Do You Believe In Fairies ?

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Fairies - Rackham

Tinker Bell’s wings would scarcely carry her now (…) Every moment her light was growing fainter; and Peter knew that if it went out she would be no more (…)  Her voice was so low that at first he could not make out what she said. Then he made it out. She was saying that she thought she could get well again if children believed in fairies. Peter flung out his arms. There were no children there, and it was night time; but he addressed all who might be dreaming of the Neverland, and who were therefore nearer to him than you think: boys and girls in their nighties, and naked papooses in their baskets hung from trees.

“Do you believe?” he cried.

Tink sat up in bed almost briskly to listen to her fate.

She fancied she heard answers in the affirmative, and then again she wasn’t sure.

“What do you think?” she asked Peter.

“If you believe,” he shouted to them, “clap your hands; don’t let Tink die.”

Many clapped.

Some didn’t.

A few beasts hissed.

The clapping stopped suddenly; as if countless mothers had rushed to their nurseries to see what on earth was happening; but already Tink was saved. First her voice grew strong, then she popped out of bed, then she was flashing through the room more merry and impudent than ever. She never thought of thanking those who believed, but she would have like to get at the ones who had hissed.

(J. M. Barrie ,The Adventures of Peter Pan)

Peter Pan - Sir James M Barrie

You believe in fairies Janice, so do I, you know ! Let’s keep a child’s heart to save Tinker Bell.

I am not against the ‘supernatural’ element in our lives. Why should I ? So vast is our universe and so much of it is still unknown to us. Maybe what we describe as ‘supernatural” is only something that we can’t explain today.

I do like the way Scottish people manage to conciliate in their culture what seems to be at first irreconcilable and to make coexist in a same pattern rational as well as irrational elements.

The Private Memoirs And Confessions Of A Justified Sinner - James Hogg

Think to Scottish literature with its recurrent themes of good and evil and man duality. How not to think here of James Hogg’s book  The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner since its gloomy action takes place on Arthur’s Seat.

Don’t forget we’re in Dr Jekyll’s country. Think to contemporary Alasdair Gray’s Lanark too…

It was certainly not by chance that Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous classic tale, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was the first to be chosen for the 1st campaign “One Book – One Edinburgh” in 2008 .

I’m a lover of books, as many of our readers are, I think, so I’ll come back soon to that very exciting literary event not only because it takes place in Edinburgh but also because it is a very interesting example of what can be done everywhere to encourage people to read.

The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by R.L. Stevenson

Every literary genre has its own qualities and its adepts. Being a book addict I try to keep open-minded and while I do like the marvellous and the fantastic genres I am not against the realistic approach in literature.

There are Scottish masterpieces in the genre. George Douglas Brown The House with the Green Shutters (1901) is the most famous one and I’ll try to read it soon.

The House With The Green Shutters - George Douglas Brown

What a pity the author died at the age of 33 in 1902. I would have liked to know what he had in mind when he began writing a sequel entitled  The Incompatibles…

We could speak for hours about books and I have still a few anecdotes to tell our readers about the area.

By the way Janice,  since you are an expert in philately, maybe you have something interesting to tell us about stamps depicting  Calton Hill or maybe about Peter Pan?