact she was nothing of the sort! She had the same bizarreo sense of humour as the rest of us and just let her try and deny it! She'd surprise us all with a sudden dirty joke or else dump her feet on top of your head when she was tired.

Have I missed anyone? I hope not. If I did, feel free to have me thrown to the wereducklings!

[Nogrod]

Heh, I see a lot of posts being sent to this thread and reading them makes me realise the loss of not having you guys around any more - while the school-start and the numerous choir-practises & gigs have kept me busy from even thinking about the Moot for a week now. I see many of you have done this "person to person" -thingy... Let's see where I get when I start a bit differently.


So we had initially this idea that we'd bring Rikae, Mac & the Wereduckling here to my place as they'd have a room of their own with an ability to shut the door and maybe the others wouldn't disturb her sleep if we brought Esty, Squatter and Pitch here as well (thus Esty could have a room of her own as well and wouldn't be forced to sleep in a shared bed with a random person possibly half her age).

Explaining this to the New Yorkers on our way from the airport I got smug smiles and some laughs... "it's not that the Wereduckling couldn't sleep if there was noise, but rather no one else would be able to sleep if she decided to be on that mood".

Happily she was tired enough the few evenings she stayed at my place that there was no problem with that. But anyway my place turned out to be "die älter-haus das Deutsches-volk" (whatever the correct German would be for that), aka. the old-timer house for the Germans - with Squatter who seemed to be more or less fluent in German as well...

But if I'd thought of my place being the one where people could (or would) sleep unlike in the "Youth Hostel" Lommy & Aganzir were having, well I was soo wrong!

I don't know about each and every night at their place but we did actually stay awake at nights: keeping company to Squatter who needed to set off about 6am to the very end and pushing him into the taxi, sleeping two hours to drive the New Yorkers to the airport at 4am, sending Esty off around the early hours while taking up all the on-line duties neglected, sitting with Pitch the whole night talking and sharing pics others had posted on FB until the morning... And that was all great fun even if it did end up with some major sleep-deprivation.

It was not a purposeful act to try and separate the younger ones from us oldies but it was, I still think, the smoothest of arrangements (look above what I said about our pre-thoughts about the Wereduckling) and I think it worked out just fine. I had some really good time with Squatter, Esty and Pitchie, and the New Yorkers - even if their energy was oftentimes concentrated on the Wereduckling who is, to make it mildy, a strong personality, well a character. (And I do love her for that even if she yelled and cried all the boat ride from the Zoo to the harbour making other kids on the deck stick their hands into their ears... )


Sure, the logistics were a problem, but we managed it quite well in the end. We went to our summer cabin for a few days not only to give our guests a chance to experience the "middle of nowhere between the forests and the lakes" in Finland but also because that was one of the only places we could get all of us being together and not needing to mind about the neighbours, but surprisingly we also managed to crowd my place with all of us aboard a few evenings and the "club-room" of Lommy's & Aganzir's place was just priceless (priceless also in the way that it cost us nothing). So somethnig we were afraid of (well at least I was) just worked out fine as we got enough places to fit us all - as in the end of the Moot with dwindling numbers we had nice evenings both at my place and at Lommy's & Agan's. The Kinderwurst und Autobahn was recorded at my place with all of those left involved...


~*~

But even if I had some better chances to get to know Esty, Squatter and Pitchwife (and the New Yorkers for a few days), I do think it was really an easy going-time with the others as well.

I do think I know Legate already more or less well, and I have met Rune, Skip and Kath a few times already, so there were no surprises there as they were their lovable persons as ever. I had also met the New Yorkers, Shasta & Oddwen the last summer we toured the US. and they were more or less as I remembered them to be - although I have to join the chorus of saying that Oddwen is much more sinister and fun person I learned her to be last year - and that is a compliment!



~*~

But what about the people I met the first time?


Esty is just a heart of gold. Something that tells a lot about her is the following...

After our first evening gathering at my place we woke up the the next day and after breakfast she asked whether she could do the dishes. I was kind of undecided (as I don't like to put my guests into work), but she took my indecisiveness as a "yes" and said she would interpret that as a stable yes as to anything that needs to be done in the kitchen... and she did hold onto to that! I think she did more than half of the dishes at my place while she was here...

But that's anly the kind of glimpse into her - even if a telling one. I really found her the most gracious, witty, intelligent, fun and entertaining person - and every lover of music is someone I have my heart open to as I do share the love. But above all I feel she is the caring person, one who has love and wisdom enough to just think of others more than herself. *bows*


Squatter, oh my... I've interacted with you in a few threads a time or two, but that is little. But I do remember Rune saying sometime that you are too intelligent... I don't know about the excess, but I loved your traditional "European learning", "bildung" a they say in German, and your Tolkien knowledge especially. Had we had more time I would have loved to dwell on some of the stuff you brought with you I o0nly got a glimpse with...

But way to go, you're just such a great person a well - even if some of the jokes you had with Hookbill went quite far over most of us others as we have no inside knowledge of every British humour series you shared the jokes about.

I met a young British aristocrat at the archeological excavation site I was in on 2004 in Israel - he shared my room with two other guys. You kind of reminded me of him... learned, witty, fun, warm - but in this odd way soo British intelligentsia you just can pick out from the French or Scandinavian ones.


Pitchwife: it was a great pleasure to have met you. Before I met you I was thinking whether you were a neo-liberal (libertarian) or a hippie. To my great comfort I found you a true hippie indeed (even if you don't like the categorisation), but you did actually make me re-think some of the things I had already been forced to reconsider after meeting Foley & Morm the last summer... even if we didn't exactly talk about that I just realised it after the fact that you guys have more in common you might think!

But politics aside, I really liked you and am looking forwards actually to redeem the hospitability; to see your hens and all the rest. Maybe one day, next summer... or the next?


Hookbill ho! Seeing your pics on the 'Downs I had always thought you were quite a short guy... could I have been more wrong? But on the other pre-beliefs I think you fitted quite well with my preconceptions... funny, intelligent, hearty, easy to go along with... actually I'm a bit jealous of those who said they had had nice political and moral discussions with you as I never get into that with you - which I would have loved to do as I think we share a host of convictions.

But maybe the next time?



~*~

It was a great two weeks even if I had to pull off at certain points to both keep up with my medical care and to prepare for the fall-semester. Great to have had you all here!!! To the next time, in the GB or Germany?

And remember you all are welcome to Finland any day you choose... after this summer we're confident we can manage any host of 'Downers here.

[Gwathagor]

One of these days, when funds are plentiful, I will attend. And a great and terrible day it will be.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Gwathagor

One of these days, when funds are plentiful, I will attend. And a great and terrible day it will be.

One of these years, when I actually earn my own living...

And if ever in those years I happen to meet Shasta, we shall definitely have a rock/tree climbing race.