I met a fellow BDer!!

[Mirandir]

Originally Posted by TheGreatElvenWarrior

What is the appropriate manner with which to meet another Barrow-Downer? Running and squealing and knocking them over doesn't seem like the best way to do it...

Depends on how well you know said people that you are about to glomp. For example, Nienna, Fea, Lari, and I did not particularly feel the need to glomp Mac and Rikae (mainly because there was a were-duckling involved and that could have been all bad and the fact that Mac was in a different continent at the time and that would have been somewhat difficult).

I wish I knew what happened when Lari met Kath, seeing as how I was successfully lost in London at the time and my greeting to the two of them was slamming my head repeatedly against the wall of the tube station.

However, when you happen to live with fellow Downers (and have them to blame for joining in the first place) and you happen to go visit after not seeing them for WEEKS ON END and MISS THEM LIKE CRAZY, running and squealing and knocking them over is a perfectly reasonable reaction.

[Mirandir]

Oh, and Brinn got the awkward "Hi" that Fea was talking about when we picked her up at the airport (and proceeded to get horribly lost on the way home, but we won't talk about that).

[TheGreatElvenWarrior]

Originally Posted by Mirandir

Depends on how well you know said people that you are about to glomp. For example, Nienna, Fea, Lari, and I did not particularly feel the need to glomp Mac and Rikae (mainly because there was a were-duckling involved and that could have been all bad and the fact that Mac was in a different continent at the time and that would have been somewhat difficult).

I wish I knew what happened when Lari met Kath, seeing as how I was successfully lost in London at the time and my greeting to the two of them was slamming my head repeatedly against the wall of the tube station.

However, when you happen to live with fellow Downers (and have them to blame for joining in the first place) and you happen to go visit after not seeing them for WEEKS ON END and MISS THEM LIKE CRAZY, running and squealing and knocking them over is a perfectly reasonable reaction.

Okay. So if I meet a Downer after a long time of not seeing them, then I can run and squeal all I want, then!

Originally Posted by Mirandir

Oh, and Brinn got the awkward "Hi" that Fea was talking about when we picked her up at the airport (and proceeded to get horribly lost on the way home, but we won't talk about that).

Hehehe! Okay, don't talk about it!

[Thinlómien]

I think the best way to greet a 'downer has mostly been "hi, how was your flight?" But it is indeed weird to meet people you know yet do not know, but the feeling tends to vanish quite quickly (the better you know the person, the longer it takes, I think).

But speaking of this summer, we - Agan, "Goldberry" and me - were InterRailing around Europe and met Legate, were supposed to meet Esty (but alas, our timetables didn't match) and met Skippy who was wonderful company - well you can probably see from the stories and the pics that we had a lot of fun. And Skip makes it sound like a total misadventure but to be honest the walk he calls long was very short for people who had been walking around different European cities for the past four weeks, the grill that failed was no disaster 'cos it was easy enough to light a new fire and the rain that interrupted us was a very mild and almost unnoticeable one. So it was not a misadventure but a very fine evening.

Originally Posted by Nog

I had two pints of beer in Helsinki last night with Legate to celebrate his moving in. It was nice to meet him again - and we will be meeting him pretty regularly in the future as he starts his year as an exchange-stipendiate in the University of Helsinki...
So in the future we might not report it every time we meet him...

I wasn't reporting everytime before either... so am I a criminal now? *shifty eyes*

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Are we supposed to act surprised that Legate is going to be at university in Helsinki for a year?

[skip spence]

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

But speaking of this summer, we - Agan, "Goldberry" and me - were InterRailing around Europe and met Legate, were supposed to meet Esty (but alas, our timetables didn't match) and met Skippy who was wonderful company - well you can probably see from the stories and the pics that we had a lot of fun. And Skip makes it sound like a total misadventure but to be honest the walk he calls long was very short for people who had been walking around different European cities for the past four weeks, the grill that failed was no disaster 'cos it was easy enough to light a new fire and the rain that interrupted us was a very mild and almost unnoticeable one. So it was not a misadventure but a very fine evening.

That makes me feel a lot better. But hey, I was really just trying to spice up the story a little bit, make it a bit more TV-friendly if you wish, but it was truly fun.

I wasn't reporting everytime before either... so am I a criminal now? *shifty eyes*

Well now, that wholly depends on what it is that you have failed to report, doesn't it?

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Nogrod

And yes, I met a Barrow-Downer yesterday as well!

I had two pints of beer in Helsinki last night with Legate to celebrate his moving in. It was nice to meet him again - and we will be meeting him pretty regularly in the future as he starts his year as an exchange-stipendiate in the University of Helsinki...

So in the future we might not report it every time we meet him...

