Strange Solace

It has been said that there was a typewriter factory in Glasgow, Scotland that employed a witch.

It was also said, that this was ‘a load of nonsense’ because ‘didn’t witches live in cottages in the woods with their cats and their cauldrons? And ‘whatever would a witch be doing working in a typewriter factory?’

Well, a word witch might. And modern witches need modern careers.

And what if that word witch imbued the occasional typewrite with a little of her magic? Just for fun.

And, what if, one of those typewriters was found, many years later, hidden in the corner of a dark and dusty attic? By a little girl who loved to tell stories.

The little girl wound an old  into the typewriter, but before she could type a word, the keys began to move by themselves. 

‘Be careful what you type,’ said the typewriter.

Now, this little girl was not one to be afraid (she was exploring a dark and dusty attic all by herself after all).  And who ever heard of a typewriter giving anyone advice?

‘There was a faerie at the bottom of the garden…’ The little girl typed.

The typewriter began to glow and within moments the little girl found herself at the bottom of her garden under a toadstool, next to a faerie.

‘Allo,’ said the faerie. ‘Have you been using that old typewriter? Well, you’re in trouble now, aren’t you! How are you going to get back up to the attic with those little legs? How are you going to press the keys with tiny hands like that?’

Copyright: image believed to be under copyright. Used here for creative, non-commercial purposes. Postcard published by IRIS Publishing Ltd., featuring a 1955 photograph from the Hulton Picture Co. Women assembling typewriters at British Olivetti, Glasgow.