Severus Snape and the Power of Kroll

In a remote section of the English country of Suffolk, there's a tiny village called Snape. It sits by the river, surrounded by fields of grass and thatch largely undisturbed for centuries. On a weekday, it is possible to trek through these wetlands and not see another soul. Yet the village holds a key to worldwide fame. For Snape is the hometown of dark wizard Severus Snape, Professor of Potions and Defense against the Dark Arts, at the Hogwarts School of Magic.

The chill breeze that blows over the rivers and fields bites into your skin. The wildness of the landscape seeps into your soul. Walking between the reeds, bundled up in your hat and coat, you can understand how Severus Snape would grow up to be a hard, disapproving wizard. How he would follow Lord Voldemort, who showed him how to channel his talents into a bid that would win him to the position of Headmaster of Hogwarts School. 

Sadly, that path lay through murder. But then, the places we live form our characters, just as much as the people with whom we live.

In the future, this area is destined to be renamed Delta Magna. It has been prophesied that workers from a nearby Methane factor will belittle and enslave the locals. The locals, known as swampies, will revert to a primitive, tribal existence. They will worship a foul monster, and sacrifice their own people to it. Then visitors will arrive in a magical blue box. Sensing the great evil that has festered and grown here since Severus Snape's time, these time travelers (identified as Time Lords and a metal dog) will liberate the indigenous people from the factory workers, and from an immense, ravenous monster called Kroll.

But all that is to come. And the future is never certain. Perhaps the Methane factory, and Kroll, will never mar these swampy fields. Perhaps the village can atone for the terrible actions of their best known son, and erase this blot upon their souls. Certainly the villagers are doing their best to make Snape a place of joy and beauty. There's a center here, called Snape Maltings, where people can travel to study music and celebrate art. Sadly, Severus Snape will always be remembered for hurting Harry Potter and killing Professor Dumbledore. Still, this one fallen wizard does not form the entirety of the village's collective soul. That's easy to see, when you visit Snape.

Dragon Dave

Mark Twain's Fabulous Riverboat in England

In author Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld series, everyone who has ever lived on Earth (up to a certain date) is reborn on a vast planet constructed by a mysterious alien race. In every portion of this manufactured world, people from different ages, cultures, races, and beliefs mix freely. So aborigine cultures would mix with the most advanced peoples, and everyone in between. This allows people of great flexibility and willpower, such as Sir Richard Burton, the world famous explorer from Torquay, England, to shine in book one of the series. 

In The Fabulous Riverboat, the second Riverworld novel, Samuel Clemens opts not to spend this second life writing as a novelist under the pseudonym Mark Twain. Instead, he uses his humor and smarts to convince others to help him build a steamboat. This allows him to return to the love of his youth, that of piloting a steamboat on the Mississippi River. This early career had been taken from him, when river travel routes were cut short by the American Civil War. 

In Horning, England, you can step aboard a ship similar to the one Samuel Clemens built in Farmer's novel, and cruise the byways of the Norfolk broads. Like Riverworld, the area exhibits natural splendor. It's a scenic wonderland protected against development by the English government. 

Sitting in comfort aboard the Southern Comfort, you'll cruise along natural and manmade rivers. The ship's modern engine are far quieter than the primitive steam engines of Samuel Clemens' day. So you don't have to worry about the engine exploding, and setting the vessel on fire, such as in the accident that claimed his brother's life. Nor will you see workers digging new river channels for peat to keep their families warm in winter. But, depending upon when you visit, you might spy them harvesting the thatch lining these natural and manmade rivers, which they use to roof their houses.

A cruise aboard the Southern Comfort allows you to see how many people love to get out in the water, explore these tree-lined byways, and watch the swans, ducks, coots, and grebes swim past. As you cruise past the wide variety of nearby houses and villages, you can chat with those seated next to you. Most will hail from other regions of England, and happily tell you about the places they live.

The Mississippi River Boat Company calls their ship the Southern Comfort, but the way they service their customers is thoroughly English. So you can sit back, and watch the world go by, while sipping tea, and crunching a biscuit (that's English for cookie, mind you) with a proper cup and saucer. If you travel with a group, the leader may even purchase your tea for you, and bring it to your seat, as he did on our river cruise.

Who would have guessed that one could tour the famous Broads of England aboard a fabulous Mississippi riverboat? 

Samuel Clemens, take a bow.

Dragon Dave