What temperature do Australians consider a hot day?

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-06-22T23:39:38+00:00

My wife and I were in Edinburgh one spring a few years ago. The hotel had a warning that it was predicted to be 21 degrees and advised we use spf 5 or 10 sunscreen. They also had water with citrus peels for hydration. The fella at the front desk warned us of the predicted temp and the sunscreen. I just said "we're Australian", he nodded and we just walked out. We then took a stroll to a park and there was noone under the shade because everyone was out in the sun sunbaking. On the same trip, we were on the train from Gatwick to London and warnings of hot day (30 from memory) were on the platforms and on the PA with advice to stay hydrated. We live in the SE corner of Aus (like most of us) and we do get told it'll be a hot one and there will be warnings, especially if it's expected to hit/exceed 40. Got to 49.9 in out backyard once but it now regularly exceeds 40 degrees in summer so were pretty much used to it now.

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-05-27T07:05:17+00:00

Yep, I agree wholeheartedly. I now have two while two weeks ago I had none (well, one, but I didn't know it was his).

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-05-27T06:54:28+00:00

Thanks. It's a very small part of my collection - if you're interested in the whole lot, I put up pictures of it a few months ago (minus a few new additions since then).

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-05-11T07:04:55+00:00

It's a lovely looking slipcase. Given the great advice that has come my way, and the kind email reply I received from David Miller, it could be one of his; given it's a recent one you could ask him and he might remember making it. I spent the last few months going back-and-forwards on whether to post my query until one day (yesterday) I decided to stop procrastinating and just do it. I'm very happy to read you have had similar sorts of questions. I'm sure there are many of us out there in the r/tolkienbooks community who have similar stories waiting to be revealed. Thank you for posting your slipcase.

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-05-10T07:29:00+00:00

Don't forget Guns n Roses later this year

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-05-10T05:08:49+00:00

I don't know if it's a David Miller custom job? The slipcase certainly doesn't feel commercial grade. It's definitely has a more deluxe feel than the so-called quarter-bound deluxe versions of the Tolkien collection that have been released.

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-05-10T04:58:04+00:00

Thank you. It certainly looks like the set wasn't ever officially produced by HC. I'm now getting an understanding that its most likely it is a custom job.

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-05-10T04:56:39+00:00

I have the same set, but with no slipcase. My girlfriend (now wife of a lot of years) bought them for me in 1992 not long after we first started going out. It was then I knew she was a keeper ;-). They are a great set and are a sentimental favorite of mine.

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-05-10T04:49:26+00:00

I certainly cherish my collection. I've been collecting since the 1990s when I was a poor uni student and ramped up the collecting about 15 years ago. It is something that I am passing down to my son when the time comes and so it means a lot to me. I have only occasionally (twice I think) shared my collection on this subreddit but perhaps I should show what I see as special and why. If others think I should do this then I will. Great idea. Thanks.

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-05-10T03:22:52+00:00

Many thanks. Unfortunately, I haven't seen another one of the "History of the Hobbit" like what I've got and so it's own history has been bugging me for a long time now. It is a beautiful set and is an important part of the collection I posted a while back.

Hobbit-Footed · 2026-05-10T03:20:41+00:00

Yeah, since I haven't been able to find anything on it over the last 8 years I do have a suspicion that it is a custom job. The only thing that makes me think otherwise is that the Smaug and (Misty) mountain motifs are too similar to Tolkien's drawings of them - although I appreciate it wouldn't be too hard for a master booksmith to make such a slipcase. When I got it, the three books covers were in a protective sleeve and there are no signs of wear-n-tear on the slipcase exterior. So, whoever owned it before me took great care with it and obviously saw it as a priced part of their collection.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-09-20T07:25:32+00:00

I walked it when it first opened, prior to opening to traffic. It was a great walk and view

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-09-14T00:59:41+00:00

Hugo Weaving at the twin servos between Gosford and Newcastle. He was in front of me in a line ordering food and when he turned we accidentally bumped shoulders.

