Wait, I hear you say, isn’t Tolkien’s birthday on the third of January?
You run to your Tolkien calendar with paintings by Alan Lee or John Howe, and go through the months, but there’s nothing on the first of October. You lunge to your J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide, select Chronology, and give up after about twenty pages. You scramble despairingly to the appendices, and there you read that in the year 3018 of the Third Age on the first of October Gandalf leaves Bree pursued by Black Riders. Surely, not a day to celebrate…
You give up and continue reading my stupid blog.
No? Just me? Aww.
And whilst you’re right, there’s nothing peculiar to this day- Tolkien week was last week (it’s the week of the 22nd of September, when Frodo and Bilbo celebrate their birthday), I have my own Tolkien day, much thanks to teeny tiny teenager me who used to keep a diary, and because of this I was able to pinpoint when my obsession began.
You run to your Tolkien calendar with paintings by Alan Lee or John Howe, and go through the months, but there’s nothing on the first of October. You lunge to your J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide, select Chronology, and give up after about twenty pages. You scramble despairingly to the appendices, and there you read that in the year 3018 of the Third Age on the first of October Gandalf leaves Bree pursued by Black Riders. Surely, not a day to celebrate…
You give up and continue reading my stupid blog.
No? Just me? Aww.
And whilst you’re right, there’s nothing peculiar to this day- Tolkien week was last week (it’s the week of the 22nd of September, when Frodo and Bilbo celebrate their birthday), I have my own Tolkien day, much thanks to teeny tiny teenager me who used to keep a diary, and because of this I was able to pinpoint when my obsession began.
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| thank god I changed my handwriting. |
So ever since I tracked it back, and especially in the last couple of years, I’ve
made this day about reflecting how these books have had an influence on my
life. I can imagine that there’s a lot of people out there who assume that,
since it’s been 13 years since Lord of the Rings and a year since the last Hobbit
movie, there’s not much going on anymore in the fandom. And they’re kind of
right; there won’t be another movie (probably), or another Hobbitcon, or
another Oscars party. But there is still so much more for me to explore!
So: a couple of my Tolkien highlights of this year… let’s see!
The Cutie Mark
Aka the kickass rib tattoo I got exactly a year ago to celebrate my ten years of being a fan. I thought long and hard about what it would be and where, and I couldn’t be happier now I have it. The rib placement did hurt like hell- feeling your ribs vibrate at needlepoint is extremely unpleasant- but it is where I habitually put my hand when I hug myself whenever I’m sad, and it does make me feel a bit better, sappy as it may sound, knowing that there’s something no one can ever take away from me.
So: a couple of my Tolkien highlights of this year… let’s see!
The Cutie Mark
Aka the kickass rib tattoo I got exactly a year ago to celebrate my ten years of being a fan. I thought long and hard about what it would be and where, and I couldn’t be happier now I have it. The rib placement did hurt like hell- feeling your ribs vibrate at needlepoint is extremely unpleasant- but it is where I habitually put my hand when I hug myself whenever I’m sad, and it does make me feel a bit better, sappy as it may sound, knowing that there’s something no one can ever take away from me.
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| Obligatory crappy picture of tattoo |
Hobbitcon: the sequel
Granted, I didn’t enjoy the first hobbitcon as much as I thought I would, but this time I went with lower expectations and I had a much better time. Also, I didn’t make the mistake of queueing up for an autograph again with my meagre economy ticket. (This time I got my golden-ticketed friend to do it for me! hah!)
Granted, I didn’t enjoy the first hobbitcon as much as I thought I would, but this time I went with lower expectations and I had a much better time. Also, I didn’t make the mistake of queueing up for an autograph again with my meagre economy ticket. (This time I got my golden-ticketed friend to do it for me! hah!)
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| (I asked Billy Boyd via postcard if it was because of him and Dom asking the pilot to do stunt tricks when he was in the helicopter with Sean Bean that Sean is afraid of heights. According to said awesome golden ticketed friend, he laughed and said no, 'but it certainly didn't help'. He kept the postcard.) |
Hobbitcon was nice because I could see some friends again that I had met last
year, and I danced until midnight and I celebrated my birthday by hugging a
cute actor (I might have been tipsy), and I got cool new l00t, like my book
about Middle-Earth cartography. My happiness metre was so full that a possible
sighting of my ex on my way back home didn’t even phase me all that much. Booyah!
Oxford: a holiday
I already made a full report of Oxford in my last post, so I won’t repeat it, but suffice to say that it is a gorgeous place. I even dreamed about it this week, which is brilliant. (I have a few places in my dreams that I visit often, and I would love it if Oxford with its maze of colleges would become one of them.) I definitely want to go there again, because it has a sense of tranquillity and quietness and bookishness that I haven’t come across before. Wouldn’t mind having a cottage there!
Oxford: a holiday
I already made a full report of Oxford in my last post, so I won’t repeat it, but suffice to say that it is a gorgeous place. I even dreamed about it this week, which is brilliant. (I have a few places in my dreams that I visit often, and I would love it if Oxford with its maze of colleges would become one of them.) I definitely want to go there again, because it has a sense of tranquillity and quietness and bookishness that I haven’t come across before. Wouldn’t mind having a cottage there!
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| Having a pint at the Eagle and Child... Tolkien fans: they're everywhere, and they're always interesting and amazing. |
So what’s in store for next year? I don’t know. I do know
that I’m going to meet Sean Astin at FACTS this year which I’m equally nervous
and excited about, and I do hope to see some of the people I’ve met again, even
though they all live pretty far away. I'd love to see Billy's band Beecake someday. I’m still pretty excited about the places
I have yet to explore, the people I have yet to meet. After all, the road goes
ever on and on…
Until next time,
Bejoes
Until next time,
Bejoes
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