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Here's a quick tale from my neck of the woods, just because it's a good 'un and it speaks to how, often enough, we just keep going, regardless of the 'big things' happening around us. It concerns the village of Shillington, in Bedfordshire. /1 
Now, Shillington is a very lovely, very old place. It's named after a Saxon who came to live there around the 6th century. It's had a church for over a millennia. In the 18th & 19th centuries, it was called 'Shittington' because coprolites (dinosaur poop) were the main trade. /2
Right, so the thing about Shillington is, like many Bedfordshire villages, it's just kept plugging along for centuries, regardless of what's happening elsewhere. People do their own thing, even during times of national strife, like the English Civil War. /3
So, as we all know, the Parliamentary forces won that Civil War/s, and the Puritans who had a lot of influence in Parliament began to impose their creed on, well, everyone - no dancing, easy on the drink, don't even think about Christmas, etc... /4
Suddenly, out of freakin' nowhere, reports started coming out of Shillington about goblins & little people gathering there to celebrate, dance, drink and sing, far from prying eyes. The villagers, apparently were terrified to leave their homes at night for fear of bewitchment. /5
The only evidence that the goblins had ever been there, the villagers of Shillington claimed, were the fairy rings left in a local meadow. No need to come and visit, though, they said - just your standard goblin hoedown. A local prance for local creatures. /6
BY SOME AMAZING AND COMPLETELY UNFORESEEN COINCIDENCE, the reports of riotous goblin drinking and debauchery stopped EXACTLY when, upon the Restoration of the Monarchy, the harsh measures imposed by the puritan Commonwealth were lifted. Fancy that!
Now, I don't want to burst any bubbles, but how about that, hey? No more nocturnal countryside raves as soon as partying was made legal again! What are the odds? Astronomical, I tell you, Anyway, that's the Shillington Goblins for you. Love it. /FIN
