RR+: Did I ever expect Aston Villa, Bayern Munich and Tolkien to be named in the same sentence?

It is one of these days when I am combing through hundreds of posts on the internet that claim or seem to have a connection to J.R.R. Tolkien’s life and works that I get a lovely surprise. (see other RR+ news (Opens in a new window))

Now, you do not need to be a football fan to appreciate this, I believe, just a fan with a twinkle in your eye 🤩

The Roving Ranger Plus (RR+) is a service for my supporters here with Steady, often sharing fun news items to the wider community.

Anyway, today is the Champions League game between Aston Villa and Bayern Munich, it will be played in Villa Park (Opens in a new window), 8pm, local time.

When fans travel to the game of their favourite team they often have their fan clubs organise a get together before and/ or after the game.

If you like ‘The Return of the King’ just as much as European football royalty, then Middle Earth – sorry, Birmingham – is the place for you.

Paul of the Bayern Munich UK fan club (Opens in a new window) [Facebook] wrote an article on what people might like to do in Birmingham - and this is the map that is part of this post (Opens in a new window).

So, yes, you need to know where B’ham’s main station is - New Street (Opens in a new window) -, where the stadium is, the pub - Post Office Vaults (Opens in a new window), a cellar bar, directly across from the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery (Opens in a new window) -, and another pub - the Vine (Opens in a new window).

I am mentioning this for two reasons: one, the Sarehole Mill Museum (Opens in a new window) can actually claim a close connection to Tolkien (unlike some other B’ham places), and two, the first and only Tolkien-inspired football fan club in the world is here with me in Jena and I am part of it, of course - Jenas Tirith!

I am a happy member of the FC Carl Zeiss Jena (Opens in a new window), the eternal #1 of the all-time DDR Oberliga (Opens in a new window), just for transparency’s sake 😄

Have a lovely day and keep in mind: #ReadMoreTolkien 🤩

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