Collecting Tolkien Theme - Bakshi Movie

I have gradually built up a reasonable collection of stuff related to the Bakshi Lord of the Rings movie from the 70's. The film itself is not that good and I didn't see the movie when it was released, but it is a part of the Tolkien world and I have managed to obtain quite a bit of stuff.

Total Items: 62 (sets counted as one item)

One of the best Tolkien collectables I have is a hand drawn film still from the movie, it features of Gandalf.

I also have a 2 versions of 35mm cinema trailers of the movie.

And of course I have a few copies of the film itself. A collectors DVD boxed set, a collectors VHS boxed set, 2 VHS versions, a Betamax version, 2 DVD versions.

I have quite a bit of promotional stuff. 2 rare character stand ups (Gandalf and Frodo). A fan club membership pack. Some postcards. Some black and white prints. A large set of colour prints. Some fliers. A couple of promotional posters.

I have a few Bakshi themed books. There is a single volume Lord of the Rings with a film themed cover. There is a hardback book of the movie. There is a paperback book of the movie.

As detailed in my Tolkien Board Games blog entry, I have a few Bakshi related board games. A Bakshi themed version of SPI's War of the Ring (and a Moves magazine featuring the game on the cover), a family game called The Lord of the Rings and a kids Recall game.

Also part of another of my favourite Tolkien areas are 3 LPs from the film, 

a single LP, a double picture disk LP and a promo 12in single disco performance by the Argon Ballroom Orchestra. I don't have the promo only movie theme single.

Of the 11 Royal Doulton figurines, I have 5 (unfortunately none of the rarer ones). I also don't have the rare stand.

I have 5 movie character badges, although I am missing a Gandalf one.

I also have various large Posters of the movie.

I even have a couple of sets of sheet music from the film, one for a jazz band and one for marching band.

I have 2 Bakshi themed calendars, one from 1979 and one from 1980.

My collection also includes various Jigsaw puzzles. There is a set of 5 movie stills boxed puzzles, which are quite rare, a boxed movie poster puzzle and a tray movie still puzzle.

I have 3 boxed sets of Bakshi metal war game figures by Grenadier.

I have various magazines, which feature the Bakshi movie either on the cover and/or contain articles. These include:

- Rolling Stone #283 Jan 1979

- Fantasia #3 Mar/Apr 1988

- The Electric Company Magazine Mar 1979

- Look In #35 25/8/1979

- Fantasy Films Feb 1979

- Starburst #11

- Fantasy Media vol1no2 Jun-Jul 1979

- Warren Presents Lord of the Rings #1 (1979)

and also a figures painting guide

Sporting Achievements

I have always loved playing sport, although I've only ever been of average ability.

I never really achieved much in any sport, but here are my biggest achievements.

Finished Chicago Marathon in under 4 hours

I took up running quite late in life, when in my late 40s. It was my first ever Marathon, although I had experienced Marathons supporting friends before, I had no real expectations of what to execpt and what time I could do, although I did have between 4 and 4:30 hours in mind. I started off at slightly under 4 hour pace and the adrenalin of the event seemed to just keep me going. The final three miles were just awful and seemed to last forever, but I had managed to get enough time in the bag to finish in 3:56, just under 4 hours. The whole marathon experience is brilliant, it is a 3 month journey starting gradually building up the training. The actual event itself is also brilliant, particularly if it is a major marathon and in a different country.

Bowling Hat Trick in Cup Final

It was the Wellingborough and District Works Cricket Cup final in, I think, 1988. Weatherbys were playing Scott Bader. I was a second line bowler, medium/slow pace, quite erratic. We were bowling first, doing ok when I was brought on. During my second over the batsman knocked one to a simple catch at mid on, it was not a great ball but an easy catch. The next next ball I managed to get straight, the batsman made a right hash of it and it was a clean bowl. The third ball was not good, too short and an easy slog, however it went straight to a man on the boundary, not an easy catch. I had taken a hat trick! We went on to win the game and the cup and I got man of the match. I still have the ball.

Indoor Cricket League Winners

In the early 90s Indoor Cricket was all the rage and our works had some teams in the local league. I was in a men's team and also managed a mixed team. My wife was also part of the mixed team. We were a very good team, the players worked together very well. We played very well won the mixed league a couple of times.

