Tolkien 2005 Committee

Chris first read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings in 1988 and joined The Tolkien Society in 1989 after finding the details in The Annotated Hobbit. As she was living in Australia at the time, membership consisted of looking forward to the arrival of the next Amon Hen or Mallorn and corresponding with the then Membership Secretary, Chris Oakey.

In 1992 she attended The Tolkien Centenary Conference and as she wouldn't know anyone there volunteered to be a steward, not only to help out but also as a way of getting to meet other people. This worked really well as she met her husband, Richard.

In 1994 she volunteered to be the Society Booking Officer, a post held for two years until someone nominated her as Chairman of the Society in 1996, a post she still holds.

Apart from a love of Tolkien's works and being Chairman of The Tolkien Society, she has several other interests. These include visiting Stratford-upon-Avon to see The Royal Shakespeare Company, following her interest in the life of T.E. Lawrence, cryptic crosswords, interpreting Tolkien's characters by way of building costumes (she says "I don't design them, I gradually build them up from a picture in my head"). She also enjoys gardening; cross-stitch embroidery and has recently learned how to make chain mail with which she can embellish some of her costumes and of course there are also many books to read.

She loves the fellowship of The Tolkien Society and enjoys doing what she can for the Society as a way of saying thank you for the many friends made through membership of it.