Harry Potter mega-fan conjures up £100k mine of memorabilia
A HARRY Potter superfan has spent a staggering £100,000 on her obsession – collecting more than 2,500 items of memorabilia.
Tracey Nichol-Lewis, 43, has dedicated her home to the wizardly world of Potter and has cases full of wands and casting call sheets from the movies.
The mum of one has even travelled the world to meet her favourite characters – including Rupert Grint, who plays main character Ron Weasley.
Tracey says her obsession started after her late husband, Simon, gave her the book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Tracey, who lost Simon, 39, in 2005, said: “I liked the Harry Potter books before my husband died but my grief triggered off a bit of an obsession.
“It was such a shock to lose him so young, he’d had an undiagnosed hole in the heart.
“Originally I bought the toys and money boxes and the castle model all for my son, knowing that when he grew out of it I could keep them.”
When the films were released Tracey bought up everything she could – posters, scarves in the house colours, and broomsticks.
Tracey, who is from Heath, Cardiff, said: “Over the years I have spent around £40,000 just on the collectibles.
“But for the past 11 years I have also been travelling to Orlando in Florida to the film studios, and more recently to Harry Potter World in both London and America. If I add up all those trips too it must be around £100,000 I’ve spent.”
Tracey lives with her partner, Martin Chester, 41, her son, Brenden, 15, and Martin’s son, Thomas, 16, in a threebed terrace house.
Martin said: “My son’s room is the only Potter-free zone in this whole house. He can’t stand it.”