Category: General News

According to his Blog, over the Christmas holidays, Miss(ed) Mannors and some family friends built a 7 foot long by 3 foot wide by 2 foot high diarama of the Battle of Helm’s Deep. The hook; they used candy with icing as cement, mortar and a coating for the mountains, Gummi Bears as Orcs and…

Today, 13th January, is Orlando Bloom’s birthday. Orlando was born in Canterbury, England, on the 13th of January, 1977 and is 30 today. You can read Orlando’s cast biography here. There are pictures of Orlando here and pictures of Orlando in the role of Legolas here. Happy Birthday Orlando!

Manchester artist and calligrapher Stephen Raw updated the maps of Middle-earth originally drawn by Christopher Tolkien and since 1993 copies of the Lord of the Rings have featured his work. You can read more about Stephen’s work at South Manchester Reporter.

Peter Jackson has responded to a statement by New Line Cinema chief Robert Shaye, in which Shaye said Jackson will never work for New Line Cinema again. You can read further details at SciFi.com.

Think Spain report that a newly discovered insect, found living in caves in Castellon province,Spain, and is being named after Tolkien’s Gollum. You can see a picture of the insect here.

Ain’t It Cool comment about the damage NewLine’s Bob Shaye did to his own reputation with his complaints about PJ. This is followed by ‘Wingnut Films’ official response to Shaye’s comments.

Durham University doctoral student Danielle Smith is undertaking a project into the experiences of tourists to mythical and fantastic locations, through two case studies- the landscapes of New Zealand/ Middle-earth, and Arthurian sites in the South West of Britain. As part of her PhD fieldwork she spent 6 months touring the North and South Islands…

Dr Dimitra Fimi’s course, “Exploring Tolkien: There and Back Again” is taught exclusively online and is open to students and adult learners all over the world. The course is run over 10 weekly units and starts on 12th February 2007 with a further course starting on 23rd April 2007. There are further details here.

Tomorrow, 3rd January, is the birthday of J.R.R. Tolkien. He was born 115 years ago on 3rd January 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The Tolkien Society suggest that at 9pm in your local time you raise a glass and celebrate his life and work with a toast to “The Professor”.

Today, December 17th is Bernard Hill’s birthday. Bernard was born in 1944 in Manchester, England and today he will celebrate his 62nd birthday. You can read his cast bio here. In the CoE gallery there are pictures of Bernard here and of Bernard in the role of Théoden here. Happy Birthday Bernard!