Friday, August 11, 2006

I went to Hogwarts

I went to Hogwarts.

(Say what?)

Let me elucidate. I grew up in the port town of Leith, which is now a district of Edinburgh. The school I attended was Leith Academy. At the time I was there, this was a school that was spread over several buildings. There was the primary school, the main building, Norton Park annexe, which was a mile away, next to the Hibernian football ground, and the Lochend annexe which was just across the road from the main building.
As you know, JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books, lives and writes in Edinburgh. What you might not know is that before she wrote Harry Potter, she did a short stint as a supply teacher at Leith Academy.
By the way, this was long after I left school.
Now you will remember from the book and the film that the central stairwell has stairs that, if the student is not careful, will lead him in the wrong direction. Guess what, that's the Lochend annexe!
The central stairwell has two criss-crossing flights of stairs, but you've got to be sure to take the right stairway, or you end up on the wrong floor.
So there you have it - I went to Hogwarts.

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