Tolkien 2005

[Lalwendë]

OK, I have some time for a report.

The event as a whole was excellent, but it was exceedingly tiring, with having to get up early and not getting to bed until after midnight. I even spent one afternoon asleep because I couldn't keep going any longer (but I only missed one interesting sounding talk). The days were stuffed full of things to do, the daytimes mostly being focussed on listening to talks and lectures though there were also some dance and drama workshops for those who wanted them too. Getting the programme sent me into shock as I didn't know how I was going to choose what to attend (there were at least four options at any time) and I quickly relaised I couldn't attend things all day long because it was mentally tiring. And to do a talk by someone like Verlyn Flieger justice, you have to spend some time digesting it afterwards.

Some of the talks were excellent. I particularly enjoyed those by Ronald Hutton "The Pagan Tolkien", and some by lesser known speakers such as "Hobbit Names Aren't From Kentucky" and "Galadriel's Lovers". One talk I went to this morning taught me very little indeed (it was on the origin of Ents) but it was utterly entertaining due to the eccentric man presenting. Some papers looked interesting but the delivery of them was dull or else hard to understand due to language difficulties. One young chap gave a talk on Milton & Tolkien, but alas he spoke so fast it was difficult to take it all in. Some talks were light-hearted and others were very serious. Some looked exciting in the brochure but were like aural valium. I'll try to list what I saw and who gave the talks in a later post but impressions are more interesting for now methinks.

The dealers' room was excellent - and I spent a fair amount of money. Any book you could wish for was on sale. Plus a lot of other stuff too. I got Alan Lee to sign a book for me, and he was very nice to talk to. I also went crashing into Tom Shippey in a horrible crowd but it was all very English with apologies from both parties....

Anyways, we met Esty who is just lovely, and very intelligent I might add. Though I'm sure she thought we were very odd and quiet as she is so outgoing! I should have liked to have met her in a less pressured environment and been able to talk more without feeling like we had to always rush off somewhere or else we were too tired! Her costume was beautiful - I have a photo but might wait til she says it can be posted. We also met narfforc, who is very funny, and his Pallando costume was superb. He roared in the bar that people were coming up to him and saying "like the Gandalf costume" a statement which davem stored up to shout at him later.

Saturday was bizarre with the costume extravaganza in the evening. Lots of people were going about dressed in various outfits, even those not taking part! Yours truly even got a cloak on for the evening which blowed and swished satisfactorily in the breeze (though the goose droppings round the lake were a bit hazardous). One participant chose to be a non-canonical 4th Age female wizard which was a bit irritating (especially as she was not actually a very pleasant person to begin with), but some chose clever costumes such as Haleth and a doric Entwife. One guy turned up as a Hobbit but he had a beard and glasses so he looked more like the Peter Jackson as a Hobbit action figure. It was all worth it when the drink started flowing and hordes of drunken Gandalfs (Gandalves?) were staggering about playing Golfimbul later on. A random drunk guy (just a Brummie on a lads' night out) was delighted to see this and stormed up demanding his picture be taken with the white wizards.

There were a few not entirely pleasant people about, including one who took a dislike to me, but most were very nice and interesting to talk to - some of the people were shall we say 'eccentric', some were very stereotypical geeks with thick glasses and jumble sale clothes (this includes "Windy Miller" who trumped* his way through a performance of folk songs), but most were just as normal as the next person. There were people of all ages and from all places. The truck driver I mentioned went to sleep in the Ronald Hutton talk, his snores getting louder and louder until he had to be woken up; poor man was mortified.

We were, however, disappointed that nobody chose to dress up as Gandalf the Grey.....Uncloaked!

*trumped - you can guess what this is. He must have had beans and prunes for breakfast.

EDIT

Some more...

One thing I didn't mention is that Priscilla Tolkien attended the event. She came to the opening ceremony and was still there on the Friday. This was a nice surprise! And in addition to Alan Lee, Ted Nasmith was there, mingling with the drinkers at night (as he always does, apparently).

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Hi! I'm still travelling, so I can't yet add an in-depth report - well, I just tried to write at least a bit, but the PC at this internet place crashed and it's gone. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed the event tremendously and had a wonderful time! More to come when I'm back home...

