harry potter studio tour part I

Back in February, Liam and I went to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour in Leavesden, outside of London. I'd been once before, and I couldn't wait to go again, and I couldn't wait to take Liam (even though I know that his enjoyment of it mainly consisted of seeing me as excited and happy as I was :)). I have so many issues with the Harry Potter stories - I wish they were more inclusive, and I wish J.K. Rowling didn't have the problematic opinions that she does ... but I can't help loving the magic of it (pun intended). There are so many wonderful and intricate and fun details in this world, and while I'm not a fan of the films generally (because they had to cut out to much of what I loved with the books) I love all the design work, the props and stages. So I was a bit giddy this day .. to say the least. :)


Turns out the place has changed A LOT since I was there in 2013! It's so much bigger now. This giant dragon hangs in the entrance hall.




Even the shops are beautiful!



The tour starts in the Great Hall, which is beautiful, of course.



Me + Liam <3



Details like these are what I'm talking about. It's all so intricate and colourful and interesting! And the stories - signs everywhere that tell you how things were made, how they made things work. It's fascinating.



Oh hi!




If I had to pick a favourite room, I think it'd be Dumledore's office. It's so beautiful and magestic and with tons of little knickknacks to look at.










Last time I went, you'd go outside after the Ministry of Magic, to look at the Knight bus and all that. But they had added plenty of things, like ...


... the Forbidden Forest!!!




Loved it so much. And got a good scare too. The member of staff in that room said my reaction whas the best one in weeks. :)


And then you came out at Platform 9 3/4!

Look how beautifully empty this place is! We got the last slot on a Monday - it was the only slot left for that day when we booked. And while I was a little bit sad that we'd have limited time (we got in at 16 and they close at 20 - 4 hours is NOT enough to look at everything), once we got there I didn't regret it. The place was virtually empty (which made it even easier to take photos), plenty of staff around to tell you interesting extra things, and there were NO queues for all the photo ops that were dotted around ...


... like this! :) I know I should have looked more focused here, you know, pretending to run through the wall at full speed and whatnot but I was just too delighted to keep a straight face.


Liam was more interested to look at the engine than anything else :)


But I still managed to get him to smile for the camera a bit. :)

That's it for now, but I have another part coming with the rest of the tour - and my absolute favourite bit - all the design props, boxes, books and ephemera! Drool!

february dances & parties

February was a busy month with lots of fun gatherings with friends, and three (!) dance weekenders - more on that later. My February started beautifully and hilariously with Anna's birthday party; a group of lovely people celebrating and playing silly games. It looked like this:









Yes, charades, obviously. :)


I so love this bunch of people!




The next weekend we went to Birmingham for Birmingham Swing Festival. I barely took any photos except these of Jon and Kathleen at dinner on Saturday. <3


Also on Saturday, the WEIRDEST THING HAPPENED. There was an Any Swing Goes (see what they did there?) contest. Liam and I were planning on entering dancing balboa, but he didn't feel his best just before the contest, so we had to pass. And then, when the people who wanted to compete gathered in the middle of the dance floor, and started to dance, I just felt (and said) ... oh, fuck it! And stepped out on the dance floor.

Everything after that is a bit of a haze. I know there was a tap out at some point, and I wasn't tapped out. I just continued dancing. And I know there was a tap in at some point, and Marie came up to me and tapped me in. And then was there another tap out? I can't remember, but I remember seeing the dance floor emptying around me, and I was getting really tired, but the music was great, and I kept on dancing, doing what I always do in solo jazz comps: All solo blues with a lot of fall of the log thrown in ...


And then there I was in the finals and everyone else around me had disappered except this fabulous couple, Stephen & Kathleen. I knew I wouldn't win against them (and I didn't - there was no way I could have outdanced them and I'm happy and honoured to place second behind them), but at that point it didn't matter - I just danced. And danced.

The rest of the weekend was so intense. I've never had this kind of response after a comp EVER. I got compliments on my dancing from everyone I met. Trisha Sewell and Marie N'diaye - the two judges whose opinion I, quite honestly, cared the most about; both of them people I look up to a lot - both came up to me and said that what I did was absolutely fantastic. But the most beautiful bit? People I've never met before came up to me and thanked me for sharing my dancing with them. As though I have something to give. I melted. I'll never forget it.

Photos by the fabulous Cheeky Rastall Photography.


After the weekend, Liam and I took the train to London - well, to Leavesden, to visit the Warner Bros. Studio Tour. I was crazy giddy and delighted, just like when I was first there seven years ago, and I took approximately one million photos; stay tuned for those, fellow nerds. :)


The day after we spent running errands in London and stocking up on UK essentials (squishy squashes, chocolate oranges, Matchmakers, Source shower gel (mint for Liam, lemon for me) - all the essential things for living). And we had scones at M&S. :)





I also went to House of MinaLima, which is a hidden gem in Soho; a member of staff at the studio tour told me about it the day before. It's the art gallery of the design duo behind all the graphic props for the films and it was so exciting!


Friday night in our kitchen. We had been dancing earlier in the evening, but we weren't feeling the music; neither were David, Tove or Karin, so I asked if they wanted to stop by at home for evening fika instead.



After posting about my puzzling last year, and how we would just have dinner at the kitchen table on top of my puzzles, my godmother gifted me this fancy puzzle mat (yes, that is how sweet she is). But when I came back into the kitchen from the bathroom, fika was already out on the table and no one had rolled up the puzzle mat. OH WELL. :)




Evening fika became night fika without us noticing, we just kept on enjoying each other's company. I love it when that happens, spontaneous guests who choose to stay.



Speaking of fika in our living room, here is a blues teacher meeting, in the middle of February. We had a lot of fun planning (even though it's hard work) and it's sad now that none of the fabulous courses and classes we planned will happen, as everything is cancelled - which is for the best, of course. There will be more dancing, some other time.