Middle-earth Journeys

Marvelous! Thank you all for such wonderful photos. Just like last year, I am SO jealous of your incredible experience. Wish I had the means to just hop across the Pond and attend myself!

Thanks for the exhibition photos, Elegaer . It's great to see everything there and have a reminder of the Cor Bloks. I loved the Lode Claes penwork too but couldn't remember the name of the artist . Yes - Fangorn did bring that one too. What a sweet man to lug it all over for us.

The photos of the fountain have come out great, Marbretherese. The only one I took was rubbish .

I've also got lots of pretty Oxford photos on my flickr account:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/elegaer/

You have to scroll down past the doggy and cat pics though

You've got a great eye for finding detail - You've even caught my favourite gargoyle!

Part 4:

Saturday – or How Not to Appreciate Art


On Saturday we woke up to a thick spooky mist, which called for more leaning out of the window to take photos, this time of a tree in the meadow that we’d christened ‘Niggle’s Tree’, because it was a similar shape to Ruth’s drawing. I don’t remember seeing any cows looming though the murk, but if there were any, Marbretherese is sure to know. You’ve probably gathered by now that if something is moving slower than the speed of light, Marbretherese and I will photograph it!

After breakfast sitting under the beady eye of Charles Wesley (who, I think, disapproved of the sausages) we headed for another early morning lecture, this time on Tolkien’s aunt, Jane Neave. ‘The Influential Mrs Neave’ was given by Andrew Morton and was a fascinating talk punctuated (eventually) by wonderful photos. Because of technical difficulties with the PowerPoint presentation Andrew had to hurry through the last part of his talk, which was a real shame. But we still managed to see Phoenix Farm (named by Jane herself) where Tolkien wrote his Eärendil poem, photos of the walking tour of Switzerland that so shaped Tolkien’s imagination and gave us Caradhras (including the fact they were hit by an avalanche!), and which also included a group shot of Tolkien larking about in walking gear. Tolkien went to Phoenix farm aged 22 and with a burden of decision making lying on him, torn between joining the army or finishing his studies (which would have put him in a position to marry Edith). Jane herself was a very remarkable woman – the first woman in Britain to get a science degree - and Morton has a theory that there were some aspects of her that inspired Gandalf, especially on the walking tour with her grey cloak, hat and staff. She was a mentor and guide to the young Tolkien and also had certain ‘mystical’ interests and qualities, so it’s an interesting possibility – though a member of the audience pointed out that the strong and wise Galadriel would also be a good fit. Morton would have said more about the comparisons, but he ran out of time. In fact we were so out of time he was reduced to signing copies of his book in the street so the next group could come in!

We both had a bit of free time before the next event so we visited Christ Church’s impressive Picture Gallery which included a small Michaelangelo drawing (though not one that really showed what a wonderful draughtsman he was) and a large Leonardo ‘grostesque’ portrait. And lots of other stuff – impassive early Renaissance angels, Mannerist figures with muscles like bunches of walnuts, pale Northern Gothic ladies in convoluted drapery, Madonnas with ugly babies (why can’t Renaissance Masters paint babies – didn’t they have any?),. Quite a few of them could do with a bit of clean so they can emerge from centuries of murk…but it’s a very good collection with some wonderful portraits.

And so to lunch were we had the great good fortune to find ourselves opposite Joanna Tolkien (Michael’s daughter and Tolkien’s granddaughter), who comes (I think) every year. But we were in Awe. I think I stared at her name badge for a full 5 minutes while attacking my salmon, feta and spinach filo slice, not wanting to intrude by asking about Tolkien. But she is a lovely person and really easy to talk to, so we were soon chatting about all sorts of subjects (cats, Tolkien’s grave, place names) – but not about Tolkien himself. We never plucked up the courage to ask for her memories of him. I think I felt that she gets asked so often…. but it was wonderful to meet her all the same and we were both thrilled.

