Thread: 39 years ago....
Planet Tolkien is archived and no longer updated, but the forums remain browseable. We have established a Telegram group for old and new visitors to stay connected and discuss all things Tolkien.
Keeping in mind that the Undying Lands are not heaven or the afterlife, I would quote Aragorn:
'For if this is indeed, as the Eldar say, the gift of the One to Men, it is bitter to receive'
'So it seems,' he said. 'But let us not be overthrown at the final test, who of old renounced the Shadow and the Ring. In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory. Farewell!'
Rest in peace Beren and Luthien.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii263/Valedhelgwath/Ox-26.jpg
How wonderful Val. Did you take that pic yourself?
Beautiful picture. I couldn't see it on my phone. But on this computer it works. Lovely picture.
Arwen undómiel wrote
Val, nice that you replied. But the link doesn't work for me. Maybe you know why???
That's my fault, I did it wrong. We didn't used to have link tools on the post window, so I am still in the habit of typing out the command codes long-hand. url /url doesn't seem to work anymore.
Brego wrote
How wonderful Val. Did you take that pic yourself?
Yes. Myself and my wife visited Oxford a few years ago. I had always wanted to pay my respects at JRR's grave, so we took the opportunity while we were there. Here is another one - hopefully with a link that works.
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii263/Valedhelgwath/Ox-27.jpg
If any of you are ever near to Oxford, it is worth making the visit. The graveyard they are buried in is small and very quiet. There are no signs to the actual grave, so you need to look for it, but as you can see from the photographs, it has become a small, very tasteful shrine. Visitors have left small pebbles, jewelry and snippets of poetry there. The place has a very still and moving atmosphere. I must admit when my wife asked me something, I had to turn away from her because I had a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye.
Oh Val, what an amazing picture. And yes, the second link worked, whereas the first, for me at least, didn't. It's so beautiful, it leaves me speechless. I didn't know that on the grave it named them Beren and Luthien, though I knew he meant for that story to be him and his wife. It's just amazing. Thank you Val.
A huge hug to you Ilse and to Wim from me and Hasia.
I think about John Ronald and also Jack (CS Lewis) so much they may as well be part of our family, Thank you for this thread darling.
Val the gravestone itself looks and 'feels' so very peaceful and yet mysterious. lovely.
Beautiful touching thread Arwen.
I didn't know exactly the date of Mr. Tolkien death. I use to remember all dates. It can sound a bit silly but what I do feel when someone dies, it's the pity of all the things he/she has planned and left to be done. Those thoughts and his/her remembers die together with their owner. I also feel pity for the ones who stay here. How can we go on living when someone close to us dies? Do you know? it's as if when you die, many things die with you too. You pass to another realm, begin a new path but everything you have lived, people you've known are erased from "Life's book".
Sometimes I think about my family for example. I know where my grandparents are buried, probably my children will know it too but will they bring them flowers to the grave? To someone they have never known. That's what I mean, when someone dies, many others die in this world; not literally but in the remembers. They will be dead for good.
Maybe that's why I love to visit cemeteries. When I visit a new city or even at home, I use to go to a cemetery; I like to see this sort of culture but also imagine how have time made these people be forgotten. Me, by watching their graves, at least bring them a ray of light, a voice by reading their names. Oh, it's aching and so sad.
By the way, lovely picture Val.
