Weasley accents/regional clues

[jeffl1965]

No: HPFGUIDX 81923

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "a_reader2003" 
<carolynwhite2 at a...> wrote:

<snipped>

> >    Jeff:
> > 
> >    Is it possible that they took a portkey first? Since Arthur 
has 
> to 
> > go to work in London, wouldn't there be one nearby that would 
take 
> > him somewhere in London, then they could take a taxi to the 
> station? 
> > I know he could take a broom or use floo powder, but I don't 
recall 
> > any mention of that.
> > 
> (Carolyn again):
> 
> No, not on that one occasion, which is going back to school in GoF. 
> All the other times they had some sort of magic help, but this time 
> Molly ordered some muggle taxis from the village to take them. 
Arthur 
> had had to go off and sort out the little local difficulty with 
Moody 
> and his dustbins.
> 

  Jeff:

    Ah, that's true. Me and my faulty memory. :P  Maybe they're not 
that close to Devon, but it's just used as reference?



> Another reason for thinking they don't live so far from London as 
> Devon is that the cost of hiring 3 muggle taxis from Devon to 
London 
> would simply be prohibitively expensive, and they are a poor 
family. 
> The cost would run into £££s. I think it would only be feasible if 
> they lived say half an hour to an hour away from Kings Cross. 
> Normally of course, the adults apparate to wherever, so location is 
> not important (sigh, wish I could apparate........)
> 

  Jeff:

    Yes, that's why I was thinking that maybe they meant they took 
those taxis into town, portkeyed then took other taxis, but we 
weren't told that. I know it sounds silly, but one of JKR's worst 
habits is skipping about and not giving enough details about things 
and passages of time. That's why I was suggesting that. I'm not 
totally mental, I think. ;)


> Because of the hills mentioned near The Burrow (eg Stoatshead 
Hill), 
> this would indicate a location either to the north or north-west of 
> London - Herts or Bucks, or maybe Hants. All of these counties have 
> quite large patches of wooded, hilly and quite rural countryside, 
> despite their closeness to London. However, living in these 
counties 
> would not have given Ron much of an accent, northern or otherwise.
> 

  Jeff:

    Yes, I'd forgotten about the hills. :) I had it in my mind there 
weren't that many there, I guess, and that they might've even been 
hidden from the locals, so that they wouldnt want to see what was on 
the other side, and therefore not see the Burrow. ;)
    Are you sure about the accent? I mean, during the dark years, 
could they have moved around a bit? I mean, wouldn't that also 
explain the age gap? I'm sure the land they live on has been in the 
family for generations, since it's quite large and so far away from 
the village, but I was just pondering if they moved a bit, which 
could explain the accents. Plus, since we don't know if there is a 
school for them prior to Hogwarts, there is a chance they picked up 
accents from whatever school they went to, or new village. :)



> Also, another clue is that it seems to take them an hour or so to 
get 
> to the Burrow from Little Whinging in Surrey when Harry is rescued 
in 
> the flying car. This might be about right to fly north and west 
> around London into say, the Chiltern hills.
> 
> Of course, JKR may not have thought this through in so much detail 
as 
> we have, and just randomly picked a Devon-y sounding location 
because 
> she liked it !

  Jeff:

    Intresting. Yes, I'd once again forgotten about the direction. :P 
I guess since I keep reading on so many sites that the Burrow is in 
the south, that I can't even pay attention to the few clues we 
have. ;) <sigh> Oh, woe is me. ;)



  Jeff