Tag Archives: Harry Potter

Harry Potter

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I first read Harry Potter nearly twenty years back when the books first came out. I remember buying a bootlegged copy (Mumbai is quite famous for these kinds of books) and remember quickly getting hooked on to the series. I read the first three books before I moved to Singapore and remember when book number 5, The Order of the Phoenix, was released, I was pregnant with GG & BB. I was ordered bed rest by my doctor around my eighth month and it was around this time, I got hold of the book. It was a heafty book and I remember thinking it will be a good companion to my week-long bed rest. I finished the book in less than two days!

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Around the time BB & GG were 8-9 years old, I started selling the series to them, but faced a lot of resistance, especially when they saw the size of the books. After about a couple of years, during one holiday, I decided to bribe them at the airport. I forced them to buy the first two books of the series and told them to try and read it. If they didn’t like the series after reading the two books, I will give up trying to force them to read. GG got hooked almost immediately and finished both books by the time we were back in Singapore. BB took longer to get involved in the books. I had to compell him to read at least 50 pages each day and by the time we were back in Singapore, he was also hooked in the series, not as much as GG, but enough to fight with her to read a new book first.

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GG is a true Potterhead and knows so much more about the world that J.K. Rowlings created than i could ever hope to know! She has a Potterworld account and has been sorted into Ravenclaw. She knows all the trivia and facts and corrects me on more than one occasion. She wants to go to the UK and visit the places where the books have been set, including doing the studio tour, visiting platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross station and visiting Alnwick Castle which was used to film Hogwarts in the movies.

Both GG & BB have moved on to other book series now, but I suspect that the Harry Potter series retains a special place in their hearts.

Are you a fan of Harry Potter? I would love to hear which is your favourite book in the series.

Instagram Interludes

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Over at Changi Airport, there is a Harry Potter display. The airport does this pop up displays all the time and this one is probably to coincide with the latest Fantastic Beasts movie.

GG is a huge (and I really mean huge Harry Potter fan). She knows everything that is to know in the HP universe and probably more and leaves me so far behind, I just can’t catch up with her anymore.

So we went to the airport just to catch up these pop ups and it was a bit underwhelming. I really expected more, so I was disappointed. Most of the structures are in Terminal 4, with the Whomping Willow in T2 and one more in the T2 transit area (which we could obviously not see).

There’s also a redemption counter where if you purchase products worth $60 at the airport retail outlets, you can purchase HP plushies and some other souvenirs at a discounted price. There was also a small retail store in T3, with super overpriced merchandise.

Here’s what we saw at the airport.

Hogwarts made out of Lego Bricks (T3)

Hogwarts Express at the Hogsmeade display (T3)

Grand Staircase which was cordoned off (T3)

Diagon Alley where you can play games when you show then your social media posts

Another view of Diagon Alley (T3)

Whomping Willow at T2

⚡️Potter Mania⚡️

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BB & GG are heavily into the Harry Potter series. They started as very reluctant readers – I had to cajole them to give the series a shot, but now are completely hooked, reading the books multiple times!

I’ve always loved the series and read each book as it came along, and for a very long time, wanted GG & BB to experience the Potter magic with me. But, like I wrote earlier, they didn’t really seem interested. Then last December, at the airport on the way to a family holiday, I bribed GG to try one book. She decided to buy 2 and was instantly hooked. She then went on to buy the other books and it was the turn to bribe BB. 

BB does not like to read anything, unless it pertains to his love – aeronautics! So we used multiple tricks to get him to start reading – bribes, coercion and what have you. Soon he got hooked too and these days, invariably you see both of them with a book from the series in their hands!

They even found the Pottermore site and i have to threaten them to revoke computer privileges if they are on the site instead of studying. Today they even forgot an online class because of this…

I’m not really complaining about this addiction as I’ll welcome a book addict anytime! But hopefully this will not interfere with their studies, what with the PSLE looming ahead of us.