Transforming

I do love this Jamie Ridler Wishcasting site. I've been a touch busy lately - what with Royal Weddings in the offing and everything - but this morning when I saw the question "What do you wish to transform?", it almost seemed made for just me!

As a Fairy Godmother (FGM), naturally I am rather skilled when it comes to transforming things. We've already determined that I'm not in the league of FGMs that can turn pumpkins into carriages which is a real shame. However, you should see me make an apple into a pie... What? You mean mortal souls can do that too? Well, I bet you can't turn an old frock into a party outfit fit for a potential Princess? Oh, you can rustle one up with a few ribbons, sequins a determined talent? Hmm... Perhaps there's less to this Fairy Godmother malarky than many folk believe?

Can I make my wish now? Fairy Godmothers have dreams and hopes too you know!

I wish to transform lives for the better through my magic. I wish to give my charges the confidence to take the brave decisions that take them on life's exciting journey. To transform the 'what might have been' to 'what really is'. I believe that the time comes to all of us when we are ready to take that step to fulfill our potential. The right door doesn't necessarily open or even showing itself to us all the time. It may wait until we feel we're past our prime, but timing is everything. Opportunity will show itself eventually. You just have to be brave enough to step right through and grab yourself a big juicy bite of that apple! Then you'll find you're making your own prize-winning pie without any help from me!

Happy wishing!

Fairytale romances

Gone are the days when stories always seemed to feature a real-life Prince or Princess. I guess that's not such a bad thing, seeing as they are rather thin on the ground these days and those looking for true romance really don't need to set their sights on royalty to acquire it! If anything the dream seems more likely to be snagging oneself a footballer or rock star... Ah, how times do change!

However, sometimes it's rather nice to hark back to the likes of Belle and her Beast Prince or Sleeping Beauty and delve into a fairytale romance or two of the fictional variety. Some very nice people at Arrow Books sent me a book called "To Marry a Prince" by Sophie Page - due to be published in early April, just in time for a certain HRH's nuptuals. A modern fairy tale - ordinary girl meets Prince, she doesn't know who he is, then she does, then they fall in love and then.... ah, that would be telling...

Let me tell you that this was just the tonic for a tired Fairy Godmother who struggles harder than ever these days to make dreams come true - people will question motive and try to apply scientific explanation to magic, or worse still not believe what's staring them in the face.

Here was a girl who listened to her FGM, or perhaps it was just her heart's whisperings. I don't like to give too much away, but let me tell you I was gripped by this tale. It's a beautifully written modern fairy tale with characters to love and respect. That Prince Richard will make a fine King one day...

The colour of magic

What's the colour of magic? Some might think it's pink from magic wand twinkles or white for purity. Ah, but you're forgetting one or two things for consider this:

What amphibious creature turns into a handsome Prince when kissed? And what colour is that creature typically? Come on, I'm sure you know. Just as you can instantly shout out what colour is a wicked witch's skin? While we're on the subject, what about the steam that comes out of her cauldron or the mist that lurks in the enchanted forest? And the most magical of potions?

What colour the man made of leaves that lives in the wild wood? And the wee irish fella that runs about with a pot of gold (possibly carrying a four-leaved clover that matches his attire). Dragons, the Incredible Hulk, catterpillars, aloe vera, the Lantern

And finally, in the northern hemisphere something very special happens around this time of year (and for our Southern cousins about six months later). A most magical unfurling, growth and strength in rebirth - the GREEN of Spring!

Any more green magic you can think of?

Rewarding work

Well, how nice to be given an award. It seems I am a versatile blogger. Well, that's a great descriptor of a Fairy Godmother, for who else is capable of conjuring up the love of your life one minute and winning lottery tickets the next (though please do me a favour and next time CHECK THE TICKET!!!!).

I am to share seven secrets. Well, as this is the purpose of this blog, then allow me to sit back in my chair, flex my fingers and begin... it might not be seven though, let's just see how we far we get before alarm bells start ringing back at HQ and I get a warning light on my wand...

According to records at FGM House, I was born in 1790. It's so long ago, I can barely remember and it was a while before I found my calling anyway. In fact, even then there was some doubt in my ability. I'm ashamed of some of my early performance reports I can tell you - and it took a long time for one particular mouse to forgive me... The thing is that some of us are a great deal better at making wishes come true than others. Though this may have something to do with the way our charges make said wishes (see above point about lottery tickets - twice I helped her pick the winning numbers.... Sometimes my job is just so hard).

Not every mortal is allocated a Fairy Godparent - there simply aren't enough of us to go around, even with shift work and flexitime. That's not to say that everyone needs one; some manage just fine without. We work most often to help realise potential or to give our charges a second chance, especially those who missed out in a previous life.

We love writing and telling stories and painting pretty pictures to go alongside them. But most of all we love making the stories in the first place. It's our soul purpose to cast happiness and joy by making our charges realise their potential and self-worth. When we do a good job, I can tell you there's no better feeling!

Well, the wand warning light is starting to glow, so I'd better sneak off now before I get into trouble. I once got suspended for a week for kissing George Clooney when I wasn't supposed to (well, seriously, wouldn't you?).

