Magic Bus

Todays outing was to the the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour. Supposedly only half an hours drive from our hotel, it was more like an hour getting there due to torrential rain on the M1.
But it was a great day out, well organised and not too crowded. Plenty to see (and do) though I was a lot more interested in the displays showing how they designed and built the sets, props and costumes. Fascinating to walk through the Great Hall or Gringotts Bank sets and then to look up and see no roof - added by CGI in the films. Then you go round the back of the set and realise that what looked exactly like substantial stone and marble structures are just painted boards and mouldings mounted on scaffolding.
A few too many grown adults wandering round in full Hogwarts uniform for my liking but, hey, each to their own. I was also a little surprised to hear so many different languages being spoken - don’t think I’d really thought about what a worldwide phenomenon Harry Potter is.
Very grateful we don’t have kids or grandkids though. You could easily spend a few hundred pounds (over and above the £50 basic ticket price) if you went for all the add ons they offer. Photos, green screen videos, personalised robes and lunch (to name but a few) would soon empty even the deepest wallet if you have a large family!
It took even longer to get back to the hotel as I missed the turning off the M1, which resulted in a twenty mile detour through the Northamptonshire countryside. But this did mean I caught the news that Liz Truss had resigned after only 45 days in office. I’ve got things in our freezer that have been there longer than that.