It’s Fairy Tennis Time!

Hello everyone! It’s Fairy Valley’s roving reporter Fairy Venetia here! Instead of my usual Valley Whispers column, this week I am really excited to be
bringing you an exclsive interview with the two finalists of the Wingledon Fairy Tennis Championships 2019, Steffi and Andre!! What’s it really like
to be a fairy tennis superstar? Let’s find out…
 

Q: Steffi and Andre, firstly congratulations on becoming Wingledon finalists! How does it feel?
Steffi: It feels fantastic! I am flabbergasted! That’s a new word I learned recently. Anyway, I am so happy and proud to be in the final, and I want to
thank my fairy friend Serena who helped me train to be the best fairy tennis player I can be!
Andre: I am kind of speechless! But very happy! And can I give a shout out to my human? Hi Daniel in Peterborough in the UK! He’s the best human ever.

Q: Can you tell our readers a little bit about how Fairy Tennis is played, in case they don’t already know?
Steffi: Yes of course! So fairy tennis is a sport based on the human game of… what’s it called again… oh yes, tennis! Now I have heard that the humans
play it on the ground. That seems a little bit strange to me, but that’s how it works in the human world I think.
Andre: Yeah, I’ve heard that too. The balls bounce on some kind of green rectangle. But fairy tennis is played the normal way – in the air. The net is
held up by ladybirds and the balls obviously bounce on clouds… which actually makes it more skillful because you have to hit the ball the right way
to make sure it lands on a cloud!
 

Q: As Fairy Valley is such a sunny place, what happens if there are no clouds in the sky?
Steffi: Good question!! Well what happens is: clouds have to be blown into Fairy Valley from the human world. It’s safest for us fairies not to do it as
we might be seen, so thankfully the lovely bees and birds of Fairy Valley do the honours!
Andre: Yeah, it’s very nice of them. So if any humans out there ever see a cloud moving kind of quickly, it’s probably on the way to Fairy Valley for a
bit of fairy tennis!

Q: Interesting! So has the Wingledon Tennis Championship changed much over the years?
Andre: There are all the usual traditions, like eating strawberries. I have a friend who ate a whole strawberry last year! I think he got a bit carried
away with all the excitement.
Steffi: Actually this year we wanted to let the ladybirds play too, so we fairies held the nets up for a change! It was so much fun.

Q: And have there been any familiar faces in the crowd this year?
Steffi: Yes! The amazing Pixie from Pixie and the Pepperpots came along to my semi-final! They are my favourite band so it was amazing to see her in the
crowd.
Andre: I also thought I saw Queen Kate at one point! She is very down-to-earth so she likes to mix in with all the other fairies. It was either her or
my friend Marjorie. I get them confused quite a lot.

Q: Well thank you for talking with me, and the fairy best of luck for the big final this weekend! Is there anything else you would like to say?
Andre: I would like to say the alphabet backwards but I can’t.
Steffi: I would like to encourage all fairies out there to give fairy tennis a try!! Maybe your humans could make a racket for you? It’s so much fun.
Andre: Oh yeah, that too! Definitely.

Thanks guys!

Well, you heard Andre and Steffi! I got in touch with the humans at The Irish Fairy Door Company and they sent over instructions on how you can make a
fairy-sized tennis racket! Check them out below!!

Until next time…

V xoxo

Fairy Tennis Racket!

Here’s what you’ll need:
Some tape (we used white Scotch Tape)
A standard-size bottle cap
Two pieces of wire about 17cm long each
Some paint and paintbrush
A bandage
Some scissors (and an adult to help!)
Some clay for the ball