We Have a Harry Potter Convert

[przed]

Up until this week, Ros has shown absolutely no interest in Harry Potter. Her daycare teacher has been reading them the first book, and she's made a point of telling me she goes off and does something else in the room so she doesn't have to pay attention to it.

That changed this week, when we had this conversation.

Ros: Mommy, do you like Harry Potter?
Me: Not really. Do you?
Ros: No.

She then launched into a detailed description of the first book. A really, really detailed description. Which was occasionally interrupted by me.

Me: Are you sure you don't like Harry Potter?
Ros: No, I don't. And do you know how Harry got on the Quidditch team?

By the next day she was quizzing the Sweetie on Harry Potter trivia and admitting that maybe she liked Harry Potter. The day after that she was sure she likes Mr. Potter and wants to read the first book at home because they're reading it too slowly at daycare. And a day after that she agreed to give the first movie a try once she'd read the book.

So it looks like we'll be visiting the Harry Potter set in London. And when we mentioned the Harry Potter theme park in Florida Ros was miffed.

Ros: Why didn't you tell me about the park when we were in Florida?
Me: Because you told us you didn't like Harry Potter when we were in Florida.

I'm not fond of the Hogswarts crew myself (except Hermione!) but I have to admit I'm a little bit pleased that Ros is showing a budding fannish interest in a fannish text.

So, does anyone know how much time one should allow for a visit to the Harry Potter sets?

Comments

[dawnebeth.livejournal.com]

Ah, the budding fangirl. They never like what we want them to like. Hey, at least it's a British series of books and movies!

My daughter adores Big Bang Theory. She has all 7 seasons on DVD, dolls, calendars, t-shirts... Yeah, I like the show, but I wouldn't write fic for it. Lol.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Ros has very much always had her own taste. But yes, hooray for it being a British series. (I'm afraid we've corrupted her that way. She's been calling T.V. telly since she was wee. *g*)

My mom is the big BBT fan. Which amuses me more than the show does, I'm afraid. (She always despaired of me being a Trekkie when I was a kid. *g*) The show irks me, mostly because a good chunk of my uni friends really are astrophysicists, with a mathematician or two thrown in for fun.

[dawnebeth.livejournal.com]

What irks me about it (although I think it is funny) is the utter conviction that women do not watch Star Trek, Star Wars, The Avengers, Indiana Jones or read comics. Raises hand. I do.

[przed.livejournal.com]

There are many things that irk me about that show (though it does sometimes make me laugh.) The gender politics are definitely grating, but I also hate the easy stereotypes it pulls out about scientific academics that match absolutely none of my friends. The boy genius in our group (he was 16 in first year, and took advanced physics for fun to round out his math degree) also plays in bands, does improv comedy, and is the go-to-guy for local and national media when they need a mathematician to explain statistics to the masses. And he's far from an outlier. Our group has several fine artists (both astronomy profs), a number of musicians, and several writers. /rant

So, yeah, TBBT sort of make me mental. >:(

[moonlightmead.livejournal.com]

Relieved to hear that. My dad's a big fan of it, and tried to get me into it because 'you'll get all the jokes and know people like that', and I'm afraid it wasn't a 'bonding of generations over the same show' moment at all.

I don't generally like sitcoms, and it's basically a sitcom. And I can't tell the characters apart. And I don't like them.

The occasional nerdish joke raises a smile of recognition, but hackerdom and fandom are big places, and my little homes in them are not at all like the bits they use in the show.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I'm totally with you. And I'm also not a sitcom person, though I very occasionally find a not-too-sitcomy sitcom that I can get behind. Community was the last of those. There's a show that has good use of nerd humour. Even when they dealt with areas of fandom I only know through reputation, they did a fantastic job with it. (Their D&D episode was one of the greatest comedy episodes ever.)

[asilia.livejournal.com]

I very much approve of any kid liking Harry Potter ;)

And the Harry Potter studios in London are awesome :D We went a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it! You can book it online and choose a specific time to enter the exhibit (they only let a certain amount of people in at the same time so it never gets too crowded) and you can also pre-book the bus (which is easy to reach by train from central London). I think we spent maybe 3-4 hours there, you can get through quicker but there is really a lot to see. And be careful, because you exit through the shop and you can very easily spend a lot of money there :P

[przed.livejournal.com]

I'm not keen on Potter (there are other writers in the same vein I think are much better, like Diane Duane and Susan Cooper and Diane Wynne Jones) but I approve of anything that gets Ros interested in reading. And hopefully I can then steer her to Duane and Cooper and Wynne Jones. *g*

But I have to admit, I'm looking forward to seeing the sets. I gave up on the books after the first one, but I've watched all the movies. They're full of actors I adore. We'll plan for 3-ish hours. Ros can get impatient in exhibit-type things. I suspect there will be money spent in the gift shop, though at least the Sweetie and I won't be too tempted, not being Potterites.

I'm definitely getting excited about this London trip. Ending with the TT extravaganza!

[asilia.livejournal.com]

Oh I love Harry Potter - the books much more than the movies, they improve a lot throughout the series.

The studio tour is really fun because you go from actual sets to more exhibit-like rooms and then to outdoor sets etc so it's very diverse.

My year is full with TT trips now, and one 'normal' summer holiday -I've spent an insane amount of money on tickets by now O_O

[przed.livejournal.com]

I bailed after the first book, but a number of people have told me they get better. I guess I'm about to find out!