That would be quite exhausting, or then I might just avoid you for all the time to preserve our sanity (and keyboards) Though that would be a pity...
And for the sake of joining the report, I should probably add that it is quite pleasant to arrive to a foreign country and meet with a fellow Barrow-Downer on the same evening. Advice? If you are going to study abroad, pick a city with a fellow Barrow-Downer (or several of them).

Originally Posted by TheGreatElvenWarrior

What is the appropriate manner with which to meet another Barrow-Downer? Running and squealing and knocking them over doesn't seem like the best way to do it...

If I can bring in my piece of advice, I just remembered my meeting with Brinn, which could be used as a quite good example on how to avoid making hard decisions. And that is, managing it the way that you have really no time to think of how should you greet the person. With our meeting it went like this (as much as I can remember, perhaps Brinn could correct me if I am not completely true to the story): She was supposed to meet me in a hostel, I entered the building, turned right and she was sitting there about one meter in front of me, we looked at each other, I just said "You...?" and she said "Yes." (I believe I continued by saying "Shall we...?" and then we went outside. So you see, quite an easy way to avoid really awkward meetings... )

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

But speaking of this summer, we - Agan, "Goldberry" and me - were InterRailing around Europe and met Legate

...and managed to scare some of his friends, for that matter, but perhaps also made them develop a taste for Finnish salty liquorice. Perhaps. Maybe. A bit.

[Mirandir]

Just for the record, Fea, Nienna, Lari, and Mira are all back together playing Werewolf under one roof once again. And Fea got us lost. Again. Just to point that out.

[Lariren Shadow]

To answer Mira's question about meeting Kath: It was like, "oh I think that's her!" after she passed me and we sort of had this moment of "hi, I'm *insert here*" and then we started talking. It was pretty natural and such.

Meeting Brinn was an awkward hi then we had talking time about how Fea got her lost and it was all cool.

Meeting Rikae was about the same. We(Fea, Brinn, Nienna, Mira, and I) all showed up at her house and it was like "hi, we're from the Downs...*awkward kitchen time for a little then there was tea*". I think some sort of awkward slight moment is needed when I meet someone....Mac, however, we ambushed on Skype.

[Kath]

Haha yes Lari and I did the sizing each other up thing because I forgot to check the photo page before I left the house and so had no idea what she looked like! I walked past her, walked back, and then sidled towards her in I hope a non-threatening manner until she said, '... Kath?'. After that we got on famously til Mira arrived.

Who else? Brinn I recognised straight off because a) I'd told her exactly where to stand and b) she was wearing her infamous hat. That was a case of 'hi! And off we go.'

Rune and Hookbill I met at the same time ... I believe I met them with apologies because of a timing mix up, which is exactly the same way that I met Agan for the first time. Seriously, anyone not from England who meets me, make sure I'm paying attention when we plan.

Mith I also met with apologies because I'd accidentally sent her the wrong way round Oxford thanks to mishearing her on the phone.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

The most awkward thing about meeting Brinn was that her flight arrived early, so I wasn't really paying attention to the people coming in. I was sitting chatting idly with Mira, expecting Brinn to arrive in fifteen minutes or so, so when I looked up and saw her standing there not entirely sure if we were in fact Fea and Mira, there was a brief mental disconnect before my mind processed that I knew what she looked like, the girl in front of me matched the mental image, I knew where she went to school, the girl in front of me was wearing a hoodie from that school... wait, surely it must be Brinn even though it's not quite the right time!

Once it was settled that the Elmira airport's a bit wonky and we sort of realized that one of the deans of our school was standing next to us, and we managed to escape the airport and get marvelously lost in the hills of the Finger Lakes region of NY... It went quite well.

There wasn't really awkwardness with Formy because he's quite identifiable, his flight was exactly on time, and we knew each other rather better than Brinn and I did already. He asked how we should greet, and I said, "Informally." And that set a lovely tone for the rest of his trip.

Meeting Rikae the first time was a little awkward because it was a group of five BDers descending upon her house, but once we all had tea and I'd proven that I'm totally capable of holding babies, everybody loosened up and we became downright mischievous. Meeting Mac for realsies was easy because we'd already met Erika and logged Skype-hours with him. And the wedding was just plain fun.

Really, though? Everybody on here (or at least most people... I hate to say 'everybody' when there's always a chance I'm wrong) is great, and when in doubt, we do all have Tolkien in common, so it's not hard to find something to talk about even if you're not sure about anything else.

But yes: unless you have a prearranged plan to fling yourself at people, you might want to hold back and start with a nice normal greeting. Save the flinging for once you've known each other in person for at least a few minutes.

[Rikae]

Originally Posted by Nogrod

I had two pints of beer in Helsinki last night with Legate to celebrate his moving in. It was nice to meet him again - and we will be meeting him pretty regularly in the future as he starts his year as an exchange-stipendiate in the University of Helsinki...

