Earlier this month, we noticed that the Fairy Ring had reappeared on the village green, surrounding the tree near to the new village sign. The ring is really only two thirds complete (and is visible in the photo, honestly !), and there is a significant gap in one area, nearest to St Agatha's. The ring is much more visible to the naked eye rather than to a photograph, but has quickly faded. How long it has been in existence in Hurst Green we don't know; apparently there is one in Belfort in France that is over 2000 ft in diameter (650 metres or so, for our younger readers), and thought to be over 700 years old. Ours is significantly smaller and much younger!
We believe that the funghi are probably Amanita Muscari, or the Fly Agaric. Although they look beautiful, they are of course toxic and are related to the infamous and fatal Destroying Angel, which featured very prominently in an episode of Midsomer Murders.
Fairy rings are seen as mystical places and there are countless myths about stepping inside or outside of one, and the fate that befell the people who did. The truth is of course more prosaic - each year, the funghi deplete the nutrients where they grow, so that when they drop their spores the only ones which flourish the next year are the ones on the outside of the area their parents grew in (the inside having been depleted in previous years). The ring therefore grows outwards year after year, remaining a near-perfect circle.
I am sure that you will be delighted to hear that the rings are also associated with good luck. How long this luck will last is anyone's guess, but hopefully Hurst Green will have a lucky year ahead!
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