Tolkien the virtuoso banjo player...

[Mithalwen]

Last night's episode of "Lewis" the Inspector Morse spin off gave me the idea for a new thread. One of the characters was leading "Secret Oxford" guided tours in which she provided spoof information. One of these was that JRR Tolkien was a keen banjo player and played at the Turf Tavern (I think - the sign was obscured) with the "Thames Valley Cottonpickers" and even now some older residents of Oxford could remember is amazing rendition of "I wish I could shimmy just like like my sister Kate". Having just listened to a recording of an interview with Priscilla (thanks Dave) who said how much her fatehr enjoyed music I nearly ruptured myself laughing.

So does anyone have any interesting "facts" about Tolkien that never made it to the biographies?

Please note that this is meant to be light hearted and frivolous and anything that might be interpreted as insulting to the Prof or otherwise offensive will not be tolerated.

[Gwathagor]

Inspector Morse!

[Lalwendë]

A little known fact about Tolkien is that he invented the Jaffa Cake.

His wife asked him to take some fairy cakes out of the oven one afternoon while she popped down to Mrs Miggins' Pie Shop for something for the lads' teas. However, he was rather like King Alfred in that his mind was occupied elsewhere. Instead of removing the tray of fairy cakes from the oven at quarter to three he was sitting in the coal hole having a smoke and thinking about whether his Balrog should have wings or not. Too late, at five to three, he remembered the fairy cakes, rushed into the kitchen and found they'd shrivelled to nowt.

He knew Edith was going to go ape if she found he'd been daydreaming about "ruddy Ralbogs" again as only last week she'd hurled a mucky teatowel at him for chunnering under his breath about them and ignoring her when she was asking him about whether they should do the downstairs lav out in Magnolia emulsion or not.

So using his inventive streak to an advantage that would benefit all of human kind, he sliced the burnt fairy cakes down until he got to a nice thin layer of sponge. Then he took some orange jelly out of the fridge, leftover from last night's tea, smeared it on and thought "Ding dong! I'm saved!" then popped them in the fridge to cool. He turned and mopped his fevered brow.

Next thing the family dog came bounding in and hurled itself at Tollers, as dogs do, he backed off from the slathering mutt, and banged into the fridge. He heard a sickening crash from within. There was one of those long, terrifying moments of silence and then he opened the fridge to find these orangey cakey things had fallen into a bowl of chocolate (which was still melted as the fridge was broken unknown to Tollers - a deus ex machina always saves the day...).

And Lo! The delicious Jaffa Cake was born!

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

One of these was that JRR Tolkien was a keen banjo player and played at the Turf Tavern (I think - the sign was obscured) with the "Thames Valley Cottonpickers"

Actually, I had heard that it was at the infamous Spread Eagle Inn of the Oxfordshire town of Thame where the Professor let loose, although possibly that arose from confusion over the Eagle and Child in Oxford itself. I also seem to recall that a favourite rendition of his was one "Puff the Magic Dragon", which he sang with alternate puffs on his famous pipe.