I just saw this - that is so great!

Originally Posted by Nog

So in the future we might not report it every time we meet him...

I confess, I don't report every meeting with a fellow 'downer either anymore.

TGEW - I've met seven. Mac and Esty got (polite, non-glompy) hugs, while with Brinn-Fea-Lari-Mira-Nienna there was a round of introductions with me being confused about who went with which 'downs persona (having only seen photos of two before) and trying to hide it.

It's an odd feeling to meet someone from the 'downs, like encountering two people (someone you know and a stranger) in one, but sooner or later that strangeness fades away.

[Hakon]

I think I am one of the only downers that has never met another downer. I know I have not even been a member for 3 months but still.

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by Hakon

I think I am one of the only downers that has never met another downer. I know I have not even been a member for 3 months but still.

You're taking it a little hard if you think that. It's more than just a matter of time on the Downs, though that is certainly a part of it. My first Downer meeting (with Brinn: awkward "hi"s in the doorway followed by a rather long evening of non-awkward shared Downer talk) was 3.5 years after I joined the site, my second (alluded to already by Fea) was about another year later.

At current speeds, unless I find someone in driving distance--and, importantly, I'm not playing WW then--isn't likely to be for yet another year--or longer, that's just when I expect to have options. Because, as I was saying, it's more than just time online to be considered, it's a question of other things. Like logistics. There are no major Downers in western Canada, active at this time, other than me. Or, at least, I'm not aware of them.

Even so, I could list several Downers who have been active in theoretical driving distance that I've never made a move to meet. Because, in addition to travel distance, it's a question of who you're comfortable enough meeting. You've noticed already that a lot of the people on this thread have been members for quite some time. More important than the amount of time that they've had to argue Canonicity or lynch each other as Gifteds is how well we've managed to know each other generally.

In my own case, I admittedly didn't know Brinn especially well. She's an older member than me, and went dormant before I joined, and didn't come back until I'd started going a bit treeish myself. But we followed each other's LJs to an extent, so we weren't complete strangers, apart from the Downs, and on the plus side (as I saw it), Brinn had the credibility (and pictures) of having met a round dozen Downers already. The risk was much less on her end--I was meeting her and she had her family and such around. Quite non-threatening.

Meeting Fea and Nienna was quite a different situation again. I've known of Fea as long as I've been a Downer, and we've gotten to know each other reasonably well--perhaps even quite well--in the intervening years since.

Of course, if there actually were any Downers in "let's go for coffee" distance, I'd probably have met a lot more by now--or tried to. But when the distance you live at is in the "well, we'd best make a weekend of it at least to be economical" you tend to do it with less frequency...

[Formendacil]

Oh, and because the philosopher in me can miss the completely obvious at times, let me add that while it may seem hardly any Downers have not met someone, if you subtract Downers who already knew each other in real life, the numbers go down slightly (TGEW and Laurinquë for example)... but even then... I highly doubt most of the 3000+ members--even the much smaller number of those who have posted--have necessarily met other members. That they knew of, anyway.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

I've met a number of Downers, and the greetings are different depending on how well I knew them previously. It is like meeting a stranger whom you know on one level, but not on others. Fortunately, I knew all of them from photos, so recognizing them wasn't a problem. Those whom I knew well from chatting or e-mailing usually ended up getting a hug.

My first meeting with Guinevere was unexpected and curious - we had arranged to meet in London at the place we were staying, so I was walking there with my luggage dragging behind me. I saw someone heading in the same direction and looked more closely, thinking it just could be her. Then I approached her, she looked at me, and we met right on the sidewalk of a London street! The trickiest part about greeting her was figuring out that the convention in countries with a strongly French influence requires a triple kiss on the cheek (or the air right next to the cheek). I was a bit confused trying to remember if it's right-left-right or the other way around. We both survived and look forward to further opportunities to get together again.

I'm always sorry when circumstances are against a meeting, as recently, when Lommy and Agan were near to my home, but I didn't manage to meet them. Why is it that our families think they need our time and attention?!

As to the number of Downers met - yes, it does depend on where you live. A closely populated area or continent gives you a better chance. Another factor is how travel-happy the respective member is, and whether those trips are planned to include opportunities for meeting. (That also involves how expensive travelling is and how much free time one can allot to it.) The third factor is a possible membership in a Tolkien Society and/or attending functions where other Tolkienites can be seen. I highly recommend that - a great way to connect online and real life fandom!

I haven't yet met a Downer at the German Tolkien Society meetings, though some have heard of the site, but Oxonmoot is a great opportunity - and we've managed to get some people there interested who later joined up!