Table Tennis Division 2 Winners

I played a lot of table tennis in my teens and twenties in the local leagues. My brothers also played and we had, along with a few other people, our own teams. I was in our 'A' team, but was never the number 1 player, that was my brother Ian. We did quite well, a bit of a yo yo club between the top and 2nd division. We won the 2nd division a couple of times.

Win Table Tennis Holiday

When I was about 15, we went to a holiday camp on Hayling Island. During the week there was a table tennis demonstration by the England player Chester Barns. After the demonstration they asked for volunteers to play against them. I had not really played table tennis before, but the family had played a bit together during the holiday, so I gave it a go. They thought I had some natural ability so I won a place on a Table Tennis training camp at another holiday camp later that year.

Represented County at Badminton

When I was 17 I went to a Badminton club. I was ok at Badminton and was once selected to play for the County in a mixed doubles match. We didn't win the match and i was only selected the once, but it was a good experience.

Collecting Tolkien - Vinyl (LPs and Singles)

This is really a subset of Audio and Visual, however it is an area which I specifically collect and I have enough items to treat it as an area in its own right.

This, in theory, is a lot smaller area of Tolkien collecting, however it is also quite obscure.

There is a brilliant website which details all Tolkien music related items:

http://www.tolkien-music.com

There are a lot of very obscure bands which have Tolkien themed albums or songs, most of these are either sixties psychodelia or heavy metal and a lot are from European countries (I don't have many of these).

There are also a lot of bands which are named after Tolkien elements (The Hobbits, Gandalf etc), but which have no Tolkien themed content, I don't collect them.

Total Items: 30

This is a list of the vinyl (LPs and singles) in my collection.

Note: Other audio formats (CD's, Tape etc) are a separate areas.

Lp's
Lord of the Rings - Dramatisation soundtrack (BBC)

The Hobbit - read by Tolkien (Caedmon)

Lord of the Rings - read by Tolkien (Caedmon)

Poems and Songs of Middle Earth - read by Tolkien (Caedmon)

JRR Tolkien The Silmarillion of Beren and Luthien - read by Christopher Tolkien (Caedmon)

JRR Tolkien The Silmarillion of The Darkening of Valinor - read by Christopher Tolkien (Caedmon)

The Hobbit - Nicol Williamson (Argo) - Dramatisation

The Hobbit - Rankin Bass Hobbit Soundtrack (Abridged)

The Hobbit - Rankin Bass Hobbit Soundtrack (Complete)

Lord of Rings - Bo Hansson (x3 different issues)

Lord of the Ring - Leonard Rosenman - Bakshi Movie Soundtrack

Lord of the Ring - Leonard Rosenman - Bakshi Movie Soundtrack Picture Disks

The Hobbit - David Munrow and the Early Music Consort of London Consort (BBC Records)

Music of Middle-Earth - Ensio Kosta (Finlania)
The Hobbit Suite - John Sangster (x2 different issues)
Lord of the Rings - John Sangster
Beyond the Forest of Mirkwood - Kenny Werner (Enja)
Frodos Abenteuer - Windstill

Sagan om Ringe - Isildors Bane


Singles

Theme from Lord of the a Rings - Aragorn Ballroom Orchestra (12in)
Lord of the Rings - Novocaine (12in)
Lord of the Rings - Dominator (12in)
The Hobbit - Rankin Bass - Read along book
Ballad of Bilbo Baggins - Leonard Nimoy (Promo copy)
Theme from Lord of the Rings - Leonard Rosenman
The Black Riders & Flight to the Ford - Bo Hansson (Charisma)
Gandalf - Clifford T Ward (B-side track)

Board Games

I have always liked Board Games.

The key to board games is having someone to play them with you, but not just anyone they need to be a; of the same level of interest (many a time I've played games where people are more interested in the tv), b; of the same level of ability (not nice in thrashing someone or being thrashed). Growing up there have been various groups of people whom I have played with.

For various reasons I did not keep any of the games I had growing up, but in later life I started collecting board games, originally focusing on the ones I had played growing up, but then any which looked interesting or which were in one of the themes I was interested in (see below). I picked most of them up from car boot sales originally (and later on from eBay). I have all of games mentioned below.

The best website for board games is https://boardgamegeek.com

What makes a good board game? In my opinion, it should not be based too much on luck, it should be as much skill based as possible. A game should not be too long and it should not be too tedious or repetitive. Games should not be too complicated, but they must be interesting. A game must have variety each time it is played otherwise it becomes boring. Most of the time there was only 2 of us playing, so games had to work well for 2 players.

