Tolkien bores me silly, books or films. My English teacher at school was taught by him, and suffered from hero worship, so we were forced to read the books when quite young (the books were quite young, too).

The best time of the day for me is the early morning, when the world seems new.

Yeh! it makes no difference you know!

A

Tolkien was a Professor at the college where I was a Senior Scholar, and I dined with him at least once a week for a whole year! He was a delightful, amusing and very friendly "grandad" kind of person, although he grumped a lot about the food he was served (especially the soups).

His family must be sickened by the fact that before his death he sold all the rights to his books and writings for the princely sum of only £10,000. 

Baz

Yep Mort, but I think the owl is much cuter than me !!!

A

He would have enjoyed the message board then Baz !!

A

Good morning everybody, A, Morticia, Baziron etc.

May be Tolkanen was not practical person. 10 000 does sound as very little.

I know many people who like his books.
I have a writer livind next door. His name is Fred Johnston. I just bought his book called The Neon Rose.
It is a detective story. I am on first pages. He is from Belfast and was born in 1951. In 1972 he was one of the first recipients of a Hennessy Literary Award for prose. In the mid-seventies he co-founded, with film maker Neil Jordan and Playwright Peter Sherida, The Irish Writers Co-operative, in 1986 he founded Cuirt, Galway's annual literature festival. his novels include Atlanta and Mopping God and he has published eight volumes of poetry.
He is important personality here. He is very anti-establishment, anti-religion, anti american.
He also has few CDs with songs. He sings and plays guitar. My friend likes his CD.

I think he is mainly known in Ireland. He has some connections in France and often goes to Monacco. There is an Irish library there or something. I am friends with his partner who is much younger woman also from Belfast. She is 35 probably and teaches piano.
On the back of the book it says: A young Irishman sits in a Paris jail. He has confessed to a murder his lawyer is convinced he did not commit. There is a witness on the run in the city of Paris and she, a young street kid, may have the answer. But his neurotic Paris lawyer, haunted by his own rural upbringing in an elite and snobbish profession, has more personal problems. The city of Paris is the principle character in this novella of frustrated idealism, art, love and crimes of the heart. And over everything hangs the shadow of the 'war on terror.'

Fred Johnston wrote novels Atlanta and Mapping God. He mostly writes poetry.

To my utter delight I have at last seen one of these in my garden !

x Jan x

ps AND I managed to shrink the image ! What a day !