It was a pleasant day(not huge,but thrilling!)….and I’m happy to say is covered here already….
So I don’t have to! Small things then…. Brian and Jane were both models of courtesy,just superb. Andy seemed oddly shy for such a significant actor,very charming. I met three Americans,one lady who came in a lovely dress(you know who you are,ma’am!) and a chap who had crossed the pond just for this! B and J and A were all very pro with the children,they thankfully assumed the kids had brains and could keep up,,which you sadly don’t always see….
The later talk was fascinating,particularly Andy’s articulation regarding Gollum’s psychological makeup,and Brian’s revelation that certain things PJ had done,he would’nt have(he said he would have done something “more interesting” with Arwen)….and some things PJ did,he would have nicked!
I had a lot of questions,but time was short,so I kept it to,not a question,but a public thankyou to Brian(and Jane) for defending and praising LOTR in the press,often against those (Philip Pullman springs to mind) who blatantly have their facts wrong….
When I actually got to the signing,I hadn;t been able to afford the books….so I’d bought a printed picture of Eowyn(my current favourite) for them to sign.
Jane graciously signed,with a note to say she always empathised with Eowyn(I can’t remeber it exactly,so i don’t want to misquote her)…she felt proud of standing up for LOTR….
Now. I won’t go into detail,suffice to say Brian Sibley’s LOTR is part of my psyche.In my house,it,Hitchhiker’s Guide,Elgar and The Goon Show were played in rotation,and I could’nt have asked for better influences. His LOTR is certainly one of the reasons why some parts of PJ’s LOTR bother me,because they have less grace….put short,everything about BS’s LOTR is important to me….
So you can imagine how lovely it was last year at the Borders signing for the FOTR books,to meet him and say thankyou….
Now,this may sound horribly fanboyish,but as I say,his LOTR is very much loved by my little self….
He remembered me.Brian Sibley remembered me from a year ago,when I was just another scrotty herbert in a queue!!!!! He was very warm and friendly and so on and so forth(ahem!) Both he and Jane were a joy to meet,an absolute joy.
Lovely day. Oh,and again,the American lady with the robe/dress in central London(ie Hell)…..much respect!!! Tim
