Adults only!!
This Thursday night at Haddo House – haunting and scary tales for Halloween.
Join three of the North East’s best traditional storytellers – Pauline Cordiner, David Brown and Diana Peers, for the evening.

October 31st is Halloween but it is also the start of the ancient storytelling season (this is not a coincidence!); when the agrarian and wild harvests had been gathered in, and livestock that could not be kept throughout the winter slaughtered, the hours of darkness needed something to lighten them.

Join The Grampian Association of Storytellers at Haddo Country Park for a wide and wild variety of Samhain (‘Summer’s End’) tales; myths, local legends, ghost and horror stories and more. This evening is aimed at adults; some of these tales are not for the faint-hearted and some may have adult themes, so there is a lower age limit of fourteen years. The event will start at 7:30 and end around 9.30 P.M. Turnip and pumpkin lanterns are welcome!

Tickets cost £10 per person and can be booked by e-mailing Suzanna on vsohaddo@gmail.com.

This Saturday at Crathes Castle – join Pauline for some spooky storytelling as the Witch returns to Crathes!

So this weekend just past I was in Edinburgh at Offbeat Recording Studio off the Royal Mile to record my story for Haunt Publishing’s “Haunted Voices- An Anthology of Gothic Storytelling from Scotland.”

What a great experience it was and lovely to meet Rebecca and her crew!  Some of my other storytelling friends will also be part of the anthology and I’m really excited to hear the finished anthology.  More to follow!

What a wonderful time I had at HANDSS on Tuesday evening!  I had my first visit to their group back in May but was invited back – this time with my Big Box of Puppets in tow!  Everyone had a great time experimenting with the puppets – choosing their favourite and giving them new names, voices and personality.

HANDSS group is a club for children with additional support needs. It is run by parent/volunteers & siblings are welcome.  Here’s their Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/HANDSSBOD/  You can also find them on Twitter here – https://twitter.com/HANDSS_Group

Raaaar!!! Join Pauline for some Dinosaur stories on Sunday 17th November at the Seafield Arms, Whitehills. Parents can relax while the children have fun. Hosted by our friends at Castlegate Banff 😀

https://www.facebook.com/events/1435125939971915/

Does your child love Dinosaurs as much as us? Then let them join us for a Roarsome storytelling event.

Our storyteller Pauline Cordiner will take them back in time to a world of the Stomping Brachiosaurus, Screeching Pterodactyl and the Roaring T Rex.

She will use her skills to create an atmospheric trip to prehistoric times and include songs and a game.

Dinosaurs aren’t extinct they’re just hiding 🦕🦖😃

Kids are very welcome to come dressed up.

Parents and Carers will have to stay for the duration of the event and we have reserved seating for you, we will also have a Tea/Coffee and Cake offer available and the bar will be open.

Castlegate will be bringing along a display of new Christmas toys for you to view at your leisure. We will also have Christmas Catalogues for you to take home.

At the event there will be an opportunity to buy a Dinosaur and Book for a special price.

Tickets available to buy instore or via PayPal and will be available to collect in Castlegate.

Tickets £8 per child for one event.

Dino and Unicorn two event Ticket £12 per child.

Ticket price includes snack and a goodie bag.

Join Pauline for some Unicorn stories on Sunday 17th November at the Seafield Arms in Whitehills – there will also be songs and games while the parents can relax!
Hosted by our friends at Castlegate Banff 

https://www.facebook.com/events/749999892103107/?active_tab=about

Who remembers amazing fantasy stories when we were young?
Immerse your children into the world of magic and make believe for an afternoon on a winters day.

Our storyteller Pauline Cordiner will tell enchanting tales of Scotlands magical national animal, the Unicorn.

“When someone told me I lived in a fantasy land I nearly fell off my Unicorn” 🦄😃

Kids are welcome to come dressed up.

Parents and Carers will have to stay for the duration of the event, we have reserved the conservatory for you, we will also have a Tea/Coffee and Cake offer available and the bar will be open.

Castlegate will be bringing along a display of new Christmas toys for you to view at your leisure. We will also have Christmas Catalogues for you to take home.

At the event there will be an opportunity to buy a Unicorn and Book for a special price.

Tickets available to buy via PayPal and will be available to collect in Castlegate.

Tickets £8 per child.
Dino and Unicon Two Event Ticket £12 per child.

Ticket price includes a snack and a goodie bag.

Recommended age 5+

So yesterday I had a wonderful audience at the Maritime Museum’s lunchtime talk, “The Trouble With Fairies…”
I spoke about telling stories with a puppet – how that came about and its typical pros and cons…
Then we moved on to modern conceptions of fairies versus those our Scottish ancestors would have had, including a few local types such as the Old Washerwoman at Ballater, the Tarans and the Red Caps from the Borders.

One lady asked me how old our modern concept of gnomes were and I couldn’t rightly say… so! a couple of links 🙂

Good old Uncle Wikipedia tells us “A gnome /noʊm/[1] is a diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characteristics have been reinterpreted to suit the needs of various story tellers, but it is typically said to be a small humanoid that lives underground.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnome)

It looks like in the latter 19th century we get the wee guy with the beard, colourful tunic and trousers and big boots – much like one of my Scandinavian favourites the Tomte or the Nisse (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisse_(folklore)) and that’s where the Garden Gnome comes from.

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Gnome gives a concise summary of the change from proper fairy to wee friendly guys fishing or mooning at the bottom of your garden 😀

Every day is a school day!

Tomorrow at the Maritime Museum… join Fizzy the Fairy and myself for a talk on telling stories with Puppets… “The Trouble With Fairies…”
Expect a couple of tales of the darker side of Scottish fairies and their encounters with humans.
Lunchtime talks are targeted at an adult audience and are held regularly on Wednesday lunchtimes. Organised by Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

https://www.facebook.com/events/307077729967662/