"Some men are born in the wrong century.
I think I was born on the wrong continent."
- Alan Rickman, Quigley Down Under
Some of us Yanks have never felt quite at home
in the States. We find ourselves grasping (sometimes blindly)
for anything that screams "English." We pay more for
the cable tier with BBC America. We listen to English radio stations
over the internet. We use British slang whenever possible. We
wear scarves even when it isn't cold. Slytherin scarves. We drink
tea. No, not herbal tea. We know that's not "real" tea.
We try not to brood, but can't help but think
that we just don't belong here. Surely things must be better across
the pond. Gentlemen still exist. Chivalry isn't dead. Culture
isn't frowned upon. Theatre isn't dead; it's so eminent that it
still refers to going to see a play and not a film. Tradition
exists and history is still present in archetecture, vocabulary
and etiquette.
Everything about England just feels correct.
It feels like us. It feels like the home we've never actually
been to but have always known was there, waiting for us.
Since we obviously feel very strongly about
this, the logical thing to do is to go to England, to see if we'll
find what we've always been looking for; comfort, acceptance and
understanding.
So we decided that our Christmas present to
ourselves this year would be to go to England. Since we've only
ever really seen the country through movies, we've decided to
visit as many film locations in England as we can in the time
we'll be there. The theme? Harry Potter. We plan to be there around
the end of May, beginning of June, just in time for the premiere
of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. If money permits,
we'll sign up for the HP Fan trip's weekend programme and get
to meet Chris Rankin, who plays Percy Weasley in the Harry Potter
films. Even more fortuitous, our friend Linda will be attending
her last semester of college in London, which will coincide with
our trip. The three of us there together would be a dream come
true.
The problem? We're two poor college students
who can't really afford to hop country, even if only for a short
holiday. We desperately want to go, but without your help, we
probably won't be able to.
We admit, this isn't an original idea, and there's
no guarantee we'll get a dime. But we thought we'd give it a go.
It couldn't hurt to try, right?
So, if you have a few extra bucks to spare,
and would like to help send two silly Yanks to the Motherland,
please don't hesitate. We'd be more grateful than you can imagine.
With Sincere Thanks,
Bridget
& Jude
