Andrea and Richard visited us for Friday and Saturday. We had an enjoyable afternoon in Oxford visiting the Bodleian library to see the exhibition of Tolkien’s work. Our journey to Oxford was interesting. Due to an accident or road works, the A34 looked rather busy, so car and bus were ruled out. Instead we opted for a return ticket to Oxford from Bicester Village. This is the first time I have used the new line. The cost of the ticket off-peak was very reasonable, and we were also given a group discount.

The exhibition was well worth visiting, especially as these exhibitions are free, It featured Tolkien’s books, his original art work, manuscripts and maps used in his books. There was fascinating stories of how originally he wrote his short stories for bed time telling to his children.  When he came to write the Lord of the Rings, he  plotted out the journeys on a map of Middle Earth. Tolkien was also a linguist and created his own language for the elves. One book, which defeats most who have bought it, is the Silmarillion.  I have yet to find anyone who has completed reading it.  I keep seeing the book on friends’ bookshelves, but when I ask,, they’ve never finished reading it.

Afterwards we headed to the Eagle and Child for a drink before heading back home on the train.

Hurry, you can still see the exhibition, it is on until the end of October.