Time to flutter off for the evening. Thank you Flutterby Trina for your kind nomination and the opportunity to get into trouble with HQ!

Now, quickly, before I go, I am supposed to pass this award on to 15 others. It does seem rather a lot... Can Fairy Godmothers cop out and just point you in the direction of the blogs in my favourite blog list instead?

Or, how about this. I invite you to go on a 15 step blog hop. Use this blog as your starting direction - follow one of my commenters or followers or other links then take 14 more similar steps and see where they take you, then come back here and share the site you land on.

Could be fun - and who knows what you'll uncover or who you'll meet!

Wishcasting

I was fluttering around Bloglandia today when I landed in Jamie Ridler's Studio and found her and a group of lovely people casting their wishes to the universe and inviting all to join. Well, now here was something different, for casting wishes is not something I'm particularly used to. Granting them is another matter of course!

This week Jamie is inviting us to speak of what gifts we wish to share. Being a Fairy Godmother, naturally I have many (although, as I explained in a previous post, regrettably I am still not able to turn pumpkins into coaches nor mice into men, handsome or otherwise - before anyone asks!). Under the Fairy Godmother Code page 9, paragraph 8.3.3 it does clearly state a rather tediously long list of gifts I am NOT allowed to share, although that is nothing compared to forbidden to utter secrets. However, I wouldn't be doing my job properly if I didn't share a few gifts with the aid of my magic wand here and there.

The biggest gift I ever give my charges is Self Belief. In fact, it's usually the first I pull out of my magic bag, for without self belief how would Rapunzel have ever got through those months locked in the tower? Would Cinderella have dared believe that she really could go to the ball? And would Julie have made Chief Exec with a childhood spent in and out of care (you probably don't know Julie's story quite as well as the others - her Fairy Godmother - yours truly - is not quite as famous as some of the others). Well, I've got news for you - you're all invited to that Ball and I'd love it if you waved your own wands, looked at yourselves in the mirror and cast your own spells.

The power to be what you want to be is in all of you. Just have faith and believe...

The Secret Door Part 2

Did you know that Fairy Godparents can get sick? Well, it's true since we are half mortal these human traits do tend to strike us down every now and again.

You should see the state of me. I've completely lost my sparkle and my wand has gone all bendy. I just hope nobody needs me for anything important over the next day or so or I fear my magic may go askew.

I was so wanting to update you on the adventures of little Molly and the secret door... maybe I can coax a few words onto the virtual page.... I'll see what I can do... The picture above won't make much sense until you get right to the end!

***

Molly awoke the next morning to a familiar sound. Pitter patter went the rain bouncing its drum beat on window ledges and foliage. Sighing she snuggled back under the duvet with Teddy and Bobo the Monkey and prayed for sun.

Just as she was dozing and dreaming of rock pools and paddling, her Mother burst into the room and urged her daughter out of bed. The weather would perk up later she promised, and in the meantime they could just relax here and read, paint or just explore. Molly peered at the glowering clouds and doubted it somewhat, even with her most optimistic glass half full face on! She perused her wardrobe and picked the most appropriate clothing - not wetsuit, but rainforest t-shirt! Laughing at her little dig at the weather, she also grabbed her froggie umbrella and decided to venture out and explore the dripping garden. Who knew, she might bump into.

Dancing through the puddles a few minutes later, she felt something bump against her leg. What on earth was in her pocket? Molly reached down and pulled out the mysterious key. In all the excitement of coming away, she had forgotten all about it. How strange that it had worked its way into the pocket of her jeans. She shoved it back and continued her exploration, stopping by the gate to the woodland. It did look very wet in there, but rather beckoning too. A tiny portion of sun peeking through the clouds was lighting up the water droplets like Christmas, and was that a rabbit's bobtail she saw disappearing into the bushes?

Molly glanced around quickly to be sure her Mother wasn't watching before diving in and running through the wet foliage laughing excitedly. She followed paths that led nowhere but back on themselves until she spied through the trees the other side of the mysterious door. Fighting her way through brambles and creepers she scrambled her way to stand in front of its magnificence. It certainly seemed strange to have such a noble-looking door leading nowhere in particular. There wasn't even a sign of a path leading away from it this side with ancient oaks and beech trees jostling for space forming a protective arc around the entrance.

Molly pulled the key from her pocket and wondered... She ran her hands over the smooth wood but there appeared to be no key hole within which to place an ancient treasure chest key! Shrugging she scrambled back through the woods in answer to her Mother's call for breakfast.

***

Swinging through the garden later alongside her partner in crime Bobo Monkey (nice and dry strapped inside her raincoat), Molly once more found herself in front of the 'secret door' as she was now calling it. Only on this side - there was a lock - and what is more it looked like someone had polished it as the brass shined brightly enough to reflect Molly's curious gaze.

She stood for a moment thinking... but only a moment because this was a Molly with impetuous as her middle name... Taking the key from her pocket she reached forward and gently eased it into the lock. It slid in effortlessly, but would it turn?

