Posted by With just a week and a day to go before a huge influx of humans arrives at Henham Park for Latitude Festival, the faerie folk are putting the finishing touches to the Faraway Forest – and enjoying some entertainment of their own.
The witches have arrived in their eggshell boats. They’re currently invisible – a habit they’ve developed to avoid persecution.
Despite their reputation, these witches are kind. They are happy to share their boats with other fairyland folk.
The pixie is volunteering, and handles the admin side of things for the witches. He has promised to look after the boats for them when they go to the Wellcome Trust tent. The witches are science geeks, and love investigating research to ensure their magic is as up-to-date as possible. They are evidence-based witches.
The unicorn and baby dragon get very excited watching the Lake Stage from the water. They will hide in the bulrushes when the wild lake swimming starts, to avoid any accidents.
The elves prefer the comfort of a waterlily.
This pixie is a traditionalist who likes a good, old fashioned toadstool. He does appreciate ‘new-fangled’ canned drinks though – so much easier than collecting dew-drops, as he usually has to do. He turns the cans into star lanterns when he finishes his drinks.
The forest deity has turned up now that the bulk of the hard work is done. The Glittersaurus and Osiris the Sheep do not say anything but they do not pander to the god’s ego. They will not stand on ceremony for anyone. They see everyone as equal in the Faraway Forest.
Dek the Diplodocus is less able to stay silent about such things so has taken a break for some ‘thinking time’. There is only so much he can take.
Pegasus is similarly perturbed after the glittering star of the festival scene stagedived to perform on his back, without asking first.
The showmanship was impressive and he didn’t buck the performer off as the crowd were having fun, but now, he has a seriously bad back.
He is looking forward to some healing therapies when the humans arrive. He’s already booked in for a massage. He had one last year and it worked wonders (His back pain is a chronic condition after years of relying on flying too much, so his back muscles didn’t get enough exercise. He is committed to his physio now, but needs extra care thanks to the thoughtless stagediving performer.)
Osiris is also having some thinking time.
They are a stylish sheep (Osiris does not believe in gender as a construct, and defines as agender).
Osiris is bored of wearing pink every year and wants to try something unique. They are no sheep.
Osiris has tried many outfit options.
They particularly like the swan feather get up, but suspect they will end up pink regardless.
The make up artist has no idea that Osiris plans to sneak off to the Pamper Dome for a makeover once the festival starts. If they have to be pink, they’re at least adding some biodegradable glitter.
Most of the Faraway Forest residents are happy though. The mermaids are calmly basking.
The elves are getting excited about their performance under the Tree of Life. They are spending hours planning.
The naughty fairy is getting very excited about her leaf dance in the cabaret tent.
Her act gets rather racy after dark. She has asked the unicorn to stand on the door and make sure no children attend. She is paying him generously, in part to apologise for spiking his apple with elderflower spirits. She didn’t realise he wasn’t used to drinking.
He’s not used to a lot of things. By putting him on the door, she’s hoping he’ll miss her show. She suspects it may be a little too much for him…
The glittering star is loving the opportunity to collaborate with other artists.
Having seen the line up, the star is torn between spending time at the Obelisk Arena, the Sunrise Arena and the Alcove Stage. They’re impressed by all the big names but they also love emerging artists. They’ve decided to look for star quality everywhere.
They also plan to warn all the performers not to stage dive, having learned from their mistake with Pegasus. They have been throwing their guilt into rehearsals.
Most importantly of all, the love is growing.
The forest god is collecting back up buckets of love, just in case.
The scene is set. It is almost time to play…
If you want to meet the Faraway Forest Faerie Folk (grown to human size to avoid getting squashed), they’ll be sharing nature love under the Tree of Life at Latitude Festival at 1.30pm on Saturday and 11.30am on Sunday.
Whether you want to discover more about the flora and fauna that flourishes at Henham Park; learn how to make the most of litter (and your recycling box); make nature art; discover science magic to plunge you into fairyland; or discover how to get free drinks from nature (including Fairy Fizz – like Prosecco, but cheaper), the elves and fairies of the Faraway Forest will share their secrets and help you discover the magic that surrounds you, if only you take a closer look.
There are still some Latitude tickets available, though Saturday day tickets have now sold out so get in quick. (In addition to the faerie folk, there are also some excellent humans performing at the festival).
groweatgift 
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Brilliant. Glad he could see the faerie folk too – the world needs more magic. My grandfather told me the stories that helped me see it when I was little 😉
When I was little my father used to me stories he made up just like this☺