After lunch (and after prising Marbretherese away from the allures of the Mercury Fountain a few more times) we headed for our last lecture: ‘On Fairy Stories’ Revisited by David Doughan’ which also included a presentation of Tolkien’s early published academic works from the collection of Alan Reynolds. I’d already met Alan hovering by the second hand books table in the Dealer’s Room with the crass ‘Oh, so you collect old books, do you?’ before discovering that he is a MAJOR collector and expert. Rather like going up to Ted and saying ‘So, you paint a bit?’. It was hard to concentrate during the talks (which were packed) because the Cathedral bell was tolling, the organ was playing and the odd hymn was floating up through the open windows (by now it was hot and sunny). I don’t appear to have made any notes at all and… I confess…. at one point I fell asleep. Blame the salmon filo slice…

We then went to the slide show that’s given every year, showing a selection of pictures from the Tolkien Society’s archive. The least said the better really but, anyway, here we go – I’m going to have a winge. We were invited to laugh and comment out loud about various efforts at painting Hobbits, elves, and dragons (and I admit a couple were hilarious and a very camp Elrond from one Hobbit edition had me in tears) but there was no regard for cultural background (some of the Russian illustrations had a Russian folk-art influence) or for amateur artists, or for the right for artists to have their own unique vision. Everything not absolutely true to the book or painted by someone other than Howe, Lee or Nasmith (and not even he got away entirely scott free) was regarded as game for a laugh (including Tolkien’s own work!). I’m sure Cor Blok’s unique art (which Tolkien loved) would have been found equally hilarious if it had been flashed up on screen. Some ‘fan art’ (fan art is still art – its just as much art as any other art) had actually been taken off the web for fun. Marbretherese and I sat in horror worrying that our efforts might have been snagged too and flashed up for a joke. I can’t tell you how uncomfortable that made us. If we hadn’t been trapped in our seats we would have left earlier. Quite honestly it was really fascinating to see other artists’ (and other cultures’) views of Middle-earth, and I tried hard to block out the commentary and heckling, and just enjoy the pictures, but Marbretherese was bristling, and quite right too. We won’t be going to this one again next year! If anyone out there is reading this – please be kinder and appreciate the richness of artists’ individual visions! Who’s to say that dragon’s don’t look like giant flying crocodiles. Have you ever seen one?

We had to fight our way out of our seats just before the end, anyway, in order to go back to the Art Room (full of unique and wonderful ART professional AND ‘fan’ - I hate that term. End of Rant) and take down our works, so we arrived there very heated. We were cheered up by the chance to talk to Fangorn about the Cor Blok’s and the Lode Claes (I’m so glad he brought one of those too) and by his gift to each of us of a booklet of talks he’d also brought, including Cor Blok talking about his art. Thank you Fangorn, you’re a star! If I remember rightly, this is the point where we managed to catch up with Anke, not Friday, as she was clearing up her display! I must make better notes…

Even more cheering was the fact that nearly all Marbretherese’s art business cards had gone (she had a lovely picture on each of them) and a fair chunk of mine too.

With a stretch to go before the evening party we went out in search of sandwiches and also had a chance to look at the chapel in Black Friars. Anyone who remembers my Exeter Conference report will remember that on the Stations of the Cross the Roman Soldiers are depicted like Orcs and there is a statue of St. Dominic with a large star on his forehead. It’s known that Tolkien took a service there as a layman, probably in the side-chapel where this statue is, and that he often came to Black Friars, so the statue may have influenced him – so many of his characters have stars or shining jewels on their brows. It was great to see it again, but once again I didn’t get a photo as someone was praying in the chapel and it wouldn’t have been appropriate.

Marbretherese headed off for a service at the Oratory (Tolkien’s regular place of worship) and I headed back for a cuppa in the hospitality room and another lovely chat with Ruth Lacon followed by Henry Gee who edits Mallorn. Hopefully I’ll have something in it soon.

I think I’ll save the evening party (the ‘Ent’s) and Sunday’s Enyalië for Part 5 (which could be Monday), so my Wonderful Idea for the Costume Parade will have to wait! But believe me, it’s fab. Now all I have to do is persuade Marbretherese!

Just fyi, it's Henry Gee who edits Mallorn

Elegaer, you’re right!! I think Iolanthe’s getting her Mallorn & Amon Hen Editors mixed up here. She moves in Exalted Circles, you know . . . .

