Portsoy Haal 2025!

Here I am playing catchy up with the socials again!! 😂

This time I’m catching up from last weekend where Sheena Blackhall and I were telling stories at the Portsoy Haal!

We had a hurley up on Thursday afternoon so we’d be up nice and early to visit local schools – stories and songs all the way! 😆

On Friday morning we had a lovely visit to Macduff Primary School where some of the loons and quines surprised us by reciting a couple of poems – Snailie and Meg the Midgie – written by Sheena and masel respectively☺️ Wonderful!🐌🦟

Then it was on to Portsoy Primary School where the P1s and 2s joined in with songs and had a whale of a time! 🐳🐋

On Friday evening it was the late night session with loads of contributions from the floor. Some affa spooky! 👻 Of course i forgot to take photos the entire weekend, so thanks Tattie for taking this one!

On Saturday we had a well attended workshop in the grain store – some grand songs and rhymes produced by all attending!

Saturday afternoon I have to mention the participation in the Greig Duncan competition. Bill Gray came first with his rendition of the Hairst o Rettie, Sheena came second with The Dottered Auld Carle and oor Tattie (aka Natalie Chalmers) came third with the Butchers Boy.

(With Wee Imp listening to the lyrics and looking shocked 😆)

Wee Imp and I entered as a duo and sang the Bonnie Ship the Diamond which earned her the Junior trophy (which we didn’t know existed!) Will share some photographs from that later 🙂

Finally we had a braw storytelling session on Sunday morning ootside the grain store (not the original plan, but the weather was beautiful and the audience did well with rocks and mossy humpties down by the harbour for seats!) 🐟

(Oh and Wee Imp and I managed a brief dip in the harbour afore the heavens opened!!)

Thankyou so much Portsoy Haal for having us both along to tell stories for a second year – we had a wonderful time!!

A Tour Group From Aberdeen To Drum

A fun days work for me today, starting off at the new Aberdeen Harbour with visitors from the Viking Saturn cruise ship – which is MASSIVE!

Then off to Drum Castle for their tours. It’s a beautiful sunny day! 🌞☀️😊

I was asked some great questions by the visitors about culture, history and clans/tartans – it’s great to be able to tell folk about my wee part of the world.

Aberdeenshire Promise Groups

A braw day today finding out more about Aberdeenshire Promise Groups!

Held today at AFC, I met pupils and teachers from 2 local primary schools as well as other facilitators. We had a story and a fun game (while watching the mannie with the smallest lawn mower see to the biggest lawn!)

They even let this numpty (with no football knowledge at all) touch the Scottish Cup – which must be nothing short of sacrilege!

Photos below are of Sarah of Windswept Stories photography and myself with Angus The Bull – It was Sarah who originally told me of the work she’s being doing in schools; Me and the Scottish Cup!; Sarah and I are VERY excited to see Pittodrie; The wee man with the tiniest lawnmower who must have the world’s most satisfying job!

2025 Portsoy Haal!

Fit like abdy! That’s me catching up after a busy few weeks!

The last two weeks I spent teaching Scots Songs to P5, 6 and 7 classes with SC&T Youth and tomorrow I’m going to be joining Station House Media Unit for a Wellbeing Walk and then some stories!

At the end of the week, Sheena Blackhall and I will be heading aff tae Portsoy for the Folk at the Salmon Bothy Portsoy Haal!

We’re going to be…

– Telling stories in Macduff and Portsoy Primaries during the day on Friday

– Telling spooky stories at the Town Hall at 11pm on Friday night until 1am

– Running a family storytelling/workshop session at the Harbour Side Grainstore on Saturday at 1pm

– Telling Nautical Tales back at the Harbour Side Grainstore 10am – 10.30am on Sunday morning!

🎶 Here’s the full programme and fringe events for Folk at the Salmon Bothy’s 15th Haal which takes place in Portsoy next weekend from Friday 30th May – Sunday 1st June. Final tickets still available from Bob Philips bobportsoy@gmail.com 🎶

A Viking Visit!

Here’s mi – playing catchy uppy with the socials again!

I had a wonderful visit to Balmedie School last week! The P4 classes have been learning all about the Vikings – so I went along to tell some stories and show the pupils some materials from Viking life.

The pupils enjoyed hearing about Thor’s wedding and how he got Mjolnir back from the ice giant Thrym and the stupid death of Sigurd the Mighty

Thanks for inviting me along Balmedie Primary School!

