Has the Shire ever existed? Or was it just a figment of J.R.R. Tolkien's imagination?

This question bothered me. Ever since I read: "Middle earth for dummies."

They had hundreds of 'little' known facts in there. Gems like:

- Did you know that Hobbits genitals are the same size as human genitals. Making them proportionally larger?

- The ring was supposed to have been a cock ring? This would have made Sauron even grumpier!

- The magical sword of Isengard was supposed to have glown purple!

Yes, many interesting little tid-bits of knowledge did I find.
My interest was aroused. I needed to know if the shire had ever existed.

Were hobbits real?

I joined forces with Peter "Gan" Green, Tolkien teacher at St. Bonds university for the accently challenged, and part time horse shaver.

Together we roamed the hills and glenns of Scotland, Whales, England and Lichtenstein.

We met many an interesting person. But none so interesting as L. L. (who's name shall remain private, basically due to copyright probs)....

L.L. , or LL for short , lived in a small house in a hill. LL said that they're family had lived there for generations and generations.....

We took a distance shot, and I'm sure you'll agree with the similarities of photos of the shire (above).....

LL spoke for hours how things had changed, quietly cooking a pipeweed cookie over a stove full of lots and lots of pots of food.......

Eventually he agreed to let us photograph him!

This was the greatest moment of my life. Yes, I had finally proven that the shire had existed! That hobbits really existed, and that they, like the elves who sailed away, had evolved into higher beings. Beings of intense beauty, culture and language.....