Balin And Ori 🪶💤

“Bilbo, allow me to introduce: Fili, Kili; Oin, Gloin; Dwalin, Balin; Bifur, Bofur, Bombur; Dori, Nori, Ori; and the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield.”

- The Fellowship of The Ring, J. R. R. Tolkien, Book 1, Chapter IV, "A Short Cut to Mushrooms"

attercop! attercop!

I don't know if this was obvious to everyone else, but I just realised that one of the reasons why the Hobbit is so effective as a children's book is that while Bilbo is an adult, the skills that make him a hero are all those of a child.

By human standards he's child-sized, which makes him unobtrusive and light on his feet. He can slip by unnoticed where bigger people can't.

He's good at playing games, and even cheats (successfully!) in a way that - let's face it - is not so different to how children try to cheat at games. He's polite in a way that's fully comprehensible to children (rather than, say, being able to perform courtly manners). He's quick-witted, but the trick of keeping the trolls talking is also one that would be achievable for a child.

He doesn't have magic powers, he's not a great fighter, and he's not some kind of Chosen One. There's not much that he does that couldn't be done by a ten-year-old, but the story shows just how valuable all those skills and traits are. It's very empowering.

Thorin’s costume

Actor: Richard Armitage

Designer: Ann Maskrey and Bob Buck

Made By: 3 foot 7 Costume Dept.

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Post 12/21 from the Costume Trail in Wellington. Message me if you’d like higher resolution photos or other detail shots.

More costumes from the Hobbit here.

Some unexpected heroes

Tauriel’s costume

Actor: Evangeline Lilly

Designer: Lesley Burkes-Harding

Made By: 3 foot 7 Costume Dept.

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Post 13/21 from the Costume Trail in Wellington. Message me if you’d like higher resolution photos or other detail shots of her costume clasps and the like.

More costumes from the Hobbit here.

silly little gigolas doodles instead of homework . maybe so

13 Days for 13 Dwarves: Ori (Day 9).

(He looks nice with his hair long).