Hobbit day & Week :: Hobbitdag og -uge

Hamlette @ The Edge of the Precipice is hosting a Hobbit Week blog party for the 12th time. I am happy to participate and she makes it easy on us by saying: "If you don't have any ideas of things to post, you can always simply fill out the tag, which you'll find below."

The only real rules are: 

• your post must be related to Tolkien and his creations somehow, 
• your post should contain a link back to this post so people can find the party and join the fun, and 
• your post needs to be respectful and family-friendly (this is a celebration, so please don't contribute any rants or whiny posts). 

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This year's tag is inspired by some of the most famous locations in Middle-Earth. Here it is:


1. The Shire:  What place in Middle-earth do you think you would feel the most like home for you?

As I like a quiet life of good food and a sprinkle of adventures now and then, the Shire would be the place for me.

2. Bree:  If you could create a Middle-earth-themed restaurant, what would you serve there?

I would take my inspiration from Beorn's meals, and from the World of Warcraft cookbook, serving hearty, wholesome food made from local flora and fauna (or Olvar and Kelvar as the Elves would put it.)
The menu would include Beer Basted Boar Ribs, Braised Riverbeast, good bread, honey, loads of mushrooms and veggies. Funnily this had me thinking of the meals described in Paksenarrion -  The Jolly Potboy in Brewersbridge

3. Rivendell:  Where in Middle-earth would you like to hang out with your friends for a week or so?

I would like to travel from the Shire to Bree and over the Misty Mountains to Beorn's home - but not into Mirkwood. This would probably take way more than a week.

4. Moria:  Have you ever delved into the history of Middle-earth (or the history of Tolkien's creative process)?  If so, did you learn anything cool you'd like to share?

I have delved deep into the history of Middle-earth, its people, languages and animals. I learned that they are people, same as we are.

5. Lothlorien:  Would you like to sleep in a tree?

Oh, yes, I would, so far I've slept under trees, and between trees, but never in one.

6. Edoras:  Do you like horses?

I do like horses, and always planned to learn how to ride one, once the Owlets had left the nest. They have not yet.

7. Minas Tirith:  Have you ever dressed as a Tolkien character, whether for a convention or Halloween or anything else?  (Bonus fake internet points if you share a photo!)

No, strangely enough, I never did. I have dressed the Owlets as Hobbits, Elven warriors and even an orc, but myself, never.

8. Erebor:  Do you have any Middle-earth merchandise you particularly treasure?

I have a golden ring, looking much like the One Ring, and I even own a real chainmail ;) I wonder if it fits me still.

9. Mordor:  Have you ever read anything by Tolkien that wasn't about Middle-earth?

Oh yes, I've read Leaf by Niggle, Farmer Giles of Ham, Tree and Leaf (Leaf by Niggle is also in here), Smith of Wooton Major, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Ancrene Wisse. I've used his Middle English Vocabulary, and even read Ave Maria and Pater Noster in Quenya.  

10. The Grey Havens:  How long has it been since you last ventured into Middle-earth via book or film?

   Book? a week. One of the Owlets is reading Lord of the Rings, and I borrowed the book in the train and read a bit, as he had finished a chapter and needed a break. I read small bits frequently.
   Film? 2015, when I saw The Hobbit 3 in the cinema. The films does not fascinate me, I of course find the sceneries of The Lord of the Rings  magnificent, as well as the nature and horses and Ents, and the characters (most of them*) ... But the way the plot has been almost re-made, bent and twisted, does not sit well with me. As I said back then: The movies contain too much Peter Jackson and too little Hobbit for my taste. And I miss the songs, the banter, the languages and the  seriousness and gaiety that for me is a major part of Tolkien's world.

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*) I was always sorely disappointed with Galadriel as portrayed by Cate Blanchett. And with the "clowny" dwarves of The Hobbit too.