This challenge started a long time ago. Now it has turned into a movable feast with Elephant's Child as our coordinator; and the Words provided by a number of people.
The
general idea of this challenge is to make us write. Poems, stories,
subtitles, tales, jokes, haiku, crosswords, puns, ... you're the boss.
Use all Words, some Words, one Word, or even none of them if that makes your
creative juices flow. Anything goes, only please nothing rude or vulgar.
It is also a challenge, where the old saying "
The more the merrier" holds true. So
Please,
remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples'
stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this
one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need
encouragement.
-- 💭 --
The prompts for every Wednesday in January are provided by Elephant's Child, and made public at her blog.
For today we had five food related sayings: Too many cooks spoil the broth
The apple of my eye
Pie in the sky
Not for all the tea in China
Spill the beans
-- 🍞- 🐟 -🍎 --
"Not for all the tea in China" - I always loved this saying, and I would be sorely temped by that offer. For me the saying is old fashioned in a good way, cozy, and warm. I love to drink tea and eat cakes. and today, January 3rd, is a great day for doing so.
Why? Because today is the 132nd birthday of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. And for me his Hobbits encompass all that can be subsume under tea-time.
Today I'd like to tell - as is my wont - of one of J.R.R. Tolkien's poems.
The Lonely Troll. It is published in
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil under the fictional authorship of Samwise Gamgee.
This introduction is taken from
Tolkien Gateway:
The Lonely Troll is one of the main characters in Samwise Gamgee's playful nonsense poem, Perry-the-Winkle. This was a very unusual Troll: He wanted friends, he did not steal, drink beer, or even eat meat, and most amazingly of all, he was a very good cook. The Lonely Troll lived in the hills of Faraway ...
The Lonely Troll is a very long poem, all of 16 verses. I selected only six of the verses, giving a short abstract of the missing parts, but if you want to read all of it, I'm sure it can be found somewhere in the nooks and crannies of the WWW if you do not own a copy of
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
Verses 1 & 7-10 & 16 of
The Lonely Troll.The Lonely Troll he sat on a stone
and sang a mournful lay:
"O why, O why must I live on my own
in the hills of Faraway?
My folk are gone beyond recall
and take no thought of me;
alone I’m left, the last of all
from Weathertop to the Sea."
[...]
The Lonely troll then goes to the Shire, but scares everybody away, only not Perry-the-Winkle, a brave and friendly Hobbit
[...]
The old Troll sadly sat and wept
outside the Lockholes gate,
and Perry-the-Winkle up he crept
and patted him on the pate.
"O why do you weep, you great big lump?
You’re better outside than in!"
He gave the Troll a friendly thump,
and laughed to see him grin.
"O Perry-the-Winkle boy," he cried,
"come, you’re the lad for me!
Now if you’re willing to take a ride,
I’ll carry you home to tea."
He jumped on his back and held on tight,
and "Off you go!" said he;
and the Winkle had a feast that night,
and sat on the old Troll’s knee.
There were pikelets, there was buttered toast,
and jam, and cream, and cake,
and the Winkle strove to eat the most,
though his buttons all should break.
The kettle sang, the fire was hot,
the pot was large and brown,
and the Winkle tried to drink the lot,
in tea though he should drown.
When full and tight were coat and skin,
they rested without speech,
till the old Troll said: "I’ll now begin
the baker’s art to teach,
the making of beautiful cramsome bread,
of bannocks light and brown;
and then you can sleep on a heather-bed
with pillows of owlet’s down."
[...]
After returning home, well fed and happy, Perry-the-Winkle won't tell where he's been, but a Hobbit aptly named Peeping Jack had seen him ride the Lonely Troll's back to the Hills of Faraway.
The other Hobbits them went there to also partake of the Troll's cramsome bread and fulsome tea, but were sent away by the Lonely Troll.
Perry-the-Winkle on the other hand, was invited to visit the Troll every Thursday to learn his culinary arts and have tea with him.
[...]
The Winkle a baker great became,
as still is said in song;
from the Sea to Bree there went the fame
of his bread both short and long.
But it weren’t so good as the cramsome bread;
no butter so rich and free,
as every Thursday the old Troll spread
for Perry-the-Winkle’s tea.
- - - - - -
Today is also the first Wednesday of the month. Time for the monthly Question from the Insecure Writers' Support Group January 3 question: Do you follow back your readers on BookBub or do you only follow back other authors?
My answer: Blank stare. I do not know what BookBub is.
But then I do not do much on social medias of any kind. I do have a FB account, but I only seldom go there, and post once in a blue moon - and then only in groups for very specific interests like weaving, soaping, plant dyeing, gardening and so on. Same goes for IG, where I just 'like' photos posted by family and friends.
Blogging is my poison.
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