From The End of the Pier Show, my friend and colleague Henry Gee’s blog: "Well, here I am in Oxford, at Oxonmoot, the annual meeting of the Tolkien Society. This note is merely to tell you that everyone here looks quite normal. Nobody is dressed up as a hobbit or an elf (which will mean the event will get zero publicity, as the dressing-up is only aspect of Tolkien fandom in which the press is interested). I have just volunteered myself as the next editor of Mallorn, the Society’s annual journal. What have I done?"
My congratulations to Henry. And, as editor of the journal, he is calling for submissions. If you are interested, please go to the Mallorn‘s website for further information.
Petrona 
It’s a relief to learn that Tolkien-heads dress like normal people. But it’s a tribute to Tolkien’s phenomenal popularity that “the press” is interested in the costume aspect of Middle Earth fandom.
How many other substantially serious works of literature are up there with Star Wars and Star Trek as cultural phenomena?
===================
Detectives Beyond Borders
“Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home”
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
My stepdaughter named her son Tolkien, therefore I won’t comment further on the normality of Tolkien fandom.
That’s quite serious, Norm. Very wise of you not to comment.
Peter, you had better not go over to that TORN site (the one ring network), Henry has a pseudonym of an Orc or similar on there, and I believe once attended a LOTR “dress up as a character from the movie” party when visiting the right part of the US one year for a palaeontology meeting…there are probably photographs to prove it…..
I’ll manage to tear myself away from TORN. Tolkien goes through waves of fantastic popularity every few years. Years ago, I caught one of the waves. I think I read The Hobbit and part of the first Lord of the Rings book. It was not enough to make me want to read more.
===================
Detectives Beyond Borders
“Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home”
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Hi Maxine
The party was the TORN bash in Hollywood on Oscar night 2003, round the corner from the ceremony itself, and I did dress up – in a tux. The pseudonym wasn’t an orc. It was a troll. So There.