Hermione/Winter's Tale; OFSTED/JKR; British Editions; Hogwarts Express (again)

[Ebony AKA AngieJ]

No: HPFGUIDX 22423

A few quick things:

1)  The posts about Hermione's literary antecedents were very 
interesting... I'm not so sure that JKR takes a Shakespearean view of 
names and naming, though.  Was it Simon or John who posted some 
months ago about the fact that JKR also seems to choose names for 
people and places because of the way they resonate?  Most of her 
names just sound *right*...

Sidenote:  I will be seeing "The Winter's Tale" in a couple of weeks, 
and am excited about it only because of a possible HP connection... 
having seen something like 7 plays in 10 days (three of them 
Shakespeare), I am ashamed to say I've almost reached my limit with 
the Bard.  Had to "just say no" to a group who went up to London to 
see "Cymbeline" Tuesday... and then was railroaded into viewing an 
outdoor production of "The Taming of the Shrew" during which I nearly 
froze to death.  To keep my mind off the damp and chill, I thought up 
several obscure connections between Harry Potter and "Shrew"... none 
of which, of course, I can remember now.  :-(

2)  The work I'm doing this summer has me cooking up my very first 
Book 5 OOtP theory.  (No, FITD is *not* originally mine.)  I had no 
idea that the educational inspection agency (OFSTED) was so all-
pervasive in the thought of British educators.  We've had something 
like a dozen lecturers/headteachers pass through or on visits, and 
*all* of them have mentioned OFSTED as if it was the Ministry of 
Education's answer to Inspector Javert.  (I'd also recount the 
related comments about the Education Minister, Estelle Morris, but I 
respect the fact that politics are offlimits even if they are not 
*my* politics.)  

I can't remember if JKR attended state or public/private schools, and 
I am almost certain she never taught in the UK.  However, if the 
Ministry of Magic operates anything like the British government, 
Fudge could very easily (and legally) contain Hogwarts.  He could 
send a rogue OFSTED-like team into Hogwarts... the fact that many 
OFSTED inspectors look down on professional educators could be 
paralleled with a MoM inspection team of witches and wizards who are 
already biased against the Dumbledore regime.  These inspectors could 
easily shut down Hogwarts, impose special measures on it, and/or call 
for Dumbledore's dismissal.  I especially like the idea of special 
measures--Dumbledore could still be compelled to remain in place as 
Head but be subjected to constant MoM re-inspection.  Worse, he could 
be faced with the prospect of the Magical state dictating what needs 
to be taught at the school.  

Again, I know this has been discussed before, but in somewhat vague 
language... I'm not sure if anyone has ever gotten into the nuts and 
bolts of *how* it would happen.  I am *so* glad that nothing like 
OFSTED exists in America... and I can see why a great number of 
British headteachers, etc. must leave the professional for stress, 
nervous breakdowns, and other medical reasons.

Of course, Dumbledore would not go along with this sort of treatment 
quietly... at least not the old Dumbledore we know and love.  But... 
anything could happen to him as early as the next book that makes him 
less formidable than he used to be.  There is probably nothing in my 
babblings, but it is interesting to speculate upon.
 

3)  Halfway through my paperback PS--not much is noticeably different 
from the American SS, except for a few words here and there.  It is 
nice to see the occasional replacement word... wasn't it revealed 
here on list that there were two different versions of certain scenes 
shot, one with the wordage in PS, the other with the Americanisms in 
SS?

Still, I must say that there is something to be said about the 
American versions.  Larger type saves the reader from eyestrain and 
the chapter illustrations are quite charming IMO... I miss seeing 
them here.


4)  The feedback re: my Hogwarts Express question ("we've already 
DISCUSSED that" and "who CARES?  It's magic!") was duly noted.  :-)  
Yes, yes, I know it's been discussed... I usually read the Number of 
Students posts even if I do not respond.  (Sidenote--suddenly I've 
become even MORE of a small-Hogwarts advocate now that I'm starting 
to understand how education works in England.  If Hogwarts was a 
Ministry of Magic comprehensive, sure it could have 1000+ students.  
Since it is a private boarding school, Muggle precedents seem to be 
in favor of small=exclusive.  Of course that raises the question of 
where all the other kids go... now the question I most want to ask 
JKR is "Who pays the students' fees?" (Yes, I know we've discussed 
all this before... I know, I know!)  ;-))

As for the "Who cares about the logistics of travel? It's MAGIC!" 
argument, I think I now agree.  Having ignored previous list-tourist  
warnings, I went on pilgrimage to King's Cross anyway.  It *must* be 
magic, because the barrier between the platforms not only looks 
nothing like I expected (for some reason I'd visualized a brick 
wall), but there is absolutely no way in the world for anyone to 
cross that barrier without being noticed.  The first thing I said to 
my friend (who has never read the books) was "They'd have to move an 
awful lot aside, wouldn't they?" and then "Why didn't they just 
*step* over it?"  The barrier is almost completely covered by ticket 
sellers and such... the guard and one of the other workers chatted 
with me, and they said the filming was actually done at Platform 5 
(yes, I know you already know this... bear with me).  I also inquired 
about the recent history of the station, and learned a few things.

The trek didn't disappoint me... I was just all the more awed at 
JKR's imagination!  Anyone who could dream all this up from what I 
saw has quite a mind indeed.

--Ebony AKA AngieJ

(P.S.  Something amusing:  I was wearing one of those embroided WB 
Gryffindor t-shirts to tea this afternoon when one of the tutors came 
up to me and said "What a lovely shirt!  Is that a Welsh crest?"  So 
a few of us had to explain the Harry Potter house system to him. ;-))