Goldstein Project Concert and Booklet Launch

I’m chuffed to be able to post about a project I’ve been working on for the past few months with Ewan McVicar (Writer, folklorist, songmaker and publisher) and some of my favourite North East singers – Natalie Chalrmers, Scott Gardiner, Christine Kydd and Tripple.

Ewan got in contact last year to ask if I’d be interested in listening to and re-telling some of Lucy Stewart’s stories which were recorded by American Ken Goldstein during his visit to the North East of Scotland in 1959/1960. I quickly learned that Lucy’s stories were just the tip of the iceberg. Not only did Lucy turn out to be a source of ballads in addition to the stories, but Goldstein interviewed many fowk during his stay and recorded songs, ballads, stories, rhymes, snippets of folklore and old wives tales.

Many of these recordings were shared at the time with the School of Scottish Studies. (Ken had introductions to many of his subjects through Hamish Henderson.) These recordings are available by searching “Ken Goldstein” on the Kist O Riches web page – https://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/ . However many recordings were stashed away at the Ole Miss – the University of Mississippi in the USA – unavailable except to interested visitors. That all changed when Ewan spoke to Ole Miss archivist Greg Johnson and with Greg’s help support, Ewan has worked to identify and share song titles, information about singers and storytellers, and their communities.

Part of the project involved creating, collecting and sharing New For Auld songs and stories – Natalie Chalmers got to work contacting local singers and musicians who recorded some of the ballads and tunes Goldstein collected. Click here for Natalie’s recordings of songs taught to her by Elizabeth Stewart – along with a couple of Elizabeth’s recordings – https://goldsteinandscotland.com/elizabeth-stewart

You can hear my retellings of some of Lucy Stewart’s tales here – https://faefishietaeaikey.com/tales-fae-lucy-and-pauline

To share Goldstein’s collections with the world, Ewan has created two new web pages
https://goldsteinandscotland.com/ – which tells of Goldstein’s visit and the treasures he recorded, and
https://faefishietaeaikey.com/ – which focuses on recordings from the area around Mintlaw – Aikey Fair, Fetterangus (Fishie) and in particular the Stewarts of Fetterangus.

On the 3rd of May I’ll be sharing some of Lucy’s stories along with the others involved in the project –

Ewan says
“On the 3rd May 2025, there will be an informal celebration of the Fae Fishie Tae Aikey project in the Aden Museum theatre, Mintlaw, from 1.30pm onwards.
Christine Kydd, Natalie Chalmers, Pauline Cordiner, Scott Gardiner have all promised to come. Hoping Andy Shanks will make it. Tripple send their apologies. Or come earlier and look into the museum.

All folkies welcome. First forty get home-made shortbread. If you represent a folk club or festival ask for the pack of booklet copies as a fundraiser. The Fishie project is funded by TRACS.

World Book Day

Well that’s World Book Day week over for another year! It really should be World Book Week because we storytellers are aye so busy that week! 🥰

Hey at least we get another shot of it for Scottish Book Week in November!

Anyway, I had a busy week with school visits to @aberchirderprimaryschool and Ellon Primary School as well as a celebration of World Book Day and International Women’s Day at GREC’s Language Cafe.

Of course i forgot to take photos! But here are some pics I did take – of a book I spotted in a P7 class which was a memory from my own childhood; the most delicious school denners of Fogie; and a couple of pieces of work from story and character workshops.

Tomorrow, I’ll hopefully report on a new project I’ve been working on!

By Sheena Blackhall – My CV in Doric Poem Form !

I’ve got a couple of weeks for working on upcoming projects, working at GREC‘s Language Cafe and visiting some schools! So no public events coming up in the near future.

Instead, I’d like to share this amazing CV in Poem Form written for me by the wonderful Sheena Blackhall, fa’s praises I canna sing highly eneugh! Photie taen on the wiy tae last year’s Portsoy Haal!

