Dance of the Ice Fairies

Remember the ice fairies in Fantasia

Who swooped across the world

And left frozen sparkling trails in their wake?

They visited my street tonight

Whilst I was out

Watching The Nutcracker

A new version of it

No sugarplum fairies or dancing Russians

Instead fluffy pink party girls and bikers

No grand balls

But an austere orphanage

Matthew Bourne’s uncanny ability to modernise and remake the classics

But the music remains

And Tchaikovsky’s score is still as beautiful now as it was when I was 7 and taking ballet and twirling around the living room with my arms up-

And walking home with my love’s hand in mine

The world had been visited by ice fairies

Fallen leaves on the ground covered in frost

Evergreens, the road, the post box, garbage bins

All sparkling silver, really as if the fairies had skipped over everything with their chilly toes and wintery wings

And the night was clear

And the stars were in the sky

And the air was chilly and crisp

And the fairies were invisible

But their glittery trails remained

The end.