In Search of Harry Potter
Truthfully, I don't know - I imagined it was, having seen a couple of the films, several of which were filmed there amidst the colleges and the gardens. My daughter recognized the cloisters at New College below as the scene of some troll-inspired mischief in one of the films.
I'll admit, i don't think the movies are very good - decent entertainment, some good special effects, disjointed story-telling, fine trove of British character actors. That's about it.
The books, on the other hand, I love. And I haven't cracked a one. I love them because they've instilled a joy of reading in my children in this age of a thousand television channels and video games. They've made reading a deep and abiding habit.
And i did find Harry Potter in Oxford. As well as Tolkien and CS Lewis. They were in a pub. i asked the taxid driver for the local they'd famously frequented together for 20 years.
"Oh, you mean the Bird and the Bastard."
"I thought it went by a different name..."
"Oh sure, it does."
And there it was - the Eagle and the Child.
