I'm Still Aliveeeee!

I have been neglecting this blog a bit, especially considering I bang on so much about Harry Potter. You'd think I'd be all hyper-ventilating because the last film just came out. Which I am doing, just not blogging about it ;) Firstly, I don't want to review it because reviewing it without spoilers is pretty much impossible. And all the stuff I want to squee over also involves spoilers. Plus there's the fact I have been to busy watching the film at the cinema to actually talk about it ;) Oh and I've suddenly developed this social life where I feel busy, when in reality, I'm not that busy compared to a healthy person. But compared to the person I was last year, I am so freaking busy.


So yes, where was I? Ramble, ramble ;) I will start working on this blog more soon, I think it needs an overhaul and a new direction, or just some regular posts, so my little old brain is working on it!


In the mean time, if you actually liked my Potter related ramblings then I am using "thing worth sharing" as a shameless plug for my own Tumblr which I just set up ;) http://postpottersyndrome.tumblr.com check it! So whilst I fangirl over there, I might actually use this blog to get more "proper" blogging done.


Until next time!


Sarah x

One Minute Past Midnight

When I first heard that UK cinemas were doing midnight showings of Deathly Hallows Part 2, I knew I had to be there. So, despite the fact I had already booked tickets for a showing later on in the day, I braved it and booked the midnight tickets, after managing to convince my mum to come with me!

The day beforehand was spent resting. I spent the whole day in bed, had a snooze in the afternoon and tried to conserve all the energy I could. I started getting ready around 8/9 o'clock when I couldn't contain my excitement anymore and became restless. I changed outfits, checked and double checked I had both my 3D glasses and my regular ones. I went downstairs around half past 10, to wait for the taxi we had booked for 11 o'clock. I sat in my living room, my Hufflepuff scarf around my neck, a home-made Hufflepuff crest pinned to my chest, ready for the ride to begin.

The taxi arrived, and ten minutes later I was climbing out of the car outside the cinema. I hadn't seen town at that time of night for many years, and, as you would expect, there were a fair few drunkards about! As I walked down towards the cinema itself, one woman approached me with her finger outstretched and called to her friends "Oh look! She's got a Hogwarts scarf on!"

And I wasn't the only one. On entering the cinema I spied two girls seated in the foyer, one of them in a Gryffindor scarf, the other a fellow Hufflepuff. Whilst walking around the cinema I spotted witches complete with pointed hats and broomsticks, people in robes, people with scarves. I felt at home straight away!

Not long after we'd arrived, the Deathly Hallows part 1 screening that had been taking place kicked out and so the foyer was flooded with even more magical folk. We headed upstairs where they had a cardboard cutout of Harry and Voldemort by which people were taking pictures. I wasn't leaving without a photo to mark the night so I braved my hatred of flash to get a picture.

They let us in at about 11.30, where we took our seats, which were numbered due to the demand! We sat, we waited, and eventually coming up to midnight the trailers kicked off. Best moment of the trailers? The advert for Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. The trailer contained a montage of the parks located there, and as soon as the Wizarding World appeared a huge cheer and round of applause filled the room.

After that, the trailers truly seemed to go on forever. People were getting restless, sighing, waiting. Then, the BBFC screen came up, Voldemort appeared and the last scene from Part 1 unfolded. Then, the moment we'd all been waiting for. The WB logo growing ever closer; the film begins.

I will never forget the midnight showing, nor the atmosphere it provided. When we laughed, we laughed as one, when we cried, we cried as one. The famous lines from the book received cheers and applause, as well as those moments we'd all been waiting to see. The biggest reaction? I'm not one to spoil, but a long awaited romantic embrace stole the show.

It all ends here. Yes, the film is out, there will never be another. But Potter isn't over. The number of people in the cinema that night, two full screens of Potter fans show how alive Potter is today. The magic lives on.

Sarah x

Premiere Day!

I actually can't believe the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Premiere is tonight! Seems like so long I've been waiting for this film, and now the publicity is in full swing, interviews are happening left, right and centre and the media circus descends on Trafalgar Square tonight when the stars will gather for the last time. It's so exciting! Yet for the actors, this is the moment it will sink in. Throughtout the press for Part 1, they all stated the Part 2 premiere as the moment it would sink in that it's finally coming to an end.

So tonight, I will be glued to my laptop watching the livestream, whilst being grateful that I'm sat at home in the warmth with as much tea as I like on hand, yet also feeling a touch jealous that all those fans are getting to be part of that moment. Some of them have been camping all week which, let's face it, is pretty dedicated! Puts my Harry Potter fan-ness in perspective, I feel almost inadequate ;)

I imagine the next week will be somewhat of a blur, I've managed to end up with a hospital appointment a few days before I'm meant to see the film, which will mean a strict schedule of rest is in order to see me through the week. But I've been good so far! Now to balance the excitement the countdown to the film will create, whilst not getting so excited that all my precious energy is wasted on that.

