A trinket fairy is at work in Oak Bay, leaving little gifts in plain sight, spreading joy and connectivity.
At least that’s how Ingrid Fawcett sees them. When she can’t get out for a long nature hike, Fawcett will embark on lengthy urban strolls on city streets, traversing multiple municipalities. On a recent 20-kilometre hike, walking the stretch of sidewalk between Oak Bay Marina and the Glenlyon Norfolk School junior campus in Beach Drive, a charm bracelet with small note attached drew her attention.
“It’s just a little joyous moment. Just charming.”
That’s how she often describes the community – a charming little village – and the bracelet she found featured letter beads spelling out Oak Bay with a tiny teapot charm between the words. The care and attention someone is taking to create and share the trinkets give her a sense of connectivity, and joy that someone else loves the community as much as she does.
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Andrea Careless received one as a gift from her son. He spotted several on benches at Cattle Point, and brought one home to her. She’d been having a particularly difficult day.
“Even though it’s a small thing, people don’t realize how much happiness that brings to your day,” Careless said.
She likens it to the Sooke to Sidney Rock Hunt, a Facebook page dedicated to creating and leaving painted rocks for people find and keep, move to a new location, or just enjoy and leave for others to see.
But being on a smaller scale, it also reminds her of two years ago around this time, when the world felt closed and public health measures limited personal contact outside of households. At that time, letters in crayon and child’s penmanship appeared in envelopes left on benches at Willows Beach. The notes were short and uplifting, reminding the finder they were loved.
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While the origins of the latest trinkets left in plain sight remain a mystery, they’re inspiring outpourings of kindness and joy online as residents share their images and stories on social media.
They’re spreading love in person too. Careless was gifted hers by her son on a day she really needed it.
Fawcett knew she would regift the find to the perfect person or place.
“I don’t know who or where, but when I find that person or place I’ll know it.”
Later that same hike, she ran into a longtime volunteer Hazel Braithwaite – who she first met in the mid-1990s when both were parents at Willows elementary. And the trinket found its new person.
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