Tolkien fans everywhere will soon be able to buy into a legend by subscribing to the public appeal to finance a sculpture celebrating the internationally acclaimed author and his Birmingham roots. From October 1st, courtesy of EBay, fans can bid for a metal leaf with a personalised dedication and associate themselves with this most famous of writers.
The iconic controversial 20 ft high “Ent” will be located on Birmingham’s Tolkien Trail close to where the author lived in Moseley Village, and between his childhood home of Sarehole, later immortalised as “Hobbiton” and the Edgbaston of his youth. The Ent, a benign and friendly tree-like being, is depicted striding across a carpet of metal leaves towards Moseley Bog, the inspiration for the “Old Forest” in “The Lord of the Rings.”
The sculptor is Tim Tolkien, grandson of JRR Tolkien’s younger brother, Hilary. Tim already has a track record in creating landmark public art like his spectacular `Sentinel’ sculpture on Spitfire Island in Castle Vale marking the area’s association with the WWII fighter plane.
The giant statue will be fabricated in recycled stainless steel with bronze and copper coatings. The individually wrought leaves will be embedded into a paving of resin bonded, crushed green glass at the base of the Ent. Tim will engrave each unique leaf with wording of the sponsor’s choosing.
There are a total of 400 silver coloured metal leaves, the first of which has been reserved by The Tolkien Society and some others sold to local patrons on a preferential basis. In addition there are 30 larger bronze leaves for corporate sponsors and private donors,
The Moseley Statue Group who finally obtained planning permission earlier this year has always envisaged an international dimension to the public appeal to raise the £80,000 needed to finance the sculpture. Tolkien is a worldwide phenomenon with readers, admirers and devotees in every corner of the globe.
For those familiar with the EBay worldwide marketplace, buying your leaf couldn’t be easier. Type ‘Ent Leaves’ into the search box, and you will be offered the opportunity to ‘Buy it Now’ on a strictly limited number of leaves. £500 will secure you a leaf, but if you are a risk-taker, you can make an offer – and take a leaf out of Tolkien’s book…
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TORN Staffer Arwen writes: Tolkien Forever and TheOneRing.net invite all Los Angeles Ringers to come and join us for a weekend of special magnificence: Tolkien weekend 2007, with two fantastic fun filled events for Tolkien fans one and all!
First we have Tolkien Forever’s Annual Hall of Fire on Saturday Sept 22nd starting at 4pm in Glendora. It will be an enchanted evening filled with fun, food and fellowship. There will be music, art, poetry, and costumes are encouraged. The dinner is potluck, so please bring a dish to share. Please RSVP to Saystine@att.net for specific directions to the event.
Next we have TORN’s Annual Baggins Birhday Picnic on Sunday Sept 23 starting at noon in Griffith Park near the Carousel. There will be fun, games, trivia and prizes. The picnic is also potluck so bring something to share. RSVP to Arwen@theonering.net
So come join in the Fantastic Fellowship of Tolkien Fans!
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Dr. Spin has written us with a Middle-earth fan film that he would love to share with TORn readers. This film picks up the ME action 100 years after the destruction of the ring. To view the three-part film please go here. Enjoy!
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The owners of a Hobbit-style wood and earth home threatened with demolition for years failed in another bid to save it yesterday. The ecologically friendly, solar-powered Round House at Brithdir Mawr near Newport, Pembrokeshire, has been the subject of legal wrangling since it was built without planning permission 10 years ago for £3,000. Pembrokeshire Council had taken court action to secure its removal but this was halted so that its retention could be re-examined against the framework of a recently adopted low impact development policy. [More]
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For Sharon Kretschmar, The Lord of the Rings isn’t just a collection of stories about Hobbits and elves or a few movies with cool special effects. Kretschmar, 60, goes on the Internet nearly every day to talk with other Ringers, as fans call themselves. She’s done that for the last six years. And if you imagine that she’s chained to her home computer, living in a make-believe universe, consider this: Kretschmar has made a whole new circle of friends that she has visited in the United States and abroad, in places as far afield as Ireland and New Zealand. [More]
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From the Scott girls at M.A.R.S. Productions: We’re just a few weeks away from Dragon*Con 2007. The M.A.R.S. Productions film “Middle Earth Idols” is the feature film at the Tolkien Track film festival this year. “Middle Earth Idols” stars Kiran Shah (LOTR), Daniel Reeve (LOTR), Michael Regina (TheOneRing.net), Dean Haglund (X-Files), Alexis Cruz (Stargate), Grant Wilson (TAPS/Ghost Hunters) as celebrity guest judges, with special musical guest, Emerald Rose. [More]
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