Guest Post: The Church Across the Street from the Strike & Ellacott Agency’s Denmark Street Office

April 20, 2026 by Leave a Comment

Ed Shardlow visited the church across the street from the Agency office on Denmark Street and sent me some fascinating fotos he took there. I asked him to write up his visit and he obliged me with these notes. Enjoy!

I was in the vicinity of Denmark St a few weeks ago and thought I’d drop in on the Church of St Giles.

John Granger has raised the possibility that the Church of St Giles in the Fields, located at the end of Denmark St, in plain sight of the Strike & Ellacott Agency office, will feature significantly at some point at the climax of the Strike series (see his 2017 post, a 2021 follow-up, and this year’s conversation about the Christian content of Rowling’s Evangeline charm bracelet) . As yet, the presence of this place of worship in close proximity to the Denmark St office has been hidden in the story with no mentions in the text.

The church is like so many in central London – an oasis of stillness open to public visitation in the midst of the busy city. It is steeped in history, while still providing a religious function for believers and a fascinating space for enquiring heathens. When I made my visit, there were a couple of fellow travelers having a look around, and a couple of organists airing the pipes of the instrument housed within.

I wasn’t sure what I was looking for as I explored the church. I read the memorials and tombstones, but didn’t spot any Strikes or Evangelines that may have provided Rowling with inspiration. There were of course numerous Christian images and icons which undoubtedly share some symbolism with the Christian imagery in Rowling’s works. But there didn’t seem to be anything particularly relevant to Strike.

The most interesting thing to me was the memorial for Andrew Marvell.

I know Marvell best for his superb Restoration-era booty call, To His Coy Mistress. A marvelous piece of verse, pointing out that life is short, and so we might as well get jiggy while we can. “Had we but world enough and time…”

I took some photos, which I sent to John after my visit. That very day John posted a discussion with Nick Jeffery about the different modes of alchemy, and mentioned Marvell’s interest in alchemy. Which was a fairly major coincidence and perhaps offers us a pointer as to what part St Giles in the Fields may yet play in the Strike saga.

Three Quick Notes from John:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Cormoran Strike, Guest Posts, Literary Alchemy

‘Plants are tricky”: Mysterious Sunrise on the Reaping Floral Installations Invite Speculation

April 9, 2026 by 1 Comment

Thoughts on the First Trailer for Sunrise on the Reaping

Publicity stunts are nothing new, and the Gamemakers in Hollywood know how to get the machine running to promote upcoming films. Interestingly, although the film adaptation of Sunrise on the Reaping is not due in theaters until Thanksgiving, large publicity installations have been appearing around the world over the last few days. Massive floral sculptures, featuring images and text connected to Sunrise on the Reaping, started cropping up a few days ago. New installations have been reported in a variety of locations from Times Square to Milan, with giant snakes, mockingjays, and heaps of flowers figuring large. Each also includes a little sign with a quotation from the book that, presumably, will be in the film. Some of those phrases have already been included in the trailer. The folks over at Panem Propoganda have been posting updated photos and videos on Instagram and Facebook, as the huge sculptures, in addition to being impressive, are changing. The sign quotations have already changed on some of them, ominously switching out from Haymitch’s words to President Snow’s. New installations are being reported daily, and some are scheduled to be moved later this week. This is a developing story, and we’ll certainly know more in a few days, but here are a few preliminary thoughts on what may lie behind this interesting series of promotional pieces. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Elizabeth Baird Hardy, Hunger Games, Movie Thoughts, Uncategorized Tagged With:

Finding Harry – A Behind the Scenes Look at the HBO Series

April 6, 2026 by Leave a Comment

Watch Finding Harry: The Craft Behind the Magic | HBO Max

After announcing the Harry Potter series Christmas screen date on the Annunciation, HBO has just gifted fans with a delightful Easter treat: Finding Harry: The Craft Behind the Magic, a brand-new behind-the-scenes special that streamed on Max starting April 5, 2026, and aired on HBO the same evening. Narrated by Nick Frost (who steps into the role of Hagrid in the upcoming series), this roughly 25-minute documentary offers an intimate, artist-driven peek into the making of HBO’s highly anticipated Harry Potter. Far from a standard promotional fluff piece, Finding Harry focuses on the meticulous craftsmanship that’s going into re-imagining J.K. Rowling’s beloved wizarding world for a new generation. Fans of the Warner Bros film adaptations will be reassured by the vast set creations and animatronics that promises a minimum of CGI – a hallmark of the original series of films. I was impressed by how subtly different those sets were, this will help those of us whose imaginations struggle to free themselves from the original films. The special shines a light on the dedicated teams behind casting, production design, costumes, and creature effects—highlighting the “epic scale and meticulous care” involved in bringing Hogwarts and its inhabitants to life once again, 25 years after the original films began enchanting audiences.

