British English Q&A for Harry Potter Fandom

Hi! I am writing a story set around the time of Deathly Hallows, so 1997-8. Were "phone booths" readily available and what would they have been called? Also, how would you pay to use one? Did they accept "phone cards" a pre-paid card from a telephone company that could only be used to make calls?

Thank you very much for the help! :)


ETA: Thank you all very much for your help!! :)

I am trying to convey a sense of class difference between two characters in a brief conversation about a meal (I know, I know...)

Wikipedia advises me thus:

The upper classes typically ate luncheon at about midday and dinner (if not eschewed in favor of the later supper) at 8:00 pm or later, while the lower classes ate dinner at about 11:00 am and then a light supper at around 7:00 pm.

So would it be accurate to say that referring to an 11 A.M. meal as "dinner" might mark one as of the working class? Conversely, would referring to the early afternoon meal as "luncheon" be considered vaguely posh, or would-be posh?

Many thanks for any and all advice!

How is Tom going to refer to people who are Muslim and of Middle-Eastern descent in 1938? What I have in there right now is "Arab," but I'm not sure if that was the most common term at the time or what connotations it might have held. I'm looking for a word that, if not necessarily the "polite" term, at least wouldn't be considered offensive.

I just watched the 'History of the Home' series and thought it might be helpful for HP writers, since it gives a wealth of information on architecture and daily life in British houses throughout several centuries.

As just about all wizarding houses seem to be historical houses, I think it could be a big help in visualising what you are writing about, be it Malfoy Manor or Harry´s cottage at Godric´s Hollow.



Mods, I hope the tag I used is the right one.

Hello again you marvelous people!

I've looked through the geography tag, and not found what I need, so I'm asking.

1) According to the Lexicon, Luna Lovegood lives near Ottery St. Catchpole, which is apparently in Devon.
2) Little Whinging appears to be in the northern part of Surrey
3) According to the Lexicon Aunt Marge lives "in the country" where she breeds bulldogs.

So... how likely is it that Aunt Marge would live near Ottery St. Catchpole? The reason behind this question is that I'm writing an AU in which Harry is working for Aunt Marge in the summer time (pre-Hogwarts), and I was wondering how plausible it would be for him to run into Luna Lovegood.

ETA: Well, it seems as if the answers are equally split between yes and no! I shall ponder over them. Thank you all!

Anyone know how long the Easter holidays are in the HP world? I know that several people have said that typically British boarding schools get 2 weeks (see comments in this post - hp-britglish.livejournal.com/575938.html) but it seems that in the books, the break is shorter. I have tried the Timeline in the Lexicon (for example, this one from the 1st book - http://www.hp-lexicon.org/timelines/calendars/calendar_ps.html) and it is vague as well.

So do you think it is one week or two? Or somewhere in between?

Thanks!

I did look through the law/legal tag, but I didn't find quite what I needed. Which is really bothering me, actually, because I could have sworn I'd seen some of these answered before. Could you guys help me out with the following?

I'm writing a court proceeding where a high profile person on the Order's side stands accused of turning spy for the Death Eaters. I want it to seem as reasonable as possible and I really have no legal experience, so if you have any tidbits that would help that I didn't think to ask, please feel free to throw them in.

1. The accused would have a pretrial session where they entered their plea, right? And then sometime (weeks?) later, they would stand for their actual trial, right?
   
   • For a high profile trial, how long would this process take? Two months start to end, maybe?
     
   • And what about the trial itself? One day, or more than one?
     
   • Would sentencing be carried out the same day?


2. What kind of language would be used to open a criminal trial proceeding? For me, I'd think, "All rise..." and "Court is now in session," and "XYZ, you stand accused of, X, Y, Z, how do you plead?"
   
   • Should I just watch Law & Order UK for this? Is it accurate or accurate enough?


3. A legal team. Would it be called this? Who would be on it? Right now, I have: a barrister (who the defendant hasn't really spoken to, but who is arguing the case), two solicitors (who have interacted with the defended to get the story straight) and two legal aides.


4. White powdered wigs or no wigs in the wizarding world, do you think? I'm thinking white wigs with black pointed hats attached.


5. How would evidence be presented? Something like, "We submit Exhibit A into evidence"? (Sorry, I really need to watch more Law and Order, obviously.)


6. Would witnesses be called on a rotational basis, like defendant witness then prosecution witness, then back to defendant? Or all one then the other?


7. Actual charges that a spy might be charged with? I have: violating curfew under martial law, conspiring against the Ministry, colluding with a known terrorist, involvement in an illicit organisation, manslaughter, and high treason. Any others? Would these be listed in a specific order?

Thank you. :)

I've looked through the memories and found partial answers to my questions: Legal adoption and Children's homes; however, my questions are a bit more specific, so please bear with me.

It's clear from canon that the Dursleys subjected Harry to verbal abuse and neglect. IMHO, Vernon and Petunia didn't hurt Harry physically, only Dudley did.

What I don't know is, in the 1980s, before Harry was at Hogwarts:
* If a well-meaning adult noticed the Dursleys treatment of Harry, what could they do?
* Would there need to be signs of physical abuse before anything legal could be done about it?
* If the Dursleys were accused of child abuse, what would be the procedure? What would happen to the Dursleys, to Dudley, and to Harry?
* If the Dursleys were convicted of child abuse, what would happen to Harry? (And to Dudley?)
* If Harry was put up for adoption, could specific people petition to adopt Harry? Would it make a difference in Muggle law if they were related to Harry?
Specific examples: Aunt Marge is only related by marriage, because she's Vernon's sister, and Vernon married Petunia, who is Lily's sister. Whereas, looking at the Black family tapestry, if Charlus Potter was Harry's grandfather, then Narcissa Malfoy (nee Black) and Andromeda Tonks (nee Black) are Harry's second-cousins.
* If there were provisions in Lily and James's wills, would that make a difference? What if those provisions had been ignored (when Dumbledore put Harry on the Dursley's doorstep)?

Sorry, that's a lot of questions. But each one followed on from the other...

Hi folks,

I'm looking for a Britpicker for a fic I beta for someone else. The Off-Topic bit is that it's not a HP fanfic, it's a Sherlock one.

If you'd be willing to help me out, please email me at johanssonmel at gmail dot com.

Thanks

Hello my friends,

Please help me with this question. What do you call a moving rental truck like this?



Lorry? Moving Lorry?

EDIT: Moving Van it is! Thanks!