[HPforGrownups] Report from Durham Cathedral

[mlleelizabeth at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 4085

Hi everyone!

A friend who lives in Durham went to the Cathedral Wednesday afternoon and 
sent me the following description of the set:

"Did go to the Cathedral this afternoon though!  Well spooky.  There are 
indeed 'cobwebs' hanging from the triforium and a couple of mist machines 
were pumping out 'mist' and 'dust' all the time we were in the Nave.  That 
stuff really gets to your eyes!

Filming mainly took place in the Cloisters though this afternoon. Couldn't 
see much to be honest, though fake snow was brushed onto the archways on one 
side of cloisters, and other arches were blackened to look dirty and even 
more ancient than the Norman arches they are <g>. It was still fun to see 
though - there was tons of enthusiastic kids and students there, but the 
mechanics of the day were just like I remember media filming.  Two seconds in 
and can we do that again.  We weren't
allowed to get too close so I don't know if I was watching anyone at all 
famous being filmed.  I sort of got distracted by longhaired, fit-looking 
crew guys looking all serious and involved...<g>.

Apart from the cobwebs, which are still quite subtle, all the other changes 
to turn it from a Cathedral into a school are very subtle indeed.  The 
Cloisters and triforium are perfect school 'corridors I guess, narrow, nice 
stonework, good plaster and wood roofs.  I saw one or two school 'shields' 
and a lectern with owls on it, which isn't
usually there in the Cloisters, but most of the set was left alone."

I wrote her back a brief "sorry the mist hurt your eyes and boy am I jealous" 
reply and she sent this today:

"It was my own fault really - I was peering very hard at the mister machine 
(the operator was quite cool about it - laying back in a sort of low-slung 
deckchair yakking into his mobile. <g> They were very effective at making 
misty dust - yet at close-of-day sunlight, I *always* see dust in the 
Cathedral nave, so I don't know why they need the 'artificial stuff'.

The cobwebs were very realistic too - not dainty spiders webby things,
but grey clods of things that looked very offputting <g>."


Love & Light,
*E*l*i*z*a*b*e*t*h*
Quidditch is life ... the rest is just details.