I'm sure I'll blog straight after the film, just to have somewhere to squee to my heart's content, and maybe even post a little blog beforehand, time will tell! But I can't believe we really are nearing the end, what a journey.

"Thing worth sharing" this week goes to this article, flying 5000 miles to go to the premiere, just in case you doubted the dedication <3

And a special note goes to everyone who lost their lives 6 years ago today, and to the families still grieving.

Until the next time!

Sarah x

The Journey

It is another one of those times in the Harry Potter fandom where there is so much film news coming out, you literally don't know where to start. TV spots emerging, 8 posters released and magazine specials left right and centre, there's so much to talk (squee) about! In an effort to make my blog a bit more personal (inspired by MEAW) I wanted to focus on the magazine article part of that first sentence.

Deathly Hallows has been the first HP film I've really been able to throw myself in to the pre-release hype for. When I first found the online wealth of Potter websites, Half-Blood Prince was being filmed so technically that was my first taste of the excitement and anticipation. I remember waiting and waiting for the HBP trailer, the rumours and the disappointment when they failed to follow through, and the buzz all over the internet when the trailers were released. Of course the HBP build up was also tainted with disappointment when it was announced that the film would be released later that planned. A lot later. This was also the time that the big announcement about Deathly Hallows news broke; the book would be adapted in to two films.

So yes, I had a taste of the excitement, but it was to be halted prematurely when my health took a turn for the worse. How would this affect my ability to follow the film news I hear you say? Well, for a start I was unable to use my laptop, which pretty much cut me off from that world. My laptop screen was too bright, now that light sensitivity had returned to my life with a vengance, and extreme weakness in my wrists meant typing was out. Over the next few months and years I would hear snatches on the radio or the television which was something. Of course during this time, I was also unable to read, which meant I was separated from my rekindled love affair with the Potter books, and so the series drifted from my mind after several attempts at reading had caused me nothing but misery due to my symptoms making the task impossible.

Fast forward to 2010, with improved health and my ability to use my laptop to connect with the world restored then I could once again throw myself in to the media frenzy that surrounded the Potter series. The scanning of news sites resumed, the awaiting of trailers, posters, pictures, anything that would be released in the build up to the second to last film in the series.

Over the year clips and trailers would be released, meaning either a late night to stay up to watch the online release (thanks to U.S time zones!) or else a very early morning rush to the laptop once I was out of my zombie M.E coma. But 2010 was also a year I was leaving the house more, after months and years of being housebound, and leaving the house meant shopping! So it was for the first time that going to the newsagents became a real possibility, and when news of Deathly Hallows features being released in magazines broke, I could make it to the shops and have the satisfying feeling of seeing the latest issue of Empire/Total Film sat on the shelf, being able to pick it up and pore over the new pictures and interviews. As the release of the film came closer, more issues appeared in different magazines and newspapers offered special giveaways or dedicated pull-out sections containing more interviews than you could shake a stick at! And my ability to be involved in the build up to the film had been given back to me, so I grabbed it with both hands. I missed out on the build up to the final books, so the build up to the films had replaced that gap. I was revelling in the excitement and buzz around the films, and enjoying every moment.

Not only that, but over the course of last year I can relate so many of those Potter stories to where I was in my life health wise at that time. My first trip to the local shops in my brother's car without my wheelchair to buy a copy of Empire magazine, nipping in to WHSmith on my way home from a hospital appointment and spotting an issue of SFX magazine with Daniel Radcliffe right there on the cover. To most people grabbing a magazine is something you do without even a second thought, picking up something to read on the bus or train, or a long car journey, a regular treat to sit on the coffee table. Most are to be discarded, thrown on to that week's recycling pile. But could I throw away anything Potter related? No I could not! So here is my collection, which not only shows my geeky, fangirl-ness but charts a journey of improving health and holds so many memories upon those pages.

On 15th July the pre-film buzz will officially be over, when the final film is release and the series reaches its end. But that doesn't mean that it will be forgotten, for many the days which are spent hitting refresh on web pages til the latest snippet of news appears before them, will be the best days of their life, no I'm not kidding! And tonight marks the journey coming full circle, with the showing of an exclusive clip at tonight's MTV Movie Awards. This time last year, the fandom received it's first glimpse at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. So tonight, with a little over a month until the release of the final film, we get that same feeling of excitement for one of the last times. Enjoy it! I certainly will.

And a slightly late edition to the post as my "thing worth sharing" wasn't released when I posted, the MTV Movie Awards clip can be found at this link!