I met a fellow BDer!!

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

I like my hair better in the first picture.... I might consider it for a permanent look.

Originally Posted by Aganzir

And in the future, they would ask, "Where were you when the Downs shut down?"

Let me tell you where I was.

In England with a beautiful group of fellow Barrow-Downers. Together, we wondered what was going on and commiserated when we thought the forum was gone for good.


Top row: Kath, skip spence, Encaitare, Hookbill the Goomba, A Little Green
Bottom row: Aganzir, Thanleon, Rune Son of Bjarne, Squatter of Amon Rûdh
(This is New Year's Eve and the faces are just too funny. Greenie is known for creepy new year's eyes anyway.)


left to right: Rune, Kath, Hookbill, Greenie, Aganzir, skip, (Squatter), Encaitare, Thanleon, and featuring in the amazing pink shirt, the guy who be short!

So thank you, Barrow-Downs, for these brilliant friendships and an amazing new year. ♥

And I probably ought to mention that I'll be in Washington/the Seattle area the first two weeks of July with The Ka, TGEW, Encai and Thanleon, and hopefully also Oddwen and Gil-Galad. If anybody is in the area and would like to meet up, let me know!

edit: Oh yes Oddwen and Hookbill are coming to Finland tomorrow for a week or two! Downer times ahead!

[Faramir Jones]

Nice to see you and so many of the others, Aganzir and Rune!

[Aganzir]

Nice to see you too, FJ!

Yeah Rune I'd definitely keep that hair.

[Formendacil]

Independence Moot, if I may call it that, is actually still ongoing, but the Formendacil and Nienna portion has run its course, and I will get my thoughts out now, while they are still fresh, even as the remnants of our party are literally awaiting NYC's Fourth of July fireworks.

This thread has been fallow for a while, and it has been even longer since I was part of a real moot--four years, since my wedding. I think the meeting of people who met on the Barrow-downs is an ongoing thing, but most discussion of it has moved to the up-to-the-minute stream of Facebook. There is nothing wrong with that, but I still think it's a good thing to post here. This is still the "Paper of Record," you might say, and there are excellent Downers who are not quite part of the "friends on Facebook" crowd that might, nonetheless, be inspired to meet other Downers someday.

Anyway, Nienna and I drove down from our home in the greater Boston area on Friday afternoon, expecting the worst of the holiday weekend traffic, to New York City, where dwell Encaitare and Thanleon. Boromir88, Aganzir, and Rune son of Bjarne were already there and upon our arrival the seven of us formed quorum for a Moot and headed out to Long Island, where Encaitare's parents very graciously hosted us for the weekend. Giddy with company, busy with cake-making, and full of downpour driven adrenaline, we were up until the wee-est of hours.

Unlike some of the more international moots--or the more international parts of this moot (Boro and Agan were around for quite a while before we got there)--this was not a particularly touristy moot, which suited me fine: I was there for the people and got a lot of them. Saturday was devoted to a day-long barbecue celebrating Encai's birthday: gorgeous weather and good company outdoors from morning until long past dark. Sunday was a visit to the beach and the Atlantic Ocean, after which we lost Boro to the airport. The Moot reconvened, a member fewer, for Thai food supper, another late night, and finally a morning of breakfast food, a lazy afternoon, and then the departure of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Barrow-downs Mutual Appreciation Society.

Simple enough details to recount--do people really cross oceans for this, you ask? Yes, I must answer. A moot isn't really about WHAT is done, but WHOM it is done with, and in the grand tradition of old posts on this thread, let me put out some thoughts for the stalking-but-oddly-not-using-Facebook-minded among us:

Encaitare: This was her party and her moot, so she shall have the honour of going first. I have met Encai thrice now, so it does not feel quite right to call these "first impressions"--maybe refresher impressions. This was her home turf, though, and she was both the hostess and mediatrix with her parents, as well as the mastermind (mistressmind?) of the operation. As it happens, she is both an efficient and gracious hostess: everything needed was present and then some, and she never seems to tire of making sure people are fed and watered and happy (a trait she demonstrably has inherited from her parents).

