I’m a massive Harry Potter fan, don’t care that I’m probs too old but really, are you ever too old for magic?? Having last minute booked the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour at 4.30pm, the rest of the day was about finding fun in London while I waited…

First stop for brekky, Shoreditch. Kyles housesat here and loved it and I’d read a bit about its hipster style, more of an alternative type hood in London. After a 2 second google of the best brunch, couldn’t go past a place called The Breakfast Club and getting lost on the way was an awesome chance to check out the neighbourhood, definitely on the short list of places to live if I were to find myself moving here. Just really chill and quirky, and not full of pretentious hipsters like I half expected. And by gosh, I am a hipster because I’ve missed my smashed avo on rye. The food, the music, the staff, the He-Man wallpaper in the toilet…awesome funky place that hopefully I’ll get back to before leaving!

Next stop, THE British Museum, not just any old museum, THE British one…

I beelined for the Egyptian display, always my favourite at a museum along with dinosaurs but I guess they didn’t have any dinosaurs in Britain… so impressed, amazing sculptures, tombs and mommies (not mummies right?!?), and lots of stories with each display, would have loved to live back in those days, as a well off man or a goddess, us normal joe blows didn’t get much of a chance back then. How they were able to erect the pyramids, create these humongous sculptures, some say aliens but in reality, just bad OH&S that meant people were slaves and it didn’t matter if they lost their life for yet another larger than life sculpture of Ramses II.

After letting my imagination wonder in the times of Osiris and Ra, I found the one things that drew me to the museum, The Rosetta Stone. Had heard so much about it, like a code breaker for Egyptian hieroglyphs and being a nerd that wanted to be a computer hacker and instead settled for being a boring Java programmer – this was absolute bewilderment. If it wasn’t for the masses of crowds around it, I would have stared at it all day. Just looks like a rock in the pic but up close it is absolutely magnificent…

Nearly all museumed out, I did a quick browse through the Japanese history gallery, love the history of the samurai warrior but TBH, wasn’t overly impressed with what was in there, obvious the Egyptian section was the show stopper. With really only seeing about a quarter of the museum but unable to read or look at another thing not from this century, it was time for a strong coffee, double shot. Strolling through the streets of London, I adore the lines of houses and stumbling on this place, the University of London, hmmm, wonder where the psychology department is…

Finally ended up at Carnaby Street, a cobbled street of cool cafes, funky stores and finally, good coffee…

Before I knew it, the time had come to indulge in all things Potter and not be embarrassed even slightly that I’m a thirty something adult in an Gryffindor sweater excited as a school girl… arriving in Watford and getting on the dedicated Harry Potter bus, I loved seeing other adult nerds dressed just like me, probs without the goofy smile though.

The Warner Bros studios are beyond amazing. Every Harry Potter fan MUST visit. After entering the Great Hall decorated for Christmas then through to the different sets, costumes, props and a dream come true, flying on a broomstick!! Video to come… oh, Harry and I have the same size hands, completely useless fact…

I can’t put into words how awesome this place is and how magical it feels just being here, bloody brilliant, as Ron would say… and of course butter beer and butter beer ice cream for dinner made me even sadder that my letter from Hogwarts never arrived…

They recommend you allow three and a half hours to tour the studios, after four and a half, I called it a day. Really could have stayed there for hours more, so much to see and read about, and the self guided audio tour means you can be part of the magical world of witches and wizards for however long you like. Forever please???

Tuesday 8th January 2019.