Tolkien Events 2009
 

It's never too early to plan ahead for really good Tolkien events!

The 'Tolkien Ensemble' will be giving a series of concerts in Copenhagen on March 26, 27, 28, 2009. They will take place in the Concerthuset and feature well-known music of the LotR by both the Ensemble and Howard Shore as well as an excerpt from the Ensemble's new Hobbit musical, which will be presented to the public at that time. Christopher Lee is to narrate.

Caspar Reiff, one of the Ensemble's founding members and composers, gave this information at the German Tolkien Society's summer meeting. Quite a number of DTG (said society) members - including myself - are planning to travel to Copenhagen to hear the concert.

Any Europeans who wish for further information please contact me - or perhaps Rune... :)

For me, Copenhagen in March sounds a bit early in the season. I've enough brisk weather here to go looking for it in Europe! ;)

Chances are, though, that I might be in the balmier clime of Florence some time in April. Now, I've always imagined Minas Tirith as an Italian city, but I can't say I'll be there for a Tolkien connection per se.

More "A Room with a View" experience then - I do hope you will put away your Baedeker and simply drift. :D

She might even run into Julian Sands in a meadow ;)




* This always makes me laugh as I had an old friend with that name...

I think Tolkien said that Venice had a look of Old Gondor in the letters so your imagination is in good company!

Well, yes, it has come to pass that I will be in Rome and Florence come spring, in fact, in just over three weeks. Good bye snow. I've been looking for some sort of explicit, specific Tolkien tie-in but they're a bit hard to find in Italy. Interesting that he seems to have many Spanish fans, but few Italian?

Here's my room with a view We can but hope that the weather will be warm enough for that roof top terrace to be enjoyed. ;)

And still thinking of this one in Rome: It was good enough for Keats and Shelley

Ciao, Downers.

I went in mid -late February and it was not warm exactly save for the last afternoon when t shirts were the order of the day it was sunny and bright and very pleasant for walking around. The extra month should mean it is positively balmy especially in comparison to your frozen North ;).

Great location too and looks good value (even to a Brit in these days of the feeble pound). I am sure you will have a fantastic time.

Bb, there have been Italian speakers at the German Tolkien Seminar, most notably a Franciscan monk, Father William* Spirito. And I remember that Tolkien and his daughter Priscilla were in Italy for a holiday, including experiencing an operatic performance. I'll try to get some information for you.

Wish I could be there as well, but I'll be going the opposite direction for a Tolkien experience that weekend - a Tolkien Ensemble concert in Copenhagen!


*A cookie for anyone who has the same nonsensical association that occurred to me when I first heard the English version of his name.

A pity we can't meet, Esty. Copenhagen in early spring. Not much warmer than here! Thanks for that info about Tolkien's visit with Priscilla. As it turns out, the hotel we ultimately decided upon in Rome is half a block from the Opera House. Maybe I'll be able to find an historical marker, "JRR Tolkien sat here" on one of the chairs. (Or place one myself. ;) )

I have found a rather dismal note about Tolkien's reception in Italy: Left right, left right, left right, right and One says racist; another says racialist. (Scroll down to the English bit on that German site.) *sighs*

And thanks for the weather predictions, Mithalwen. I have found an online weather forecast for Rome with daily and two week projections. Now I have two sets of weather predictions to grumble about. (Isn't that what weather forecasts are for?)

Will any members of the forum be at The Middle-earth Weekend at Sarehole this year?

When is it?

I am long overdue a trip to the Midlands to visit a brace of Hobbit children who I suspect might just be the perfect age to be introduced to Middle Earth....


Bethberry, the weather looks ok to me.. but I have never been to Rome -

Hi Mith, it is on May 16th-17th.

"You are old, Father William, as I've mentioned before,
And have grown most uncommonly fat.
Yet you turned a somersault at the back door--
pray, what is the meaning of that?"

Eh? Hobbit musical!?! Do tell!

Tolkien Ensemble has done an outstanding job of bringing Tolkien's songs to tunes. (I have finally forgiven them, at last, for their version of "Eomer's Song." They have done many, many more great works that make up for it.)

