[Estelyn Telcontar]

I'm back from the German Tolkien Society's annual get-together (called the Tolkien Thing - the second word has an Old German meaning, so don't think of it in its modern usage). We stayed in a lovely old castle in Upper Bavaria for the weekend; it's now used as a youth hostel, so the accommodations weren't luxurious, but who cares when the company is great?!

This was a special year, as we are celebrating our 10th anniversary. Commemorative T-shirts, mugs, and other items were popular souvenirs.

Aside from the yearly business meeting (a necessary evil) we had some lectures, some workshops, and some entertainment. Among other things we showed our self-made costumes in a fashion show and learned how to design, cut, and sew new ones.

One of the guest stars was the Canadian Tolkien artist Ted Nasmith, who showed slides of his work and later painted a picture while we watched in awed silence. He was also so kind as to draw a wonderful Treebeard picture in my album; I'll show it on my blog when I get it uploaded. On the last morning he gave a concert of his Tolkien songs.

Another guest star was Caspar Reiff, founder of the Danish group Tolkien Ensemble and one of its composers. He told us of the history of the group and revealed some of its plans for the future - very interesting stories and anecdotes!

The Italian musicians Lingalad gave a concert on Saturday evening which we all enjoyed very much; the atmosphere of the inner court of the castle as a location was wonderful!

I don't suppose any of you would be terribly surprised that I was part of a group that spontaneously put together a parody story during a couple of spare hours on Saturday. "LotR Reloaded" was thought up by four of us who had nothing better to do - and didn't we have fun doing it! - and written by the one who is the best writer (no, not me). She presented it in a reading on Saturday evening, fresh off the press, so to speak, and it was hugely enjoyed by the audience.

As always, money was spent at René van Rossenberg's shop; I managed to find two rare books of Tolkien-based music that I couldn't resist.

It is a very enjoyable experience to meet other Tolkien fans in real life, and I'm enjoying it more each year, as I get to know more of the members. There's very much a family feeling to our get-togethers that makes me look forward to the next time when one event is past.