[wilwarin538]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

There are no major Downers in western Canada, active at this time, other than me. Or, at least, I'm not aware of them.

Similarly for me, there are no Central/Eastern Canadians that I'm aware of. Considering Toronto is such a giant city it surprises me that there are no major Downers there, if there was that would be so handy because of my fairly close proximity. Therefore it is likely that I will never meet another Downer...I shall remain a mystery to all.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

That's what made it easy to meet Rikae: she lives an hour and a half from where we (me, Nienna, Mirandir, Lariren Shadow) went to college. It requires a rather lot more planning to meet others. There are a lot of us, but it's a big world.

Surely, I think, I've met, say... Lhuna, or Encaitare, or Sally, or the phantom. But no. Lhuna's on the literal far side of the world. Sally and the phantom are far away too. It would require an airplane, and somewhere to stay, and time off from work or school, and transportation to all be worked out. Encai is a bit of a special case, since in my head I swear we've already met. I mean... She and my brother attended the same school (though at different times), so when she tells school stories, I know exactly what she's talking about. I was in NYC for quite a while when she was on Long Island. I mean... Surely we've met. Except we haven't. It just vaguely seems like it.

That's just to name a few. You talk to people so long and about such random things (off-site, to avoid the skwerlz), you really do feel you've gotten to know them. It's not so strange to meet up with people you already have a long history with. What's a little more odd (and terrifying, if you're shy) is meeting somebody you'd don't know at all well. But it's still rather rewarding.

[McCaber]

I'm still all for a Marquette University meetup to see some of the texts Tolkien wrote himself. If anyone makes it out to my neck of the woods, that is.

[Lariren Shadow]

Originally Posted by Kath

Haha yes Lari and I did the sizing each other up thing because I forgot to check the photo page before I left the house and so had no idea what she looked like! I walked past her, walked back, and then sidled towards her in I hope a non-threatening manner until she said, '... Kath?'. After that we got on famously til Mira arrived.

It would have been hard to find me on the photo page as I'm not on it at all.

[Rikae]

Originally Posted by Feanor of the Peredhil

It's not so strange to meet up with people you already have a long history with. What's a little more odd (and terrifying, if you're shy) is meeting somebody you'd don't know at all well. But it's still rather rewarding.

It was actually stranger for me to meet Mac, who I already knew well, then those I hadn't talked to as much. I was too used to him being a mindworm (or a disembodied voice) - it seemed unnatural for him to be a physical entity. But then, I am crazy.

[Brinniel]

Yeah, most of my BD meetings started with an awkward hello, but the awkwardness never lasted long. I usually find that by 10 minutes after the initial meeting (if not earlier), you're talking to each other like old friends who have met many times before. The least awkward meeting was probably with Lommy and Aganzir. They picked me up at the airport, and I recall while they weren't actually jumping and squealing, they looked pretty darned close to it. The most awkward meeting was with Laitoste. She had never been a very active member of the Downs and while I got to know her fairly well through LJ, I barely saw any pictures of her. We decided to meet in front of where the LotR musical was playing (since we would be seeing it later), and considering it wasn't very crowded at the time, you'd think we'd spot one another instantly. But what happened was that we passed by one another and proceeded to stand practically next to each other waiting for the other to show up. We didn't realise it until about a minute of waiting and exchanging awkward glances. Whoops.

Originally Posted by Hakon

I think I am one of the only downers that has never met another downer. I know I have not even been a member for 3 months but still.

I remember about a month or so after I joined that several BDers started to meet and I was desperate to do the same since the only BDer I knew was the friend from school who recruited me to the site. In fact, I even stated my goal was to meet a BDer before I graduated from high school, but that was not meant to be (perhaps partly because of my two year hiatus at that time). I was a member for over five years before I met my first Downer, which was Rune. It all depends on timing and convenience. I wouldn't have met most of the BDers I have if I didn't study abroad and travel every weekend. I lucked out with meeting Fea and gang when she invited me to visit when I complained on LJ how I had nowhere to go for Spring Break. She warned me there wasn't much to do in Elmira, but it ended up being the best spring break I ever had. Not to mention that making the decision to visit later earned me two future housemates, which should make my (most likely) final year in Boston much more awesome.

Originally Posted by wilwa

Considering Toronto is such a giant city it surprises me that there are no major Downers there, if there was that would be so handy because of my fairly close proximity.

You know, considering there are 8 million people in Manhattan alone, not to mention the millions of others in the areas surrounding, you'd think that there would be some BDers living here, but that is not so. Only one BDer lives nearby and that's on Long Island (which I will come back to in a moment). Of course, BDers seem to meet in the most random places. Who would've ever guessed that Finland would be the prime BD meeting spot? And I've had two BDers come from out of the country to visit me in Boise, Idaho of all place. I mean, really. No one comes to visit Boise. Half the people in the United States don't even know where Idaho is. (Whenever I tell someone I'm from Idaho, the first reaction I get is, "I never met anyone from Idaho before.")

