A Scottish Storyteller

The Stonehaven Fireballs are my favourite Hogmanay event up here in Aberdeenshire.  In fact, I've blogged about them in the past - http://ascottishstoryteller.blogspot.com/2008/11/fire-festivals.html Well, we're just a few days away from Hogmanay now (that's New Years Eve for those of you unaquint with the name!)  and I'm very pleased to say I'm going to be storytelling at Open Air In The Square on Friday night. I've got a good selection of traditional stories and some new New Years stories I'm just bursting to tell! Open Air In The Square runs alongside the Stonehaven Fireballs and will be providing entertainment for all ages from 8pm until the wee hours.  Have a look at their web page for more details - http://www.openairinthesquare.co.uk/  (OK, not as impressive as the fireballs, but here's my attempt at bringing in the New Year in an appropriate way last year! There were more impressive moves, but these ones looked like 10 and 11, so I t...

As the final event of the year at Archaeolink, Wickerman, has always been the climax of the season. Quite simply, Hallowe'en has always been my favourite time of the year - I love the stories, the games, the dressing up, the traditions, and since I started volunteering at Archaeolink in Spring 2001, Wickerman has been part of my life.  (I just had to count back on my fingers there to figure out if it really has been 10 seasons that I've been volunteering there!) In the past few years, the weekend of Wickerman has consisted of getting out there early on the saturday to spend the day decorating the caves up for the "Spooky Tours" followed a party in the round house before attempting to get a full nights sleep ready for the busy day ahead.  A full nights sleep never seemed to happen though - whether due to the singing round the fire, last minute rehearsing of local ghost stories or child-like excitement.  This year, however, I was even busier than usual as Anna Fan...

Just a quick post to say that I have had a wonderful Storytelling Summer! The first event of the summer was telling Pictish tales at St Ternan's Heritage Fair in Banchory.  We had the run of both the museum and library - which had set up areas cunningly disguised as both a Pictish Fort and an Iron Age Roundhouse.  Banchory and the surrounding area is rich in folklore and legends relating to past kings and saints. Anna Fancett and Lee Ramsay tell stories in Banchory Library (note the "Make Your Own Hillfort" display on the right - we loved them!) Next, I was off to Glastonbury via Callanish where we took part in The17 with Bill Drummond , Stonehenge for the Summer Solstice and Avebury Stone Circle the day after that! Glastonbury was almost a rest in comparison!  I met some fantastic people and storytellers and am already looking forward to 2011's trip! For the first time, I told stories at Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival in July and then Wizard Festival in Augu...

So a lot has happened since my last post! Most importantly the sad loss of our good friend, Stanley Robertson. He was an inspiration to myself and my fellow storytellers and ballad singers and I was very privileged to be one of his "quinies" - Stanley always had time to teach a ballad or story! Stanley's funeral was very touching and, as he was buried at Lumphanan and we were all there to sing at the graveside, a few of us made the walk up the Old Road past the great oak tree Auld Craobhie. Stanley was due to be the guest speaker at GAS's October Friday Fling for Doricfest. Instead we have decided to hold the event in his honour and everyone is welcome to share a story or song of Stanley's. Gabrielle and Antony, Stanleys daughter and son will be there and I'm sure everyone will do what he taught us justice! Stanley at the Travellers Well on the way out to Lumphanan In the last couple of months, I've been telling stories at the Burn O Vat and in the We...

What a busy summer this has been! I've now been back from Glastonbury for a couple of weeks - what a great start to the summer! I was storytelling in the Kidz Field and the Green Futures Field and met some great people. At the Green Futures field I had the privilege of telling with Christine Willison , Anne Lister and Cath Little. I was also given an unexpected slot at the Kidz Field storytelling tent, run by John Row - which I enjoyed thoroughly ! Next time, I'm determined to spend more time in the Kidz Field as there's always so much going on... Here I am storytelling in the Kidz Field - clearly describing a very grumpy character (I don't look like this all the time, honest!) We took the long way back home to Aberdeen - via Cerne Abbas (to see the Giant ), a couple of days relaxing (and washing off the mud!) in Bournemouth, up past Stonehenge to Nottingham, on past Sherwood Forest to Castleford and then a brief stop in Edinburgh before finally reaching...

So since January this year, I have been doing a lot of puppet making and rehearsing for a blacklight and shadow puppet show - which is a totally new storytelling experience for me! Along with Aberdeen Street Entertainers, I have been working on a 20 minute show called the Story of Evolution - This is just part of of A Night At The Museum II which will be taking place at Aberdeen University's Zoology Department on the 16th May - just under a week away! We spent almost the whole day today rehearsing and putting the finishing touches to some of the scenes and we recorded one of the short sections - the dinosaur shadow puppet scene! If you want to see our first rehersals (don't worry - it'll get much better over the next week!), have a look here -