The Cambridge Tolkien Society was founded in 1983 “to further interest in the life and works of Professor Tolkien”. We do this by running a diverse range of activities, including:
Frequent
- Discussions
- From serious analyses of Tolkien’s work to somewhat frivolous balloon debates and everything in between.
- Games evenings
- A variety of Tolkien-related games. Tinúviel Pursuits is a firm favourite, and other games include Elvish Call My Bluff, Just a Minute in Middle-earth, and “I’m Sorry, I haven’t a Ring”.
- Social meetings
- At least once a term we meet up for a meal or somesuch, and most meetings are followed by an Innmoot.
Annual
- The Foreyule Feast
- Our seasonal meal, held late November to early December – mushroom soup, turkey, gateaux.
- The Varsity Quiz
- Held in Cambridge and Oxford in alternate years, usually around March.
- The Annual Dinner
- Black tie meal held mid-March.
- The Puntmoot
- Our summer trip up the river to Grantchester for a pleasant picnic lunch, held at the beginning of May week (mid-June).
Occasional
- Speakers
- Occasional visits from academics or others with Tolkien connections.
- Mead-tasting
- Like a wine-tasting, only with mead.
- Dramatic performances
- Sometimes even ones of a serious nature.
- Learning Languages
- We’ve had Sindarin lessons and Old English/Old Norse reading groups.
And also
- Anor
- The society journal - published approximately thrice yearly. Contributions welcome.
We are an official smial (local group) of The Tolkien Society, under the name Minas Tirith. A number of us usually attend the TS Oxonmoot and other events. In the future we hope to arrange joint meetings with other smials, so if you’re running a smial, why not get in touch?