A Mysterious Day

I'm not done with my Easter holiday tales, so here's my account of what we did while in London. This was the day after the Harry Potter Studio tour and we thought it's our chance to explore a little bit (more) of London. What struck us odd was how the day worked out in the end.

221b Baker Street, a photo by rachlyf on Flickr.

At the start of the day, we went to the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221b Baker Street. To be honest, I've not properly read the Sherlock Holmes series, which I really must do!

Sherlock's Bedroom

A Book on Bees

Desk in Mr Watson's Room

Diaries

Later in the evening, we decided to watch a West End play and it was quite a coincidence that we bought tickets for an Agatha Christie play at the St. Martin's Theatre. The Mousetrap is the longest-running play, one of the detective writer's amazing whodunnit story. I won't ruin the ending for you as I've been sworn to secrecy. I can only say that if you watch it, you can be sure that you won't regret it.

That being said, I've only ever read one or two of Agatha Christie's stories. It's on my list along with Arthur Canon Doyle.

Visiting a fictional detective's house and watching a detective play. It's pretty mysterious. I can't fathom it.

World Book Night 2012

Today is William Shakespeare's birthday. It is also World Book Night. As part of the initiative, volunteers will hand out books to a number of readers. These readers would then read the books, then share them with another new reader. Check out the website if you want to know more about it.

I've been given a book titled The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I've started a bit of it. Don't think I have time to read much until I've handed in my assignment and I'm done revising.

And well, it doesn't really matter if you don't have one of the books on the list, reading is the nectar of life. Reading feeds and fuels imagination, uses words as the building blocks for worlds, and the good ones stick with you and change your life.

Pick a book up today. Have a good night :)

Harry Potter WB Studio Tour: Where the Magic was Made

I remember the hype of The Boy Who Lived feverishly taking over the school, with classmates asking me whether I've read the first book and how they could not wait for the film to be released. I was one of those kids who was already on the third.

The Cupboard Beneath the Stairs

Seven books and eight films later, I would not have thought I'd be at the Warner Bros Studio in Leavesden where the Harry Potter films were produced. Chiah and I booked our tickets way in advance at the start of our second year. Could you imagine our excitement the time drew near?

Voila!

We also got a digital guide with the voice of Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) guiding us along the way. It's perfectly okay to go about without one but we thought we might as well experience all that the tour had to offer.

The Great Hall

Where the Teachers First Appear

Levitating Candles

Yule Ball

You might want to note the ice sculpture. I'll let you know why in my next post on Brighton. 

Hogwarts Gate

Knock, knock, knocking on Hogwart's Door...

Gryffindor Boys' Dorm

Wands

The wands were designed individually to fit the wizard or witch.

Gryffindor Common Room

Apparently the Common Room was a favourite on the set because of how cosy it felt.

Mirror of Erised

Engravings

Cloak of Invisibility

If you look closely, the patterns on the cloak are quite beautiful. The green surface was where the special effects team would superimpose the background on it to make it seem invisible.

Golden Egg

More Props

The red one at the bottom right corner is the Philosopher's Stone. There's also Neville's Remembrall, Rita Skeeter's Notebook and Hermione's Time Turner.

Stairway to Dumbledore's Office

Dumbledore's Office

Horcruxes

Tom Riddle's Diary

The Weasley's home

The Clock that shows where the Weasleys are.

Animal Actors

Hedwig Animal Actors

Owls are awesome creatures. I'm not saying this because of the franchise, although I would imagine that owls must have become popular after the books were published. On a related note, I was pretty upset when Hedwig died.

The Moving Portraits

Well, they don't move until the guys behind the scenes work the magic. 

Entrance to the Chamber of Secrets

Quidditch

Death Eater Costumes

Ministry of Magic

This is the statue Voldemort placed in the Ministry of Magic after taking over it.

Professor Umbridge's Office

With the adorable moving cat pictures!

Marauder's Map

I solemnly swear I am up to no good.

The Letters

The Black Family Tapestry

Butterbeer

Oh yes, I drank Butterbeer

What did it taste like? Root beer, but with a buttery froth. It is quite delicious. I can see why the characters in the book love it so much.

Guess where we are

Riddle Family Tombstone

Knight Bus

The Weasley's Flying Car

Make it FLY!

Chess Pieces

Hogwarts Bridge

Fawkes

Dobby

The Monster Book of Monsters

Basilisk

The highlight of the tour that got us jumping (okay it could have been just me) - Diagon Alley. The scenes with it in the first movie were simply awe-inspiring.

Diagon Alley

Ollivander's

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes

The crew even designed all the candy boxes and joke items in the shop. 

Flourish and Blotts

Concept Art

The concept art on the walls are really fantastic.  This is where art makes reality magical while science puts magic into reality.

My favourite one

The huge model of the castle

It's a great feeling to be in the place where characters who grew up with you on the pages on a book were brought to life. These are merely some of the many photos taken in the studio. To see the rest, go onto my Facebook profile. It might take some time to upload them, so please be patient. Have a good and magical day!