前途出国外联部总监、美国哈佛大学人类发展与心理学专业硕士、本文作者萧明灏
After spending a good part of a blustery Sunday morning and afternoon soaking in Scottish sightseeing – morning in Glasgow, afternoon in Edinburgh – what better place for a respite than a stop at a local coffee shop. For me, a perfect day is an afternoon in a café – surrounded by the chit-chat of others, the whooshing of the espresso machine, and the pervading smell of coffee beans ever present in the air.
Elephants + A Castle + A Good Cuppa = Wizardry, Witchcraft, and World Fame
So with a dual purpose in mind – relaxation plus sightseeing – what could be better than the café which inspired the tales of wizardry and magic – The Elephant House, a gourmet coffee and tea house in the heart of historic Edinburgh? The spot where Ms. J.K. Rowling herself would spend hours penning and creating the beginning of Harry Potter, his friends, his enemies and the world of Hogworth’s as the coolest school that even those of us who have graduated several decades ago from school still wish to enroll. The place where, a woman focused on rebuilding her life, her career, and possibly life purpose, would, without fully realizing, single-handedly influence millions and generations globally and create the most successful book and movie franchise in history.
Still I wonder, was it the air, the food, the coffee beans? I made sure to breathe extra deeply so that I may be inspired to one day write about…oh I don’t know…a boy and his innate and hidden magical ability…oh wait…
Kidding and bad jokes aside, as I wandered around this now famous café, plastered with photos and declarations of the famous author and her literary boy wonder – not to mention the floor to ceiling ink-based graffiti in the bathrooms with many dedications to JKR - I thought about what it would have been like to be sitting in a café, eating lunch with friends, and perhaps out of the corner of my eye, I might notice a woman with her daughter in her stroller (as J.K. Rowling would take her daughter out for walks and then sit in cafes to work on the HP manuscript), head bent over, scribbling furiously, with Edinburgh Castle in the background, and elephant figurines – all shapes and sizes – surrounding her as she enveloped herself in the world of the Muggles, Hogwarts, Voldemort, and Harry Potter and his clan.
Mostly, as I breathed in the roasted flavors in the air, enjoyed sipping my wonderfully rich hot cocoa, and looked at the filled tables of families, friends, the lone person typing on her laptop (wait…could it be another future famous author?), I enjoyed the normalcy of the afternoon... never mind the brooding fortress sitting on the edge of the formidable Castle Rock just down the street…the possible penmanship of another grand literary franchise…just another coffee shop and normal afternoon. Cheers!
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