I met a fellow BDer!!

[Nogrod]

Okay.

If no one else starts this I will then do it.

It was great to meet you Brinn! You were just as lovely - or even more so - as I thought! It was a pleasure to have you as our guest here in Helsinki. I hope you enjoyed your stay. And it actually looked like you did.

And I'm quite dissapointed that I had those crucial choir-rehearsals both Saturday and Sunday (7 hours a day) so that I couldn't join the trip to Suomenlinna or stay to follow you when you left. But I think you had nice company without me... possibly even better.

That also meant we never get to take a picture of all of us six together which is a pity (I kind of guessed that when we talked on Saturday evening that we could take them on Sunday morning...).

I'm not sure how well this records in the "most 'Downers meeting ever" -list but I'd believe it's quite high in there. Sadly we couldn't get Spawn to join us to make it seven... and even more just because it would have been nice to meet her in the first place (she lives just about twenty minutes bus-ride from my place and we have never met!). That should be corrected as well!

What should I say? Brinn's a lovely person. A bit shy perhaps to begin with (or was it just me?) but the ice breaks easily - and she's ready to take up challenges like playing mafioso (live-werewolf) with unknown people or to jump into recording an audio-feat just like that. And her smile and laughter are just incredibly catching. I do hope this was not the last time we met! Just wait Brinn, one day we will be banging on your door in Idaho - or wherever you live some day!

We'll be sending you some pictures anyway - or Lommy / Greenie / Volo will be doing that. Either here or in the photo page thread...

[Finduilas]

If you ever get close enough to bang on her door, inform me so maybe we can have you bang on ours.

[Gwathagor]

That would be rather jolly, wouldn't it? Meeting other Downers, that is.

[Thinlómien]

Yes, Brinn was here and it was awesome. She, Agan and Volo stayed the whole weekend with Noggie, Greenie and me in Noggie's place. We had absolutely wonderful time, especially when visiting the fortress of Suomenlinna, but also doing all kinds of fun stuff in the evenings and all the other nice things... Brinn is a lovely person and I will be very very sad if I never meet her again. Truly, I just had one of the best weekends for a long time.

PS. The camera-people (Brinn, Greenie and Volo) might post some rather scary pictures soon...

[Aganzir]

Maybe I should post something, too.

So, Brinn is a lovely person and it was wonderful to spend a weekend with her. Apart from all that usual stuff (being in museums, walking around Helsinki etc), we did everything else nice; played live werewolf (which was not nice, though ), teased the wooden horse & rider (who is better known as Théodred to us ) and recorded some passages from Lotr. And we also spent some time in Moria, on the Barrowdowns & Dead Marshes and by the Mirrormere.

I'll come to knock your door when I travel around the world some day.

[A Little Green]

I suppose there is not much that I can add. Just wait for the pics... There's some rather scary ones there. *smirk* Maybe I should add that we experienced not only the Barrow Downs, Moria, and other nice places, but also some very contemporary art.. The weekend was one of the best ones in a very long time, and I am very disappointed with my life if I'll never meet Brinn again.

[Brinniel]

My trip to Helsinki was one of my better planned trips and was something I was looking forward to for some time. And I had such a great time, I'm sad it's already over. Anyways, I've got so much wonderful things to say, I just don't know if I can put it all into words...

Lommy and Aganzir were the ones who greeted me at the airport. Lommy is just as much of a sweetheart as she is online and I must say, she's got a wonderful smile (and you should see her face light up when you mention penguins...). Aganzir seems to be happy and serious and silly all at the same time (if that description makes any sense whatsoever...). I sense an adventurous streak in her and there's something about Aganzir that makes me think she definitely belongs in Middle-earth.

An hour after we arrived at Noggie's place, Noggie, Greenie, and Volo arrived from school. Noggie is just as talkative as he is on the Downs. We had some interesting conversations and I enjoyed discussing with him as well as learning from him. I envy the students who have him as a teacher, as I could imagine it must be great to be in his class. It's just a shame he was unable to hang out with the rest of us during the day. I didn't know Greenie very well before I met her, but I've discovered she's got a great personality. She is a very cute girl and most definitely an actress (as those who have heard some of her audio clips might alreay know). She also has some really wonderful facial expressions. Volo is just as funny and weird (of course, in a good way) in RL as he is on the Downs. I found him quite easy to talk to.

All five are equally silly, which I loved. Their enthusiasm helped me break out of my shell and I was happy to join in on the craziness and fun they partake in. As for what we did, I think the others gave everyone a good idea of that..

Originally Posted by Nogrod

A bit shy perhaps to begin with (or was it just me?)

No, that's not just you...I am known to be a shy person. But as I said, everyone's outgoingness really helped me break out of my shell.

Originally Posted by Aganzir

played live werewolf (which was not nice, though )

That's only because Aganzir became a Fenris Wolf..

Anyways, pictures should be coming soon...hopefully no later than late tonight. I'm sure they will amuse many.

And if any of you come knocking on my door, whether it's in Boise or Boston or wherever else I may live, I will gladly welcome you.

[Lalaith]

This all sounds marvellous fun.
In other news, I'm thinking of starting a thread entitled "I've never met a fellow BD-er".

[Volo]

Originally Posted by Nogrod

That also meant we never get to take a picture of all of us six together which is a pity (I kind of guessed that when we talked on Saturday evening that we could take them on Sunday morning...).

Yes, it was a pity... But I claim that a sound recording is more valuable than a picture!

Brinn was no exeption to the Downer's I've met. Like the rest of them she's a wonderful person! At first I had problems understanding her American accent (I don't think I've actually met an American person before...), but got used to it over the weekend and didn't have any problems close to the end. We had interesting discussions and generally had great fun (like you haven't noticed by now). Now that I think of it, I'd have really wanted to get to know Brinn better. Hope to see you in the future!

While you're waiting for photos (there will be loads of those if I may decide), have a look at this. That's an example of what we did - in a museum of contemporary art.

edit: What happened in Barrow A 24? :O (note: the victim doesn't really look like that)

[Brinniel]

You know you want to see it...

Five of us at the train station (I'm still sad we got no pics with Nogrod):



Revisting Theodred....Aganzir teases him:



Poor Theodred...



More photos coming...

[Brinniel]

My new boyfriend:



I convinced Lommy that sticking her head in a cannon would be a good idea...



Volo dies in the barrow:

[Brinniel]

Aganzir the dwarf:



Crawling out of the barrow:



The monsters are revealed!

[Brinniel]

On the Barrow Downs:



And a cute photo of the girls:



There's so many more photos I'd love to add, but I won't flood this thread too much..

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

That's really nice.