Apparently Roswell welcomes all visitors – animal, vegetable and alien. A bustling industry has grown up in
the tiny town in New Mexico, USA, all devoted to one thing: the 1947 crash and recovery of an alien spaceship and the little green corpse supposedly found inside. Hushed up by the US government, it’s the greatest conspiracy of all time. Visiting the 61st Roswell UFO Festival, you find a weird mix of family-friendly American patriotism and lectures from alien abductees about bright lights and anal probes.

I was also told that people in this desert town dose themselves up with cactus drug Peyote, known for its psychoactive properties. You’ve got to be careful what you say round here – people are touchy. “I’m not an alien!” says Tom Watts, a Roswell repairman. “I’m the mutant from This Island Earth. I’m a classic!” The most convincing mutants I saw were the ones doing karaoke – it was like the bar scene from Star Wars, but without the costumes.