articles/Children/dancingfairies-page2
Published 01/08/2009
The Scottish fairies have always been considered a bad lot, flying around looking for situations to employ evil deeds but never any mention of wings. Wings however are stock accessories for fairies usually cobbled together from insect wings, butterfly wings or handily shaped leaves. The heads of the bellflower family (in particular the harebell) are frequently brought into service to keep the rain off the silken tresses. All handy mushrooms are used either for shelter, seats or for dancing around.
Fairies have a number of allies such as nymphs, enchantresses, sylphs, nature spirits, sprites, pixies and elves (we're not too sure where gnomes fit into the scheme of things). Nymphs have generally had a bad press, luring nice young men to watery deaths and other such evil deeds. Some of the imagery on the websites we visited crosses into the land of fantasy for more than children!
The Fairy Marketplace
As we said earlier, fairies are big business! Researching this feature led us into countless websites, most of which seem to have things to sell - you can even buy CDs of wings for goodness sake! Limited edition prints and illustrations are big sellers, especially in the USA and (strangely) Germany. While there are children (and adults) who believe in them, fairies are always going to sell. Photographers who specialise in children have a way of up-selling to a fine art print, keep hold of your bride for when she has a daughter and get the godparents to buy the child a personalised fairy picture to pass on to her own daughter - oh the possibilities are endless!
Find a Fairy
Seven of Charlotte's naughty little tinkerbells have escaped from the page and are hiding all over the magazine. You might find them under type, behind adverts, between diagrams or embedded in images. Fairy photographs (like the ones on these pages) do not count. Find where all seven Tinkerbells are, then write the page numbers on a postcard and send it in to Head Office along with your address. Correct entries will go into a hat and the winner will get a signed Charlotte Bird, Limited Edition print. If you get bored, get your own little fairies to search for you, their young eyes are sharper. The entry is open to all members' children and grandchildren as well.
Links with the underworld
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