Magic

Kim and Mike returned to Essex by way of the New Forest, taking in the vibrant greens of new Spring growth on the trees, watching the ponies and generally relaxing.  There’s something very special and unique about an English Spring Day and they made the most of the season.  In just a few days the hedgerows changed from bare brown sticks to a mass of green leaves, decorated with white and pink blossom.

They also found time to check out the Bombay Sapphire gin distillery where Kim was treated to ‘The Laverstoke’ a new cocktail and Mike learned a lot about botanicals.

Essex found them taking the traditional walkway in Maldon, trying to avoid the traditional rain.  They took Mike’s brother Malcolm with them and enjoyed a pint at Heybridge Basin.  Several decades ago Mike sailed these waters and it seemed as though little had changed, just the price of beer had increased.

The younger members of the family grew up with the Harry Potter stories and so Kim and Mike made the trip to Watford for the Making of Harry Potter studio experience.  They found it fascinating, not only for the scale of the film sets but also for the attention of detail that had been incorporated into every scene.  Each character had its own individual wand, every costume and prosthetic was made to include the tiniest of detail and each set appeared so realistic it was easy to believe that the magic was real.

Mike was particularly taken with the Knight bus, created from three regular buses . . . .

. . . . while Kim admired the huge and incredibly detailed model of Hogwarts.

Then it was back to Essex and time to catch up with friends.  They stayed with Paul and Sue, who were neighbours until Kim and Mike moved to Australia.  Many happy memories were rekindled as they enjoyed their legendary hospitality under the thatched roof of their medieval cottage.

The story will finish here because things get a bit complicated later.  More will be revealed in the next blog.