• Question: do you believe in fairies? u must!

    Asked by fluorinefaiza to Ben, Jony, Katharine, Mark, Peter on 16 Nov 2011.
    • Photo: Ben Still

      Ben Still answered on 16 Nov 2011:

      I don’t believe in anything, I will accept they exist if you can show me proof I can reproduce.

    • Photo: Katharine Schofield

      Katharine Schofield answered on 16 Nov 2011:

      My friend said that the toadstools at the bottom of the garden amounted to an indirect detection of fairies. i am not convinced.

    • Photo: Mark Basham

      Mark Basham answered on 16 Nov 2011:

      hi florinefaiza,

      I’m originally from Cornwall and there is a lot of Folklore there about fairies. I don’t believe in them but it always amazes me how useful fairy folklore can be.

      In Cornwall the most well known Fairies are the Knockers, who are expert miners who live in the tin mines that are there. Now there are 2 things that you must remember to do as a miner in Cornwall, the first is to leave the corner of your pasty for the Knockers, and if you always do this then they will help you out by knocking on the walls if they think there will be a cave in so you can get out safely.

      Now in reality a tin miners hands are covered in tin dust which is poisonous, so when they ate their pasty the corner which they held would have been contaminated, so leaving it for the Knockers was a good thing to stop them poisoning themselves.

      Also the Knocking noise that they made was actually the timbers and walls of the mine shaft shifting before a cave in so it was good warning to get out sharpish!

      So the handy Knockers, or at least there folklore saved many a Cornish miners life.

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