Hogsmead

A wonderful weekend with the Cullens making our much anticipated visit to The Making of Harry Potter at Warner Brothers Studios in Leavensworth. What a fantastic exhibition. HP has been rather a feature of our family life with our boys as they grew up and has only recently been replaced by Doctor Who and girls (in that order) as their main obsessions.
I even read the entirety of one fat HP book over the phone to Benjamin as his bedtime stories during one of my periods of working away. Whatever your feelings about the literary merit of the books, JK Rowling succeeded superbly in creating a coherent and fully realised world and it is not hard to see how it captured the imagination of children.
I think the films also succeeded in articulating that world. The exhibition is a testament to the amazing art of the film-makers - I had no real appreciation of the skill, care and sheer bloody effort that went into making such a film.
I haven't put up a picture of the main exhibits so as not to spoil the surprise for anyone who hasn't yet been and wants to go. But this modest but lovely little concept model was tucked away in a corner and I thought it was beautiful. The picture looks even better in LARGE.
Oh, and I handed my notice in to my employers of 18 years. Gulp.