I met a fellow BDer!!

[Lhundulinwen]

Ahhh, y'all are just so cute! No, I'm not gay/stalker/etc, its just that BDer's are beautiful people! lol, here's my story.
The person who introduced me to the BD is a casual poster, Princess of Mordor last time I checked. We go to school together, but last Sunday, she graduated from high school. I was proud of myself; I waited to cry until I was in the parking lot. She's my best friend, and I love her so much. And she's going to college out of state. Where at you ask? Where else! Texas! Anyway, she and I are going to see Van Halsing (sp?) tomorrow, and she's going to sleepover with me. I'm so sad to see her go, but you know what she gave me for a parting gift? A necklace with a mini-sword on it!! Her words on the card -and I quote- ""May it be a light in dark places" and may it give you the strength and courage it bestowed upon me when I needed it most." I'm going to go cry a little now...

I hope all of you find a LOTR nut to be best friends with too. It took me awhile, after all I live in Arkansas, but trust me, there are people like us out there!

[Estelyn Telcontar]

I enjoyed yet another BD summit in London last week! Squatter was there, an old aquaintance by now, since he's been at three get-togethers that I've attended. He's always a brilliant conversationalist and was an invaluable guide to the Tolkien sites and sights in Oxford. We were joined by the wonderful Bêthberry, whom I met for the first time and felt comfortable with immediately. The London meeting took place in Gordon's Wine Bar, where the guests sit in the cellar, enjoying their drinks by candlelight - a very evocative atmosphere! I could well imagine Sam down there, saying farewell to the beer barrel...

For our trip to Oxford, we were joined by Bêthberry's family. Squatter had prepared a long list of possible attractions, so that we had to choose which were our top priorities. We opted for a break at the Eagle and Child first, where he showed us his first editions of LotR and other great books he owns. A group of Spanish Tolkien fans talked to us, asking about the way to JRRT's grave. They are from the 'elfenomeno' website, a familiar name from back in the days where that site ranked high on the list of favorites. Interestingly, we met them again on the way to the cemetery, our next stop. There were a few other people who came to the grave while we were there as well.

We then went to the Botanical Gardens to see the Pinus nigra (black pine) tree beside which Tolkien posed for the last photograph taken of him in 1973. It's an amazing tree, huge and beautiful! Of course we had to pose for pictures there too.

Time only allowed for a walk past one of the houses in which the Tolkien family lived, and we finished off with dinner at the Mitre, which he also mentioned in several of his letters, before taking the train back to London.

It was a thoroughly interesting and enjoyable day; I can't imagine a better way to see Oxford than with those BD friends! (Though we missed those who couldn't be with us... )

[Lush]

Awww, Andrea remembered. That was a fun night. especially due to your dad's old Delta Tau Delta stories. I felt like I was in a movie.

Esty, *grinding teeth in supreme jealousy*

[The Perky Ent]

Well, I don't think there's any Lousiana Barrow-Downsers, but, I go into Texas frequently.....As for Texas. I know the perfect place to meet. In Houston, there's a place called The Hobbit Hole. Could you ask for a better place than that?

[Bêthberry]

Well, it was not quite Rivendell, but I did for the first time set eyes upon the land that Tolkien loved so much, and I walked some of the streets and trod on some of the paths he did. And I was accompanied by a fellowship of Downers who made the visit all the more fun and delightful.

I met first in London, for the first time, Squatter, who guided my family and me around the British Museum and its monoliths of Egyptian stone and Sutton Hoo relics. We retired to a pub where he had first met Estelyn, a pub which has now seen three inaugural Barrow Downs meetings and so is on its way to becoming a real BD tradition. Squatter in real life is larger than his character here, a looming presence of wit, generosity, courtesy, a mind easily at home with any topic of conversation and a sensibility of charm and devilish good humour. We parted from my family and then met Esty in the most romantic of dark dens, Gordon's Bar.

There, amidst candle-lit, emptied bottles of wine, with the stone walls of the underground cavern sweating soot from the candles, we talked and talked. Squatter has said you could imagine Faggin there; I thought of all the Cornish smugglers bringing in port and sherry to be stored there away from the above ground authorities. In the dark, we could barely see each other except through flickering glimpses, yet what did it matter, having forged our friendship through chat and posts.

Estelyn is as vivacious and gregarious as one would expect from her posts here, an enthusiastic conversationalist who would put MeriSue in her place with the twinkling of an eye. And her eyes do twinkle! We met for the first time as old friends. Well, not that we are old, but that we had already had much shared between us. Alas that English pubs have such early closing hours. Had Squatter not had to catch a midnight train back to his home town before it turned into a pumpkin, we would have explored the night life of London further.

Estelyn went on to her quilting conference in Birmingham, where she followed a few sites of the Tolkien trail there where Sarehole once stood, while Squatter joined us for a second day of London haunts. It had to be something medieval; we choose the Tower of London, a splendidly preserved palace, but not the largest keep of the land. Here William the Conqueror build The White Tower, which with a fair bit of extravagant imagination on my part I could transform into something ressembling Tolkien's fortresses. Dinner was not medieval, but firey Indian. Another patron, across the restaurant from us, set up a bit of an entertainment that would have done Fawlty Towers justice. Poor Manuel!

