The ear worm.... or the idea I could not get out of my head....

OK.  So we have finally arrived at the beginning of our story and after this post I'll have to start letting you in on the 'Secret' of the Inklings...
After a day spent wandering the colleges of Oxford and wandering the streets of the city sampling the wares of different shops, cafes and pubs three of us were crammed back into the Mini Cooper.  Richard had to bring some things from work home and opted to take bus home.  That is his story and he's sticking with it.  I think he was just being a gentleman and giving us more room in the car.  We were to meet back up Bicester and walk into town for what would be a wonderful dinner.  As we wound our way thru Oxford's streets and were on the road out of town Paula said "Nut's.. I forgot to take you to the Eagle and Child".  Now I had been in England for a week and had seen my fair share of pubs including several that day.  I said "what makes this pub different from  all the others I have seen?  "It is where Tolkien and C.S. Lewis used to read there new stories to each other."  Now if I had known such a holy shrine existed I would have made a pilgrimage years sooner to be sure.  I spent much of the rest of that day imagining a smokey pub room and Tolkien wearing a plaid  wool vest and smoking a pipe reading the beginning pages of "The Hobbit" to C.S. Lewis while he drank a whiskey and offered friendly advice and asked questions... I could see it as clearly as if I was in the room for the reading.
This image would stay with me over  the next weeks and months.  I found myself transported in my daydreams imaging how those readings would go at the Eagle and Child and imaging Tolkien walking home at the end of the night.  Passing under bridge of sighs and singing songs half outlaid in his made up language of the elves.  The idea was really taking hold.  Just before Christmas I did a google search on Tolkien and C.S. Lewis at Oxford seeing if anyone had any more stories like this and I found a treasure trove of information on the Inklings.  So much information was available to fill in the back story of these literary giants at Oxford after World War One.  I downloaded a few books about the inklings and set to reading..... This was going to be fun, well at least for a big old nerd like me who loved the work of both writers and wanted to know more about who they were.  In my next post I will talk about the history of the Inklings as a literary club and who some its most notable members were.  I will also start a reading list of on a sidebar in the blog of the source material I have read and enjoyed as I embark on this task of turning the Inklings into a fantasy story set in Oxford, Narnia and Middle Earth.