Apparently all the fairies left these isles during the 17th century in protest of the anti-Christmas, anti-fun policies of that much loved king-who-wasn’t-a-king, Oliver Cromwell. I never realised the wee folk were Christians, but there you go. Anyway, if you ever wanted to see some Sidhe for yourself try this little enchantment which I found in an old children’s book. It’s sourced from an ancient manuscript and supposedly used to work. So if you give it a go and your sight remains fairyless, then you’ll know the rumours were true.
1. Gather the flowers of roses and marigolds while looking toward the east. Take the petals and soak them separately in spring water for one week. Stain off the petals.
2. Pour a small quantity of each liquid into a crystal glass bowl.
3. Add some virgin olive oil, and beat the mixture until the oil turns white. Then pour it into a glass bottle.
4. Add hollyhock buds, marigold flowers, young hazel buds and the flowers of wild thyme to the mixture. The thyme should be gathered from the side of a hill ‘where fairies used to go often’.
5. Add grass from a fairy throne and leave the bottle in the sun for three days for the ingredients to dissolve.
6. Rub a very little of the mixture on each eyelid and you will be able to see any fairies who are around.
There you have it. Something to do next weekend, and heaps safer than the usual methods of seeing fairies. Just don’t tell anyone what you’re up to unless you fancy being chased across the fields with a butterfly net!
More pics I took of what will no doubt come to be known as the Big Winter of 2009. They're not of the snow but, in my opinion, the most beautiful weather known to mankind- cool, crisp air to refresh your every breath, bold blue skies framing natures canvas. These ones are of a sunset though. 
A random selection of photos I took over the past couple of weeks. We rarely get snow before January here in Ireland, and even then barely more than a clattering. But this year it's been white for weeks. The picture below is of a historic castle bridge in my home town and was taken on Christmas Day. I'm planning on using it for my cards next year. Check out the icicles under the arches, they were about two feet long!
