RA Pocket Shrine 41/? – A Thank You

/ September 19, 2014

Ok, Guylty’s summer of navel-gazing is over. I bet you are as relieved as I am. What a bloody saga *sighsdramatically* I am closing the chapter on this fangirl’s individual psychosocial condition and happily return to non-personal shrining and *ooof*ing activities, occasionally laced with a bit of fandom love activism. To transition us in I present you a true work of fan-fan-fan art. A shrine that I made for a fellow fan of the man I fan for but who I am also a fan of in her own right. Confused? Yeah, I know… I’ll explain.

Is this how it happened for you, too? You have spotted this tall, dark, handsome and convincing actor in some role on the small or big screen. You google his name. A few pictures spring up on the search result site. You take a quick overview on wikipedia, checking age, height, marital status, other roles… You find yourself oddly attracted to the man, and to find out more you go back to the search results. And there, right among the top three results, is not just an entry in wikipedia or imdb, but a proper site dedicated to him. You click…

Yup, I am talking about richardarmitagenet.com. I believe the site is the proper gateway for many new fans who are looking for more info. And who quickly make RAnet a daily habit, thanks to webmistress Ali’s continuous and meticulous updating of her site. I have always been a major fan of her gallery of images. And there is a comprehensive archive of interviews and articles, as well as a handy list of all available DVDs with Richard’s work, which if you click on the provided links, will take you directly to an online shop where you can buy them. I am not a great fan of advertising but in this case I happily do advertise because Ali generates referral fees through any purchase that is generated through clicking on those links. And she regularly donates the accrued fees to Richard’s assigned charities on JustGiving. Afaik she has donated several thousand pounds that way! I think that is pretty amazing, considering that she must invest a lot of time on maintaining her site – and gets nothing out of it except traffic and occasional messages of thanks.

Not only is Ali a web mistress with a conscience, an archivist for the fandom and a fabulous fan, she is also a really nice woman. 🙂 I had the pleasure of meeting her briefly in London before the conversation event, but regrettably did not take the time for a proper long chat. I don’t think she missed much, though, I was far too giddy, anyway. And she had lots of interesting company, too.  But I took the opportunity of presenting her with a special little RAPS, just because I wanted to show her my appreciation of the work she does – for our pleasure and entertainment, but incidentally also for RA’s promotion and web visibility (especially pre-Twitter emergence).

So here is the RAnet Special:

Shrines (16 of 33)

Quite possibly the classiest lid design yet? The shiny mirror R reflects all attention away from itself as the man does himself. (Ah well, ok, I am getting a bit carried away here with advertising speak…)

Shrines (22 of 33)

Richard always cuts a bella figura – whether on stage (Proctor, left), on the screen (Gary Whatshisname, right) or on the red carpet. This, incidentally, is RAnet’s current header image. And gee, was Guylty chuffed when Ali asked for permission to incorporate Berlin RC RA in that…

Shrines (19 of 33)

Mr A in his arguably most iconic role. In front of some of his most loved shows and films. Where will it all end? We don’t know but at least we can lean back, secure in the knowledge that Ali will keep an eye on the career developments of RA.

So, if you read this, then thank you Ali, for all the work you do, for the friendly communication you always maintain, for answering questions and for forgiving stupid mistakes. Yeah, I just cannot let that incident rest. It will haunt me forever. It was a pleasure meeting you, I wish I had had more time. Maybe next time? Hobbit BOFA, London, 2014,? Bring it on!

 

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63 thoughts on “RA Pocket Shrine 41/? – A Thank You”

  2. Hear! Hear!
    Another wonderful shrine Guylty, well done!
    And well deserved! Ali does such a great job with her website and I think the fandom (and RA?) can’t thank her enough for all the effort!

