A brilliant idea

The idea of having an event of our own has been brewing in our minds for a long time. Our fifth anniversary seemed the perfect chance and our members supported us in full. Some of us took up the responsibility to form the organizing committee, others to help them out as best we could. More than 10 months of big hopes, planning, promoting and a lot of hard work promised us a good result.

It was a sunny, warm, late afternoon on the 5th of October, when most of the 45 participants, full of excitement and anticipation, gathered in the small port of Rafina to board the ship bound for the island of Andros. Three had already gone in the morning to prepare for our arrival. On board the ship a warm welcome was extended to both guests and participants and official introductions were made. The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly, the newest members mixed in very soon. The two hours long trip went by very quickly and soon we were in a bus driving along the narrow, convoluted roads of the island towards Hora, the capital and munching with obvious pleasure the "amygdalota", the traditional, local almond sweets. Arriving at the hotel, we found our room keys together with our registration cards and a beautifully crafted program awaiting us in already prepared envelopes. The happy exclamations from the rooms proved our choice of venue correct. Many of us were a bit hungry so a night stroll through the quaint little streets took us to a tavern, where the newcomers had a first taste of "hobbiting". The fresh island breezes and the welcoming raki in our rooms will help us get a good night’s sleep.

I had fallen in love with the old ice-making factory, now converted with loving care in a folklore and Byzantine art museum, at first sight. Now seeing it decorated with the beautiful drawings of our friend and member John Rubulias, hanging by invisible lines from the old pipes and gently swinging in the wind, bringing to life dragons, balrogs and shinning heroes, makes me sure this is the right place for our presentations. The rest of the free space is taken up by exhibits of books, games, CDs, pins and other paraphernalia relevant to our theme. As people enter they seem amazed by the whole display. Upstairs on the wide loft chairs, tables and podium are ready and waiting, lit eerily by the subdued light illuminating the icons in their niches.  Some come already clad in their costumes for the competition. MomEnt (of the German Tolkien Society) is true to her name, beautiful in long brown and green robes with moss and ivy and her little squirrels and lady-bags. Sissy is very cleverly dressed up as "The Professor" with tweed jacket, vest and pipe. And of course, there are various lords and elf-maidens. Then a tall Rohirrim guard enters clad in full armor with his long cape flowing and his sword drawn. Looks like Vassili aims to win.

We are running late, so I open the day by quoting a few lines about Cair Andros from the Appendixes. Then I give the podium over to Stamatis Matsinos (staunch society and event organizing committee member) for his presentation, which will be in English for the benefit of our guests. Although very long, the paper on "Fantasy and Knowledge" and the part they played in the development of events in Numenor holds the attention of the listeners and is rewarded with a big round of applause.

Right after it, there is a short coffee brake and then Caspar Reif presents to us the work of the Tolkien Ensemble. We hear a few characteristic pieces of their music and the deep, unearthly voice of Christopher Lee reciting the Ring Verse makes us all shiver. After that, there is a big demand for the 4CD sets that Rene van Rossenberg has brought with him over from his famous Tolkien Shop and Caspar autographs them with gusto and patience.

The mid-day break is intentionally long so people can enjoy some of the attractions of the island, like the museums, the old churches and the beautiful scenery. The weather is warm and the wind low, so many just go swimming in nearby coves or the hotel pool.

We begin again in the late afternoon. Everyone seems quite relaxed and happy. Our first speaker is Thomas Mastakouris (author and well known translator of fantasy literature), who talks to us about the influences of Nordic and Teutonic legends on the work of Tolkien. The talk is in Greek but we have handouts with the translation for our foreign participants. After the presentation, Thomas joins Vasso Christou (author, founding member of the Athens Sci-Fi Club) and Evelyne Okonnek (author, member of German Tolkien Society) in a discussion panel on the writing of fantasy novels. All three of them are published fantasy writers and they can really analyze the subject and answer all the diverse questions of the audience. This discussion would have taken up the rest of our evening if we had let it run its course.

But our QUIZ awaits! The teams prove the total mixing of our participants. People who hardly knew each other yesterday join forces with old friends and almost all the teams are international. Now that’s truly celebrating the Professor’s spirit. The actual contest is highly educational and absolutely hilarious. Last year’s winners defend their title staunchly and earn some nice books as prize. Voted by the public as winner of the costume contest is our warrior in shiny armor, who delights in his gift, an action figure of Tree-beard.
It’s dinner time. A bus takes us to a tavern far above the town on the mountain side, from where we have a fantastic view of the lights in the town and harbor. Three long tables are set for us, already heaped with starters and jugs of wine. We are hungry after the long day and the food is delicious. It must be said that Greeks eat like Hobbits at least as far as the quantities are concerned. Our foreign friends were quite shocked to hear that after all the starters, salads and special local omelets there were rooster in wine with noodles and special goat grilled with rosemary and honey to be served. Of course, after that there would be desert. The fresh, cool night air by the pool does wonders for the digestion and talking with dear friends makes the hours fly. It’s almost dawn when we finally get to bed.

Sunday comes with brilliant sunshine and even higher temperatures. First to speak today is George Shinas(a member of both our society and SCA), who gives us an analysis on Romanticism in the art of the Middle Ages and its presence in the work of Tolkien. Not following a fixed text but improvising on the spot from his notes, he surprises the audience with his fluency and accuracy and draws us all in his passionate reminisces.
Next is Marcel Buelles (Founding President German Tolkien Society), who will speak on Tolkien and the World War. An experienced speaker, he commands the audience’s attention. The subject itself is quite interesting and results in quite an animated discussion, which must be cut short so we can proceed with the program.

We leave the beautiful old factory rooms for the last time. It’s like leaving a secret, magical cave. The final part of our event will take place outside, by the pool. Everyone gathers around. Some of the other hotel guest, who are swimming look at us with curiosity. An impressive Gregorian melody is heard from the loudspeaker and two Dunlending raiders appear dragging with them captive Rohirrim women. They shout at them, push them to the ground. Then a lone warrior confronts them. He battles with them one on one and defeats them both. He then proceeds to chase them off and free the huddling damsels in distress. The applause for Vassili, Spyro, Veroniki, Spyridoula and George Shinas, who has orchestrated and taught the scene, is resounding. Everyone is taking dozens of pictures and congratulating our warriors, who might have fought with wooden swords, the originals being kept in their sheaths for obvious reasons, but fought well and would for sure be worthy opponents for any real swordsman.

Closing time is here. I thank each and every one of the committee members and volunteers, who have given their best to ensure the success of this event, as well as all our foreign guests and participants, who flew all the way from their homes just to be with us. The Dutch and German Societies present us with friendly gifts, which are greatly appreciated and will be duly shared with all members. Emotions run high, everyone is moved and no-one wants to believe that this beautiful gathering is already approaching its end.
The two big birthday cakes give us some kind of consolation, so they are totally cleaned out. Then it’s again off to the port, onto the ship and back to Rafina. Here the final goodbyes are said and many promises to meet again soon are given.

One thing is certain. This was indeed an October to remember!