Anyway, speaking of BDer meetings, I met a BDer a little over a week ago (on August 1). Encaitare, who is no longer an active member but still lurks, lives in Long Island and while it's not terribly close to Manhattan, it's close enough that it'd be a mistake not to meet. And considering we know each other quite well through LJ and Facebook, of course we had to. There was the brilliant idea that we should take advantage of our freshly turning 21 and go see a burlesque show, so that we did. So she came to my apartment, then we headed off onto an unexpectedly long adventure on the subway (a lot of trains were not running due to construction). We finally did arrive and enjoyed a show containing many things that are not Barrow Downs appropriate (after all, it wasn't exactly a family show). Though I only had two drinks over a span of three hours, I eventually became a little more than tipsy, being the lightweight I am (though I think that martini I had was also very strong). It made me feel like quite the alcoholic, especially standing next to Encai who doesn't drink at all, but I felt a bit better after seeing the passed out drunk people at Penn Station and knew I was nowhere close to that state. After grabbing pizza and ice cream at the train station (we had extra time since Encai missed her train due to subway delays), we made a very quick goodbye and then I headed home with the opportunity to see what Times Square is like at 3am (not a pretty sight). It was a fun meeting and a bit different since I usually meet BDers during the day and well, it was my first time in a burlesque club...so it was an interesting experience. And meeting Encai was not strange at all since I feel I know her quite well through LJ. You'd think that seeing burlesque with a BDer you just met could pose as awkward, but not at all. :P

Attached is photographic evidence of our meeting. Not the most flattering picture, but keep in mind this was inside a crowded NYC burlesque club on a muggy summer night.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Brinn! Your hair! I like it.

One of the few things I regret post-college about my college years was that I spent time in Brooklyn and never quite managed to even instigate plans to meet Encai. Knowing what my schedule was like, it never actually would have worked out, but I still regret not really trying. Mind you, I'd gone dormant at that point, as had she, and when I was in the city my only form of communication out was a cell phone. No computer for four weeks... So it would have been a nightmare trying, but I do still feel bad that I was that close and never managed to find the time.

What I make a point to do now is if I know I'm traveling, I stalk the 'Where do you live?' page to see if anybody is in that area, and then I meekly and shyly PM them, sometimes with the help of others (it was Formendacil that convinced me to PM Pio when I was traveling a few summers ago and I was too shy ("But what if she doesn't like me and doesn't want to meet me?) to do it myself). In some cases it doesn't work out (Pio was going to be out of town the weekend I was nearby, but she recommended some places I should go, to which I went), but there's a solid chance it might, so the tactic shouldn't be discounted.

Since travel can be prohibitively expensive (or I'd have flung myself beseechingly at the Finns by now), one thing to definitely consider really is to just look and see who's conveniently near wherever you're already going to be.

[Lush]

Hello again everyone.

So Squatter actually visited me and my family in Ukraine last month, and I just haven't had a chance to post properly about it.

I was, and continue to be, buried under a solid, immovable mound of work and personal problems (Lush's advice to all children: "Kids, love is not like they say it is in the Disney movies") so it wasn't as cheerful of a visit as one might have hoped. I had to spend vast swathes of my time chained to my desk, while Squa was being looked after by my assorted crazy relatives and the cat. He did, I am delighted to say, live to tell the tale.

Here's what is probably my favourite picture of Squa from the visit:

http://nataliaantonova.wordpress.com...8/p1010073.jpg

He's pictured here at the Monastery of the Caves, or Lavra as we call it. We did actually go down into one section of the caves, and barely escaped alive. It was a week-day, but I hadn't counted on the vast amount of tour groups that would be jammed in there, under the earth. The funniest part of our excursion was when we were whispering quietly in English about getting out, and all of a sudden, the girl in front of me (who was also wearing a traditional scarf like I was, because that's what is required - and I only wish I had a picture of that), turned around and whispered, also in English, "OMIGOD, where is the EXIT?!?!?!"

Well, we did eventually find it. Otherwise, I wouldn't be typing this message now, would I?

And Squa looks pretty darn fine in the picture, if I, a spoiled jezebel, may say so myself.

We celebrated my birthday at this little Hungarian place I like. Some cool people came, there was both English & Russian conversation. I don't remember how much was drunk but, at the very least, Squa and I did not have to be carried out of the premises, which is a testament to our fortitude. Or something.