I have marked my favourite games with an *.

Quite obscurely, one of the first more serious games I remember playing is The Battle of Little Big Horn. A friend who lived a few doors away, Julian Ellis, had this game and I remember us playing it during the summer holidays.

The following are games which I played with various family members, mainly my brother Nigel:

It's A Knock Out - based on the tv show, consisting mainly of a series of activities.

Treasure of the Pharaohs - this is a haunted house clone.

* Carpet Golf - not really a board game as it has no board and is laid out on the floor. It is a very good golf game, can be laid out to form endless layouts (we even used all sorts of other stuff as obstacles). We played this a lot.

The London Game (I have 2 version of this game) - I liked this game, it's quite simple to play, but works well.

The Great Game of Britain - this is similar to The London Game

Up Periscope - this is quite a simple game, variation on battleships. It did suffer from equipment malfunction sometimes. I only have a poor copy of the.

Tank Battle - a nice simple war game for 2 players.

Colditz - a classic game, very good. It does take a bit of time and is not brilliant as a 2 player game, and no one ever wanted to be the Germans.

I played a lot of board games with my good friend Dominic Edwards:

* Risk - is one of my favourites which we played a lot. I was fairly good at it. It is a classic war game, but has a heavy element of luck. I have 4 versions of this game. There are also some themed versions (I have various Lord of the Rings versions and expansions).

* Subbuteo Cricket - is another game we played a lot. It's technically not a board game. It is a good attempt at simulating real cricket.

Kingmaker - is a more involved game. It is the first 'serious' game I played and it was very good, although it did take time to play. It's a conquest game all around the war of the roses.

Hotel - is a variation on the classic Monopoly. I liked it more than Monopoly as it is a bit more fun.

Dealer's Choice - is a very good car dealing game.

Campaign - is another simple war game in the same class as Risk, but it's not as fun, a bit long winded in fact.

Buccaneer - is more of a traditional fun board game about pirates. This was a good game to play.

Railroader - is an older gamer game about rail development in America. This is not one we played much.

Note: We also played the classic Scrabble a lot.

At school there was a board games club at lunchtimes. The games I remember from it are:

Scoop - a great little newspaper game which was fun.

L'attaque - is one of my favourite games, it's 2 player and very strategic. This was the main game at the club and there was a league, I was good at this game and won the league one year, winning games against some 6th form nerds. There are a lot of variations of this game and i have a seperate blog entry on it.

* Dover Patrol - is a naval themed version of L'attaque, which we had at the club and I played it a lot. It is my favourite of all the variations.

From the board games club at school a few of us formed a small group to play games a bit more seriously after school (a teacher, Mr Hughes was part of our group). These are some of the games we played (which I now have copies of):

* Middle Earth War of the Ring - this is my favourite game of all time. It is based on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings book (my favourite book) and it started my Tolkien collection (I will go into my Tolkien board game collection in another blog). The game is a hex based game and a great representation of the book. It was better with a few rule adaptations we made.

* Diplomacy - is also a brilliant game. It is pure strategy, there is no luck involved at all. We played it a lot. I was very good at This game.

War At Sea - this is the first serious war game I played. It is very good but quite small in scope.

Note: The group also made its own hex game based on the WWII battle of the Atlantic. It was actually quite good.

I had a very brief foray into the Dungeons and Dragons world when a few people from work had a go at Runequest. I liked playing this game, but it took a lot of time.

My board game collection consists of the above games I played and the following games I have also picked up (mostly from car boot sales).

Fantasy themed games (I love fantasy books and anything fantasy):

The Sorcerer's Cave

Stratego Legends (and expansion Celestial Vengeance) - see above

Swords and Wizardry - see above

Masters of the Universe

Dragon Strike

(The Classic) Dungeon

Dragonlance (and expansion Mage Stones)

Hero Quest (and expansions Kelley's Keep, Return of the Witch Lord)

Advanced Hero Quest

Legend of Zagor

Quest for the Aragon

The Willow Game

Note: I also have a lot of Tolkien, and some Pratchett, board games which will be detailed in a separate blog entry.

