It’s all happening as we head into our final week of fundraising for The One Last Party. These are the final days to reach that goal, so we can all celebrate the journey of fandom we’ve been on together. You can pledge for a party ticket; but if you can’t join us in person, there are still many ways to be involved:
– pledge $10 to be part of the ‘Thank You’ we will send to Peter Jackson
– claim a ‘Supporter of Special Magnficence’ tshirt (which reminds us that ’17 years is far too short a time to party among such excellent and admirable fans’)
– get access to the exclusive Live Stream of the event
– or lay your hands on one of the other fabulous perks on offer!
We’ve just added three NEW perk items!
Incredible artist Eeva, who created TORn Book Club’s logo, has drawn two amazing images of Mirkwood’s own party elf, Thranduil. There are only NINE prints available of each of her two illustrations (‘Dark Thranduil’ and ‘Mirkwood in Winter’), and each will be signed by Eeva. Elf lovers should snap them up before they’re gone! See the ‘Thranduil Special’ perks and choose which one you want – or get them both!
We also have a new perk for the Bookworms amongst you! (We know how Tolkien fans love to read!) Our own Kili, of Happy Hobbit fame, is also a talented author. She has generously given us FIVE copies of her debut novel, Darkling, to use as perks. Here’s a description of the book:
“How far would you go to save your family?
Midsummer used to be a day of feasts and bonfires. A day when cares were set aside for the joy of grass between our toes, warm hands in our palms, laughter in our hearts. Our celebrations dimmed with the light. Something upset the balance of our woods. Something so deep that even our bonfires can’t lure the sun back. And he has something to do with it. Of that we’re sure, which is why I’m being given to him.
DARKLING is K.M. Rice’s suspenseful debut novel about a young woman’s sacrifice to save her village and the unexpected strength that comes from first love. ”
None other than Richard Taylor has read Darkling and loved it! He said, “I’ve just finished reading a delightful, … beautiful ghost story book called Darkling. And that’s one I’d definitely recommend. …it’s a haunting, creeping, wonderful story .”
You could have a copy of this book, signed and inscribed to you by Kellie/Kili – just pledge for the ‘Happy Haunted Hobbit’ perk!
Later today, party planners will be joining staffer Sarumann on his TORn Book Clubto chat about what we have lined up for The One Last Party – tune in at 12noon PSTtoday to hear more, or to ask us questions!
We are so close now – and every little pledge helps. Don’t forget, any pledge made before 11pm GMT today (Jan 11th) enters you in the draw to win the stunning Dragon Bodice created by Marie Porter Costuming! Even a pledge of $1 qualifies you for this giveaway – and helps us get nearer to our goal! Let’s celebrate together the Fellowship of Fans!
One Last Party fundraiser!
Our One Last Party fundraiser on Indiegogo is almost 80% funded and we’re pretty stoked!
If you’d like to join us as a Party of Special Magnificence in Hollywood in February — a toast to all SIX Middle-earth movies, then now is the time to throw in your support! Even if you can’t make it to Hollywood (or if you’ve already contributed), you can help out by retweeting or sharing our fundraiser across social media to get the word out.
Propsmaker and FX group Tim Baker Creations designed a one-of-a-kind Bag End cat box and Barad-dûr scratching pole for Tolkien fan Misha Pollack and his cats Frodo and Sam. The group used styrene foam, epoxy and more than 650 feet of coiled rope to create Barad-dûr, while the Bag end kitty box is a shaped fibreglass shell reinforced with dowel, and covered with lichen to replicate the grassy fields of the Shire. Continue reading “Propmaking group builds incredible Bag End catbox and Barad-dûr scratching pole”
Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most active discussions. Watch this space as we spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join the fun!
The book is organized in order of how a typical Hobbit would go through their culinary day. Among many other recipes, Breakfast includes mushroom, and bacon hash and apple and cherry griddle cakes. Second Breakfast includes recipes for pork and apple hand pies for Hobbits on the go. By Elevenses it’s time for honey cakes, seed cakes, and other sweet treats. On to Luncheon with delectable baked scotch eggs, steak and ale pie, and strawberries and cream bread. Of course, no self-respecting Hobbit would miss their scones and country ginger snaps for Afternoon Tea. Supper recipes feature venison cobbler and rosemary skillet peas, and there’s not a Hobbit to be found that wouldn’t be proud to ‘fill up the corners’ with dinner recipes such as savory bread pudding with mushrooms, and boxty on the griddle!