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  3. RAnet is an indispensable tool for any Richard supporter. The Archive and News sections are a real treasure. Thanks to Ali for all the hard work.
    Great RAPS, Guylty! 😀

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  4. Applaus!
    Für den tollen Schrein – und vor allem für die Idee, Ali so zu würdigen! Sie hat’s echt reichlich verdient.
    ❤ ❤ (Eins für Guylty, eins für Ali. 😉 )

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  5. Brilliant RAPS as always and I must add my thanks to Ali too for a fantastic site… It was definitely my gateway drug (especially the photo galleries!). I should have come to say hello to you in Pret, Ali 😦

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  7. 1.) yay for Ali and all that she does!! 2.) love the background on the shrine w/all Richard’s projects named 3.)…you know what I’m going to ask, right? what was your stupid mistake? 😛 (we’ve all made them at one time or another. thank goodness for the edit button!)

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    • 1.) adding my yay! 2.) ha, it took me quite a while to get all those logos… 3.) the stupid mistake was me linking to photos on her site instead of loading them into my own blog. Which resulted in increased traffic on her site – but without the benefit of people actually visiting her site. The edit button did not suffice. It was a time-consuming rescue mission when time was of the essence. Mortifyingly stupid mistake. Anyway, Ali was very gracious about it.

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  9. love this shrine. love that it’s for Ali. you are right, RAnet was the first RA website i stumbled upon when i started researching(?)/fangirling(?) about RA 🙂 Glad she finally got her own shrine! ❤

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  11. What a beautiful RAPS!
    This is a repeat of what I said on tumblr, but just in case…Guylty Hello!!! I’ve been buried in work and disaster cleanup; barely able to check in but for the hit & miss I do – so what a treat to see this post! Miss you and hope to get my life back soon to update.

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    • Oh Mimi, I am just as much to blame for the current dearth of news… All that travelling to and from London. (Some of my RL friends already thought I was having an affair with a man in London… wellllllllll, that’s actually not that far off. With all that lurking around at the stage door in the dark the whole thing had a whiff of an elicit affair *LOL*) And lots of things to catch up on etc… So no worries. We’ll get back to it soon. xx

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  12. Another gorgeous RAPS Guylty and Ali is a very worthy recipient. She does a wonderful job over at RANet, I hope she realises how much she is appreciated. 🙂

    (PS The decoration on the RAPS lid looks familiar – if I have assumed correctly, I am thrilled that my contributions are finding their way into these lovely little gifts.)

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    • 😀 Yes, I think you remember correctly! It’s kind of neat, isn’t it, that through the bits and pieces other fans also are involved in the little shrines… That way it is a whole fandom thing, and not only my own creative project…
      Yes, I hope that Ali knows we appreciate her work very much. That is also evident in the comments here.

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  13. What a nice idea Guylty. You know RANet has been the first site I have been through just after I have seen the Hobbit in 2012 and this strange man Thorin with nice blue eyes and a nice deep voice and whose name was sounding as a French one !!!! Looking into RANet I could discover the other characters he played and more important what he looked like without long hair and a beard. And too late. I got the RA Virus. I am still “sick” now with this virus but I wish I will never recover and to meet him at the Stage Door just make my sickness worst. Lol. So again Congratulations Ali for your work, all the pictures, all the interviews, all these detailed news. Thank you again Guylty to think about these persons because they really deserve something nice from us, from our heart.

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    • Typical story 🙂 Sounds like mine – except that I was intrigued because of Lucas North. I used to just go through the gallery, looking at the caps, instead of watching the films 😀 Ali really was our enabler 😉 And yes, I am grateful to her for that…

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  14. Richardarmitagenet: das Tor zur RA-Glückseligkeit für den Einsteiger. Wie wahr! Und der Schrein, was soll ich sagen: schwer schmachtibel 🙂
    Das Äußere hat eine sehr wertige Anmutung. Gefällt mir, sehr stylisch!

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  15. Another great creation, from the pretty lid to the interesting interior.. Loved the different colored hearts on the inside. They reminded me of confetti, “party time” in a box. And the use of different graphics from RA projects, inspired, since Ali keeps track of all things Armitage for all of us so well.

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    • Yes, time to use a few other colour hearts, too… I hope I was right in putting Mr Thornton in there – I think Ali was a fan of the first hour, catching RA as he made his debut with Thornton…

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  16. This shrine is absolutely gorgeous.The first site I was on was Ali’s.She deserves this two fold.Great site,great person..Your not to bad yourself Guylty!!!!!

