Hangleton/Cultural clues to locations/origins

[mcandrew at bigpond.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 22772

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., hamster8 at h... wrote:

> Hangleton exists.  It is a suburb of Brighton on the Sussex coast, 
> and is apparently fairly bog-standard suburbia.... I *wouldn't* 
>place Little Hangleton here, but it sounds like the kind of place 
>that might be somewhere along the south coast, Kent or Sussex, maybe.

>From another non-UK resident, these insider insights into names, 
locations & cultural variations are great.  One thing with Little 
Hangleton though (from a stickler for detail) - doesn't it have to be 
200 miles away from Surrey? I think the 2nd chapter of Goblet (just 
after Frank's murder at Little H.) starts off something like "200 
miles away Harry woke up from his dream....",  that would have to put 
it in the north or west of England wouldn't it?
 
> Little Whinging, reminds me deeply of the Surrey village where I 
> live ... < >I've often felt that when we *imagine* where the 
> books are set, we imagine what we know.  Therefore some of you 
might 
> have different ideas of how certain locations will look, which are 
> likely to be more accurate depending on your experience of British 
> suburbia (I live there).  I now cannot form a mental picture of 
> Harry's primary school, as mentioned in the early parts of P/SS 
> without thinking of mine, which was a small redbrick Victorian 
> place.  I have the same problem with the Dursleys' house ... I find 
> myself imagining it happening in my house, on that same floor plan, 
> Harry kept in *that* cupboard, Weasleys arriving through *that* 
> fireplace, etc, etc.  Does this happen to anybody else?
 
You have the advantage of being familiar with the territory.  I don't 
see it as a problem that you can imagine it all happening in your 
house/school/area - it probably has exactly the same floor/street  
plan, vegetation, weather and outlook as the Dursleys' and therefore 
gives your daydreams complete authenticity!  (I base this on having 
travelled through Surrey by train quite recently and seen miles of, 
to me, identical-looking villages - at a distance that is)

Hard to imagine the events in question happening in & around our 
house - no redbrick, fireplace or cupboard under the stairs here 
(indeed no stairs).

Lama

(Deeply envious of anyone living in British suburbia)