Our midnight opening on 15th July for the Harry Potter launch attracted over 70 enthusiastic customers, some in costume, who queued to get their copy of the latest installment of J K Rowling’s phenomenally successful boy wizard saga at one minute past midnight. The children’s section of the shop was transformed into Professor Dumbledore’s study with the Headmaster of Hogwarts himself in attendance thanks to Richard Thomas. Free tee shirts, bookmarks, owl shortbread biscuits, spiders web cakes, commemorative bags, and zig zag scars were freely dispensed.

The evening was previewed by the Hoddesdon and Broxbourne Mercury and the East Herts Herald newspapers, and the following week the Mercury ran a half page feature article with a colour photo of Dumbledore and some of the children.