Michel Delving, Fo.A. 20
Samwise Gamgee, recently elected Mayor of the Shire for the third time, has announced his intention to launch a wide-reaching literacy drive in the Shire.
This comes after a survey of hobbits across the region revealed that less than 30% are able to read and write with any fluency. It was found that male hobbits were slightly less likely than female hobbits to be literate, and some minor regional differences also came to the surface. Notably, a clear majority of the inhabitants of Hobbiton were literate, perhaps thanks to the schools that Mayor Gamgee established in his hometown soon after becoming mayor in Fo.A. 6.
The Mayor's Office in Michel Delving issued the following press release:
"The Mayor is delighted to be announcing his new literacy drive, "Study for the Shire", which will see hobbits of every station, age and gender have the opportunity to become proficient at reading and writing through a comprehensive network of schools and community workers. Literacy is an essential skill in today's increasingly globalised economy, and in particular, reading offers immense cultural enrichment and broadening of horizons that will be necessary to keep the Shire competitive in this new age of peace and long-distance travel".
Separately, an anonymous briefing from the Mayor's Office has suggested that literacy is only the beginning of a wider educational initiative that will aim to ensure that all hobbits receive a basic training in languages, history, geography and botany.
It is understood by this newspaper that "Study for the Shire" was inspired by Mayor Gamgee's own passion for learning, and that after much wrangling he was able to convince the other hobbit grandees to back his project. In the wider community the news has been greeted with cautious optimism, although not every hobbit is happy with the Mayor's project. One Hobbiton resident, who wished to be known only under the ingenious pseudonym of Ned Handyman, has told the Times of Arda of his concerns.
"T'aint right and t'aint proper for hobbits to be learning their letters. My family's done without reading and writing as far back as my father and my father's father can remember, and it ain't none the worse for it. Here in Hobbiton, the lads and lasses have become uppity and rowdy like they never was before, and I know 'tis all down to the Mayor's newfangled schools. Why, I'm sure as sure can be that young Andy Greenhand stole my best pipeweed the other day, and I daresay he wouldn't never have done so if he hadn't been encouraged to get above his station, and to read old tales of wicked Elves that by all accounts was very light-fingered and free and easy with each other's belongings".