Q: What does Tolkien have in common with Simon Cowell?

[steepholm]

A: They both hijacked buses without facing criminal charges.

True fact.

Comments

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

Simon Cowell hijacked a bus? Was he in college at the time too?

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

According to today's The Unbelievable Truth (Listen Again available in an hour or so), he was twelve, and held the driver up with a toy pea gun.

Of course, I immediately thought of Tolkien's rag-week stunt. The account in Carpenter's biography only has him "capturing" a bus, which I suppose might be a case of stealing an unattended one rather than actually taking it by force, but the latter seems more in the Town vs. Gown spirit.

[malkhos.livejournal.com]

Are you sure? I though they were both kings of the beavers.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Only at the weekend.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

Fancy that! I too was listening to The Unbelievable Truth, but had no idea which of the truths also applied to Tolkien.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

There's nowt so queer as folk, as Richard III used to say.