Well this is the day after the election and instead of moping I decided to post something uplifting! As mentioned in an earlier blog I stated that Todd Von Bastiaans and Bryan McCarthy were coming to London and were going to take all of us to the Harry Potter Studios. They did! They arrived on Monday and went with us to go see Harold Pinter's No Man' s Land on that night. On Friday we took the train to Watford Junction and then a Harry Potter bus to the Studio. Spent three hours there. Loads of fun! Here are a lot of pictures of a few of the things we experienced.
Harry's cupboard where he slept at his Aunt and Uncle's house.
Dining Hall with all the fake food.
This is just a small model that they used to film one of the corridors.
Automated kitchen. Knives cutting by themselves, knitting needles knitting by themselves, and iron moving by itself, etc.. All interactive where you could make these things move.
How they filmed inside the train.
Flying letters.
Make-up Department.
The various wands used in the movies.
Butter beer!
One of the set models. Lots were on display!
Boxes of wands labelled with name of character. You can buy one in the gift shop, of course for 29 pounds.
After leaving the Studios, Todd and Bryan invited all of us to their penthouse suite at the W Hotel where we got to relax, chat, and eat some great food! Here are some pictures of the Suite.
The Bathroom (bigger than my flat!)
The shower
Jacuzzi bath tub.
A DJ stand.
This is one wall in dining room
The backside of the wall in the hallway
A semi-circular couch that could seat all 15 of us.
A huge thank you to Todd and Bryan! We had a Blast!
Here are some photos of our outing to see No Man's Land.
The pre-set.
Waiting to meet the cast.
Todd
Sir Ian was the first to come out and sign autographs. Then Owen Teale from The Game of Thrones. Patrick Stewart was ill and had visitors so he did not come out to meet anyone.
Jake and Owen Teale. This made Jake's night!
Finally, Todd surprised me with tickets to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, parts 1 and 2. Todd, Bryan, Alise Kennedy, and I went, and I must say it was probably one of the best theatrical experiences I have ever had. Can't even explain all the fantastic magic that was part of this production The acting was also super!
We also stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel in Park Lane (part of my retirement gift). Had a lovely brunch on Sunday with some of Todd's friends from Vegas and then back to the flat. Todd and Bryan flew back on Monday. Oh, you will happy to know that Suzanne was released from the hospital and flew back to the States on Friday just in time to get more depressed on Tuesday night. Haha. Until next blog....
THAT'S ALL FOLKS!!!
