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‘I was ten and was out walking our dogs with my mum. We walked the same route along country lanes and up to a very old bluebell wood. For some reason we took a different path through the woods and came to a clearing where a man was sitting all in green, with a green hat, playing a pipe or a flute. He had a dog at his feet. Our dogs ran up and were very excitable, trying to jump up and play with his dog, but neither he nor his dog reacted. My mum tried to hurry me past and I think [she] was worried about a lone man in the woods as it’s quite rural. But I was absolutely sure it was safe. It felt so calm and peaceful, and I have a really vivid memory of him. He seemed to be the size of an adult man but was light and slender and so still. He continued playing as we walked past, not looking at us or our dogs, and we heard the music carry on until we left the woods. We didn’t speak about it until we got home and when we did, we both straight away felt he was a fairy or a wood spirit. I walk in those woods a lot and have never seen him again but always feel very peaceful and calm there. It’s definitely a fairy wood.’ ‘A man, slight in build, dressed in green with a green hat. Playing a flute or pipe.’ ‘A tune, soft but happy. Gentle.’ ‘I just knew [he was a fairy]. He fitted in with the woods.’ What are fairies? ‘Nature spirits perhaps.’ ‘It was so vivid, and my mum and I still have the same recollection. It just felt like an overwhelmingly positive experience, I felt privileged to see him and was sure it wasn’t accidental. He didn’t acknowledge us but I’m sure he knew we were walking past.’