Growing up I had always had trouble reading, and even when I could read properly for my grade level, I did not find many books I actually wanted to read. Finally my parents suggested a book to me called "The Hobbit: There and Back Again". I was hesitant at first, but after a few short days, I was hooked. The book took me to a place of magic, wonder, and where the smallest of creatures can be the most important. This book helped me take a step towards reading, becoming a geek, and becoming the odd girl that I am today. I am eternally indebted to JRR and his beautiful tale of a hobbit who never did anything out of the ordinary. Since after all, 'It's a dangerous business walking out your front door'.
When I first found out about the movie, I was thrilled. The Hobbit was my favorite book from the series and I have been waiting years for a good film about it to come out. I had actually heard about it being in production in 2010, and was already making plans to see it then.
It would have been amazing to have gone at midnight for the first showing on Thursday, but considering that I had two exams the next day, it kind of seemed like a bad option. So, instead, my housemates and I went Friday at 7:00 PM. We picked that time because my exams would be done by then and we could grab some dinner before the movie.
Being in the city were JRR Tolkien wrote his famous trilogy and its prequel, we chose to eat dinner at one of his known hang out spots, called the 'Eagle and Child'. (It is also called the 'Bird and the Baby' by locals. However, I usually accidentally call it the Eagle and the Bird.)
We had never been to the quaint little pub, but I found it very much to my liking. It looks very classic, British pub with a cramped walkway and cozy seats. You are immediately greeted at the doorway by a chalkboard sign which has a classic Merry and Pippin quote from the Fellowship of th Ring movie, where the two hobbits discuss pints, as well as small reminders of the movie placed here and there about the pub.
As you walk back further into it you find that it seems to continue on in a system of twists and turns that spiral on like a snail's shell, further into the pub. The seats range from comfy couches, to stiff wooden chairs, and benches with cushions, as well as a variety of table shapes. The bar sports Tolkien postcards you can purchase and off on the top of shelves you can see Gollum watching you order. There are also Lord of the Rings themed board games packed away up there, possibly for long nights spent there with friends.
Everything about the place told me that I was home. I could not stop smiling, half from geek-joy at being somewhere that one of my favorite authors had visited, but that it was also as amazing as I thought it would be. Unlike the 'Elephant House' where JK Rowling used to go, which is now over run with tourists. This place was just a quite place for local friends to enjoy each other's company, and probably still similar to how to looked when JRR Tolkien and his friends (CS Lewis being one of them) spent long hours discussing their lives and stories.
After our delicious meal, we vowed to return before our few weeks were over, and headed to the cinema for a movie.
The Hobbit was a wonderful film, especially considering how high my expectations were before it began. However, I do not really understand the need for three parts. I can understand two, because they have added a lot of scenes not in the books to try and tie the Lord of the Rings series with its prequel, as well as needing to cover the scenes actually in the book, but three parts? Come on, Peter Jackson. That just sounds like someone is getting a bit money hungry. Especially since the other three books were all in one film each and those worked out wonderfully. (They were really long, but they were still great movies.)
Until next time...
Embrace the Odd,
Caitlin
"The most potent muse of all is our own inner child." -Stephen Nachmanovitch
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