A report from the Fornduin Hall smial and our meeting on December 16th, 2025. It's with great delight that I report that our meeting was a great success! From our humble beginnings with only a modest number of people (I shan't specify a number, but rest assured it could easily be counted on one hand) we have now grown to four. We now properly make up our own version of the number of Inklings, if not in stature then at the very least in number.
One of our estimable members shared a delightful slide show of their trip to New Zealand, visiting the sights of the filmed version of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Apart from an embarassing faux pas on my behalf - mistaking the Green Dragon for the Prancing Pony - it was a delightful presentation. We saw Hobbiton, still existing - and with our presenter embracing the sign post for. We saw Mount Doom, and Gollum's waterfall. The site of the Rohirrim's holdfast in painstaking detail. It was wonderful.
We were planning on having our last session be a grand feast but time and the season got away from us, so we were unable to do so. We have moved our plans for that to later in the year when we hope to celebrate with more of the surrounding townspeople - even those who are not as devoted to the works of the Professor as we may be!
As is my haphazardly applied responsibility, I believe after ruminating on it with the members, our next topic for January shall be music. The music featured in the Legendarium, or derivative media; poems, because they are kin to music; all the bits of verse that connect to Tolkien. I know this will be a most interesting discussion. I intend to bring a few selected works and read them, as the Professor himself did!
I do so look forward to anyone who reads this coming to join us, and I am personally delighted to have grown in such a small span of months. To any readers, I wish you and your family a warm holiday greeting.
