Day 697: Accio Jamila

22/06/2023

Elosie was eager to wake up the Londoners bright and early as she rolled down the street blaring her Glaswegian folk songs.

It was a nice leisurely start to the morning letting the kids dart around the enormous and empty Westfield while we waited for sleepy heads; Hugh and Jamila to surface at normal people o’clock.

With the gang back assembled, we made our way to London Stadium, Hugh had happy memories flood back from watching the Horse strike a brace with Tom half a dozen years ago. The youth of today were not interested in that story though and dashed off to the Olympic Park Splash Fountain, a nice surprise to start the day.

Lachlan and Eloise were having such a great time when all of a sudden with no warning the jets went into super high mode, scaring poor Lachie and a bit of all of us to be honest. To be fair, the water jets went about three Lachlan’s high.

Eloise’s clothes were damp and she wanted a change as we were leaving. However, she then changed her mind and made a break for it in her dry clothes with Jamila.

The London Stadium (formerly and also known as the Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford district of London. It is located in the Lower Lea Valley, 6 miles (10 km) east of central London. The stadium was constructed specifically for the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics, serving as the track-and-field venue and as the site of their opening and closing ceremonies. Following the Games, it was renovated for multi-purpose use, and it now serves primarily as the home of Premier League club West Ham United. Land preparation for the stadium began in mid-2007, with the construction officially starting on 22 May 2008. The stadium held its first public event in March 2012, serving as the finish line for a celebrity run organised by the National Lottery. Holding 80,000 for the Olympics and the Paralympics, it re-opened in July 2016 with 66,000 seats, but with capacity for football limited to 60,000 under the terms of the lease. The decision to make West Ham United the main tenants was controversial, with the initial tenancy process having to be rerun.

We then made our way around the stadium. Hugh was preparing to kick down the front door and storm the place, demanding West Ham United release Declan Rice to Arsenal. Sadly, we did not spot him. However, Lachlan did spot the Pleasure Gardens Play Area and he was off again.

We pushed on to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as Dad had sent us all on a wild goose chase. This involved trudging through the London Blossom Garden which triggered Hugh’s hayfever like never before. Hannah, no fake Telfast was going to save him. We had made it to the rings, but at what cost? Hugh compared himself to a modern-day Frodo.

Hot and bothered we took a breather on the train which took us out to Watford where Lachlan was doing his best to make Jamila laugh.

Instead of the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9 and 3/4 it was a short bus ride to Hogwarts, we must have missed that part in the movie. We were excited to return and show the kids and Jamila through. The Great Hall was looking sensational, there had been over 400 candles installed for the first time since filming, these were missing during our 2018 visit.

Magic is truly the only way to explain how mind-boggling complex the world of Harry Potter is and how the tens of thousands of people managed to create it.

The family is twice as large and this trip was twice as fun. It was great seeing them interested in the magic and gadgets galore as we continue the brainwashing.

Eloise, Lachlan and Jamila had made sure to collect their Harry Potter Passport stamp on arrival and were completing it as we made our way through. Luckily for Jamila, Eloise had a keen eye for the stamp stations.

There were a few new displays that we did not see during our visit in 2018. The “up” broom was a bit hit with Lachlan, although he did not want to let it go.

When we arrived at the broom flying display, Jamila stepped up for her best Charles recreation. The movie series truly did miss out.

We spotted the famous flying 1962 Ford Anglia, the kids knew all about this from their Glasgow’s Riverside Museum visits. The kids could not help but jump in.

We passed through more impressive sets comparing them to our favourite movie scenes before Hugh had to face his greatest fear, spiders. As we passed through the Forbidden Forest Eloise told him “they are not real Hugh, just pretend spiders”.

Just for you Hugh…

Hugh was saved when Eloise cast a patronus. Jamila was not impressed by this particular technology so we moved on swiftly to Platform 9 and 3/4 where the Hogwarts Express was ready for another joy ride.

Without question, we grabbed a Butterbeer and Butterbeer ice cream before making our way through the Dursley’s house on Privet Drive. Three ice creams in two days, Eloise told Super Mum she was “very cheeky”.

This brought back happy memories from our wedding prep.

Our wee boy who lives in the small room above the staircase was taking notes on the boy who lived in the cupboard under the stairs room.

A new area was the Hogwarts Greenhouse, Eloise was game enough to pick a Mandrake with a helping hand from Jamila. Lachlan did a great job but got spooked and retreated to the safety of his pram, they shrieked quite loud.

After letting the kids run around a bit more we then made our way back inside, we were starting to tire and were only halfway through.

We passed through Gringotts Bank, which looked familiar. It is incredible how well they had rebuilt a number of identical Australia House buildings after it became difficult to film there after the first movie. We do need to renew our visas but unfortunately could not schedule an appointment here. Eloise did not like the dragon one bit so off we dashed.

We were running out of gas as we rolled down Diagon Alley, we were starting to feel the effect of two action packed days of Magic.

I am a decade too late, imagine doing an engineering secondment based on magic… What could have been.

We walked past the paper-scaled Hogwarts, which would be super impressive if it was not situated right next to the pièce de résistance. Hugh was taking notes for his Hogwarts Legacy game.

“The giant 50ft model, which was used for exterior shots in every Harry Potter film, was constructed by 86 people. It took a total of 74 years to build when all the time the artists and crew members spent on it is added up. The model is so intricate that all doors are hinged, real plants are used for the landscaping and the Owlry features miniature birds. Over 2,500 fibre optic lights simulate lanterns and torches giving the impression that students are passing through the hallways”.

Eloise celebrated with Jamila that they had both successfully completed their kids’ Harry Potter Passport, Eloise was truly ecstatic when she received a wee ruby, Jamila played it cool.

Running on empty, we made the long journey home, no apparating unfortunately. Hugh was relying on our beloved Liz Line as the only respite for his Hayfever. Just like magic, the Aussies multiplied again, so lovely to catch up for dinner with familiar faces, feels like home.

It was an emotional farewell from both the kids to Jamila and Hugh, they have literally been hanging off of them since the moment we stepped into the Natural History Museum. Thank you, they had a blast! Hope your travels are safe and you get to rest your arms.