Here’s my appendix to Part Four:
Andrew Morton’s talk was excellent once he managed to overcome the Technical Difficulties and get into the swing of things. The book (which I’m reading at the moment) is excellent too. Yes, I was one of those huddled on the pavement outside the Christopher Room wondering how many bylaws we were breaking by purchasing his book in the street while he hastily signed my copy . . . I love the idea that Jane Neave may have inspired the episode where Gandalf leads the Fellowship to Caradhras and I don’t see why she shouldn’t have been the inspiration for Galadriel as well!

I was delighted that we managed to find time amongst all the Tolkienalia to visit the Picture Gallery. Many of the works on show came from the private collection of General John Guise, who bequeathed them to the College in 1765. There was also a fine display of 18th and 19th century glass. We were so lucky that Christ Church was the Oxonmoot venue this year. I was drawn back to the olive tree in the Cathedral courtyard again and again - if you look closely at the photo which Iolanthe has posted you will see that its container carries a quote from Revalations 22:2 - “the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations”. I loved it. Also in the courtyard were some wall plaques commemorating various College Notables, not least these two, one recent, one older:
There is a Scout assigned to every staircase in the halls of residence - they basically change the bedlinen, clean the rooms and generally look after the inhabitants, be they students there for a year or visitors like us for a long weekend. We never saw ours but she made our beds and replenished our tea and coffee supplies every morning. Porters are basically security guards, mostly older gentlemen - and they are gentlemen - who make sure, very gently and diplomatically, that Everyone Behaves (including middle-aged ladies who try and sit in the Tom Quad and eat their lunch ):
Saturday’s lunch was in the Great Hall, however - and very good it was too. I was astonished to be sitting opposite Joanna Tolkien and couldn’t summon anything more intelligent to ask her than “would you like some salad?” It seemed Wholly Inappropriate to ask about her grandfather and I had to suppress the urge to pluck at her sleeve and ask “what was he really like?” (of course, now I wish I had). We did find out that she looks after Tolkien’s grave; unfortunately the large rosemary bush which used to grow there became too large and had to be removed.

Despite the Cathedral bells I enjoyed David Doughan’s and Alan Reynold’s talk . I didn’t take many notes but Ido recall they said that thanks to Andrew Lang’s Fairy Tales, academia began to regard fairy tales as purely for children, and this view held from the end of the 19th century until the 1960’s, when Tolkien’s On Fairy Stories was made available to a public already aware of The Hobbit and LOTR, and started to reverse this attitude. They did make the point that Tolkien’s academic reputation stemmed originally from his work on the OED - he got the job of Reader in English at Leeds with only his OED work and some tutoring behind him, so his academic reputation must have already been considerable. They also said that Tolkien published something which took academia by storm in every decade from the Twenties to the Sixties.

I was terribly disappointed with the Tolkien Art Slideshow. I thought it would be an interesting display of Tolkien art from all over the world and from various points in history, but I should have realised something was up by the fact that it wasn’t particularly well-attended. Light-hearted banter is one thing, but open ridicule - and although only a small minority of the audience took part in the heckling and cat-calling, it was definitely ridicule - is Not On in My Book. Criticism should be constructive. One chap in the front row was convinced he was looking at a reversed-out picture of Smaug even though Tolkien had drawn the words “Conversation with Smaug” in lettering the right way round in the corner of the picture, so it shows how much attention some of the audience were paying to what they were looking at. If figures aren’t an artist’s strong point it doesn’t mean they are rubbish - they are still better figures than any of those hecklers could paint. And to take fan art off the internet and laugh at it is simply cruel. I was furious.

