As fans impatiently wait for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, one journalist in Middle-earth – ahem, in New Zealand – has written a great article which reminds us of the humble beginnings of this extraordinary tale. When Professor Tolkien jotted down those few, simple words – ‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit’ – it was indeed, as Gandalf might tell us, ‘like the falling of small stones that starts an avalanche…’ When did you first encounter Middle-earth? Relive those memories with this charming article.