Apologies for leaving the magical lands of New Zealand, but we wanted to take you to the place where Lord of the Rings first came to life. The Eagle and Child was Tolkien's drinking den; and the place he first read LOTR... to none other than C.S.Lewis himself. Tolkien describe the heartening impact Lewis had on his work, saying:
"The unpayable debt that I owe to him was not 'influence' as it is ordinarily understood, but sheer encouragement. He was for long my only audience. Only from him did I ever get the idea that my 'stuff' could be more than a private hobby."
The two literary deities were part of a club named "The Inklings", meeting every week in the Eagle and Child (which they named the Bird and Baby) right through the war. C.S.Lewis was a massive encouragement to Tolkien: and without him, LOTR may have never been completed. The meetings were held in 'The Rabbit Room', a private lounge at the back of the pub; which still stands and is home to Inklings mementos, of which you can enjoy over a nice pint.