Squa brought us amazing presents - one is presently immortalized on my neck (while its twin is in the jewelry box), one is hanging up on my brother's wall, one I am presently trying to read, one is stoppering a bottle, and one is tucked into an Umberto Eco book.

The pendants that Squa made for me bear my initials - N. A. This is so I never forget who I am, Squa has said. And I'll try not to. I'll really try.

I wish it wasn't such a tumultuous visit and I wish I'd had more time to properly hang out with my friend, but I'll never stop being grateful for our friendship, and that makes all the difference.

Thanks to the Downs for introducing us.

[Nogrod]

Nice post Lush!

Well, we will be saturating this thread pretty soon I'm afraid with pics and what-not.

But we've had a nice 'Downer meeting going on the last few days here in Finland - and it is still continuing even if Skip left back home in the morning.

So basically Legate moved into Helsinki on Saturday two weeks ago. Rune came last Saturday, Skip Spence on Sunday and Kath on Monday. Then we left for our cottage in the countryside for a few days. Now back in Helsinki we have been hanging around with Spawn as well (this odd "we" being Aganzir, Lommy, Greenie, Volo & myself on top of those already mentioned). Sadly I have now basically daily choir-rehersals (premiere is on the next Wednesday) and can't take part in all the fun but I'm sure the others will fill you up with enough details...

So look out for the "ten-Downers in a same picture" -event! (Sadly we couldn't make it into 11 as Annunfuiniel couldn't reach us)

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

It was an interesting stay in Finland, even though Nogrod declared that I would loose an ego fight against The Phantom.

Anyways I will provide a longer post and photos in a few days, first I have a wedding to attend and then the premier league starts.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by Rune Son of Bjarne

It was an interesting stay in Finland, even though Nogrod declared that I would loose an ego fight against The Phantom.

Was that something you were ever doubting?

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Originally Posted by Feanor of the Peredhil

Was that something you were ever doubting?

It was never something I gave much thought. . . I cannot remember the topic of the discussion, but all of the sudden Nogrod said something like "It would be interesting to see what would happen if you and The Phantom met. . . No, no, you would loose" (The word "ego" might have been in there somewhere)

Anyways, i guess it will have to be a quest of mine to meet the phantom.

[Aganzir]

Some time last spring I was IMing with Rune, who told me he and Kath had been thinking about a possible Finland get-together (that's how it started, really!). We hadn't really been planning anything, but none of us had anything against it, so it happened that Rune arrived on the 8th, skip spence on the 9th, and Kath on the 10th of August. Volo's family kindly let us borrow their house again, so we spent most of the time there. At times the main group (the aforementioned, plus Lommy, Greenie, Nogrod, Legate, Volo, and yours truly) was joined by dancing spawn and our friend Annina. Unfortunately we didn't manage to meet Annunfuiniel, who is also a Finn.

When I arrived at Nog's place last Saturday, Nog, Lommy, Green & Legate had already picked Rune up from the airport. I can't remember how exactly we spent that day, but I (and Annina) left around 1 am and the others saw us to the bus stop.

On Sunday Lom & Green took Rune to Seurasaari (Rune, Green, spawn), which is a small and pretty island with old Finnish houses and lots of tame squirrels. I was busy so I didn't come along but went straight to Nog's place later, where I met him and skippy. Soon the others arrived as well, bringing Volo and spawn with them. We played some Paper Telephone, wrote stories the same way, ate, and left for Volo's house. There we played Twister, which was lots of fun. The photo features Legate, Greenie, Volo, and Lommy. Nog and skippy slept in a bunk bed. It looked funny.

Kath arrived on Monday. Annina, Rune, Greenie and I went to pick her up, while Nog, Lommy, Legate, skip, and Volo were in another car, ready to head to Nog's family's summer cottage. We were half an hour late because we thought her plane would land later, but luckily she didn't have to wait for too long. And poor Kath had no time to get used to Finland when she was taken straight to the wilderness! Fortunately she wasn't too shocked. Even the weather was (mostly) good and the water in the lake was warm.

This year we hadn't planned any RPG, so we just spent our time doing whatever you can do at a summer cottage. We had a sauna, swam, played cards, rowed on the lake (skip, Nog & Annina), cooked (Nog, Agan, Kath, Volo, Lommy), wrote more stories, went to pick mushrooms and berries, made crepes, enjoyed small, moderate, or large amounts of alcohol (depending on the person), and talked, talked, and talked about topics such as politics, history, religion, the Downs, animal rights in Denmark, sauna clubs, and whether Rune is Ron Weasley or not. It was lots of fun.

