Cultural clues to locations/origins

[A.E.B.Bevan at open.ac.uk]

No: HPFGUIDX 22710

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Amy Z" <aiz24 at h...> wrote:

>>tell us deprived folk who have never been to the 
West Country except via Daphne du Maurier novels what about Ottery 
St. Catchpole shouts "Devon!"<<

It just does!  A Serb friend tells me thatt Serbs and Croats can spot 
acroat or Serb names instantly, but dont ask him to explain how to do 
it...  Something like that here

Anyway as the admirable lexicon notes there is a real town Ottery St 
Mary's in Devon and there is a farm called The Burrows nearby not far 
from Stoats Hill.  Wonder if that part of the country has a 
Significant Memory for student age Jo?

All the wonderful names JKR has to build on ... I am thinking of good 
old names and thinking about what she could produce. Based on places 
like Upton Snodsbury, Upper Swell, Lower Swell, Nether Whalop and the 
neighbouring communities of Great Piddle and Little Piddle.

Hogsmede by the way sounds Cumbrian to me, not Scots.

Edis