[Lalwendë]

Do not laugh! But once upon a time (my crest has long since fallen) I had a mind to make a body of more or less connected legend, ranging from the large and cosmogonic, to the level of fairy story - the larger founded on the lesser in contact with the earth, the lesser drawing splendour from the large backcloths - which I could dedicate simply to: to England; to my country. It should possess the tone and quality that I desired, somewhat cool and clear, be redolent of our 'air' (the clime and soil of the North West, meaning Britain and the hither parts of Europe: not Italy or the Aegean, still less the East), and, while possessing (if I could achieve it) the fair elusive beauty that some call Celtic (though it is rarely found in genuine ancient Celtic things), it should be 'high', purged of the gross, and fit for the more adult mind of a land now steeped in poetry. I would draw some of the great tales in fullness, and leave many only placed in the scheme, and sketched. The cycles should be linked to a majestic whole, and yet leave scope for other minds and hands, wielding paint and music and drama. Absurd.

Stuck that on again as it's always useful to see the words

The thing is, he never ever wanted to create anything for England. He wanted to dedicate his Art to England which is a very different thing. he wanted to encapsulate elements of Englishness in his work (which is why I believe an understanding of the nature of true Englishness is as vital as an understanding of anything else if such things be needed - and indeed many arguments I have stem from people not always knowing the nuances of Englishness - things you cannot learn from a Hugh Grant film ).

However, while we are all bellyaching here, there are two things which wrap up what he says here and they are:

Do not laugh! But once upon a time (my crest has long since fallen)

and

Absurd.

So is he being entirely serious? I suspect that like all English people, he might occasionally think of some fancy ideas, but he dismisses them as just that, fancy ideas. Strangely, his work does have the Northern Air, and it does read just like a real mythology (though we have a lot more of it than any genuine mythology and should think ourselves lucky). He really did succeed in creating a faux mythology. He was superb at his Art.

But really, you have it in a nutshell here:

That doesnt mean, I think, that fans should stop exploring or questioning a character from the story, even in the medium of their own story. The thing is, that these new stories just won't become par of the cannon.

No, nothing wrong in having fun with fan-fic, and you are currently allowed to write it (though the estate could stop you if they wanted, those names being Trade Marks) and even publish it on a not for profit basis. My objection is that given all of this, why on earth do people want more if not to either a. leech off Tolkien's name and get some spurious name for themselves or b. make money, in which case, such people would be despicable.