Oxonmoot 2025 (part 2 - events)

Friday and Saturday were full of interesting lectures...

...including my own book presentation on Saturday morning...

Besides academic talks, there were also many opportunities for socialisation and meeting new people, such as the first timers reception and speed-moot. The entertainment strain of Oxonmoot consisted of a 1 Minute game, in which 4 leading figures of Tolkien scholarship and artistry - Dimitra Fimi, Sarah Brown, Brian Sibley, and Jay Johnstone - had to speak for one minute on a given Tolkien topic, and a Tolkien quiz on Friday evening, and a gala-program on Satuday evening.

A walking tour of Tolkien’s favourite pubs was orgnised by Ed Burley, which due to its popularity was spontaneously repeated on Sunday, after the end of the official program for the folks who were still left behind. We could not visit The Eagle and Child as it’s still being reconstructed, but we stopped by The King’s Arms, The White Horse, and The Lamb and Flag. The Lamb and Flag even has an Elvish inscription - the one from Moria gate, "Speak friend and enter" and preserve the corner where the Inclings used to meet, indicated by the portrait of Lewis and Tolkien and his wife hanging in there.

We ended up in The Royal Oak, which is not related to Tolkien as it did not exist in his time, but is a lovely place anyway.

At The Lamb and Flag I tried their special offer pizza, which I highly recommend, and at The Royal Oak, of course, the traditional British fish and chips. They do make huge portions there! And, likewise, I could not leave England without having the traditional breakfast, which I got at the Browns Cafe at the Covered Market.

At The King’s Arms we even met Mark Watson, the son of Tolkien’s neighbour, who shared some of his memories of Tolkien with us.

#jrrtolkien #middleearth #oxonmoot #oxonmoot2025 #tolkienscholars #tolkienresearch #cardinalvicesinmiddleearth #thelambandflag #thewhitehorse #kingsarms #theroyaloak