Saying goodbye to Harry Potter

Hours before the red carpet at Trafalgar Square

I know the Harry Potter hype has kind of died down but being a Harry Potter fan, I need to blog about this experience. It's also been a while since I wrote here, I guess I've just been busy (as always) and my husband has been using our pc a lot because of his latest hobby (I consider it obsession) which is photography.

The Harry Potter premiere last month has been one of the anticipated events of the year. I have religiously followed all the films from day one and like many of us, I watched the stars grow up before our very eyes. I'm also a big fan of JK Rowling's books, influenced by my best friend. And now that I'm living in England, I can totally relate to the books and of course, the movies. In fact, one of the locations in the movie (Gringott's Bank) was actually filmed in our office. Too bad I wasn't working there yet when they shot the scenes. But it's such a great feeling when you see some movie scenes, and I'm not just talking about Harry Potter but other movies as well, being shot in places where you've already been. It just feels surreal.

Back to Harry Potter, I made plans for the big day as I have to take advantage of me being here and so I have to make sure that I should be at the premiere. I missed the premiere last year and this year, being the last film, I made a promise to myself that I should make it this time. Little did I know that I should be off work days before because I need to get passes, etc. A friend of mine got passes for me, she has to hide her other arm as passes were actually bracelets. But unfortunately, because of all the mayhem, I came in a bit too late. When I got off work and I was on my way to Trafalgar Square (just a walking distance, such a shame), I had a hard time contacting my friend until she later informed me that she's been queueing for hours and when she got inside, she thought she could still go out again to give me my pass but she can't anymore. I was so disappointed. It was also raining really hard before the premiere so I had a feeling that it's not going to be my day. I had no other friends with me at that time as the other people who were supposed to come with me backed out on the last minute due to the weather conditions. Still, with a heavy heart and the realisation that I can't go inside the premiere (yes, they put barricades in the square and a small Asian girl like me won't be tall enough to see past those barriers), I still went to catch a glimpse even if it's been raining non-stop and I'm soaking wet. I was tempted to wait until the red carpet would start but then there's no place to find shelter other than the umbrella I'm holding which is not even keeping me from getting wet. After a few minutes of contemplating whether to stay or not and whether it's worth staying whilst soaking in the rain, I gave up and went home. I literally cried when I got home because of my failed mission. What's even worse is that the weather cleared up when the red carpet started. My only consolation was watching the live telecasts of the premiere and looking at some pictures posted by my friend on Facebook.

Oh well, there's no use in crying over spilled milk. What's done is done. At least I tried. A week after the movie was shown, I watched it with my hubby. Of course, no need to ask if the movie was great. I loved it but I felt sad because it's the end of an era. I still remember the time when I first saw the movie in SM Manila (stayed in the cinema the whole day, watched it 3 times I guess) and when I first read the book, then afterwards watching each of the film installments and anticipating for the release of each book until the very last. I remember I had the last two books reserved (because at that time, I was already working and could afford) and I queued to get my books on the first day of their release. I remember the friends I was with when I watched all 6 movies back in the Philippines. I remember the disappointment when I failed to see the HP7 Part 1 when I was already here and that I broke the tradition of watching the film on cinema. I ended up watching it in Bluray at home. I will terribly miss those times. My only solace would be to reread the books and watch the movies again and again in Bluray.

And now, as the saga has come to an end, I am finally here where it all started.