Falas is Quenya for the seashore, the Falathrim were elves who lived along the western shores of Middle Earth before the world was changed at the end of the Second Age.
July 13th 2008:
Hope and I were in London last week for a few hectic days and to see Lord Of The Rings, The Musical. We were not disappointed and it was worth the long journey and expense to get to see it before it closes at the end of this month.
The sets were the best I have seen- with very clever use of the revolving stage and lighting effects. Hope was enthralled by the fireflies during the intro where a party of hobbits are having an evening picnic! The Ringwraiths and their steeds were wonderful- and I was sorry that they didn't do a curtain call with the other dark characters. The balrog appearing in Moria was very eerily done and we managed to catch pieces of balrog dust that cascaded out into the audience, along with apparent heat and smells of smoke!
The music and presentation of the adapted scenes were very well done and enjoyable and although the whole show was about three and a half hours, the time passed without me noticing.
I now have the music score on my Pod and it is well worth buying- with an extensive booklet included with the songs, lyrics and photographs of the production, along with a DVD quality disc for those with super music systems.
It was great to be home though!- London is very busy and noisy and although it has green spaces and trees, is not a patch on the peace and quiet of Orkney with its huge horizons, masses of variations in green fields and the ocean all around.
June 7th 08:
Summer is with us here in Orkney- the last three weeks of May were fabulous- hardly a drop of rain and loads of sunshine. June is carrying on in much the same way and I am optimistic about a great summer- we are due one as the past two have been poor.
I am nearly at the end of a year's Diploma in Management course at Orkney College. It has been fun and very useful in my work, I am now temping as a team manager in adult services. One more assignment to do and a project to complete so should graduate in September.
This smial continues to have just two members, although many people enjoy Tolkien's books, few in the far north want to meet or do things collectively, I guess this may be down to small numbers and distance. With The Hobbit movie now in prospect, I am looking forward to another few years of interest and enthusiasm in the general population and a new generation of readers to start at the beginning of their journey through the books.
I was talking with a colleague recently, her tutor was urging her to read LOTR and once she has finished her study, I will lend her the books. And although I love The Silmarillion ( am currently listening to it again on my Pod whilst walking) , it is just too different to start with. You need to be a real enthusiast to take it in. I know that The Hobbit should be the starting point, but for adults, perhaps LOTR is the best place to start. Not all adults can read what may appear to be children's literature with ease.
I'm reading Inkspell by Cornelia Funke this week- very fine and a fabulous concept! I like Inkspell more than Inkheart- perhaps because I am more at home in fantastic lands and struggled to imagine the places in the first volume. So, along with reading the books, I am daydreaming about which book I would want to be read into. And oddly- although I love Middle-earth, I'm torn. Mary Gentle's Orthe is probably where I would like to be, followed by Katherine Kerr's Deverry and the other lands in her books.
I hope to be more regular in updating this page, so please come back again, if there is anyone out there!
thanks Anne
Have a look at my older log pages Logpage and the archive page from May 08 Archive page May 08 which contains all the older page links so I can unclutter this one! This website is built with Adobe Page Mill- a fairly ancient bit of software and I haven't been convinced about buying a new one just yet. Contact me with comments on anneforbesmathison@mac.com
I am Mathom editor for the Tolkien Society. Contact me on that business via mathom@tolkiensociety.org