[Mithalwen]

I can only second Lalaith's sentiment on the last point (and a few others). The exhibition was fascinating. Tolkien's picture has the vibrancy of an illuminated manuscript whicb you don't quite get in reproductions and it was fascinating to see the different working methods displayed by the various authors from Stalla Gibbons' scrawled on scraps , JK Rowling's cheap A4 loose leaf pad and biro and the bound proof that Jane Austen wrote on little slips of paper (A6 approx) that she could slip under her blotter if disturbed... and her handwriting is tiny and precise.

I was ridiculously excited to hear Brian Sibley and he read marvellously from the book and while I enjoyed the other speakers and particularly seeing the various illustrations some of which are "new" to most, that was the real highlight. Apart of course meeting Lalaith herself who is lovely and funny and considerately fierce (no I have saved that seat for my friend - she has a stick!) and patient as I hobbled after her bright feet.. she was the perfect companion and I hope we will meet again somewhen.

Oh yes... I do see rather doomed by transport problems when meeting Downers.... the journey up was fine this time but someone had driven a tractor into a rail bridge at Basingstoke rendering the line unsafe.. which meant the train I caught was theoretically the one of an hour previous and didn't leave even so for a further twenty minutes, was packed until Woking where they had a train that would go to but not through Basingstoke leaving the few destined for the West heading East to Guildford and Havant before heading back in the right direction picking up a relief crew at Southampton for the onward journey. I had taken the train a couple of stops up the line to give myself a wider choice of train and so then had a half an hour drive but at least my car was warm and comfortable. I got home at about quarter past two in the morning and it should have been just after midnight... but well worth it.. though