A Scottish Storyteller

So today I did my first stint in the round house and it was totally amazing! It was really busy - no idea how many people came through the doors, but we didn't stop all day even though it was a bit nippy outside. I just checked and think I told 12 stories today - which is pretty good going for the old voice which has been out of use over winter. Three were completely new stories - one of which I'd put together for the RGU project at Archaeolink (mentioned briefly in my last post) and one I'd written myself about the Northern Lights. My favourite thing today was when I was asking the kids what they'd teach a Princess for her to be useful to her country and one girl was adamant she'd need to learn martial arts. Why? Because being a ninja princess would come in very handy. I love it when kids come out with things like this - quite often it stays in the story the next time I tell it. And I made sure that the princess's ninja skills did indeed come in handy later...

Well - spring is coming and that means that for me, so does the storytelling season! I was shocked to calculate that I have now been volunteering at Archaolink Prehistory Park for 8 years now! This will be my 9th season at the park. I've always had a keen interest in prehistory and archaeology, so when Archaeolink opened in 1998 and a workmate brought me along one weekend in 1999 to help with the preparation of thatching the round house, I knew then I wanted to spend more time doing this sort of thing. This was followed up by a couple of weekends at the dig on the top of Berryhill in 2000 where I was encouraged for the first time to explain to the visitors what was going on - back then I wouldn't have dreamed that some day I would have the confidence to stand up in front of over 200 people and tell a story or sing a song! (Incidentally, they discovered I was really good at turfing, so I never got to get in about with a trowel and paintbrush. Damn.) The Iron Age Roundhouse wi...

An English doctor, being shown around a Scottish hospital, is taken into a ward with a number of patients who show no visible signs of injury. He goes to examine the first man he sees, and the man proclaims “Fair fa’ yer sonsie face, Great chieftain e’ the puddin’ race!” The Englishman, somewhat taken aback, goes to the next patient, who immediately launches into: “Some hae meat, and canna eat, and some wad eat that want it, But we hae meat and we can eat, and sae the Laird be thankit.” The next patient sits up and declaims: “Wee sleekit cow’rin tim’rous beastie, O what a panic’s in thy breastie! Thou need na start awa sae hasty, wi’ bickering brattle. I wad be laith to run and chase thee, wi’ murdering prattle!” “Well,” says the Englishman to his Scottish colleague. “I see you saved the psychiatric ward for last.” “Nay, nay,” the Scottish doctor corrects him, “This is the Burns Unit...”

Being a storyteller and really into folklore, traditions and all that kind of thing, I do enjoy a good fire festival. Nothing like celebrating a particular time of year by getting a bit rowdy and setting fire to something. In fact I remember well a conversation with a few friends a couple of years back... Me: Ah yes, nothing better than a good old fire festival Friend: Fire festival? Is that a Scottish thing then? Me: Not at all! It's done all over. I admit I can think of a good few though. There's the Viking one up in the Shetlands - Up Helly Aa. Vikings march through the streets, set fire to a full size Longship and then revelry happens. Ummmm. The Burning of the Clavie at Burghead... Ancient tradition. A New Year thing. Set fire to a big barrel of tar and other burny things. March round the village and then revelry happens. Stonehaven Fireballs - that's Hogmanay - set fire to big balls of burny stuff. March up and down the High Street. Revelry Happen...

So, the other weekend, I was storytelling for Scottish Natural Heritage at the Burn O Vat. For those of you that don't know, the Burn O Vat (part of the Muir Of Dinnet Nature Reserve) is just the most amazing place to go of a weekend - no matter what time of year it is. The Vat is a giant pothole carved by a huge meltwater stream during the last Ice Age, and the whole area is great to walk round, picnic in and so on. Whenever someone comes to visit me, we tend to take a visit there. As a child, my parents would go walking a lot. I wasn't too fond of this generally, being particularly attractive to midgies for some reason... but getting me out of the house to go to places like Dinnet was just fine! One year, on the September monday holiday my mum and dad took me, and a friend, to the Burn O Vat. To cut a long story short - we ran on ahead to the vat itself and as we got closer we could hear humming and chanting. On entering the Vat, we saw a group of pleasant looking grey ...

And now head over to The Other Scottish Storyteller's blog to read about the concert party (entitled "A Scots Handsel - Traditional Scottish Concert Party") she organised to raise funds for Ellon Academy pupils' trip to Ecuador. It was a great night and now that it's over and the sweaty hands and dry mouth have gone, I can say I had a brilliant time performing Hazel Murdoch's doric song "Learning To Be A Fairy." The acts were all really entertaining and Storyquine did an amazing job of organising the whole thing! (P.S. Thanks for putting up flattering photos of me Storyquine! ;)

Aye, The Ither Scottish Storyteller and myself will both be taking part in AROHA's Traditional Concert Party this Saturday 17th November. I will be a fairy. Stop laughing. Here's the link - http://www.arohascotland.org/news/eventdetails.php?id=25