La Festival des Lumières de la Marché Kensington

It certainly wasn't an event many muggles would attend. And you could spot all the ones that did in the crowd, scowling, incredulous, embarrassed as if something completely ludicrous were occurring or just plain sullen. But there were faces aplenty exhibiting energy, excitement, magick. That's the word I was looking for - magick.

Winter solstice. Imagine what Diagon Alley must have looked like: abuzz, astir, alive! There are people, there are musical instruments, there are lanterns. A sea of people, an orchestra of instruments, and millions of little lamps, colourful and original. There are also many animals, they have worn a human on stilts for the occasion. They gather in a circle where an old man tells the tale of the fight of death against the dragon. It is a tale of survival, good and evil. I can't see much, I wish I could fly, I wish I had wings.

The themes in the story make me think how simplified childrens' stories generally are. I recently picked up a book titled "Wicked" in the Indigo which had an interesting premise. It tells the story of Dorothy and the wonderful wizard of Oz from the eyes of the wicked witch of the West. Things usually aren't so black and white yet even we as adults sometimes over-simplify.

The circle breaks up. The animals start walking down the street followed by a jazz orchestra, percussionists, lanterns, regular people, strollers, more animals, clowns, people with painted faces. Wow, they've put a lot of effort into this. I see a mermaid on top of a shoppe, a groupe of singers who sing divine tunes in god-knows-which-language and finally, an Italian family that laughs maniacally.

All of a sudden, I'm out of the fantasy land, no longer in Diagon Alley. I've woken up thinking what a strange dream I'd had.