Twice in the past two weeks, I have seen groups of young people playing Quidditch in the park. They looked handsome and happy and perfectly normal, except for the fake broomsticks they clasped between their thighs as they galloped about in pursuit of the “golden snitch” (a player dressed in yellow with a tennis ball in a sock dangling from his waistband).
“How ridiculous,” tutted my husband as we drove past. But I found it impressive. What dedication it must have taken to create a real game out of Harry Potter’s flying sport. And what fearless nerdery to then go outside, in public, and actually play it!
You couldn’t have got away with that when I was young. Back then, you had to be cool. The only socially-acceptable pastimes were smoking, snogging, taking drugs and dancing. If, like me, you couldn’t dance and didn’t like to lose control, you just had to hide in the nightclub loos and wait for your youth to pass.
Now, though, it’s cool to be uncool. The traditional hobbies of the lonely nerd – puzzles, video games, fantasy role-play, Dungeons and Dragons –…