Over in the Art Room Becky had taken down the pictures and mine were carefully stacked on a table slap bang next to Ted Nasmith’s. It was a surreal moment . . . Yes, it was at that point that we met Anke Eismann and she said some Nice Things about our paintings and I told her how much I liked her Faramir pictures. Fangorn’s gift of a copy of Lembas Extra was a lovely thought (and an excellent read, containing not only Cor Blok’s article but some interesting insights into the difficulties translators face when translating Tolkien). When we took the paintings back to our room the sun was shining and I just had to take another shot of “Niggle’s Tree”:
I was really pleased to have the chance to attend Mass at the Oratory (or to give it it’s full title, the Oxford Oratory Church of St Aloysius Gonzaga). Tolkien and his sons used to cycle from their home in Northmoor Road to 7.30am mass there every morning, and the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins was a curate there. Much calmer, I returned to Christ Church in a state of quiet anticipation - I was about to experience my first Ents!!

I'm glad you were more alert for David Doughan’s and Alan Reynold’s talk - I was listening intently for most of it but then I just couldn't keep my eyes open. I think I was just running out of steam at that point. I couldn't believe it when I looked at my notebook yesterday and discovered I'd only written two lines and neither of them made and sense . But I do remember Aan saying that Tolkien had published something of great academic distinction in each decade of his life.

Elegaer wrote:Just fyi, it's Henry Gee who edits Mallorn

I know - what an idiot I didn't notice it. I've edited in a correction.

Iolanthe and Marbretherese, I think your reactions to the 'art' slideshow are justified. Do you think that it was the intent of those in charge of the Oxonmoot that this turn into a joke or were the people there just rude? Speaking of which, do you have an estimate of how many people were there? And who were they? Academics or fanchics dressed like elves or well-read amateurs like ourselves or . . . all of the above? And where were they from?

And if you don't mind a pretty mundance question: How were the rooms at the college? I have some uncomfortable memories of our rooms at Exeter, Iolanthe, remember? I had to step out of my shower in order to wash my hair!

Marbretherese, I was also thrilled to visit St. Aloysius, both for Tolkien and for Hopkins, who is my favorite poet. It was my understanding that, at least for a time, that was Tolkien's parish church, so the family attended Mass there on Sundays, but that Tolkien went to the Blackfriars for daily Mass. But I imagine that, during a lifetime at Oxford, one's worship habits could shift often enough.

I think the slide show just got out of hand - it wasn't well attended (I don't think there were any academics there, just ordinary members hoping to have some fun) and I think it's built up into what it is over several Moots. The comments that were called out just fed off each other until, I think, it became a competition to see who could be funniest, and all discretion got lost in the process. I was saying to Marbretherese yesterday how daft it was - a slide show of Tolkien art is likely to most attract (until they know better)..... Tolkien artists... so it's a bit self defeating to take pot shots at them.

Our room at Christ Church was great, Merry. Plenty of room and a reasonable sized bathroom. But I think it depends where you stay on campus. The very old rooms around the quad had wooden panelling and weren't originally built to accommodate showers, etc. My room at Lady Margaret Hall last year was in a new building, but the shower was so tiny I couldn't wash without bashing my elbows. It's pot luck, I think.

Merry wrote: It was my understanding that, at least for a time, that was Tolkien's parish church, so the family attended Mass there on Sundays, but that Tolkien went to the Blackfriars for daily Mass. But I imagine that, during a lifetime at Oxford, one's worship habits could shift often enough.

Merry, I was going by Carpenter's biography of Tolkien, where he describes a typical day for the Tolkien household in the 1930s. But as you say, patterns of worship do shift, so it's entirely possible he went to Blackfriars on a daily basis at some other point in his life. Or possibly Carpenter was misinformed!

The room was great (and a lovely view, as you have seen) - although we came to the conclusion that in term-time it was intended for single occupation. The main thing was that it was quiet - after Iolanthe's experience last year!!

Part 5:

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning – or Balrogs and Jabberwocks

On Saturday night we had the ‘Ents’ – the series of entertainments which make up the last night party. It was wonderful to be in the Great Hall again, but it really was a bit big for the Ents as everyone was spread out so much around the long tables.

The Ents were kicked off by the Cambridge group giving us the last part of their Goon Show take on The Return of the King. It was very clever and fast paced, but if you’re not into the Goons it’s hard to get all the humour. But amongst all the jokes there was some lovely singing – including a really well done take on Annie Lennox’s ‘Into the West’ which brilliantly lamented the end of the film trilogy, which I really enjoyed. In fact all the evening’s singing was great, including Ted Nasmith, plus various other very talented performers who were singing along with him, including Alex Lewis. I loved all the music they did – very impressive!

