Tired of being a videogames widow, I join the ranks of nerds pretending to be hobbits online.
In an effort to discover the appeal of the huge online games such as World of Warcraft and Lord of the Rings, which send TK and his friends off on quests and raids for hours upon hours, I decided to take things into my own hands and enter the world of online gaming. TK's current addiction is Lord of the Rings Online, a multi-player online game which allows you to play at being a character in Middle Earth. With a glint in his eye, he was only too glad to help me set up a character using his account.
You can pick any of the main races in the Lord of the Rings for your character - elves, dwarves, men or hobbits. I chose to be a vain, good-looking elf with flowing hair, a sunset tan and a huge white grin. We even gave him a buff, poncy name - Pergolas. And so Pergolas and I popped up in the elven cities of Middle Earth, slightly scared, eager to learn and with a penchant for running inadvertantly into trees.
