Fun encounter in London.

[John]

No: HPFGUIDX 192418

Hi All.

This is not a 'serious topic' as such, just a little anecdote about a chance encounter I had yesterday in Central London.

As a serious Potterhead I of course know a lot of the places scenes were filmed in London and have visited many in passing on my travels around the city or indeed making specific 'pilgimages' such as visiting King's Cross Station's recreated entrance to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. This for those who may not know it has a sign and a luggage trolley bearing half a school trunk and half an owl cage embedded into a brick wall which can be seen online. being there for a serious Potterhead like myself, even though knowing it's fake can be strangely moving, stirring up the yearnings many of us even as adults I'm sure have about wishing it all was real and wishing to 'step through that wall'.  :o) 

This attraction is a hugely favourite place for many Potter fans and not just kids, often with a mixed crowd queing to get their photo's taken pushing the trolley 'through' the wall. There is even a special porter employed to marshal the visitors and assure everyone who wants to gets a turn at having their picture taken 'heading off to Hogwarts'.

Remarkably in our money grubbing culture this attraction and the services of the 'porter' are free, one would assume because the many shops and fast food places in the newly rebuilt and rather splendid station concourse benefit anyway from the extra visitors. Indeed I'm sure that on September the 1st prior to 11 am the place must be inundated with potential 'pupils'. :o)

Also regarding Potter related London film locations I can for, instance,take you to the location of the entrance to Diagon Alley used by the Death Eaters on their raid to capture Ollivander from his shop, as shown at the start of one of the movies. Sadly though I can't see or enter The Leaky Cauldron, being a muggle but one can have a drink sat outside The Porcupine, which is a 'muggle pub' just opposite and from there try to do a spot of 'wizard/witch spotting', as they make their way between muggle and magical London. ;o)

As to the original reason for this post, well yesterday I was on a completely un-Potter related trip to Camden to visit a specialist employment service there when, (having got off my bus where it terminated at Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall), I had a Potter related encounter. I was cutting through a nondescript Whitehall backstreet with Harry Potter the last thing on my mind when turning a corner I saw a largeish group of people, (fairly obviously tourists), staring at and taking photographs of a fairly boring wooden 'garage' sort of door at a building's rear, one that would open out to the street to give access to enter the premises for service purposes. 

As I approached this group along the street they were led by a lady guide a bit further towards me and then started taking photos and staring at the completely unremarkable stone wall of another fairly nondescript government building! ;o)

They all looked engrossed in what the guide was telling them, but any normal observer would have been utterly bewildered at what was happening and the 'bonkers' nature of this group, perhaps thinking them on 'day release' from a mental institution and their guide a social worker. I however, of course had it 'sussed'. :o)

It was a Harry Potter Tour, seeing the Potter sights in London and I knew this to be the place where the trio had 'ambushed' 3 Ministry Employees in order to gain admittance using their identities by employing Polyjuice Potion. They had stashed their 'victims' stunned bodies inside the space behind the wooden door, a very grotty place which in the movie and probably also in real life contained 'dumpster' type bins. Having seen this place the tourist group had moved on to the spot where the typical traditional London red telephone box was located which, when the right number was dialed would descend, carrying whoever was in it down to the Atrium reception desk of the Ministry of Magic. This is not a real phone box though but was a movie prop, hence the tour party photographing an empty pavement and a stone wall. :o)

Once I drew close to the party of visitors, (many Americans amongst them) I confirmed with them they were on a 'Potter Tour' and had a little chat, my baseball cap which I was wearing with it's several Potter related badges probably reassuring them I was not just a random 'nosy nutter' but in fact the same type of 'nutter' as themselves, aware of the significance of where they were and what they'd been doing. :o)

Then we parted company, they off to see the mounted Guards at the entrance to Horseguards Parade, (not a Potter location thing but mere yards away and an interesting tourist site of itself, many of which they were also taking in as they were in the vicinity).


I wished them a good tour, told them they'd enjoy the fun bit at King's Cross and hoped they'd 'get through' the wall, then we parted company.

Like I said, not a major intellectual topic, just a fun encounter, a bit of info about Harry's London and something to show that Jo and her Harry Potter stories help unite people from all around the world, which here of course we already knew. :o)

Many Blessings All.
John, (Oriondruid).