"Gondor, Gondor, between the mountains and the sea", and "Silver flow the streams" are magnificent. Truly magnificent. And their version of "The Ent and the Entwife" is incomparable.

Have a cookie, Helen! Yes, that poem did inevitably occur to me.

It's less than three weeks till the concert, and I am excited to hear what the Tolkien Ensemble will perform. I'll certainly report afterwards.

Just so you know, I gave up cookies for Lent. And chocolate for Ramadan. :p :D

Translation: she only ate the chocolate at Night, and, she had to type in her password every doggone time she logged onto the Downs. Now that's devotion.


What shall TOlkien Ensemble do for THe Hobbit, we wonders, preciouss, we wonders? Shall they sing Tra Lala Lally?

Shall they! Oh, do, she cried, jumping up and down and clapping excitedly. Do, do, tralalala!

And you must, you really must, sing Roll Roll Rolling down the hole! Heave ho, splash plump! Oh, hurrah!


Gaffer William Gamgee continues his rant:

I have answered three questions and that is enough!
Said his father: Don't give yourself airs!
Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?
Be off! Or I'll kick you downstairs!

I'm sorely tempted to risk a day out to Sarehole...I wonder if it's on a bus route into Brum city centre - it's feasible to bring ye Childe for a couple of hours if I can get him onto a train. Course, he'll have to be able to crawl around once he gets there...

For Helen (and other possible fans of Carroll's nonsense poetry): that reminds me - almost seven years ago I wrote an LotR parody of that very poem! Here it is: You are old...

It begins:
That whole thread is well worth re-reading - so much fun stuff!

I am torn for there are special exhibition matched at Wimbledon that day to try out the centrecourt cover and I am sore tempted for the sake fo seeing Agassi play again... However this does sound fun (despite Morris Dancers). This site gives some transport links

http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/Generat...E=0&MENU_ID=26

And I think Birmingham public transport was quite efficiet as I recall....

I'd have to bring the Childe because extracting babysitting from his grandparents is nigh on impossible. We only managed to extract a few hours for our first cinema trip since he was born this last Sunday!

What's up with Morris Dancers? ;)

Actually can't believe how it is little more than an hour by train. And he will be 18 months+ by then and will love a train trip I bet . Will probably take me as long to get from Rugby if I visit the hobbit folk ;) . Actually can't believe that I have never been since it is close to where my Dad's family lived... but they aren't interested...

Oh Morris Dancers are scary - though possibly not as scary as the other entertainment if Oxonmoot is a guide...

And Ye Childe cannot stay home with Genitor Familias and let Mum have a weekend off with some friends? Or is davem wanting along on the trip?

Shh Bethberry, getting to meet the nipper 4 months earlier than thought remotely possible might just win over the attractions of SW19

Hey Lal, bring Ye Childe and don't worry about the babe crawling in the mud and maybe eating worms, after nine pints I do the same, and I'm perfectly OK, .......................................can I have my medicine now nurse.

I'm working out the logistics of it - it gives me an excuse to look at bus timetables at least, which is something I find strangely satisfying ;)

I really wanted to see the new concert hall and see the Tolkien Ensemble, unfortunately the tickets was sold out before I had the money for one. . . I had no idea they where so popular.

That's a shame, Rune - I guess those of us who travel from afar are more eager to plan in advance. However, this is an opportunity for a meeting of two Downers - I'll PM you for details.

Hi Mith and Lal, I will be going to Sarehole on the Sunday, hope you can both make it, or for that matter anyone else on the forum.

there and back again
 

Earthquakes aren't quite the same as Mount Doom, but I certainly had a momentous leave-taking of Italy.

While there, I did see several paintings, engravings, images and references to eagles carrying men, particularly the eagle of a particular god. And I did see lots of wargs in the art, although the most important one was suckling--not an image conducive to Tolkien's wargs! ;)

But all in all I saw so many nudes, of both the butt (and other parts) nekkid variety and the oak and fig leaf entailed variety, that it was a stretch to think of Middle earth. (I should say, though, that Botticelli's clothed females could well be imagined as elven, particularly in the Primavera--which is not a bad idea, as Botticelli was playing with ancient mythology.) And it is probably worth noting that historical record of the English in Florence and Rome is not one that particularly speaks well of olde colde Englonde. Tolkien might even have been a bit miffed by it all, unless he saw it as a rejection of the mindless mechanism he so deplored.

