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It's Not the Size of the Wand

(go on, keep reading ... no spoilers till after the jump)

I'd never been to a proper UK music festival ... up until Saturday.

I went to the Lovebox Weekender this weekend to sit in a yurt and help run some mini Life Clubs workshops.

All in it was an excellent day. I'm not sure that running personal development sessions with people who are drunk/stoned/rolling their brains out is really helpful, but we made some good contacts I think. I'm pretty sure that some of the attendees got more out of the sessions than just staying dry during the afternoon downpour.

And, bonus, I get to see my old Manhattan neighbor perform. For the seven years I lived in Chelsea, there'd only be a couple weeks go by that we didn't see Debbie Harry in a housecoat walking her dog on 23rd Street. In fact, when we put our place up on the market a few years ago, she was one of the people who looked at it (and didn't buy).

Blondie's gig at Lovebox was great. I'd heard that their mostly doing new stuff at shows of late, so I was very pleased and surprised that the set consisted of all old songs, including Hanging on the Telephone (my favorite), Dreaming, Atomic, Rapture, Heart of Glass, etc. She rocked, and she looks amazing. Extra points for wearing a dress with parallel lines. I think she and Chrissie Hynde should tour together ... the grand dames of rock.

Sunday was spent with Harry and the kids, watching characters drop like flies.

Spoilers ahead.

I think my favorite moments were ...

1. The return of Dobby (yeah, I welled up a little when he got killed).

2. Neville and his grandma. Neville is a rock star.

3. Mrs. Weasley's "BACK AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER, BITCH!" (or whatever she shouted).

The Kings Cross as pergatory was a little jump-the-shark, but what are you gonna do?

Good on JK for leaving open a huge opportunity for sequels. Skipping ahead 19 years for her cheesy epilogue creates a most interesting gap ... "Harry Potter and the Decade of Therapy."

Oh, and as soon as I finished Book 6, I said, "I still believe in Snape." I should've made the t-shirts way back when. I'm just sayin'.

All in, a successfuly end to the story ... even though she got a little heavy with the let's tie it all up flashback exposition.