We had a good turn-out for our first session of 2026, despite the freezing cold and threat of snow.

We began by making our personal three wishes for 2026.  We shall see if we are able to manifest these into reality when we revisit at the end of the year.

Next we chose a penny from a jar, and shared a memory from our pasts, based on the year that coin was minted.  This provoked many tales and many emotions.

Our first offering of the evening was an original poem, penned by one of our newest members, which she has kindly allowed us to publish here:

Hillfoots Tales

There is a lovely kind lady I know quite well,

Who goes by the name of Eleanor Bell,

Eleanor introduced Hillfoots Tales to me,

Which has filled my heart with glee.

We all have stories or poems to share,

We clap afterwards ’cause we all want mair,

Donations are welcome for the tin,

Then this event can continue and that’s a win.

We all meet in The Woolpack,

As we all love to yak,

We all laugh and we smile,

And we stay for a while.

We look forward to the next time we meet,

As we all know we are in for another great treat.

Next up was a Welsh tale, “The Cauldron of Inspiration” in which the wise woman Ceridwen who brews a magical potion of inspiration, but things do not turn out as she hopes. Then we were treated to a tale of the Norse myth of Creation, a strange tale of giants, gods and other mythical creatures. After that we listened to “An Unexpected Sunflower”, which was about bringing happiness to others and made us all smile. We heard another original poem next, “Get in Shape”.  We could all sympathise with the character’s struggle to stay fit and healthy! “Ebeneezer the Wanderer” was our nest story, about an orphan boy whose luck changes when he finds a box of seeds in a hedgerow.  This story was a local one, set in and around Alva. And finally, we heard a selection of stories about sightings of ghosts in Stirling Castle.

And it has to be said that even our members who came along without a tale to tell, ended up telling their own stories nonetheless.

Our first session of 2026 will have the theme of “New Beginnings”, in our regular venue of The Woolpack, Tillicoultry.

Please come along and join us for an entertaining evening of storytelling, poems and perhaps even songs.  Everyone is welcome to tell a tale or just listen.

Our final session of 2025 had the theme of “Heart Warming Yarns” which was well attended by members old and new.

We started the evening with a round of “Get to Know You Christmas Bingo” which was loads of fun and a great way to warm up for the evening ahead.

“The Icelandic Village”, a story from Iceland, was the first offering of the night.

It was followed by “The Hare and the Scarecrow”, a true cosy tale of Christmas kindness and magic.

Next, one of our resident poets shared her original poem, “Christmas Cheer”.

The fourth tale was “King of the Dwarves, or Silver Pinecones”, from the Harz Mountains in Germany. In this tale a mother is helped by the dwarves to bring her family out of poverty.  Each storyteller present also received a hand crafted sparkly pinecone to hang on our trees.

The last story of the evening was “Paws”, a true tale featuring man’s best friend.

There then followed a host of anecdotes – some humorous, some thought provoking, some reminiscing of times past.

 

An evening to warm the heart indeed!

Our next meeting will be in The Woolpack, Tillicoultry where a warm welcome awaits.  Our theme is “Heart-warming Yarns”.

Please join us to tell your own tale on this or indeed any theme, or just to listen to our established and new storytellers tell tales, recite poems or perhaps even share a song sure to warm your heart and make you feel all fuzzy inside!

There was a great turn-out of new and established storytellers in The Woolpack on the first Wednesday in December.

Our theme was “Midwinter Tales”.

The first offering of the evening was a Russian tale of Father Frost, or “Morozko” as he is also known. It demonstrates that hard work is always rewarded.

The second story was “East of the Sun, West of the Moon”, which featured goblins who came out to create havoc in the dark.

The third tale was another from Shetland, “Ertie and da Finnieman”.  Finniemen are ocean-based creatures from Shetland, dangerous creatures that made the sea a dangerous place.

Next, we heard “The Dark Moon” which involved polar bears… and trolls.

And last but not least came “Wee Green Bee”, a humorous short story which rounded off our evening on a happy note.

Our next meeting will be in The Woolpack, Tillicoultry where a warm welcome awaits.  Our theme is “Midwinter Tales”.

Please join us to tell your own tale on this or indeed any theme, or just to listen to our established and new storytellers tell tales, recite poems or perhaps even share a song sure to chase the blues away and lift your spirits.

 

Hillfoots Tales came to Alloa, meeting in the Station Bar’s function room on a cold, dreich evening.

Our theme was “Ghosts and Goblins”.

We had a fantastic turn-out with both long-term members and new ones offering some scary stories – some of them true!

The evening was hosted by Eleanor, who encouraged us to share something which had made us feel happy recently.

The tale of the Coalsnaughton Ghosts was the first tale of the evening, which told of the aftermath of a mining tragedy.

Next up was “Sigurd O Gord”, in which a talented fiddler is lured away by the trows or goblins from his home on Shetland.

Our third tale was “The Ghost of Howbog”, a true story set in and around Dollar.

This was followed by stories of eerie goings-on in the South Bridge Vaults in Edinburgh.

Our resident poet shared her self-penned poem, called simply “The Ghost” next.

A Puca tale from Ireland was our sixth offering.  A puca is a shape-shifting, mischievous creature from folklore.

“A Chilling Whitby Tale” came next, involving the Barguest Coach, a ghostly coach pulled by headless horses that appears in St Mary’s Churchyard.

We also had not one but two new storytellers making their Hillfoots Tales debut, as well as two more attendees who came to simply listen, but were inspired to share ghost stories of their own.

We heard “Rules for Woodland Living” about how to stay safe from the Mothman and other creatures in North Carolina and a true story about a poltergeist disturbing and ultimately driving a young family out of their home in Hickory, which had us all thoroughly spooked.

We were also treated to the legend of the White Lady Ghost, who roams the woods near Penicuik.

The penultimate story of the session was “The Graveyard”, a humorous tale of two Scottish men who separately encounter a ghost whilst walking though a graveyard.

And the last tale was another true story of the time a young cleaner met the ghost of what is now The Fubar nightclub in Stirling!

What a fantastic, spine-chilling night!

 

HILLFOOTS TALES COMES TO ALLOA!

Our next storytelling session will take place in the function room of The Station Bar, Primrose Street, Alloa, FK10 1JG at our usual time, 7.30-9.30pm.

Our theme for the evening is “Ghosts and Goblins”.

Come and join us for an evening of stories from near and far which is sure to be thought provoking.

You may even have your own tale to tell!

The theme of our first meeting in November was “On Fire!” as it was, of course, Bonfire Night.

Several of our tales this evening were about how the gift of fire was given to various peoples.

We began by hearing the Greek myth of Prometheus, who gave fire to the first men and how Zeus punished him for this act.

“Firetail” told how fire was brought to Scotland from Tir Na Nog in Ireland.

“The Gift of Fire” is a story from native Canadian folklore.

In “Grandmother Spider Brought Fire” from the Choctaw people of Tennessee, Mississippi and Oklahoma, Grandmother Spider succeeds in bringing fire to the people.

“Rainbow Crow” is a tale reputedly from native American culture which tells how the crow got his black feathers and rasping call.

“Fionn MacCumhaill and the Fire Fairy” is an Irish legend in which Fionn outwits the fire fairy and saves mankind.

We also listened to Mary de Morgan’s story, “Through the Fire”, about Princess Pyra and Prince Fluvius’ impossible love.

And finally, in “Coyote and Silver Fox Dance the World into Creation” , the two animals dance around a fire.