A misspelling or a sign to a fictional kingdom?
A ROAD sign spelt incorrectly has left people wondering if a village near Swadlincote actually has links to Lord of the Rings and Middle Earth.
Eagle-eyed residents spotted the sign pointing people in the direction of Moira at the crossroads between Willesley Lane and Willesley Woodside, in Ashby.
However, although close, it is not quite right. The sign to the former mining village reads Moria instead of Moira.
It is a mistake that has become quite a talking point since being posted online, drawing laughs – and comparisons to the famed location in JRR Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings. Moria is an underground kingdom beneath the Misty Mountains of Middle Earth, prompting several people to suggest online that the area might have previously unknown links to the place whose name means “dark void”.
“Definitely seen a few Balrogs walking around to be fair,” said one person on social media, in reference to a famed Lord of the Rings creature. “Quite literally the ‘Mines of Moria,’” added another.
A third thought that there might be a more worldly reason for the error. In relation to the signmaker, they posted: “Maybe they were a Tolkien fan.”
However, others did not see the funny side. One person even believed the error would go unnoticed by many. “Ridiculous!” they posted, adding: “What’s really sad is that some people wouldn’t notice it’s wrong!”
One person remarked: “They had one job…”, while others tried their hand at finding a previouslyunknown linguistic tool to justify the error. “‘I before R except after O.’..or something?” one posted.
In a statement, Leicestershire County Council, which put up the sign, acknowledged the error and said it would be corrected. It also gave a tongue-in-cheek warning to fans of the Lords of the Rings franchise.
Councillor Ozzy O’shea, the county council’s cabinet lead member for highways and transport, said: “We’d like to reassure people following the sign it will not lead them anywhere near Moria and we thank them for bringing it to our attention.
““We are sorry to disappoint Lord of the Rings fans, but we are arranging for the sign to be corrected as soon as possible.”