I had hoped TT's European dates would coincide with my trip back to London to see Cumberbatch in Hamlet, but the first one is just a few days too late, so I'll have to content myself with one TT show. But as that's one more than I've ever seen, it's awesome! (You wouldn't be doing any of the London dates, would you? It would be fun to meet up for coffee or a meal.)

[asilia.livejournal.com]

I'm going to London on June 5th - you're going to a later date, aren't you?

I'm also going to opening night in Glasgow (crazy spontaneous decision, we only bought tickets for that last week lol) and in October, I'll be in Cologne and Vienna :) Cologne is convenient as I can stay with a friend so saving money on accommodation and Vienna is my bonus gig, I didn't expect them to come to Austria at all! They came for the BW tour but it wasn't even sold out then so I was really surprised! It's great for me though as Vienna is only 2 hours by train and I can stay at my dad's girlfriend's place so it's a cheap trip.

[przed.livejournal.com]

We're seeing the June 12th show, but we arrive in London on the 6th. If you're still around, meeting up would be grand.

That is a lovely tour of TT you have planned! I'm a bit sad that Cologne wasn't possible for me. (I was there my first trip to Europe many moons ago and loved the city.)

[asilia.livejournal.com]

We're going back home on the 7th - not sure what our plans are for the 6th yet but we'll see :) Are you just gonna stay in London for the entire time or do you have something else planned as well?

I've never been to Cologne, not sure how much I'll see of it as my friend lives in Düsseldorf so we'll probably just go to Cologne for the gig. Weather in October can be unreliable but if it's nice we might manage to see some of the city before.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Well, there's a bit of overlap, though we'll be jetlagged that first day. But perhaps I could meet you for late afternoon coffee or a drink after dinner. Let me know as your plans evolve.

We're staying in London, but will likely do a few day trips. Brighton and Warwick castle are high possibilities, and I've found a place with kids' ziplining that Ros is eager to try. She's a climby kid and has been dying to zipline for a couple of years, but she's still way below the weight requirements for even some of the kid ziplines we've seen over here.

[moonlightmead.livejournal.com]

Oh, fun! I hope Ros comes to enjoy it, and I hope you all enjoy the set visits.

I once got lost in the little alley from the Inns of Court which leads up to an exit in the Strand. (It was a Sunday, and I slipped in from the Strand behind someone with a key, ahem.) And it was like walking through Diagon Alley: narrow, not entirely straight, cobbles, little old-fashioned frontages, evocative names on brass plates... And there was even a robe shop! - Ede and Ravenscroft, who do academic and legal gowns.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I'm no Potter fan, but I have to say I'm looking forward to the set visit!

I think I've been lost in that same area! Sally and I were mucking about looking for Top Gear Stig pens on the Strand, as you do, and then I broke off to go to a War Horse performance at the New London theatre. I'd forgotten my A to Z that day, and I'd never been to that theatre before because it had been playing Starlight Express for eons and I had no interest in that, and before I knew it I was hopelessly lost. I finally resorted to taking a black cab, and it turned out I was only two blocks away. The cabbie took me for free, I'm sure because I looked a bedraggled, frustrated mess by that point. I shall keep my eye out for a robe shop next time I'm in the area, this time with my A to Z. ;-)

[norfolkdumpling.livejournal.com]

Lol! But WHY didn't you magically know Ros was going to start liking Harry Potter and make her go to the park in Florida? Did you leave your crystal ball at home? *g*

Isn't it nice to watch a dawning fannish obsession beginning? :)

[przed.livejournal.com]

I know! Clearly I was falling down on the mommy job not realizing that she would change her mind about Harry Potter in eight months. What was I thinking! *g*

I'm enjoying this fannish obsession far more than the hockey thing. Which continues unabated. :(

[draycevixen.livejournal.com]

My main response to this is awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! The wee one's first fandom. \o/

[przed.livejournal.com]

Her engagement with the really minute details of the book is pretty adorable to watch. (Hockey is probably her first fandom, but this is her first *media* fandom, so yay!)

[solosundance.livejournal.com]

I love that Ros has been in denial :) I know the HP books well (my boy was obsessed with them at one time and I read along with him). Although I'm not interested in the movies or fandom there's certainly a lot for a budding fan to get into in terms of characters, dynamics, mytharc etc. What fun for her!

[przed.livejournal.com]

I suspect I'm going to get to know the books a lot better really soon. (I'm off to pick up the first one after work today.)

As much as I'm not a fan, I have to say that I love Hermione, and I'm glad she's picked something with a good female character, and it's certainly a meaty world to dig into.

[moonlightmead.livejournal.com]

I *wish* I had had Hermione to read about when I was a kid. Awesome character. I love her.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Hermione is, IMO, the real hero of the books.

[golden-bastet.livejournal.com]

The Ros is *such* a cool kid. I hope she has a lot of fun with this! (And you will, too.)

[przed.livejournal.com]

We're of the opinion that she's pretty cool. But we're biased that way. *g*

I'm sure there will be further reports on Ros' passage through Potter.

[halotolerant.livejournal.com]

Ah, Potter. Not my favourite thing personally, but the book series got two of my cousins with major dyslexia issues actually reading so I'm a fan of their existence generally, if you see what I mean *g* I predict you may be hearing a lot more about Harry's activities over the coming weeks/months...

[przed.livejournal.com]

Your opinion of Potter seems to match mine exactly. Not a fan, but I'm for anything that gets kids reading and enjoying it.

Ros hasn't been too much of a reader until lately. Collection of the Cul de Sac comic strip seem to have been her gateway to reading on her own for enjoyment, and if Potter keeps that momentum going, so much the better.