Thanks Sheena! 😃❤

The Pauline Cordiner Rap– A Scottish Storyteller

Hae ye heard o a quine fa’s tales can be scary?
Wi a frien that has attitude, Fizzy the Fairy
Up at Banff Castle, sic jinkies, her ploys
Hae bubbly bairns fair kecklin wi joys

Princely puddocks, a gargoyle fas christened Marischal
Her hoose is fair hotchin, wi broonies incredible
Her hair it is reid as a Halloween flame
An a coo, contermacious whyles jynes in a game

Her events are excitin, fun an educational
Her traditional stories are verra inspirational
She can sing ye auld ballads or a cornkister
Wir you at Forvie fun day? Ye’ll be sorry ye missed her

Nature tales an folklore, tho the rain did doon pelt
Aden’s Fantasy Festival , her Vikin Tales telt
As an audience o littlins an drookit Alpacas
Stude in the doonpish an shook their maraccas

At the Northern Frichts, dragons heezed bi the score
At Tillydrone Librar there wir littlins galore
Fizzy’s fun pairties, Rhynie wifies, a crone,
The kelpie café aa cam intae her zone

Banchory St Ternan fair, Orkney’s Skara brae
Saw history cam alive far the stormy clouds stray
Castle Fraser, or rinnin adults’ ghaistie toors
Storytellin is oorie at the witchin oors

Dobbie’s Busy Beasties, Yuletide special day
Fur siller tae help fund a bairns’ charity
She’s run broomstick trainin skweels, fur trainee witches
An wizard hat craft – usin glue, glitter stitches

Her face peintin’s legend, wi speecial tattoos
She’ll makk the dourest bairn shakk aff the blues
She is fully insured, wi a PVG chitty
Is a member of equity, sings a mean ditty

Here’s a roll call of some of her festival showing
Cambridge and Glastonb’ry, reviews are glowing
Stonehaven and Girvan, Belladrum Tartan Heart
The Wizard performance, next, Science and Art

Spectra, Across The Grain, Banff’s bracin air
Strathern, Aiberdeen, an Perth Prehistory Fair
Glen Nevis, Portsoy, the Broch, Tarland as weel
The Doric Film Festival, a wide appeal

BBC Radio Scotland, an Radio fower
SHMU, Banchory Museum, the Maritime Tower
Aden , Drum, Crathes, an Fraser’s stoot waas
She cams intae her ain in historal haas

Muir of Dinnet , Arbuthnott , Duff Hoose, Peterheid
Turriff, Macduff, Duthie Park, jewels indeed
An the skweels! Tullos, Scotstown, Arduthie, Kaimhill
Robert Gordons, St Margarets, Banchory Hill

Skene Square an Auld Machar, Lairhillock, Meethill
Ferryhill Primary, Bracoden, Newtonhill
Ontae Projecks an ither community wirks
Pitscurry, an Mastrick, the quine niver shirks

Maryfield West Care Hame, Albyn Rainbows
North East Sensory Services, her talent shows
Persley Castle, the Phoenix Club, Inchgarth -nae lack
Future Choices, an Hilton, they aa wint her back

Dyce Caravans, Inchgarth, an Roxburgh Hoose
The Garioch, Inchmarlo, she’s couthie an douce
Portlethen, Kinellar, an Northfield’s rainbows
Pauline an Fizzy spreid joy wi their prose

Syne there’s Grand Circle Tours, tag team tales an the jyle
The World Storytelling Café, her stories beguile
Musica Workshops, Elphinstane’s Institute
Her sessions are thrillin’s a Cadona’s shute

Peacock Visual Arts, an the Bairns’ hospital
Hogmanay at Stonehaven, this quine musical
Wi her puppets an sangs she’s performed tae the best
The Seven Incorporated Trades , wi sic zest!

Shell Uk, Charles Michies, Diageo, Drummuir
Hidden Aiberdeen; she is a whizz at a tour
James Hutton Institute, Scottish Kids Show
Standard Life, an the Stompers, she’s rarin tae go

Aiberdeenshire Geocaching …noo there is a thing
She’s a haun on the pulse , fit the future micht bring
Sae dinna be blate…ye maun rin oot an book her
As fairyfowk gae, Pauline Cordiner’s a looker!

May be an image of 3 people, people smiling and car

Confucius Institute of Aberdeen – Spring Family Festival

Some photos from my storytelling sessions yesterday at Confucius Institute Aberdeen‘s Spring Family Festival!

I had a couple of wonderful audiences for my sessions – I told stories about snakes – as it’s now the year of the snake and various monsters of the sea. The storytelling took place in the Duncan Rice Library at Aberdeen University who currently have an exhibition called Imagined Norths – all the weird and wonderful beasts that our medieval ancestors imagined lived in the seas and lands to the north!