So I think that the search will have to be narrowed down to Venice in the next trip to Europe. After all, once one makes it over the pond, any other distance in Europe is a piece of cake, so it shouldn't be too difficult to make a Venice/London/Oxford run. ;)

Tolkien Moot - MerpCon V 2009. July 24-27. Spokane, WA, USA.
 

Register for MerpCon V (2009) Today!

Spread the word, MerpCon V is drawing nigh. RSVP today before it is too late. There is limited seating available. Though the event is free and open to the public, you must RSVP if you wish to participate in most events.

http://www.merpcon.org/rsvp

What: MerpCon (Middle-earth Role Playing Convention) is an annual international event dedicated to Tolkien enthusiasts, scholars, fans, and role-playing gamers. Gaming events are set anywhere in Tolkien's expansive universe. Guest speakers are noted (and often published) Tolkien scholars. The event is meant for all levels of enthusiasts from just a passing interest in Tolkien and his works, to the dedicated Tolkien scholar, linguist or gamer. For RPGers, please note that many different game systems are welcomed and used, including but not limited to:
Dungeons & Dragons (Ea d20 adaptation: http://www.earpg.com)
Iron Crown Enterprises Middle-earth Role Playing
Decipher's Lord of the Rings
Ambarquenta
Hither-lands
GURPS (adapted to Middle-earth)
Basic Role-Playing system (adapted to Middle-earth)
HARP, GURPS, Harnmaster, and more!

When: July 24th, 25th, & 26th (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday).

Where: The Apple Tree Inn, 9508 N. Division, Spokane, WA, 99218, USA.
( http://www.appletreeinnmotel.com/ )

How much: The event is 100% free and open to the public but you MUST RSVP, even if just tentative (you can select your level of commitment on the RSVP online form).

Previous MerpCon guest speakers have included John D. Rateliff, Michael Martinez, Chris Seeman, Joe Mandala, Cason Snow, Thomas Morwinsky, and others.

See the MerpCon website for up to the minute details as they develop, including details on guest speakers, game session sign up, and more.

http://www.merpcon.org

Tolkien Seminar
 

The German Tolkien Society's Tolkien Seminar takes place in Hannover this coming weekend. Registration is not necessary and there are no fees to pay; the only costs participants have are travel and accommodation. This year's theme is: "Violence, Conflict and War in Tolkien" - an interesting topic! For details please see the programme. Lectures are partly in German, partly in English, with international speakers.

I will definitely be there, though I'm not actively involved this year. It would be fun to meet other European Downers at the event!

Anyone who is at The Tolkien Society AGM at Durham University tomorrow will have all their drinks paid for free by me, just greet me in The Black Speech of Mordor.

Sarehole Mill in May
 

Hi all,

somethig Tolkienesque going on at Sarehole Mill in Birmingham ion 16th-17th May, see here-

Birmingham Museums

Typically I will be on my way to Bordeaux, OK, not all bad ;)

Anyone living in the Preston, North-west England area (yes that's includes you Hooky), are invited to the next Rangers of the North Smial Moot. This will occur on Saturday,30th of May at 12 noon.. The place for the moot will be at The Greyfriar Public House. These are regular moots and occur once a month, so come and talk to real people about what we love.

I'm working all day then, narf. :( Sorry.

Does anyone know when booking for Oxonmoot will be open? I've been checking the TS website everyday for the last few months with no luck...

There is no firm date set yet Hooky, as there is no Oxomoot secretary in The Society at the moment, the provisional date is September 25th-27th.

Is anybody from here going to Dragoncon???

I've started posting on the Arms of Middle Earth group because someone told me they are the main Tolkien costumers who go to Dragoncon... but I want to see if anyone from my ol' stomping grounds here is planning on going?

Oxonmoot 2009
 

How many are going?, hopefully this year I will make the Photo. The date I gave in the last post is now confirmed Hooky.

Certainly!! :D I have been saving my money for quite some time for this.