Horse Racing themed games (I'm interested in these because I work in the industry):

Escalado

First Past The Post

The Really Nasty Horse Racing Game

Let's Go Racing

And They're Off

Totopoly

jackpot

Retro Computer Games themed games (I love retro computer games, see separate blog entry):

Frogger

Q*bert

Donkey Kong

Pac-Man

Zaxxon

Defender

Golf themed games (I'm not sure why really, probably because I loved Carpet Golf):

Carpet Golf

Match-Play Golf

Gopher Greens

TV Shows themed games (again I'm not sure why, but I picked up a few in this category):

Dad's Army

Kojak

Celebrity Squares

It's A Knock Out

Family Fortunes

Power Rangers

Bionic Crisis (The Six Million Dollar Man)

Masters of the Universe

Others:

Twixt

Game of Dracula

Poleconomy

Ratrace

Solarquest

Scilly Gold

Airways

Taxi

Atmosfear (and 3 expansions)

Masterpiece

Hollywood

Orient Express

Spy Ring

The Battle of Waterloo

Bermuda Triangle

Battle of Britain

The Fastest Gun

Holiday 2015 - Cornwall

We stayed in a caravan at St Minver (Parkhaven).

Overall it was a very good holiday.

Film of the holiday is Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (which Alex watched every day).

Day 1 - Getting There

We started off ok, at 9:30, but stopped off at Tesco (Deb had run out of tablets) which took some time, and then at McDonalds to get some breakfast. We didn't actually get going until about 10:30.

The trip down was very long, with a lot of hold ups, these were not caused by anything more than the large amount of traffic.

At about 2pm we stopped at some services to walk the dogs and also get some food, Harry Ramsdons fish and chips. The services were crowded and we were lucky to park, although we did get blocked in.

We finally arrived about 5pm.

It was a very nice camp, a secluded, quiet woody setting, and the caravan was also very good, quite wide with a nice kitchen area. It also had a nice enclosed decking area which was great for the dogs.

Deb sat on the table and it bloke. Although the caravan was nice there were some small things wrong (outside light didn't work, freezer didn't shut, grill didn't light, table broken etc). 

In the evening we went for a drive, we found a surfing beach at Hayle Bay, but no dogs were allowed, and then found Port Quinn, it was small but very picturesque at sunset. We walked up onto the cliffs with the dogs.

Day 2 - The Beach

In the morning I took the dogs for a walk and got fresh croissants and jam from the camp shop.

We then went swimming, which was fun, with our dolphin toy (which disintegrated).

Afterwards we had Sunday lunch at the camp restaurant, which was nice.

In the afternoon we found a beach, Daymer Bay, which allowed dogs and parking was easy. It was a good beach, very large - the sea was a way out, it also had nice sand.

After the breach we drove into Wadebridge and got some provisions from a Spar. We then had omelettes for dinner.

In the evening Hannah played a bit of basketball and we had a pizza and watched some of the camp entertainment (which was not the best).

Day 3 - Newquay Zoo

Again we did dog walking, croissants and swimming (this time with a blow up ball).

We then went to Newquay Zoo. At the zoo we had cheesy chips for lunch. The zoo was not huge but good fun. We went down a slide, did the maze, saw the penguins being fed, were scared by a large spider, saw some meerkats, lions and monkeys. Alex had her face painted (which took ages) and Hannah had a dolphin face motif. Hannah dropped and broke her phone. Alex bought a cuddly leopard in the shop. We had fun.

We stopped at Tesco on the way back for provisions.

We had pasta and chicken for dinner.

In the evening we walked the dogs then watched Men In Black II on tv.

Day 4 - Tintagel

The usual dog walking, croissants and swimming (although Deb did not make swimming).

We then went to Tintagel. We struggled to park, eventually going back to a field on the outskirts of the town. The walk to the castle was quite long, through the town and then down a long track to the coast. The castle was mainly ruins but quite spectacular, there was quite a lot of climbing.

The walk back was very long and hot up a steep track, we stopped for a nice cream. In the town we brought some local honey, a bear for Deb and some local fudge.

For dinner we had a BBQ (pork skewers, burgers and sausages).

In the evening we walked the dogs and then watched Iron Man on tv.

Day 5 - Wash Out

Usual start again.

We had a lunch/dinner in the restaurant.

We were going to the amusement park, but it started raining very hard so we didn't go. So we had a quiet afternoon in the caravan, reading and watching tv.

Later in the afternoon we went into Wadebridge but it was a bit miserable. We got some supplies from Co-Op/Tesco and some dvd's.