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  17. That is one beautiful shrine! And for once (ahem) well deserved. Thank you for your brilliant work, Ali! In the early days I spent many an hour… No. I mean, I glanced a few times and found your site very useful. 😀

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  18. How did you know what happened to me and me and where i clicked? psychic powers???
    But it’s true, Ali’s site is a total treasure trove for newbies like me 🙂 And with all the proper links to further ‘armitaged-isation’. And all neatly organised and everything (my professional mind greatly approves!)
    I think this RAPS is utterly gorgeous and couldn’t have gone to somebody more deserving 🙂 I am sure she’ll love it!!! and thanks for doing this Guylty! you are like the magic fairy, are you not? 🙂

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    • I am afraid we are all just a flock of sheep – or very predictable. 😀 Seems to be a very similar story for most of us. Some got it sooner, some got it later. But at some stage we all discover RAnet 😀
      Hope Ali has recovered from the embarrassment of being an involuntary shrine owner. I think she was quite shocked 😀

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  19. What a beautiful idea! So very much deserved by Ali – so gracious of you! And oh so lovely and thoughtful put together collection of droolable (??is this an english word?) pics. A really adorable shrine. You’re indeed a happiness fairy.

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  20. I agree that this is one of your nicest RAPS ever, Guylty, and it couldn’t go to a more deserving person. Just like everyone else, RANet was (at least) one of the 1st 3 sites I visited when my ever-inquiring mind wanted (demanded! 🙂 to know. Interesting to remember discovering those places and people that are now familiar and comfortable to me, even more than RA himself 🙂 Great job! (Both Ali and Guylty!)

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    • Oh, thank you Tommie 🙂 It’s really interesting for me to receive the feedback, because I found this RAPS slightly less elaborate (although same in work-intensity) when I made it. Seems there is a portion of fans who prefer the plainer design… Must take that into account…

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  24. Well this was so lovely to read and I’m gobsmacked 😉 by the generous remarks here, thank you all. I was completely shocked to receive this gift and I hope I thanked you properly when we met but if not I have to give a huge thanks as it was very thoughtful of you…and it made me laugh!
    The weird thing about the site is that it’s just me tinkering about on my computer and sometimes I don’t really think about what people might think of it or whether people are actually reading some of the pages. I write whatever I think I’d like to read. But of course people are reading it and it’s amazing to me. The idea that it is one of the first places that people find is also really flattering. So thank you all!

    Re the hotlinking thing. Don’t give it another thought – I haven’t!

    Another meet-up in London or anywhere else in the UK would always be welcome. I’ll try my best to be there. I really enjoyed the recent London meet-up (especially the pub afterwards – great fun. WHERE WERE YOU?!)
    Ali x

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    • LOL – “completely shocked to receive this gift”. I hope you have recovered 😉 And once again, so sorry that I was so short. And yes – where was I when you were doing the de-briefing in the pub??? I suspect we got left behind due to my nasty habit of having a smoke. After the convo I was outside by the side of the OV on Waterloo Rd and we probably did not see you leaving. Damn!
      Anyhow – as for future meet-ups, I am currently looking at London flights for December :-D. I wish PJ would let us know when and where the (world) premiere takes place because I’d like to start planning…
      Thanks once again for all your hard work, Ali. Even if it is enjoyable and a hobby for you, it still means a lot to me and others. You’re a star! ❤

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      • I wish Warner Bros and PJ would reveal the BOFA world premier locations soon as I know well-wishers will want to plan the international meet-ups. I’m in LA so a premiere may be possible here, I don’t know. I’d love to coordinate something for the LA area.

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        • With the new contacts that have been forged over the summer I really look forward to the premiere. And that’s why it would be great to know the dates and coordinate meeting others. LA’s out of the way for me, unfortunately :-D, but London is an option…

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  25. I’m happy for Ali–she’s so deserving of one of your amazing creations. I’m tickled pink every time another RAPS is revealed. It brings out the girly in me.

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  27. Pingback: RA Pocket Shrine 48/? – Dear John | Guylty Pleasure

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