[davem]

Couple of reports on Tolkien 2005 here & pixhere

[Estelyn Telcontar]

I'm back! And in recalling the events of the past week I've realized that it will take several posts to even scratch the surface of events. Therefore I shall report in installments. Here's some of what I experienced on the first evening:

I arrived with just enough time to unpack and get settled in my room before dinner. Lal, davem and I had arranged to meet for the meal, and it was great to finally see them! They are both friendly, warm-hearted, and enjoyable to be with. It's hard to put a meeting like that into words - it's very different than meeting strangers, though seeing and hearing each other is a new experience, after having read so much by and about each other.

The big surprise of the opening ceremony was Priscilla Tolkien - her appearance hadn't been announced previously! Unfortunately, the room was too full, so we didn't get to see the Farmer Giles play, but went out to the campus pub with narfforc. He is a very funny guy, who kept us (and others!) entertained by telling us about his LotR parody - we had lots of fun! I took photos, so as soon as they're approved by the others, I'll try to get them online.

There was a late lecture by Verlyn Flieger on On Fairy-Stories; I was very impressed not only by her knowledge but especially by her as a person - she was humorous, and very patient and gracious with questions afterwards, even those I thought were inappropriate or stupid.

More to follow...

[Estelyn Telcontar]

The daytime lectures and presentations will be showing up in discussions on the forum - davem started Galadhremmin Ennorath a few days ago, and I posted "Not all those who wander are lost." today. I'd like to tell about the dramas that were presented - well, at least those that I saw, which were all but the Farmer Giles play.

The Reduced Silmarillion Company presented - well, the reduced Silmarillion, of course! It was a hilarious compilation of facts and fiction from the Legendarium, mostly involving Elves that begin with "F". It's nothing that can be told about, has to be seen, and was great fun.

The Tolkien group from Greece presented two tragedies - the story of Túrin and the myth of Oedipus, one act each. The stories have some remarkable similarities, and seeing them one right after the other showed that connection quite clearly. The actors (all amateurs, of course) did an excellent job; the fates of the characters were moving to those who watched.

Another parody presentation was "The Lord of the Goons", by the Cambridge Tolkien Society, whose members are apparently very active in dramatizations. I wasn't familiar with the original "Goons", but even so, it was very funny and got many laughs and much applause.

One of the highlights of the event was the presentation of the BBC dramatization of the LotR by the Cambridge group. Various members read the different roles in selected scenes for two hours on Sunday morning, and although there were other lectures during that time, I decided that I'd heard so much about LotR that I wanted to hear the words themselves speak to me. It was a wonderful experience. There were funny passages, with a fantastic voice for Gollum, for example. But there were also very moving passages, and by the time Sam said "Well, I'm back!" at the end, I was not the only listener wiping surreptitious tears away. (At least, so I was told - I couldn't see anything at that point! )

There was no acting, aside from the fact that the speakers really got into their characters, but hearing the LotR being read aloud reminded me that it is a wonderfully oral tale. I remembered live readings on voice chat a couple of years ago and found myself wishing that there were someone to read aloud with at home...

[Lalwendë]

I have to write a bit about The Reduced Silmarillion Company.

I'm not much of one for drama, but I do love a good bit of comedy. And these guys didn't disappoint. Basically it involved a small group of young men tearing about, running behind screens and coming out with say, a new wig on, to represent a character. Lots of comedy props were used including an inflatable hammer, many wigs and a doll. The Silmarils were represented by cans of Beer (very good choice). Add in some funny sound effects (including a highly over the top and very silly scream followed by the sound of a monster groaning) and a deadpan narrator, and plenty of running gags and it made for a fast paced but hilarious show.

It might sound very stupid from that description, but no, it was cleverly done, not amateurish, and it reminded me very much of The League of Gentlemen. It had the same frenzied style of joke, it was surreal and it had some great moments of dark humour too. If anything, it was a satirical look at the Silmarillion, and I do recommend it!

[Estelyn Telcontar]

I promised pictures - here are three:

Four Barrow-Downers (narfforc, davem, Lalwendë, and Estelyn) Please note the Barrow-Downs totebag; I made it of my BD T-shirt.

Three BDers

narfforc as Pallando the Blue Taken at the Costume Extravaganza

[Lalwendë]

I just found some more pics of Tolkien 2005 here. This appears to be an album from a Tolkien group somewhere in Europe (Switzerland I think). See Page 9 for a mad tattoo, and page 7 for a Barrow-Downer (narfforc). Page 2 has a piccy of Priscilla Tolkien, and page 13 displays passport evidence of the lengths some fans will go to (I'm lost for words).