50 DARES FROM THE GRAVE

IT WAS his brother’s funeral and it was clear to everyone there that Royd Tolkien was nervous and heartbroken. But as he prepared to deliver a eulogy about his beloved Mike, something happened that left assembled family and friends frozen in horror.

It almost seemed to happen in slow motion: walking up to the front of the crematorium chapel, Royd tripped, knocking his head against the podium.

For a few moments an awkward silence prevailed and then a friend rushed forward to help. But Royd, who’s the great-grandson of The Hobbit author JRR Tolkien, quickly recovered, picked himself up, positioned himself at the lectern and reached into his pocket. The piece of paper he pulled out and held up had two words on it. “TRIP OVER,” it said.

Tripping up at his funeral was the first task on a 50-item bucket list that Mike, who was 39 when he died, had assigned Royd. And it was perfect timing.

“I looked up and everyone was trying not to catch my eye, and wondering what to do. But then I got out the piece of paper, and there was such relief – and a feeling of, ‘Oh, that’s typical of Mike . . .’

“But it was a beautiful thing. It wasn’t to make me look like an idiot – well, maybe there was an element of that – but he knew it would be a terrible situation for everyone there and that this would break the ice and take