One of the most charming segments dives into the extensive search for the new trio: young actors Dominic McLaughlin (Harry Potter), Alistair Stout (Ron Weasley), and Arabella Stanton (Hermione Granger). If you have listened to the first three Harry Potter Full Cast Audio books, Arabella’s wonderful performance as Hermione will already be familiar to you. Through heartfelt interviews with casting directors and the young stars themselves, viewers get a sense of the magic (and pressure) of finding the perfect fits who can carry forward such iconic roles. The special also features insights from key cast members including John Lithgow, Paapa Essiedu, and Janet McTeer, alongside the craftspeople whose invisible work—sets, wands, robes, and magical creatures—will make the series feel both fresh and faithful.

What stands out most is the tone: warm, reverent, and genuinely enthusiastic. It celebrates the “awe-inspiring commitment to detail” without spoiling major plot points or visual effects. Instead, it lets the artists speak for themselves about the joy and challenge of translating the books’ wonder onto the screen in a longer, more serialised format.For longtime Potterheads and newcomers alike, Finding Harry serves as the perfect appetiser. It builds excitement for the full series while reminding us why this world continues to captivate: it’s not just about spells and Quidditch—it’s about the extraordinary people (and creatures) who bring the ordinary to life with heart, imagination, and painstaking effort. Expect more deep dives and teases as we head toward that Christmas 2026 premiere!

 

Filed Under: Nick Jeffery

Rowling Celebrated for Heroism on ‘National Transgender Day of Visibility’

March 31, 2026 by Leave a Comment

The last day of March, the day before April Fools, is now set aside as ‘National Transgender Day of Visibility.’ This year the Supreme Court of the United States marked 31 March with a near unanimous decision in Chiles vs Salazar (!) that a Colorado law which forbade so-called “conversion therapy” was unconstitutional; Kaley Chiles, a Christian counselor in the Rocky Mountain state is again free to “help gender-confused children become comfortable with their own bodies instead of pursuing irreversible transgender medical procedures.”

On the same day, Megan Brock posted ‘She Spoke Out On Gender Ideology And Became A Global Target: Transgender Day of Visibility is a perfect day to celebrate a real woman: J.K. Rowling‘ at The Daily Wire. Brock reviewed the history of Rowling’s courageous stand against TRAs and Gender Ideology Extremists. She placed special emphasis on the 2020 essay that created both an avalanche of nonsense about the Harry Potter author being “transphobic” and the cancellation of anyone and everyone in Rowling Studies who took the same position. Brock concludes her ‘Trans Day of Visibility’ post this way: [Read more…]

Filed Under: HBO+ TV Adaptation, Hog Pro Notes

Scene by Scene Breakdown of HBO+ Harry Potter TV Trailer: What it All Means

March 27, 2026 by Leave a Comment

On 25 March, HBO+ released their trailer for the teevee adaptation of the Harry Potter novels in conjunction with J. K. Rowling’s Bronte Studios and with the author as an Executive Producer. Within hours, the Super Carlin Brothers had a ‘scene by scene breakdown’ of the very brief trailer up on YouTube for their 2.3 million subscribers to enjoy.

Is there anything a Rowling Reader and Potter-phile has to know in this pains-taking guide? Maybe not — but it sure was fun ‘seeing’ all the detail in each scene, details that only stop-action examination under a microscope reveals. The camp Carlin Brothers schtick gets old fast, but his enthusiasm and love of the books radiates off the man. Delightful.

Which is not to mention his great vintage silk jacket that the Gryffindor baseball team’s relief pitcher would have worn in the 50s as he walked to the mound from the outfield bullpen.

What has me excited about this video is what it reflects about the Harry Potter fandom’s excitement about this new adaptation.

If the Super Carlin Brothers first video is any indication, we’re right back in the era of Potter Mania, midnight book releases, and CinePlex madness. No comments about the radioactive author’s supposed ‘transphobic’ beliefs (on a day when she is both doing a victory lap on twixter after the IOC decision to preserve women’s sports as well as cursing those who cursed her and bent the knee in 2024). No calls for a boycott because Rowling is “literally killing people.” Nothing but the joy of re-entering a beloved story in a new medium and a fresh, closer-to-the-books perspective.

Expect nine months of this kind of fandom enthusiasm with the released-at-Christmas due date causing the largest of all Advent Calendar rolling on for nine months (with the inevitable priming of the hype-pump by HBO+ in every month).

Will the Kill Joy TRAs and Gender Theory Extremists wave their torches and pitchforks? Count on it.

Will anyone outside of the Old Guard Fandom Gate Keepers care? I doubt it. We certainly won’t.

I’ll be writing a Harry Potter for Grown-Ups: Philosopher’s Stone over at the Substack site which will be sent to Paid Subscribers every month; the real codex and eBook editions will be ready for Die-Hard Generation Hex fans that grew up with the novels and now have children themselves to buy for Christmas, a text with all the things we’ve learned about Rowling since the publication of Deathly Hallows in 2007.

Accio, 25 December!

Here’s another trailer breakdown if you doubt the true fandom is thrilled about the teevee adaptation:

Filed Under: HBO+ TV Adaptation