Broomsticks At Dawn

No-one could ever accuse the Harry Potter books of demonstrating gritty realism, but the forthcoming celluloid version of the young wizard's adventures have caused certain sections of society to rise up in protest. J K Rowling's books have previously been criticised for encouraging young readers to take an interest in the black arts, but this time a genuine White Witch has a quibble over the way Harry rides his broomstick. Coven High Priest Kevin Carlyon claims that Potter has got his broom back-to-front. "Warner Brothers claim the film is an accurate portrayal of things that happen in witchcraft," Carlyon told Reuters, following the unveiling of the trailer for Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone. "Yet woodcuts from the 16th and 17th centuries show broomsticks being ridden with the brush part in the front." But Harry isn't the only fictional witch, warlock or wizard to get his broom the wrong way round. "It's a common mistake," says Carlyon, who owns three authentic "riding brooms" and is the head of his own coven in Sussex. "Even the 60s TV series, Bewitched, showed broomsticks being ridden backwards, but this is not correct." Whether this occult-related faux pas will affect box office takings will be revealed when Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone opens in November.