Luncheon Selections
Is your mouth watering yet? Ours certainly were, so we decided to try a few of the recipes in TheOneRing.net’s test kitchen. Greendragon was taken with the baked scotch eggs, rosemary skillet peas and lavender and lemon bread. “I love peas and rosemary – cook with them both a lot – but would never have thought to put them together, nor to cook the peas in a frying pan. (Sam would be proud)!” Kelvahrin and I both tried the steak and ale pie to raves from our respective families. I also made the strawberries and cream bread which was just as tasty and fragrant when we finished the last slice as when we cut the first one.
Chris really did her homework, researching the kinds of foods that would have been available around the late Victorian era when Tolkien was a young man; many of the same ingredients that made their way through his writings to The Shire.
From Chris: “[the research].. was the most fun – falling deep down a research rabbit hole. I have a MA in History, so honestly this was like candy for me. Once I compiled way too many historically suitable recipes I made myself (mostly) stop the research and focus on testing. A lot of people think of Middle Earth as a faux medieval realm, but The Professor was very clear that the Shire was his homage to the disappearing way of life he loved from his late Victorian childhood.”
The result is that the recipes stick to basic ingredients such as butter, fresh fruits and vegetables, and meat. One of the best things about the cookbook, is that most of the recipes that contain butter and meat as ingredients also include clear instructions for how to make them vegetarian, and even some vegan. There are also gluten-free recipes and paleo/primal-friendly recipes. Many of the recipes also include suggestions on using leftovers for later meals, though all of us at TheOneRing.net’s test kitchen can’t imagine leftovers ever being a problem!
Lavender and Lemon Bread
Again from Chris: “As for the dietary restrictions – that’s a real passion of mine. Food brings us together. I see it as part of my job to ensure there’s a place for everyone around the nerdy table. The vegetarian recipes were pretty easy. Most baked goods are accidentally vegetarian, and once you have a little practice, it’s not hard to veganize most vegetarian recipes. Getting the gluten free options in there was the most work since these recipes come from an era when bread really was the staple of life, so I bought in some northern English (mostly Scottish influenced) recipes with oats and made sure that there were some roasts as well as the popular hearty meat pies of the era.”
Steak and Ale Pie
As you can see, Chris has a way with words which also makes the cookbook fun to read. Top it off with fabulous pictures of the food, and metric conversions for all measured ingredients, and Chris’ book offers Tolkien fans everywhere a Middle-earth adventure, right in your own kitchen!
Join us in Los Angeles in February at The One Last Party
We’re hosting a Party of Special Magnificence next February — a final toast to all SIX movies, both The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy.
We’re inviting you to join us and make it happen through our Indiegogo campaign — so we can all celebrate Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth movies together!
Welcome to The Great Hall of Poets, our regular monthly feature showcasing the talent of Middle-earth fans. Each month we will feature a small selection of the poems submitted, but we hope you will read all of the poems that we have received here in our Great Hall of Poets.
So come and join us by the hearth and enjoy!
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
It’s all happening as we head into our final week of fundraising for The One Last Party. These are the final days to reach that goal, so we can all celebrate the journey of fandom we’ve been on together. You can pledge for a party ticket; but if you can’t join us in person, there are still many ways to be involved:
Incredible artist Eeva, who created TORn Book Club’s logo, has drawn two amazing images of Mirkwood’s own party elf, Thranduil. There are only NINE prints available of each of her two illustrations (‘Dark Thranduil’ and ‘Mirkwood in Winter’), and each will be signed by Eeva. Elf lovers should snap them up before they’re gone! See the ‘Thranduil Special’ perks and choose which one you want – or get them both!
DARKLING is K.M. Rice’s suspenseful debut novel about a young woman’s sacrifice to save her village and the unexpected strength that comes from first love. ”
Our One Last Party fundraiser on Indiegogo is almost 80% funded and we’re pretty stoked!
This is amazing. 
Welcome to The Great Hall of Poets, our regular monthly feature showcasing the talent of Middle-earth fans. Each month we will feature a small selection of the poems submitted, but we hope you will read all of the poems that we have received here in our