Finally, and at last, we've reached Bag End.
We paid for this tour years ago, but they kept it in credit for us.
I first read Lord of the Rings when I was 16. It was the paperback version, I think I saw something in the Sydney Morning Herald that suggested it was a good read (because you once read paper newspapers in those olden days of the late 1970's).
It was a huge paperback book. The size of a brick with tiny little print. But I found it amazing, and it started my ongoing love of quirky fantasy fiction.
My Dad asked:- "Why are you reading that hippy book?"
Young Kim was a bit perplexed but replied.. "I haven't ever heard it called a hippy book.. But you will love it! Its about hobbits and elves and battles, I'll give it to you next". Which I did, and he enjoyed it too.
And then for Christmas that year, Dad gifted me a boxed set of books, hardcover LOTR with the fold out paper maps. They are just here in my craft room as I write this, just over there on the shelf, one of my most precious things.
But books are too heavy to take on a plane, so, for the first time I've downloaded the LOTR onto my kindle. 38 hours of reading! Well that's good value for money.
At this time I was around Boromir's hero death and the parting of the fellowship. (Now at home the Siege of Gondor has just ended and now waiting to see how Sam rescues Frodo from the Orcs and the completion of their burdensome task).
In some ways I loved the movies. The casting of the actors was incredible.
Obviously Peter Jackson was also inspired by the artworks of Alan Lee and John Howe... Which I also have a another very special book (Realms of Tolkien, bought in the early 1990's) about art inspired by Tolkien books. Just as well they put this book together when they could as all of Tolkien's characters, places and creatures are now copyrighted to the brink.
In the LOTR movies I found the battles went on a bit too long, and the Hobbit movies were ridiculously milked for profit. A very slim book stretched into 3 very long movies. But, I was pleased to see some strong women take a spotlight in the movies as there weren't many in the books, only really the heroine Eowyn.
But before we got to Hobbiton we stopped at a lookout.
Can you see the Noordam, It is there somewhere in the distance.
Then Gandalf greeted us, when he was the grey, YEY.
We were given a special booklet each,
Only one of which came home with us,
(hey, weight is an issue, only 23kg allowed on the Sydney to/from Armidale flight).
I'll pop it into my Realms of Tolkien book and when we die you can work out what to do with it.
(sorry, still a bit damaged from throwing lots of Vi's treasures into a skip).
But the good news is that now that we are home I can scan it and save it forever!
It was a hot day.
The hottest day we had in NZ.
Finally in the gate and on the tour.
There are lots of sheep on the hill in the above photo and the pine is the Party Tree.
Click on he photos to enlarge it to see more.
Bilbo's party was for his 111th birthday and he and Frodo share the same birthday on the 22nd September (My Mum's birthday too, but she's not 111).
To keep all his nasty relatives out (mainly the Sackville-Baggin's who would steal the silver if not monitored) Bilbo put up a no admittance sign.
Oh, now we are in Bagshot Row. Which is Master Bilbo's address. And later Frodo's.
So...What would JRR Tolkien, aka John Ronald Reuel Tolkien think of all this Disneyland version of his book, I wonder?
I hope his son, Christopher Tolkien, has been here to see this shrine to his fathers greatest work. Christopher is probably my parents age now.
...
Oh no, Christopher's older. I just look him up on Wikipedia and Christopher died in 2020 aged 95
Oh no, again, with further research Christopher Tolkien hated the movies, but his son Simon Tolkien (he's a bit older than me and was a barrister in another life), was an advisor for Peter Jackson,, and also there we have some sort of family friction about Simon's involvement. Well, family have frictions . just look at Princes Will and Harry, but that's another story.
Most of the descendants of JRR Tolkien have Reuel as one of their middle names, even the girls.
Beware of the party tree, it may throw missiles at you.
I saw a surveyors peg...
I didn't take a photo which I now regret. But apparently they intent to extend Sam's hole, so in the future you can actually go underground and into a Hobbits hole,
of course it will be beautifully decorated in the hobbit style.
Then on to the Green Dragon Pub.
For a beer.
And finally, Here is my 'Thought for the Day' about why you don't store your beer on the top shelf...
Oh, and as I said in the last post, poor Graham is sick.
He is REALLY sick, We went to see Dr Puxty today and he has a strep throat, with puss and everything, yuck. We don't think its covid but he was tested again. He can't eat or drink or sleep. I thought he might end up in hospital on IV fluids but because he has a carer (me) so he's at home feeling miserable. At least he has a week to recover before we are back to Sydney to see Elton John. This is why I left this gap between the cruise and Elton, just in case we came home with covid.
Again, good foresight by Kim's psychic child.
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