Last Few Pics and Thoughts from Tolkien 2012.

[curiouswombat]

The last two talks I attended at Loughborough were 'Everything you need to know about the real Bag End' and 'Elves, Goblins, and other 'Fairy' things in The Hobbit: Tolkien's Victorian and Edwardian Inspiration'.

Apparently JRRT's aunt lived in a farm that really was known as Bag End - surrounded by farms and fields some of which had rather familiar names - as did a few of the nearby families... how very likely that someone creating stories for their own children would put familiar things like this into them to add that extra layer of amusement. Dimitra Fimi's talk was also very good - with lots of beautiful pictures - but I can't really produce a précis!

The closing ceremony was much as these things always are - and then Gill, Una, Andria and I made our way to the bar as we didn't want to say our goodbyes just yet - and who did we see but Inzilbeth with a few minutes to spare! So finally we got to chat for a few minutes and I got my copy of her book signed!

Under the cut are a few last pictures (one of which explains my choice of icon...)

Firstly - part of my ongoing dessert collection - here is the raspberry and white chocolate tart from dinner at Burleigh Court on Sunday evening.






Now - this is the sight I saw when I was in the Dealers' Hall on Monday morning getting my copy of the art catalogue before I did anything else...



Yes - that is two adult men, one of whom is wearing a sheepskin gilet, building the siege of Helm's Deep in Lego... there is even a small blonde figure on the ramparts already - I think it might even be LEGOlas, but I'm not sure!

This van was parked where Gill parked the car each day -





The owner was a Dutch specialist book seller - Gill bought a rather beautiful book from him on Sunday which she had been resisting all conference up until then, but her three worth advisors (why yes - that would be Una, Andria and I!) convinced her that it would be extremely useful to her in her academic studies next year.

Oh - almost forgot - this is a picture of the costume this young man and Gill made from scratch in about 3 hours; he is being Ulmo, Lord of the Waters...This was taken by another attendee -




Thanks to Gwydion M Williams




And finally... sitting in the bar at a Tolkien Convention I was reading the headlines for our local Manx news on my netbook. One headline was "Fellowship break world land speed record." I fell around laughing. I showed it to Gill. She fell around laughing.

Next morning I mentioned it to the two, male, delegates sitting next to us at breakfast. They looked puzzled, clearly wondering why I thought they might be interested in the local news from an island in the middle of the Irish Sea, and eventually asked polite questions about the story behind it.

I was surprised at their reaction. I actually tried again with a lady at the breakfast bar - she laughed.

I wonder if you, gentle reader, get the giggles or wonder what on earth I'm talking about?

Comments

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

They probably were moving fast enough... :)