Vauxhall Road and the Elixir of Life ( was The Diary (just where did V get

[a_reader2003]

No: HPFGUIDX 86982

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "geoff_bannister" 
<gbannister10 at a...> wrote:
(snip)
> There is a point here that Vauxhall Bridge Road is /not/ in 
Vauxhall (which is in the Borough of Lambeth). It is north of the 
river and in the City of Westminster. That side of the river did not 
get so much danage - I knew the area well from the early 1950s. There 
was a lot of redevelopment on the South Bank because of bomb damage - 
the Festival of Britain site was out there in 1951 for example. Much 
of the redevelopment in that area is later.

Carolyn:

I agree Geoff. It seems much more likely that the Vauxhall Rd 
referred to on the back of the diary is the old name for Kennington 
Lane/Kennington Road rather than a shortened version of Vauxhall 
Bridge Rd - thanks to yours and Shaun's researches in this area. 

But it doesn't change my argument, in fact strengthens it - the 
Vauxhall area south of the river was very badly bomb damaged, as you 
say. So what was a 15/16 year old wizard doing, poking about the 
ruins in 1942/43? He certainly wasn't living at Stockwell orphanage 
(if he ever did)and its a strange area for a shopping trip when he 
could have picked up his muggle diary much more conveniently at any 
of the major railway stations, if he was just coming through London 
on his way to Hogwarts.

The murder victim who was buried in Vauxhall Baptist Church is 
certainly very sinister, and the date of 1942 is curiously apt for 
our story. It could be Tom had read about it in the muggle newspapers 
and was just going for a look, as people do.. 

Or maybe poor Mrs Rachel Dobkin was a witch and was murdered for 
quite another reason than her nagging by her muggle husband..