Happy Birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien!
Took a moment to write about the impact J.R.R. Tolkien had on me, today being his birthday.
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http://neverendingnights.com/archives/2900
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I live in the city that is considered the home of Middle Earth - the one where Tolkien grew up and went to school - and yet we don't have proper museums or exhibits related to it. Most people consider New Zealand to be the definitive "Middle Earth" because you can actually see locations form the film.
Instead, we have, literally, the very site on which he grew up (Sarehole Mill, I've been there - in fact, until recently, I lived just down the road from it!), which is nothing more than an old mill with some signs saying "this is where Tolkien grew up" (most people aren't going to travel to Birmingham to see that), and every summer they have a Middle Earth weekend... oh yeah, and a breakfast bar called "The Hungry Hobbit". I literally live in Middle Earth and I have to go to New Zealand to see it!!
Sorry about the random rant, I just really wish Birmingham would celebrate its famous people a bit more, like Liverpool and Stratford does.