The grandest adventure we reserved for Oxford. It was not a visit as daring and romantic as Squatter's first recorded escapade of midnight trespass into the gravesite, but it had its charms and special moments. All those scenes of Gwaihir rescuing Gandalf and Sam and Frodo were put in perspective when I saw the sign outside the Eagle and Child (called affectionately the Bird and Baby by the Inklings). The Rabbit Room, yellow-painted walls and midbrown wood, uneven floors and irregular walls, holds not just photographs of the Inklings but a framed scroll which they all signed testifying to their time there, Tolkien identifying himself as the father of the above named Christopher Tolkien. Squatter brought out his beloved first editions with their marvellous maps and glorious covers--books which attracted the attention of the Spanish Tolkien fans who had also journied there. Squatter shared his books with them and of course we shared internet sites. A pity it was that none of us was wearing a Barrow Downs tee shirt, but one cannot foresee all events.

We then took off for the gravesite, walking past the first of Tolkien's houses in Oxford (rather small and nondescriipt) and St. Aloysius Church (Tolkien's parish church), which we would have entered but a wedding was in process. We arrived at the cemetary just as the Spanish fans came up behind us! It is easy to find and almost overgrown with rosemary (that's for remembrance), roses, and other smaller plants. Both the headstone and the granite border bear reminders of other visits, fans leaving behind rosaries, cards, bracelets, small mementoes and tokens of respect. Tolkien's son Michael is buried a little off to one side from his parents. The names Luthien and Beren still stand out.

From there we caught a plebian form of transportation, a city bus, to High Street, which we walked up, passed Merton College and the Bodleian, to the Botanical Gardens, where we found the pinus nigra by which Tolkien stood in the last photograph taken of him. Rather unimaginatively, the three of us crowded around for the obligatory photograph of us touching it. It is a huge tree, spreading taller and wider than it did in that photograph and looking nothing like the shape of pine trees I am used to in my country. We departed after Squatter struck a pose at the foot of the tree which marked a perfect example of the way his imagination revisits sites and places.

All of this activity on a hot day generated a great deal of thirst. We repaired once again to the Bird and Baby, where my husband joined us. This time we did not run into any Tolkien fans and I was insensed that a mug with the pub's crest on it cost twenty English pounds, a sum I was not willing to part with.

On then to the Mitre, which Tolkien had favoured for dinner, a more stolid and less quaint pub than the B & B. The food was solid but excellent pub faire, made all the more convivial for Estelyn's and Squatter's company. We slowly wound our way down the streets of Oxford, still a medieval city in many ways, towards the train station, lingering along alley ways and in front of buildings in the warm summer night. The train carried us through the dark to end our day; we bid a hurried and quick farewell to Squatter at his stop and then completed our return to London.

One last night there and we spent it with Estelyn once again, meeting at the crypt under St. Martin's in the Field and then to dinner in a quiet corner where we could simply enjoy some last time together. It is possible that not all our conversation turned on Tolkien. We returned to Gordon's Bar for final departing pictures and then with melancholy excitement said our farewells.

My family and I then flew west and who can say that we Downers shall not meet again within the circles of the world?

[The Saucepan Man]

*Saucepan turns a bright shade of green and curses the demands of work that led him to miss such illustrious events*

[Estelyn Telcontar]

It's time to revive this thread to report on yet another first-time meeting of Barrow-Downs members. Here's a brief account:

On Monday, on my way through Houston via plane, I had the opportunity to meet Thenamir and his family, Child of the 7th Age and her family, and Valesse as well as seeing the LotR exhibition in the museum there.

It was wonderful, every bit of it! Despite the confusing airport, Thena and I recognized each other from photos right away and we all had fun talking in the car on our way to see Child/Sharon. Then there was lots more talking, enjoying her hospitality, and lots to see as we admired her LotR collection - it's wonderful!

We had to pull ourselves away to get to the exhibition on time, which we did, and we met Val and friends there. It was great fun to see everything with fellow Downers, talking about everything and pointing out details to each other. And details there were - the costumes and props were absolutely amazing!! Val shared my interest in costume detailing and fabrics, so we "ooh"d and "aah"d over them. But everything was done with such meticulous attention to details - weapons, belts, papers, masks, armor, banners, all wonderful. There were some fun activities, trying out the tricks they used for scale correction and motion capture.

After over two hours there, we spent some time looking though the many possibilities for spending money on collectibles in the gift shop. I finally decided to buy only a pin that says "I went to Middle-Earth and all I got was this lousy ring" - I did not want to splurge on the genuine Elven cloak (woven by the same company that did the fabric for the movie), which would have set me back almost $1000!!

Dinner and the drive back to the airport took up the remaining time, and on my trip out of Houston I found myself smiling over thoughts of a very enjoyable day - wonderful people and something interesting to do together - can't top that!

When I get back home, I'll try to remember to give a link to the exhibition's online page - we weren't allowed to take pictures there. However, I do have a photo of Sharon, Thena, and myself which I'll put up when I get back home in two weeks.

Perhaps the others will add their reports to mine. I think I hold the record for meeting the most Downers in the course of my travels these past three years, and each time it is a highly enjoyable experience - they (well, I guess I should say "we" ) are a wonderful bunch of people!