Our next session will be on Wednesday, June 5th 2024 and our theme is “Sunshine”.
We will meet in the welcoming surroundings of the Woolpack Inn, Tillicoultry, 7.30pm – 9.30pm.
Come and join us to listen to tales based on our theme, or perhaps you’d like to tell a tale of your own.
Everyone is welcome!
Our second storytelling session in May, on Wednesday, 15th, was, as usual, in the convivial surroundings of the Woolpack Inn, Tillicoultry.
Our loose theme was “Children”.
First we heard the tale of Goldilocks, told from Goldilocks’ own point of view. In this telling, our heroine tries to justify her actions!
The second story of the evening was “The Menstrie Kips”. The Kip family lived in Jerrah cottage in the Ochils. Their young son, Tommy, is rescued from a deep ravine by the wee folk, but neither his father nor his mother believe his tale.
Next up was “This Be The Verse”, Phillip Larkin’s well-known poem, written in 1971. It is one of the nation’s favourite poems.
The evening’s fourth offering was “The Hanging of the Mouse”, in which a king defeats all other kingdoms around his, but one day discovers that all his subjects have disappeared. A wizard has cast a spell over the king’s lands to avenge the other lands which have been conquered. The mouse in the title is in fact the wizard’s son, caught stealing ears of wheat and sentenced to hang. Thankfully, an arrangement is reached and the mouse lives.
Next we listened to a story about another king, a handsome and vain one, who hates any signs of ageing, so he sends all his older subjects away. His kingdom soon declines without the elders’ wisdom. It takes a young girl to show the king how useful the elder generation can be.
Our penultimate tale, “Habetrot” concerned an old woman who spun yarn for a local girl who could not spin, and then convinced the girl’s new husband that she should never spin again.
Our last story was “The Selfish Giant” by Oscar Wilde in which a giant learns that keeping his garden to himself, chasing away the local children, causes his garden to wither. The giant learns to welcome the children back and to delight in watching them play.
We all enjoyed listening to and telling these stories and poems, and the accompanying memories of our own childhoods.
On Wednesday, 1st May our regular fortnightly storytelling session took place, as usual, in The Woolpack Inn, Tillicoultry.
Our theme this time was “Spring”.
We heard several stories with trees at their heart. We listened to “The Wonderful Tree,” in which, during a drought, all the trees die except for one, which can supply all creatures with food… only if the magic word is spoken.
“The Shepherdess and the Tree” told the tale of an orphaned girl, taken in by a shepherd who taught her his shepherding skills. On the first day the girl had sole responsibility for the flock, her curiosity got the better of her, and fairy magic and mischief came her way!
We also listened to “Saving the Forest”, in which the people of Scotland must find an ingenious way of saving their forests from devastating fires.
“The Wonderful Tree” is an African folk tale in which during a long drought, Monkey, Elephant and Lion all try to remember the magic word to wake up the sleeping tree which will give them limitless fruits of many varieties. However, only slow and steady Tortoise completes the task successfully.
We then heard an original poem from one of our newest members, titled “The Green Man”.
After that, we listened to “The Queen of the May”.
“Auld Cruivie” told the story of Jack, who yearned to witness the trees dancing on Midsummer’s Eve.
In “The Monster of Raasay”, a lonely but greedy man agrees to give said monster her baby back, but only if she can grant his three requests. Of course, he tries to make the last request impossible, in order to keep the baby monster, of whom he has become quite fond.
We all had a most enjoyable evening once again.
Our next session, on Wednesday, 15th May, 2024, has the theme of “Children”.
Join us to listen to children’s stories of all kinds, or stories about children or childhood. There may be some poems told, too.
Perhaps you’ve a story to share?
We meet in The Woolpack, Tillicoultry, 7.30pm 9.30pm.