We came back to Helsinki on Wednesday and went to eat in a small pub/restaurant (the (mostly) blonde side: Volo, Rune, Green, Annina. The dark side: Lommy, Legate, Kath, skip). Spawn came over to Volo's place as well, so I think we broke the previous record since there were ten of us (Volo, Green, Lommy, Legate, Agan, Kath, Nog, skip, Rune, spawn. Sorry for the bad quality, but it's impossible to get 10 Downers to stay still and smile at the camera at the same time. Here's a better one which also includes Annina). It was a fabulous evening. Kath taught us a cheerleading thing (can't remember what it was called. Volo is held up by Rune, Annina, skip, and Kath herself). Then we wrote more stories (the point was that everybody writes two lines, and the next writer can only see the latter line before writing her/his own two lines. In the photo: Rune, Nog, spawn, Kath, Green, Agan). There were some darn funny ones, and we might post one also here at some point. First we must find a family-friendly one, though. One of the highlights was a real-life werewolf game with 11 players (almost as many as in the first BD WW). Of course we couldn't do much in-depth analysis or anything, but it was very interesting nonetheless, and I think we all agree that skip should start playing werewolf! For the record, three people in the photo (skip, Rune, Nog, Annina, Green, spawn) are werewolves. Can you guess who?

Poor spawn left around 4am, and we others went to sleep. Nog and skippy had to wake up terribly early since skip was going back home on Thursday, but we others could sleep a bit longer. A bit longer varied from 11am (Green) to 2.30pm (Volo). We didn't do very much that day - Lom & Green visited their home to get some more clothes, Kath, Rune & I went to grocery, and then we just played cards. In the evening we made food ourselves since our favourite cook Nogrod was in his choir rehearsal - pasta, a mushroom-blue cheese-onion sauce, and a bolognese sauce. At least the former was quite good, if I may say so myself.

Then we went out with spawn. We encountered some difficulties since Greenie is still underage and several bars don't let under 20-year-olds in anyway, but we found a nice enough place to sit for a couple of hours. But we left in a hurry because we wanted to catch a bus, and we had walked good 200 metres when we realised we had forgotten Volo! He had gone to the toilet, and although he was there for maybe a minute or two, when he came back the table that had previously been crowded was completely empty. Whoops.

From the bus stop we decided to walk the 30+ minutes it took to Volo's. Kath looked like she was cold, so the gentlemen Rune and Volo lent her their coats (in the pic: Volo, Lommy, Kath, Rune). It made her more comfortable - until we had to walk uphill.
Back at Volo's, we ate the delicious blueberry-raspberry pie Greenie had made earlier that day, and Volo dressed in leather pants and a pink t-shirt. Then we went to sleep since everybody (except for me) was tired.

Rune left on Friday. We saw him off to the airport and went back to Volo's just to find that his family had returned from their holiday a couple of days earlier than we had thought. So we packed up and went to stay the last days at Nog's instead. We watched Monty Python and played cards.

On Saturday we took Kath to the Suomenlinna sea fortress. We walked around and ate candy, and Greenie and I went to swim. The others thought the sea was too cold. We also visited our old haunts we've taken every Downer to see - the so-called Barrow-Downs (Volo, Annina, Kath, Legate, Lommy) and Dead Marshes (Agan, Legate, Lommy, Greenie, Kath, Volo, Annina). Then we found a couple of Downer-appropriate photographing sites: a hole in a wall and a gravestone look-a-like. Also, Kath stuck her head in a cannon.

Later at Nog's we entertained ourselves by watching the participants of the Helsinki City Marathon, who ran right past his balcony. From his flat it's about 1.5 km till the finishing line, so they were quite tired. Then we watched more Monty Python, and when we got tired of it, we went out to a park and introduced Kath to Mr Théodred, whose face has been painted black recently.

This morning everybody slept over, and we woke up half an hour before we were supposed to leave when Annina called me and told she was leaving home now. We managed to get to the airport in time, though, and said goodbye to Kath.

It was a lovely week with amazing people, and I miss them all already. They're so sweet and funny to spend time and talk with. Thanks so much for coming.

♥

(The photos included in this post have been taken with my, Volo's and Legate's cameras, so most of them are consecutively taken by us, but thanks to everyone who took pictures.)

[Thinlómien]

Nice post, Agan - I must say I have little to add, except for the fact that we got bruised in the summer cottage by playing violent games and that Skip is a stormcrow when it comes to grilling (it started raining again!).

I will try to nudge Greenie to post more pictures, I think she has a few hilarious ones (as does Kath).

And most importantly, I had lovely time and I'm missing the lot already.

PS. Seems like others have been having fun too. I love Brinn's new hair, it's cool.

[Eönwë]

Originally Posted by Aganzir

We walked around and ate candy

More Salmiakki?

Originally Posted by Aganzir

Also, Kath stuck her head in a cannon.

