Another Great Fairy Save

(The brilliant artwork on this page is courtesy of Chloe May Smart)

Anyone who has read the first book in the Great Fairy Save series will know that when Chloe May Smart was five years old, she received a letter from a donkey, This was no ordinary donkey, this was The Green China Donkey, who knew all about magic and enchantment and was friends with dozens of pixies, elves and small woodland folk. He also had connections with some extremely influential people and when he heard about the very sad plight of Lorelei the Fairy, he knew exactly whom to contact.

Chloe, who was by then nine years old, soon found herself immersed in another adventure, together with some of her old friends – as well as a few new ones!

Here is an extract from ‘ Another Great Fairy Save' It is a copy of The Green China Donkey's email to Chloe, telling her all about Lorelei the Fairy and asking for her help.

Hello Chloe,

Sorry that I am so late

In keeping you right up-to-date.

The fairy garden’s doing well

But there’s a story I must tell.

At night time, when the moon appears,

A fairy, who’s in floods of tears,

Comes to your very special place

And sits alone and hides her face.

Each night she sings a mournful song,

Tonight I asked her what was wrong,

For In my heart I felt a pang

To hear the song the fairy sang.

She sang of elves and sad princesses,

Of fairies wearing silken dresses

Of tragic mermaids, sylphs and fauns

Of melancholy unicorns.

When I asked her, with a sigh,

She said her name was Lorelei

That she served the fairy queen

Whose daughter was so very mean.

Accusing her of stealing things,

Bracelets, broaches, golden rings.

And, worst of all, I can disclose,

A wardrobe filled with royal clothes.

Lorelei swears she’s not to blame.

And begged for help to clear her name.

Mitten the Squitten has agreed,

To review the case, but said he’d need

Someone clever to help him out,

So, I said I’d give you a shout.

Do you think you’ve got the time

To work with Mitten and solve this crime?

From:

The Green China Donkey

Deployed to Afghanistan

On the 18th of July, 2009, 27 Squadron RAF Regiment deployed to Afghanistan, where they were to engage in operations to support the Afghani people in their struggle against the Taliban. Sombre family groups gathered in the main hangar at the airbase in Suffolk, from where their loved ones were to embark upon the perilous mission. Some choked back

tears, others sobbed openly. All were aware of the dangers and uncertainty of the assignment.

When the final farewells had been made and 27 Squadron had headed skyward, their families returned to their homes, across the length and breadth of the country. On their various journeys, some caught the news of the death, that very day of Henry Allingham, (6/6/1896-18/07/2009) the oldest ever surviving member of any of the British Armed Forces and the oldest surviving veteran of the First World War.

Once back at home, the disparate family members faced 6 lonely, anxious months, broken only by two weeks of R n R (Rest and Recreation), until the return of their heroes in February 2010.

It was at this stage, that many of the families began to support each other by exchanging information on the RAF Community Support Website. This forum was designed to enable the Squadron to communicate with their families and to exchange information about what was going on in ‘The Stan’ and back home.

Whilst some visitors to the forum were known to each other, many were but faceless names on a computer screen - yet they shared a deep and intense level of intimacy.

The first posting in mid July was a reassuring one, from one of the wives, to say that she had heard briefly from her husband that everyone on the Squadron had arrived safely and were all in the process of setting up their phone and internet accounts. There was some jubilation when it was confirmed that ‘Skype’ appeared to work out there.

More reassurances followed towards the end of July, as people gradually began to hear from their loved ones and were advised that they could use the forum to address any questions to the Squadron in the field or to the rear party back in the UK.

Then, out of the blue, one member of the forum posted a few stanzas of verse, entitled:

OUR WARRIOR SON

I'm feeling heavy-hearted for our son has gone to war,

I'm beset with vile forebodings, grief and angst and so much more

But then, when I remember, how proud he is to serve, I'm filled with admiration for his bravery and nerve, The loyalty to his country which he represents with pride, And so I brush away the tears and put my fears aside, To count the weeks, the days and hours, until we see our boy, Our brave, high-spirited warrior-son, who’s brought us so much joy.

Within a very short space of time, an amazing thing happened - everyone was posting poetry and it soon became apparent that it was breaking down barriers and bringing people together. The forum was flourishing!

More on the therapeutic powers of poetry will follow in due course. So, please watch this space.

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A Lovely, Learned, Lady.

A pleasant nook, an absorbing book ...

---

MISS KITTO

She wasn’t my Latin teacher but she did teach Latin – and Greek

Although Latin wasn’t a language that you could actually speak,

You could declaim in it,

And some found fame in it.

Like Cicero, the brilliant statesman, whose orations were spectacular,

Some of them he translated from Greek and delivered in Latin - but not in the vernacular.

Other famous orators were: Marcus Antonius, Quintus Hortensius and Julius Caesar

(Who, until he met his death in 44 BC, was a renowned crowd-pleaser.)

At school, Miss Kitto was rumoured to be very strict, and sarcasm was alleged to be her defining feature.

It was generally agreed however, that she was an absolutely brilliant teacher.

Quite by coincidence, we met up again, much later on, when I was seventy one and she was ninety two.

In a short time, I got to know and understand her, and from that, our

friendship grew.

She had a very keen brain and a wonderful dry sense of humour,

Of sarcasm there was no trace,

Those earlier allegations had been quite base.

She was, in fact, the kindest of souls – an absolute cutie,

A gentle intellectual, who was blessed with inner beauty.

Requiescat in Pace

Maggie Smart