{"id":538,"date":"2020-08-16T21:19:05","date_gmt":"2020-08-16T21:19:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.murpworks.com\/thetalesofsilverdale\/?p=538"},"modified":"2020-08-19T07:37:09","modified_gmt":"2020-08-19T07:37:09","slug":"in-honour-of-jrr-tolkien","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.murpworks.com\/thetalesofsilverdale\/marina-life\/in-honour-of-jrr-tolkien\/","title":{"rendered":"In Honour of JRR Tolkien"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Wednesday 22 July 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Honour of JRR Tolkien<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We got up and drove to Oxford today, the spiritual home of JRR Tolkien author of The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and a host of other important 20th Century books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have loved Tolkien’s work ever since I was first encouraged to read The Hobbit by a teacher at school (a long time ago). It was in a Library session at Secondary school and I had been limiting my reading at Library sessions to non-Fiction books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You really should read some fiction – try The Hobbit”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From that moment on, there was no turning back. I read the hobbit, then went on to purchase the George Allen & Unwin Seventeenth impression 1977. I still have that copy. It’s falling apart after multiple readings as a teenager<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I more recently purchased a second had copy, in much better condition than mine and started re-reading it. I find it still as enthralling and pertinent today as ever. This book has inspired generations of fantasy from novels & series of novels, through pen and paper Dungeons & Dragons<\/a> roleplaying through to computer games – last gen, this gen and next gen!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next series I went on to read was The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever<\/a>. This trilogy (followed by a second trilogy) was incredibly influenced by the template Tolkien had laid down. I later read The Silmarillion<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And So To Oxford<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So, making the journey to Oxford was a pilgrimage in honour of JRR Tolkien. I wanted to see where Tolkien spent his time in Oxford, writing these great works – as far as was possible in the midst of a global pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oxford is a one hour destination from Silverdale. It is therefore eminently doable in a day, with plenty of time for sightseeing. It was a beautiful day and we arrived in the centre of Oxford to park in an underground car park. We had parked here when we visited before, with MIRRLESS (another Tolkien pilgrimage<\/a>). The car park opened out into a square with a market and attendant Cafe Nero. It would have been rude to not socially distance and partake of a coffee and morning croissant confectionary, so we did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blackwell’s<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Fortified, we set off in search of Blackwell’s Book Store<\/a>. It was rumoured to have a well-stocked Tolkien section. We were not disappointed. There are still Tolkien books I do not possess (it’s true! My collection barely scratches the surface) and Blackwell’s had them. I did succumb to a particularly erudite hardback that deals, in detail with the flora of Tolkien’s world. I hadn’t seen this book before. It was a real find however another book<\/a> I have to find space for aboard Silverdale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Downstairs, Blackwell’s has a small exhibition of rare, mostly first edition books. In a glass case at the bottom of the stairs was a copy of The Road Goes Ever On<\/strong>. There were also Other Science Fiction books by Ballard and Michael Moorcock among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Eagle and Child<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Next stop after a short walk was The Eagle and Child – a pub where Tolkien sat with C S Lewis and discussed The Lord of the Rings among other things. The pub sign shows a child being carried away by an eagle. This has been noted as and surely is the inspiration for the eagles in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Gwaihir<\/a> the Windlord – The lord of eagles rescues Gandalf and participates further in the ‘Rings’ story<\/a>. The pub was closed due to the pandemic but looking through the window, we got a feel for those meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Handlebar<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We had a break for brunch (I liked to think of it a second breakfast) at the Handlebar caf\u00e9 & kitchen<\/a> whose Vegetarian and Vegan food was excellent. Can’t recommend it highly enough. Afterwards, we wandered through a deserted Oxford with a ‘one way’ system in place to socially distance any visitors that hand braved the City. This was presumably very different to when Tolkien was living and writing there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tolkien’s Resting Place<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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We decided to drive out of Oxford to find Tolkien’s final resting place. JRR Tolkien is buried in an unassuming spot in an unassuming grave in a graveyard just on the outskirts of the town centre. He is buried with his wife and it seemed a fitting place for a great writer – no pomp or glory that, though justly deserved, would have taken away from the kind of person I believe he was. Rest in peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the Way We Rollright<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Finally, we set off to find the Rollright Stones<\/a> just outside Chipping Norton, a short(ish) drive from Oxford. The Rollright Stones are an ancient site consisting of three separate areas. It was a long, dusty drive. However, once there, the views afforded are spectacular and the site (or sites) are a fascinating reason for visiting. Our main reason for visiting was the fact that this area may have been the inspiration for<\/a> The Barrow-downs<\/a> in The Lord of the Rings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rollright Stones consist of three parts: The Kings Men stone circle, the King Stone, and the Whispering Knights<\/p>\n\n\n\n