(Of course it turned! You knew that readers didn't you? The teller of this tale is after all a Fairy Godmother - I'm sure you would expect nothing less!).

Molly was bursting with excitement. Not at the prospect of opening the door - for she knew after all what was on the other side, but with the magic of the event. How on earth had his key come to be in her possession? Who put in the drawer with her sunhat and then wiggled it into the pocket of her jeans? It was a mystery with a capital M.

With an excitable leap Molly gave a great shove to push the door past all the weeds and brambles she knew to be growing the other side. She was somewhat surprised therefore when the door swung effortlessly on oiled hinges and she fell flat on her face!

Picking herself up, Molly quickly realised that she wasn't in Cornwall anymore (she was a big fan of The Wizard of Oz, in case you are wondering!). In fact, as she surveyed the dripping jungle around her and heard the cries of parrots, the slither of snakes and the squawk of goodness knows what, she had an awful suspicion that her dream of visiting the Amazonian rainforest had come true a little sooner than she had expected.

Under her raincoat Bobo wriggled desperate to get out and see what was happening.

Hold on... Bobo wriggled? The stuffed toy monkey Bobo?

If Molly was already dumbstruck by her surroundings, then the sight of her toy monkey wriggling out of his waterproof confines was almost enough to send her screaming back through the door - but  hey, this is Molly and I've already shared that she's made of sterner stuff!

"Come on then" said Bobo with a cheeky wink to the startled Molly. Let's go and explore....

To be continued...


In response to the prompt 'exotic' on Take a Word.

The secret door

I feel the need for a holiday my dear readers. Where shall I go? I've done Narnia and Neverland. Far, Far Away is just well... too far away. Maybe something a little closer to home? I have a little friend who told me a story about a rather enchanting place nestling in a Cornish cove. Maybe we'll go there... What do you think?

***

Molly began packing her bags for her holiday - or at least that's what her Mother was calling it. Molly wasn't so sure. Last time they'd been to Cornwall all it had done was rain and the closest she'd got to playing on sandy beaches was looking wistfully at them through the gaps she'd made in the steamed up car windows.

She threw her much-loved teddy, pencils and books onto the top of the suitcase and made ready to close it. Smiling she remembered something she hadn't packed which her Mum had told her to. Her sunhat! Some chance! As she rummaged through the drawer, her hand clasped something cold and smooth. Puzzled she pulled the object out. It was a very large, very old-looking key - the sort that would open castle doors or big treasure chests. Where had it come from? She'd certainly never seen it before. On the end of the key was tied a red velvet ribbon from which a tattered cardboard tag hung.

Molly forgot all about her sunhat and concentrated on fathoming the old letters making up the scratchy words on the tag...

Turn the key inside the lock
Believe and then wind back the clock

How mysterious. Molly heard her mother coming up the stairs. Something told her that she wouldn't approve of strange pieces of hardware appearing out of thin air. So she grabbed both sunhat and key, flung them in the suitcase and snapped the lock shut just as her mother came through the door.

A day later and their car scrunched up an gravel driveway bordered by towering rhodedendrons. The sun was trying to peek through a watery sky and the trees dripped pitter patt on the roof of their car. Molly sank down into her seat ready to despair. That is until they turned the final bend in the drive and she saw where they would be spending the next two weeks...

Trelawney Manor was a rambling ramshackle dream gone wild. The old house, now converted into holiday lets looked about as full of adventure as a child of ten could cope with. There most certainly had to be ghosts and look at all those gardens surrounding the place with hundreds of Rhodendrons to make dens in... and was that a hay loft and did those steps lead down to the sea and wow, what was that fancy door doing in the middle of a garden wall.. Molly's mind raced with such excitement that she ignored the rain completely as she charged about trying to explore the entire place in her first five minutes.

She may have managed it had she not run straight into a tiny little lady coming round the corner of the house. At first Molly thought she had knocked the woman over for she staggered backwards but luckily seemed to recover and like a puppet on strings bounced back to her feet. Molly was a little scared and feared she had caused trouble enough to prevent further adventures already, but the lady just smiled and looked her right in the eye.

"You arrived at last" she whispered and gave a little wink.

 "Hello," said Molly doing her best to be polite. "Do you live here?"

"Here and there" replied the soft voice rather enigmatically waving in a manner that took in most of Cornwall. Molly scuffed her shoes and took the opportunity to enquire what was through the strange door and on the other side of the wall.

"Well, my dear" came the reply. "That be two questions really, so I'll do my best to answer. That door hasn't opened for at least 100 years for nobody has seen the key for that long. The other side of the wall is woodland stretching down to the sea - see the trees waving at you. You can get to the woods by following the wall down to the gateway. To get what's through the door, you'll need the key..."

Molly looked at the trees waving at her from behind the wall AND door. Shrugging at the silly ramblings of the old lady she turned and retraced her steps as her Mother called her from the front of the house. She looked back to say sorry once more to the old lady but she had gone - she must be more sprightly than she looks thought Molly.

Still, that door needed a more thorough examination - from both sides - and Molly knew she was just the girl to do it...

To be continued...