I see Middle-earth - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

alatar · 02-22-2005, 04:27 PM

Have you ever 'seen' a place from Middle Earth as you're walking/driving around? Now that the movies are out, we all have new images of ME available to replace those created in our heads when we first read the books (Note that PJ was pretty spot-on when it came to the scenery).

However, for me the old images still persist, and there are places around where I live that to me are Middle Earth. For example:

There's a coke plant (the material used to make steel, not the beverage) nearby that I always see as Mordor. At night the place has an eerie, menacing look with orange fires and red lights playing atop towers of black. Ever present smoke smudges the view, and the bridges/ramps jutting out of buildings at odd angles make it look more like a growth of black crabgrass than something made by men.

The place is surrounded by coal fields where (obviously) coal is stored. Machines pile it into small mountains, then remove it again as it is needed for processing. This makes the ground appear black, sharp and lifeless. Puddles of rain collected in depressions appear as sickly mirrors, as there's always some oil to add color. I always see this as Gorgoroth, especially as the air has a sharp sulfur smell, and on a good day can really get you coughing.

The hills across the river, downwind and so receiving most of the pollution, are barren of color for most of the year. These 'Brown Hills' are mostly dirt and rock with some patches of scratchy weeds that never seem to turn green.

As kids we used to play in the remains of an old deserted terra-cotta pipe mill near where we lived, and the concrete roads and structures served as Moria. Fire-blackened brick furnaces still remain, and we could see where the Dwarves made their livelihood and also marks of the Balrog's passage. The underground sewer that runs from the mill to the river (about 100 yards) gave an understanding to the meaning of "long dark road" as we made our way sans lights from one end to the other.

A private owner now lives in Lothlorien, and not wanting to trespass I can only see what is visible from the street. It's rumored that the owner (or former owner) of this estate is a botanist, and she brought and planted trees from all over on the grounds, and now the exotic trees of many colors, textures, etc give the place a wooded, elvish feel. The trees are large and so block some of the sun, adding to the mystery. In winter snow adds to the effect, as the 'whiteness' makes me think more of Galadriel.

A man-made hill of slag juts up above the treeline near a road I travel, and one day I would like to get a closer look at the top of Weathertop to see if there are any rocks there that are scored with a 'G' rune - you never know.

Anyway, anyone else so afflicted?

02-22-2005, 04:27 PM	#1
alatar Doubting Dwimmerlaik Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Heaven's basement Posts: 2,466	I see Middle-earth Have you ever 'seen' a place from Middle Earth as you're walking/driving around? Now that the movies are out, we all have new images of ME available to replace those created in our heads when we first read the books (Note that PJ was pretty spot-on when it came to the scenery). However, for me the old images still persist, and there are places around where I live that to me are Middle Earth. For example: There's a coke plant (the material used to make steel, not the beverage) nearby that I always see as Mordor. At night the place has an eerie, menacing look with orange fires and red lights playing atop towers of black. Ever present smoke smudges the view, and the bridges/ramps jutting out of buildings at odd angles make it look more like a growth of black crabgrass than something made by men. The place is surrounded by coal fields where (obviously) coal is stored. Machines pile it into small mountains, then remove it again as it is needed for processing. This makes the ground appear black, sharp and lifeless. Puddles of rain collected in depressions appear as sickly mirrors, as there's always some oil to add color. I always see this as Gorgoroth, especially as the air has a sharp sulfur smell, and on a good day can really get you coughing. The hills across the river, downwind and so receiving most of the pollution, are barren of color for most of the year. These 'Brown Hills' are mostly dirt and rock with some patches of scratchy weeds that never seem to turn green. As kids we used to play in the remains of an old deserted terra-cotta pipe mill near where we lived, and the concrete roads and structures served as Moria. Fire-blackened brick furnaces still remain, and we could see where the Dwarves made their livelihood and also marks of the Balrog's passage. The underground sewer that runs from the mill to the river (about 100 yards) gave an understanding to the meaning of "long dark road" as we made our way sans lights from one end to the other. A private owner now lives in Lothlorien, and not wanting to trespass I can only see what is visible from the street. It's rumored that the owner (or former owner) of this estate is a botanist, and she brought and planted trees from all over on the grounds, and now the exotic trees of many colors, textures, etc give the place a wooded, elvish feel. The trees are large and so block some of the sun, adding to the mystery. In winter snow adds to the effect, as the 'whiteness' makes me think more of Galadriel. A man-made hill of slag juts up above the treeline near a road I travel, and one day I would like to get a closer look at the top of Weathertop to see if there are any rocks there that are scored with a 'G' rune - you never know. Anyway, anyone else so afflicted?