We had a chicken salad dinner, then Deb and I went to Port Issacs with the dogs. It was a nice walk but quite a small place.

When we got back we watched Interstellar on DVD.

Day 6 - Eden Project

We had our usual croissants for breakfast, but no swimming this morning.

We went straight to the Eden Project.

It was very good, particularly the Rainforest dome, although the core area was a bit disappointing. Hannah got attacked by the giant dragonflies, twice. We had salmon for lunch/dinner. Alex got a cat face paint. Hannah pushed me into a bush. We caught the bendy bus back to the parking lot.

When we got back we went swimming, I finished early but Hannah and Alex stayed and played on the inflatable obstacle course.

In the evening we had salad for dinner and then took the dogs to Daymar Bay beach for a walk. When we got back we watched Woman in Black 2.

Day 7 - Crealy Fun Park

We started with our usual croissants for breakfast, dog walking and swimming.

Then we went to Crealy Fun Park. It was very good for Alex but not really for anyone older. Alex had a ride on a pony.

When we got back we had a dinner in the restaurant.

We then went to Daymar Bay beach again to walk the dogs and afterwards watched Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Day 8 - Going Home

We had a bad night, Duggie had drunk quite a bit of sea water and had a bad stomach.

We packed our stuff, which took some time and we only just left before the 10am deadline.

It was a very hot day and the trip back was hot. There were some delays on the motorway. We stopped at a McDonalds services. Douglas was very restless and we had to stop again and he had a huge wee and poo.

We eventually got back at 4pm, quite tired.

Favourite Movies

These are my favourite movies, each of them I watch regularly.

I make no bones about my movie tastes being fairly mainsteam.

Life of Brian - not only is this hilarious, it is also very clever and a very good story. It is non stop comedy from beginning to end. The other Python films were a bit disappointing in comparison, although the Holy Grail does have some excellent individual sketches. "He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy".

Aliens - the first movie set the scene, but was long and a drawn out, this one is a good (all be it simple) story, has great characters, has great action and really scary aliens. "Game over man, game over".

Stranger than Fiction - I love weird and quirky and this has it in bucket loads. It is also a nice romance with some real emotion (the guitar/song scene is wonderful). This is one of the only films I like with Dustin Hoffman in it. And it is about a book. "I brought you some flours".

Batman Begins - how a superhero movie should be, a great story, real/gritty atmosphere and a hero who is vulnerable. The city of Gotham also feels like a comic book city rather than just New York. "And why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up".

Parenthood - brilliant look at the roller coaster ride of parenting with many types of family and experiences. Excellent story, good humour, great characters/cast and the great Steve Martin (one of my favourite actors). "Women have choices, and men have responsibilities".

The Matrix - brilliant science fiction, mind blowing story and some movie changing affects. "You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.".

Speed Racer - a visual spectacular. Fun filled action all the way. Another feel good movie. And it has a hilarious chimp. "Cool beans".

Guardians of the Galaxy - real super/anti heroes with a huge dose of humour. Heroes, humour, evil baddies, sci-fi, aliens, a sentient tree and a 70s soundtrack. This is just great fun all the way. "I am Groot".

Back to the Future - a fantastic story. The time travel works, the characters are good and it's funny. This is a great family fun film. With the greatest car ever. "Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads".

The Shawshank Redemption - wonderfully real story, full of atmosphere and emotion. Underpinned with some great acting. "Same old shit, different day".

Shaun of the Dead - British humour at its best. Wonderfully funny, great comic acting, what is there not to like. "Okay. But dogs CAN look up!".

Love Actually - I love feel good movies and this is one of the best. Excellent intertwining of stories. Some good characters, some good humour and it has some very emotional moments. "There was more than one lobster present at the birth of Jesus?".

Die Hard - the ultimate action movie, brilliant characters, fantastic story, great action and a dose of humour. "Yippee-ki-yay, motherf.....".

Toy Story - the best animated film ever. A wonderful story, great characters, full of emotion another feel good movie. It set a new standards for all subsequent animated films to follow. "To infinity and beyond".

Dodgeball - brilliant humour, very very funny. It manages to find exactly the right level without going over the top, which most comedies fail to do. "dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge!".

Honourable mentions: LA Story, Watchmen, Big, Avengers Assemble, About Time, Airplane, Star Wars, Blade Runner, The Warriors, Big, The Secret Of my Success, Top Gun, An Officer and a Gentleman and Groundhog Day.