§579

‘Walking home from primary school – aged about eight to nine – along a fairly secluded thin lane with trees up either side. Near the entrance was a clearing – before the concreted path started and a small stream (dry in summer) starts from a spring. For a few weeks my friend and I encountered small classic elf-type creatures playing in a circle clearing about two by two metres. There was a gypsy-type caravan – and a sense that they were just stopping by. They didn’t interact with us – but you felt they knew they were being watched – and approved it. We saw this maybe two to three times. I told my parents – they refused to believe and found it all hilarious (as I would now if one of my kids reported the same). To be honest, it all felt so unreal that I now doubt it was real. Has my childish imagination crystallised a false memory? I am no longer in contact with the friend to check their memory – although we never really spoke about it – so cannot get confirmation from that route.’ ‘Like a tiny elf. Pointy ears, Human proportions, happy expressions, multicoloured clothing, about six inches tall.’ What are fairies? ‘Imagination and memory misfiring to manufacture a folk memory that has credence due to its familiarity.’