Rune son of Bjarne: I have actually only ever met Rune at moots at which Encai has been present (the reverse is also true), though I think the total amount of time I have seen him has probably been greater. His hair length has varied over the years, but his personality has not changed. Rune continues to be indefatigable in his desire to talk to everybody about everything. As usual, I come away from a moot both well-entertained and somehow more knowledgeable about Danish politics.

Thanleon: This is the second time I have met Encai's Significant Sea-bear, but for some reason I was very busy at my wedding, so there was plenty of unexplored getting-to-know-Thanleon territory to cover. He is an excellent complement to Encai: laid-back, helpful, and willing to accommodate the incessant need of the European Downers to catch trains. Without his skills, nary a bottle of beer would have been opened, I fear.

Boromir88: was my roommmate for a year and a groomsman at my wedding, so I'm not sure there was a whole lot of surprise to be found--but I haven't seen him since he moved back to his native state and it was great to catch back up.

Aganzir: My only "new" Downer (I think this brings my total to... *counts on his fingers*... 21? I think? Let me get back to you...). Agan didn't feel like a new Downer. Whether that's because we've met on Skype, been on the Downs and Facebook together for years, or because she looks vaguely familiar to me for subconsciously unknown reasons, I couldn't tell you. It probably helps, though, that she's outgoing and direct--so exactly the same as her online persona. She was a true ambassador of Mooting spirit, bringing tales of other Downers and probing for Downer memories and making certain we partook of group activities.

Nienna: well, I took her home with me. I don't know if I learned a lot about her this weekend, but it seems likely enough she learned more about me.



In summation, Independence Moot was thoroughly enjoyable and I regret completely that Nienna and I had to go back to being functional adults with jobs this week. It had a different spirit than what I remember of past moots: it didn't have that elixir of "wow, I'm meeting new people!" so much as a reunion. But not a bad reunion, like a television high school reunion. As someone who both likes his family and now lives far abroad from them, it reminded me of nothing so much as a family reunion. Here's hoping it doesn't take four years for my next one!

[Encaitare]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

A moot isn't really about WHAT is done, but WHOM it is done with

Hear, hear! You are too kind. I'm not great at these recap things, that's more Aganzir's talent, so hopefully we can expect a further write-up from her on the goings-on after you and Nienna left. But it was so wonderful to see you both again!

[Faramir Jones]

Thanks for your account of what you and Nienna got up to at Independence Moot 2016, Formendacil!

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

Rune son of Bjarne: I have actually only ever met Rune at moots at which Encai has been present (the reverse is also true), though I think the total amount of time I have seen him has probably been greater. His hair length has varied over the years, but his personality has not changed. Rune continues to be indefatigable in his desire to talk to everybody about everything. As usual, I come away from a moot both well-entertained and somehow more knowledgeable about Danish politics.

I will have you know that I actually attempted to sit quietly and read Die Leiden des jungen Werthers in the garden, but people kept coming over asking me about details of Danish parliamentary proceedings...

Anyways, thanks for writing this recap of our adventures, I might go do something similar if I feel inspired.

[Faramir Jones]

Nice to see you knocking around, Rune!

If you feel inspired to write your own account, I can say in advance that I'd read it...

[Galadriel55]

Yesterday I met Eonwe and Pomegranate, in so doing doubling the number of Downers I have met face to face. We went to the cafe where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter (the bathroom is all covered in fan thank you notes and character tributes), and then they showed me around town. Thanks to yesterday's tour, I managed to find the grocery store without a map today, and even find a post box . You guys are awesome!

[Oddwen]

I had a surprise visit from a Downer today - TGEW and crew were travelling through my town and stayed the night. Then today we had a nice late breakfast of crepes, partially dropped hash browns and a vicious monster pancake. Now they have driven into the West in a swan-white vehicle.