20 July, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Today during lunch, a teacher came into the staffroom and exclaimed: “Don’t go outside! There are freaks everywhere! They’ve got magic wands and pointy hats.”
She was referring to the Harry Potter fans who had taken up residence outside Waterstone’s bookshop nearby in Piccadilly. They’ve been camped out for a few days and are waiting to be among the first to buy the new book tonight at midnight.
[Click below to see more of the photos I took outside the bookshop -- as if I could resist this freakshow.]
The mere mention of Harry Potter was greeted with groans amongst the teachers I work with.
“F–k Harry Potter!” this hilarious Scottish guy said. “I hope the little sh*t dies.”
“Yeah, but I want him to commit suicide,” another guy said.
“How?”
“He gets in the car, right. He runs a hose from the back and then –”
“Asphyxiation. I see what you mean, but that’s not painful enough.”
“Then what?”
“Guillotine.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s the only way we could be sure he’s dead.”
Gee, I’m gonna miss working with those guys.
[BTW -- It was my last day teaching at the language school. It was also the last day for many of my students, who are heading back to Taiwan tomorrow. They gave me presents and a few of the boys gave me cards with messages inside that said, "I'll miss you forever," and "It's a big world, so we are lucky to meet each other." If it weren't so cute...it'd be a tad creepy.]
These two girls at the front of the queue were pointing their wands at me:
This poor guy doesn’t seem to be coping very well with life on the streets:
There were as many reporters there as fans:
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SpliceGirl Says:
July 20th, 2007 at 11:15 pmHarry Potter fans may be a *little* overzealous but wouldn’t you rather have kids/teens/people excited over and waiting in line for a BOOK instead of some stupid Playstation Grand Theft Auto video game that promotes the beating & raping of women and the killing of EVERYONE?
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I’m not one of those people who thinks it’s great if people are reading, regardless of *what* they’re reading. I prefer people to read good books. If they want to read Harry Potter too, fine. But if that’s *all* they read, then I find that to be really annoying.
But as I was walking around the crowd, they were all very excited and happy. And they all seemed pretty dorkish and innocent, so I won’t begrudge them their fun. I’m not that evil!
BTW, there were lots of goth chicks there. Like, major goth, not wannabes. What’s up with the goths and Harry?
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i like the series - i see harry potter as a gateway drug to actual literature
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Rebecca Says:
July 21st, 2007 at 4:10 amIt’s funny, earlier today I was reading the BBC news website and the exact same owl girls were on their page.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6909153.stm
If you scroll nearly all the way down to the bottom, they are pictured there also. I found it amusing
(of course, I find your picture much better than the ones on the BBC site!)
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Jen: I’ll take your word for it.
Rebecca: I had NO idea those girls were dressed up as owls! And thanks for the link. That is so cool the BBC took a photo of them too. Why doesn’t the BBC just hire me?
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Rebecca Says:
July 22nd, 2007 at 5:46 amI didn’t either until I read the caption! I kept staring and staring.. thinking wtf are they supposed to be… and then when I read the caption it suddenly made sense. I find it very clever that they did that! Loads of people dress as characters and other assorted things, but not many owls! And yes, they should hire you
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I think they are good books- classic Joseph Campbell Hero’s Journey- But you don’t dig it. That’s cool. To each their own.
That said no way in hell would I be in a queue a zillion hours before they go on sale in a costume.
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Although I did not wait in queue for Book 7’s release, I did read it this past weekend. Needless to say, it was wonderful. I have thoroughly enjoyed J.K. Rowling’s writing and bringing to life these wonderful characters. I think it’s great that her imagination has created such an interest in reading. I’m not one for dressing up, but I think it’s great that people have found connections with their favorite characters and celebrate the story.
