I’m delighted to have contributed a wee tale for the Land Trust’s Winter Stories event organised by Shane Ibbs!

The Land Trust is a charity that is committed to the long term sustainable management of open space for community benefit whose vision is to improve the quality of people’s lives by creating sustainable, high quality green spaces that deliver environmental, social and economic benefits.

Shane has gathered a wonderful group of storytellers from around the UK for two storytelling for the residents who are looked after by The Land Trust on 8 sites over the UK.

A big shout out to the 1st Mintlaw Rainbows, 1st Mintlaw Brownies and the Mintlaw Guides and Rangers who joined me online for some Festive Stories on Monday evening! They were a fantastic audience and I’d like to wish them all a very Merry Christmas! xxx

It is shaping up to be a busy week of Festive Storytelling!Last night I arrived in the dark at the Duthie Park bandstand with the wonderful ladies from North East Sensory Services and we soon had it all lit up with fairy lights aplenty. Soon we were joined by Lesley Crerar, who would be signing the stories along with me in BSL. The families cosied up in blankets and had hot chocolate and were the most amazing audience, joining in with all the stories!Thankyou so much everyone for making it all so much fun we didn’t notice the chill!

It’s coming up to that time of year! Virtual Christmas storytelling sets now available for schools, clubs etc – stories available for all ages (Nursery/P1, P2-P4, P5-P7, secondary to adult)PM Pauline Cordiner, A Scottish Storyteller for more details

Of course it was Book Week Scotland last week! (A very busy time, hence why I’m posting lots today to catch up!) And to celebrate this special week in our calendar, Aberdeen City Libraries asked me to record my favourite story to share with younger readers (aged 7 to 11) and young adults/older adults too of course!

Well that is Tatterhood and I’ve never heard her summed up better than the post from Aberdeen City Libraries, below:

“As the days grow short and the nights draw in, local storyteller Pauline Cordiner delivers a special retelling of Norwegian folk tale Tatterhood for Book Week Scotland. There’s kings and queens, princes and princesses, trolls, some mischief from the fairy folk and our hero Tatterhood. She doesn’t care how she looks or acts and somehow saves the day with only her courage, her goat and her wooden spoon!!  So coorie in, get comfy and enjoy this special pre-recorded session that is perfect for young readers aged 7 to 11 (and anyone else wanting a much needed dose of happily ever after).”

So it’s Monday and I’m catching up with everything from the weekend!

Last week I was privileged to be a guest storyteller on Tina Konstant’s “Waffle Free Storytelling Podcast” !

“Sometimes you just want a STORY! No waffle, rambling introduction or debate on the impact of dinosaur pyjamas on a good night’s sleep. That’s what the Waffle-Free Storytelling Podcast is all about: the story and nothing but.“

You can find my story (Dopey Davie, a family story) on Tina’s web page (link below) and many of the other places you would usually download your podcasts 🙂

Thanks Tina for having me along to be a part of it! 😀 xxx
https://tinakonstant.com/waffle-free-storytelling-podcast/

What a grand time we had this morning! Sheena Blackhall and I told stories and sang songs on the themes of Friendship and Autumn to the pupils of Skene and Westhill Primaries in Aberdeenshire.
It is of course Book Week Scotland, so we had tales of squeaky moosies, haughty princesses, friendy neeighbours and wicked auld witches – all courtesy of the Big Scottish Story Ripple funded by the Scottish Storytelling Centre! #StoryRipple#BookWeekScotland
Keep your eye out for our “good deed” – We’ll be making some videos of “Stories, Sangs and Rhymes fur teachin Scots in Schools”

A date for your diaries! Coming up a week tomorrow… I’m going to be joining my favourite North East quines to tell stories of local ghosts and ghoulies! However there will be an opportunity for you to share any spooky, supernatural experiences you have had or share any ghost stories you’ve grown up with or family tales.
The event is free to join, but you must register in advance. Donations will be accepted when you are booking your ticket through Eventbrite – see the link below. The event will be organised by the Elphinstone Institute and is funded by the Scottish Storytelling Centre 🙂

About this EventFive of the North-East’s finest storytellers explore the region’s darker side in a collaborative online evening of sinister and spooky stories. Join us to learn of the North-East’s ghosts and ghoulies, its witches and warlocks. But don’t just listen – we want you to share your own tales too. Whether you’re from the North-East or whether you’ve moved to Scotland from elsewhere, we want to know the spooky stories you’ve grown up with, or maybe even experienced yourself. The event is open to all brave souls.

Good afternoon folks!
Today I’d like to share with you a story that’s more than a story!
A couple of months ago, I was contacted by Glastonbury George – aka George from https://www.musica-workshops.com/ As Musica are unable to provide hands-on services because of the virus, would I be interested in telling a story for all their users? More to the point, would Fizzy and Fuzzy the Fairies be up for it?
Well just you try stopping those tricksy fairies from getting involved in anything! 🧚‍♂️🎼🥁🎸🧚
George and Tim from Musica Workshops aim to give disadvantaged people the chance to learn something new and exciting through the power of music – and Fizzy and Fuzzy (and myself of course!) just LOVED singing and dancing along with George and Tim’s music! Please let us know what you think of the story, music and video! 😃

My live session from last Friday (24th April 2020) is now available online at https://worldstorytellingcafe.com/pauline-cordiner/

It was a much more relaxed session than the tricky challenge of recording the story to the audience of… my phone!  A Zoom audience will never be the same as a live audience, but in current circumstances, it’s the next best thing 🙂

Click on the image to go to the session!