The entertainments ended with a costume parade, won by a young man who had dressed up as The Professor (I think he was last year’s wonderful Tom Bombadil?). It was so well done that there was huge applause when he came on. There was also ‘Fangorn’s’ group who all came on as Ents and ‘assorted shrubbery’ – the costumes were brilliant and it was very funny.

I spent the evening trying to persuade Marbretherese to enter with me next year as the front and back end of a Balrog (thing Pantomime Cows) but she wasn’t very impressed with this idea. Then I came up with an even better idea of going as ‘The Balrog’s Wings’ (as one wing each – I even worked out how we could do it, using large amounts of Velcro) but she was even less impressed with this idea. Thank goodness one of the two of us has some common sense! But I think it would bring the house down. Or possible our entire reputation within the Tolkien Society.

Sunday morning was, alas, the End of Our Fellowship. We had our last breakfast in the Hall, sitting opposite Andrew Gardner and it was interesting to talk to him about Amon Hen. Then after we’d finished packing and dumping our suitcases in the former Art Room we all gathered in the coaches to go up to Wolvercote Cemetery for Enyalië at Tollkien and Edith’s grave. There was a new addition to the grave this year of several ballpoint pens stuck nib down in the earth – probably to represent a writing tribute! The reading this year was the account of the Fellowship in Durin’s Hall with Gimli chanting ’The world was young, the mountain’s green… there lies his crown in water deep / Till Durin wakes again from sleep.’ It seemed very fitting. Then three wreathes were laid and Donald Swann’s setting of Namárië from ‘The Road Goes Ever On’ was beautifully sung. The sun was blazing hot.

After a cream tea (nowhere nice as the one at Morton in Marsh) we had a walk through the meadows to the Isis (the name given to the Thames where it flows through Oxford) and Marbretherese pursued some reluctant (and very antsy) cows for one last photo. On our way back into Christ Church to collect our bags we had the great good fortune to meet a Custodian (in charge of visitors) who asked us if we’d seen the place both Constable and Turner had painted several famous views from, looking across the fields to Magdalen College tower. He very kindly walked us there to show us and then took a fancy to us and offered to take us around the parts of Christ Church College gardens that aren’t open to visitors. He produced a very large bunch of keys and took us through an iron side gate to the Masters Garden with its beautiful borders and then through a door to the Pocock Garden to see the Jabberwocky Tree. Some of you might know the famous nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson). Dodgson was the Mathematical Lecturer at Christ Church (where he was also an undergraduate) and the original Alice (of Alice in Wonderland) was one of the daughters of the Dean of Christ Church. The tree was amazing – at least 300 years old with wonderfully convoluted branches, many so old and heavy they are supported by stakes (perhaps Marbretherese remembers which sort of tree it is. I know she has better photos!). It really does look like the ‘tulgey wood’ that the Jabberwocky comes whiffling through:
It’s apparently good luck to touch the tree trunk so I gave it a go. Well, you never know!

He then led us through another gate to a small garden and pointed out the window of Charles Dodgson’s study, and also pointed out a small, green door in the garden wall. This where King Charles 1, who stayed at Christ Church during the Civil War, used to pass through to visit his wife, Queen Henrietta, who was staying in a different college (I think….).

This tour was a wonderful privilege – we were so lucky to happen to meet someone who loved Christ Church so much that he was eager to show off the college’s history to two Tolkien fans, and give us a big chunk of his time. What a great way to finish our Oxonmoot weekend!

Lucky, lucky ladies! My goodness! A personal, private, guided tour of the non-public gardens. How splendid!

very random question - where did you get a good cream tea in Moreton? Was it Tilly's??

Do you know, I can't remember! It was on the right as you came out of the Redesdale hall, not far up (or maybe down) the road. It was a proper 'Ye Olde Tea Shoppe'. Marebretherese might remember the name, she took a photo:

© Marbretherese

Mouth watering .