Yes, Friends, do you know a woman who's fun-loving, but also a bit of a 'nerd'?
It's an unusual combination, isn't it, but luckily those hard-working 'journos' at the Onion News for East Hampshire have come up trumps as usual - Kudos!!! - and they've found someone in nearby Basingstoke who fits the bill, which is nice!
Kudos, that woman! And this purely local story, I notice, got quickly picked up by the 'nationals' - the Times, Telegraph etc - and, on an admittedly 'slow news' day, was actually the lead story on the BBC World Service's early morning bulletins, although, having said that, the item got relegated to an "and also, today, in Basingstoke, Hampshire" status by lunchtime, which was a pity!
The story, however, and its reference to QUOTE "me and Ashley at Hogwarts in Basingstoke' UNQUOTE brings the faintest glimmer of a smile, however, to the faces of me and my wife Lois today, here in semi-leafy Liphook, Hampshire, just 'down the road' from where that woman lives, which is nice!
me and my wife Lois - a recent picture
We're laughing, because, by total coincidence, we know that Hogwarts, the school in JK Rowling's series of novels, the school where fictional boy hero Harry Potter goes to study magic, and also, indeed, Harry Potter themes in general, are going to dominate our day today, which is weird!
And it's all because our dear younger daughter Sarah (48), with husband Francis and their 12-year-old twin daughters Lily and Jessica, are flying here at the end of this month from their home in Perth, Western Australia, for a 3-week break.
flashback to July 2025, and the family's last visit to the UK
The twins are "Harry Potter potty", to coin a phrase - they've read all the books several times, and seen all the films, and they're both 'gagging' to look round Harry Potter World theme park at the Warner Bros studios near Watford during their three weeks with us.
Let me put my cards on the table at this point!
[I wish you wouldn't keep doing that, Colin! - Ed]You see, Harry Potter isn't really my 'cup of tea'. I haven't read any of the books or seen any of the films, and I don't really understand what all the fuss is about. However, I was quite happy, initially, with the idea of letting Sarah and family go off in their rental car, battling the crazy M25 'beltway' around London and battling all the crowds at the actual Harry Potter World at the Warner Bros Studio etc etc, while Lois and I put our feet up at home, and go to bed in the afternoon and do all the things we do.
Well, we're not exactly 12 any more. That ship sailed a long time ago, to put it mildly !!!!!
flashback to 1958: me (ringed) in my 1st year class photo at
Manchester Grammar School, with our form teacher Mr Snooks
flashback to 1958 or thereabouts - Lois at the front door
of the family home in Cutteslowe Park, Oxford
Happy days!!!
That being said, Lois and I have been slowly coming round to the idea that it would be great to see our lovely twin granddaughters fulfilling their lifelong wish to see this theme park, and to experience something of 'Harry Potter Madness' for ourselves at first hand. Also Sarah rings us from her car on her way home from her office in Perth today, and she convinces us that 'it just wouldn't be the same without you, Mum and Dad', which we're very touched by. Awwwww!!!!!
So we take the plunge, and book the tickets for 4 adults and 2 kids - so watch this space!
What madness, isn't it !!!!
And this afternoon, the Harry Potter saga unexpectedly provides an element of light relief, while I'm suffering torment, with my mouth open for practically a whole hour, in the chair at our dental surgery, where both our Portuguese dentist Jose, and his dental nurse Debbie, seem to think it's okay (!) to get their plastic-gloved fingers into my mouth, just to carry out an awkward filling, right at the back on the left side of my mouth, would you believe!!! What madness (again) !!!!!
(left) our local dental surgery, with (centre) Portuguese dentist Jose, and nurse Debbie
Jose speaks perfect English, although with what he calls 'a kiwi twang', having spent years practising as a dentist in faraway New Zealand, before deciding to try his luck here, in New Zealand's old 'mother country'.
However, a previous time I was at the surgery, I heard Jose ask an assistant to find him a pen, and she went away and came back empty-handed, thinking that he had asked her to find him a pin.
And if YOU too are confused about the difference, just observe how this lady does it on TikTok - note the shape of her mouth when she's saying the two words: quite different in each case, isn't it, to put it mildly! Also notice the position of her eyebrows, which is a bit of a giveaway, to the initiated at least!
Or if you're still not getting through, try the international standard fall-back, for use only in dire emergencies, which is to always close your eyes when saying "pen" and to keep them open for "pin".
See? Simples!
See how our petty regional differences can be laughed away, even in a dental surgery, and gaps bridged [no pun intended!!!!] with just a little common sense and good will - simples, really, isn't it!
[That's enough nonsense! - Ed]
Thanks to my intervention, however, the awkward "pen-pin" impasse at the surgery, which could have turned ugly, was glossed over, or should I say "flossed over" (!) [No! - Ed], and passed off without incident or injury, either to staff or to patients, which was nice.
(left) some typical pens, and (right) some typical pins
But here's another coincidence for you. When I mention, with gestures, to Jose about the Harry Potter World tickets that Lois and I ordered online this morning, he reveals that his home town in Portugal was Oporto, where JK Rowling apparently spent a couple of years working as an English teacher, and it was in Oporto that she started trying to write her Harry Potter stories. Who knew?
And Jose tells me, as I sit in his dental chair with my mouth open but unable to respond (!), that even the uniforms of the prestigious Hogwarts School, where young Harry Potter went to study magic, were inspired by the capes and gowns worn by students at Oporto University, which JK Rowling had often observed during her time in the city.
Again, who knew!!!!! [I expect a lot of people knew that, Colin! - Ed]
(above) the dark academic capes and black suits worn by students at Oporto
and (below) the uniforms of Hogwarts students in JK Rowling's books
Having said that, once the talk about Harry Potter subsided and my dental treatment went on (and on, and on!) with me longing to hear the magic words that all dental patients are longing to hear - "All done!", I finally stagger out into the sunlight outside the surgery at 4pm, with half of my mouth feeling horribly numb, and with the horrifying prospect of "waiting three hours before eating or drinking anything warm" and "only eating on the right side of my mouth until tomorrow" - what madness (again) !!!!
[That's enough madness! - Ed]
A pity, because the thing I want most in the world at this moment is a nice cup of tea!!!
Poor me!!!!!!
Will this do?
[Oh just go to bed! - Ed]
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzz!!!!!!!
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