We had our first meeting in The Community Shed on Wednesday. Thanks to Forth Valley Men’s Shed for making the cosy space so welcoming.
Our theme was ‘All at Sea’ and we had a number of fascinating contributions from Skye to Aberfeldy, to Ireland, to Staroven, Greece and many more.
No poetry this time but a lot of fun was had as usual. We’ll continue to meet here once a month and once a month in the Woolpack.
A warm welcome awaits you at our next session. Our theme this week is “All at Sea”. Have you a story, poem or perhaps even a song featuring the sea, sea creatures, sailors or being confused? Join us to share or simply to listen. A warm welcome awaits!
A warm welcome awaits you at our next session. The theme is ‘Burns, interpret as you like. Whether you have tales of burns, scalds, the little trickling burns or you may even want to recite a poem, sing a song by the Bard or just come along for the craic. It’s sure to be an entertaining evening. Hope to see you there.
There was a fantastic turn-out of storytellers for our Burns themed evening. We were treated to stories, poems and even a song, from Robert Burns, Scotland and other countries.
Our first offering was a short poem by the Bard himself, “Naebody”, followed by a tale from Orkney, “The Mermaid Bride.” After that, we heard a recitation of “My Luve is Like a Red, Red Rose”, the second Burns poem of the evening. Next we listened to a Slavic tale of a strange forest creature, “The Leshy”.
The undoubted highlight came next, a thrilling telling of “Tam O’Shanter” by Robert Burns, recited by one of our newest members.
A story from Japan followed, “The Burning of the Rice Fields”. Then we were treated to a humorous Scottish song, “Johnnie Sands”. The penultimate story of the evening was “Agnes Maclehose” who was the inspiration for Robert Burns’ “Ae Fond Kiss”. The evening came to an end with a short tale from Gaza.
A wonderful time was had by all!
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.