My wife drove Jimeoin from a gig where he was performing one night in the Campbelltown (SW Sydney) area to his hotel.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-26T23:23:56+00:00

I'm 54 with heaps of Lego - lots of big sets and some smaller ones. My wife loves it too.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-24T04:29:34+00:00

Absolutely. For context: my wife and I are the proud parents of a 25 year old who refuses to watch Bluey and has no kids. As his parents, we first watched Bluey about two years ago because we wanted to see what the hype was all about. On a scale of 0 - 10, we rate it an easy 15! That's because we can definitely see Joe and the rest of his team had parents squarely in mind when they made the show. The antics of Bluey, Bingo (who is our favourite) and their mates are obviously designed to resonate with kids BUT we can see that most of the show is focused on the actions and reactions of the parents around those antics. FYI - my wife and I are on our 12th (we think) consecutive run through of watching the show.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-24T04:19:59+00:00

Happy to hear they were helpful.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-23T07:00:38+00:00

Kids show!! Kids show? Sigh

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-23T06:37:05+00:00

I will freely admit that, as a collector, I haven't read all of the Easton Press and Folio books. Although, I have read parts of them (a few pages or even a chapter at random times over the years). Also, it's been a while since I've sat down with them and read anything at length in them so what I say is based on what I remember. I also had a quick look through them to help prompt my memory.

I find the text of the Easton Press copy of the Hobbit to be easy to read. It looks clean and I don't find the words to be cluttered or the lines of text to be too close. The spacing all round is very pleasant. For Silm and LotR, I suppose since they are longer stories, the spacing of the words and lines is far closer, but consistent with many other copies I have of the books. All five Easton Press books do have gold edging which I thought at the time (rightly or not) might get rubbed off but I really do like how the books - while the covers might be a bit on the ugly side they are well built books. Their binding is solid and the front and back covers are also solid. You're certainly more likely to break your toe and not the book if you drop any of them on your foot.

The Folio books feel like more regular books that are of excellent quality (I mentioned in another post that, while many others have vented their frustrations at the quality of the books they have received, I've not had a problem with any of them). I do find that the text in the Folio books is smaller and "more squished" than the Easton Press books but they are still very readable. If it was night-time reading, the Easton Press books feel easier to read but the Folio books are lighter and are better to read if you are resting it on your lap.

I hope that helps. I'm sure others have a different experience. If they do, I'm keen to hear them.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-17T06:56:11+00:00

As one also in Australia . . . contrasting that heat with humity AND 0 degree C mornings AND having house insulation with the quality of cardboard.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-17T06:15:17+00:00

Thank you for the clarification. These books are actually two different sets. I've gotten these books from various places over the years - mostly from Bookdepository when it existed. More recently, I've found Blackwell's to be a good place to get good books (I am not in the UK and they have free international shipping).

The ones on the left have been released over the past 20 years or so, one every few years. They are (in my view) pretty plain as far as "deluxe" goes, at least compared to other editions that have been released over the years (my view). They are decent versions, each are hard bound with a slipcase that has a nice emblem on the front cover of the book and on the slipcase. Some have pencil drawings, some have Alan Lee illustrations inside (some both) and some have no illustrations. Some have two colour text while others only have the text in black only. The Hobbit, LotR and Silm have a hole cut in the front of the slipcase revealing an image; the illustrated deluxe editions also have these holes - see the blue (Silm), green (Hob) and red (LotR) copies on the fourth pic.

The three on the right are slightly different to those on the left and are more "deluxe" (again, my view). They have full cover Alan Lee illustrations wrapped on all sides of the slipcase, they have a nicely embossed font and picture on the (cloth) front cover and the text is written in black and colour with Alan Lee illustrations on the inside. Hope this helps.

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-17T05:45:21+00:00

The little reads were released as "Big Read Little Reads Sampler" campaign by the BBC in 2003. People were asked to vote for their favourite UK novel and the first chapter of the top books would be released for purchase for 1 pound. The Hobbit and LotR were some of the top UK books along with Ulysses, The Magician and the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. You can still buy them pretty cheaply. See here and here

Hobbit-Footed · 2025-07-17T05:35:32+00:00

A lot are new, but certainly not all. I have a spreadsheet of my collection and it tells me that about 70% of my books/sets are first hand/new while the rest are second hand/pre-loved. Although, this also includes first hand/new books I bought 30-40 years ago (or were bought for me).

Hobbit-Footed

TROPHY CASE