[RL EVENT, SOCIAL MEET] Real life meet for Laurelin players?

[Ranatuor_Erutron]

Hi all,
Talking to fellow player Thorfni, we thought it would be a grand idea if we had some form of real-life meet organised for the players of Laurelin.

Going on the idea we’d do something linked with Tolkien, there are two places with strong associations with him – Birmingham and Oxford.

Birmingham – Tolkien spent his early childhood here, living in various places and going to school. Some places: Sarehole, Birmingham Oratory
http://birminghamheritage.org.uk/tolkien.html

Oxford – is where Tolkien went to University and later became a Professor there. Some places: Exeter and Merton Colleges, Eagle and Child pub.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england...shire-20894824

In 2018, there are (at least) two events that are worth visiting in association with JRR Tolkien – the Middle-earth festival in Birmingham and the “Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth” exhibition in Oxford -

Middle-earth Festival, Sarehole Mill, Birmingham
1 – 2 September 2018
https://middleearthfestival.wordpress.com/
Free

Tolkien: Maker of Middle Earth, Weston Library, Oxford
1 June – 28 October 2018
https://tolkien.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/
Free (but £1 processing fee)

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My thoughts...

Option 1:
I can only stay over at weekends. If it’s Birmingham we pick – I could travel up on Friday and would have to return home on Sunday. Saturday would be the main focus. We go for the Middle-earth festival weekend so we have an event backdrop alongside visiting Tolkien-associated sites. People who wanted to could always plan a trip to Oxford around the Laurelin meet to see the exhibition (I am planning a trip in July myself to do just that at the moment).

The Middle-earth festival is a family event with lots of stalls, cosplay and things to do. It’s based at Sarehole Mill, a place recognised for its links with Tolkien – he grew up here as a young boy before his mother died and he claimed Sarehole as an inspiration for Hobbiton with its mill. It is also near Moseley Bog, thought to be the inspiration for the Old Forest. There’s a cute “Hobbit café” nearby as well. Hall Green Library has a fancy Tolkien inspired bench and wall decorations, worth a look (in the linked Flickr album below).

Sarehole Mill also run a guided tour around the Mill and surrounding area (which includes Moseley Bog called “The Origins of Middle Earth” walk. They will most likely be running one of these on the day of the Middle-earth festival, and I would like to think if there is enough interest, they would do one especially for our group. The current one is here, so you can see a little info -
http://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/...f-474b73acc5ad
They charge for that tour - usually £10

So one plan could be to go to the festival for some of the day on Saturday and maybe see one other location that day – perhaps the Oratory and Edgbaston’s “Two Towers” of Perrott’s Folly and the Edgbaston Waterworks Tower (just a note on these, the Tolkien Society doesn’t find any evidence to back up their influence on Tolkien). There are a few houses nearby also associated with Tolkien which have blue plaques.
Most of these places are close to railway stations that are linked to the centrally-based Birmingham New Street – so we could find affordable accommodation in Birmingham itself.

Sarehole Mill
http://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/sarehole

Moseley Bog
http://www.bbcwildlife.org.uk/moseley-bog-joys-wood

Birmingham Oratory
http://www.birminghamoratory.org.uk/

Hungry Hobbit Café
https://www.facebook.com/hungryhobbitz/

You can see photos of last year’s trip to Birmingham to see the Oratory and Sarehole here - https://www.flickr.com/photos/131304...57688859575705

Birmingham Tolkien Trail (pdf map link on this page) http://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/...o-middle-earth

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Option 2:
Would be Oxford – see the sights linked with Tolkien (Eagle and Child, the colleges, etc) and people can visit the exhibition.
Note you have to pre-book a time with the exhibition, which is free aside for a £1 administration fee.
Downside with Oxford – I’ve been looking at accommodation for a while for my own trip, and Oxford is expensive. I would love to stay there and wander about the City of Dreaming Spires, it appears to be a little out of my usual price range.

Eagle and Child pub
https://www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/res...andchildoxford

The Tourist Information Centre offers a guided tour to see some of the sites associated with Tolkien and Lewis, two of the Inklings called “The Official CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien Walking Tour”
https://www.experienceoxfordshire.or...g-tour-oxford/
There is a charge for this tour – usually £16

The Ashmolean Museum is great for inspiration too, some great Anglo-Saxon items (including the Alfred Jewel), ancient world collections and they have Guy Fawkes Lantern!
https://www.ashmolean.org/

Tolkien’s final resting place is also in Oxford, I’ve never gone out to it.

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So, that is my initial thoughts on what we could do – but there is plenty of time to plan, adapt, etc.

Would this be of interest to you? Would you attend?

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Extra thoughts on dates – if we were to go weekend of 1-2 September, we’d be just before the Tale of the Shipwrecked Mariner (15-20 September) and Bilbo’s Birthday (20-26 September) and just before the Open Heritage Days events (6-9. 13-16 September - https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/)