At least it wasn't canon ( Sorry, couldn't resist)


Finland looks like quite the destination for Downs-meetings (probably brings even more Downers than Oxonmoot!) Hope you had fun there.

We seem to be having a lot of these Downs-meetings lately.

And great informative post, Agan.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

I think Agan mostly said it for all of us, I must say that all the times I have met new 'Downers it has been a beautiful experience and even those with whom I haven't been that familiar from before (in this case, kath and skip, and to a certain extent spawn whom I have encountered only briefly during the last summer) turned out to be pleasant companions not only just online, but also in RL. I really hope to see them all again - and if some others can join them, the better (Finland seems to have become a meeting place for Downers anyway).

Originally Posted by Aganzir

On Sunday Lom & Green took Rune to Seurasaari

That's maybe the only thing to correct on Agan's very precise elaboration - there was not just Lommy and Greenie, but I was there as well (I was the one to take the picture, after all), and spawn joined us - that was the first moment of larger concentration of 'Downers in one place during this meeting before meeting Agan and skip and before Kath arrived. I could note that some of us also went to swim there, and the sea was surprisingly warm. Anyway, I guess the island itself could find its place in BD history, for I am sure all the chat skwerlz nest there. At least we have met several of them. Maybe they were sent to watch over us staying true to canon.

[Volo]

Thank you, Aganzir, for the wonderful post! It does tell quite a lot about the week although you could have left out the photo of me in pink and leather.

The meeting was really interesting, one finds so many new sides in people when met face to face. Though ironically, skip spence was the only person of the lot I hadn't met before - but neither had I communicated with him on the Downs which made meeting him all the more interesting. While truly fascinating discussions were scarce (and somehow tended to to follow the amount of alcohol consumed), the general atmosphere was at all times really warm and amusing.

Apart from learning a lot about every person there, other wonders for me were the proof-tasty food (both by Nogrod and Aganzir & Co.) and stories. It is fortunate that we seem to share a certain kind of humor and are not offended by even the nastiest of Rune's jokes - though this time he was more of a target to nasty jokes himself.

While I feel like having many friends on the Downs, meeting someone live creates a stronger bond. Thank you for either organizing or flying to meet us. Even while we might not meet often due to distance and expences, I will always keep you in mind when travelling in the area.

PS: Someone - I'm guessing skip - forgot their shorts, towel and toothbrush at our place.

[skip spence]

Originally Posted by Volo

PS: Someone - I'm guessing skip - forgot their shorts, towel and toothbrush at our place.

Hey, it's unfair pointing me out like that! Could've been any of us - and I have you know I still have my shorts with me.

The towel and tooth-brush you can keep if you promise not to take any DNA-samples. I will probably post more on here later on.

[Nogrod]

Thank's for the wrap-up Aganzir!

I'm just echoing what the others have said: it was fun (again) to meet all of you guys!

Everyone's welcome the next summer!

[Nogrod]

Btw. Aganzir already told you Rune was having an identity-crisis here. Well here's what it was about.

[Boromir88]

For the record, three people in the photo (skip, Rune, Nog, Annina, Green, spawn) are werewolves. Can you guess who?

Greenie definitely looks like one, with that sneaky face. The rest it's hard to tell. Nog's kind of got a thoughtful expression, one that I imagine he gets when he is innocent and trying to figure everything out. For the other two wolves...difficult to tell, I'll guess skip and Rune. How wrong am I?

Back at Volo's, we ate the delicious blueberry-raspberry pie Greenie had made earlier that day, and Volo dressed in leather pants and a pink t-shirt.

Now that is just hilarious. Now if only Volo decided to sport a pony tail, as I used to have a major obsession with anyone who put their hair in a pony tail.

[wilwarin538]

Wow, looks like you all had quite the fun time! I have to say that I'm quite jealous and am very tempted to plan a little trip to Helsinki to get in on the action! haha. Love the pictures!

[A Little Green]

Originally Posted by Boro

Greenie definitely looks like one, with that sneaky face. The rest it's hard to tell. Nog's kind of got a thoughtful expression, one that I imagine he gets when he is innocent and trying to figure everything out. For the other two wolves...difficult to tell, I'll guess skip and Rune. How wrong am I?

Quite wrong, I'm afraid - only one right out of three. I was a wolf, though in that picture I'm already dead.

Other than that, I can only second everything that has been said and add that last week made me wonder how it's possible for all the 'Downers I have met to be such sweet and delightful people. I guess it goes without saying that all of them are funny, kind and absolutely lovely. I'll just add that Kath has a lovely voice, the only fair part of Rune is his hair and if I had an older brother I'd want him to be like skip.

I'll post some pictures if I have any I consider worth being posted here or any Agan hasn't posted yet.

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

I am really starting to dislike Nogrods tendency to secretly record conversations.