At the supermarket yesterday, the bearded fellow with furrowed brow at the checkout next to mine turned out to be none other than Elrond Half-Elven - son of Eärendil & Elwing and Lord of Rivendell. At over 6,000 years old, the one-time herald of Gil-galad is a legendary veteran of the War of the Ring, having done battle with the foul hordes of Morgoth's Servant at both the Fall of Eregion and the Siege of Barad-dûr. At Barad-dûr he fought bravely beside Elendil and Gil-galad, even as both were felled by the Dark Lord's hand. I assume he was at Woolworths to stock up on lembas, miruvor and maybe a case of Ent-draught.
I politely asked him if he'd be returning to Middle-Earth for The Hobbit. With a twinkle in his eye, he smiled and said yes...
