On Saturday morning I had a brilliant time telling stories to wee fowk and their grown ups at Girvan Library – what a great bunch who had fun joining in! Then Natalie Chalmers and I had a spot at the Bobby Rob concert.
Later on it was back to Glasgow (no starting late in Girvan for sessions as the caravan was stuck in Abz!) where we had a relaxing walk along the Clyde with Wee Imp
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!
Oh fit a lovely time Fizzy the Fairy and I had yesterday at Banff Castle – Banffshire!! Such a lovely audience of giggling grown ups, bubbly bairns and totty-wee toddlers who joined in with stories of daft loons, funny fairies and princely puddocks!
Weel fit a grand trip we hid tae Portsoy fur the Haal this wikend!
Sheena and I had a great weekend at the Portsoy Haal this weekend – heading off on Friday afternoon (with Wee Imp and the caravan in tow!)
After the concert our first session was the late night storytelling at the Town Hall – a grand 2 hours with folk sharing their tales from 11pm to 1am. Wee Imp enjoyed the late night walk back to the camp site!
Our storytelling workshop on Saturday morning went down a treat too – we had 16 enthusiastic attendees who heard stories and learned about how some famous authors got into a bit of trouble by putting their neighbours in their novels! Abdy then had a go at creating life stories from photographs and came scarily close to the truth in some cases!
Wee Imp and I went off with oor pal Tattie to hear some of the ballads sung at the Greig Duncan Collection competition – after which I was brave enough to have a swim in the North Sea (but there’s nae photies o that!)
A few sangs, many midgie bites and a fire on the beach on Saturday evening made sure I had a good nights sleep ready for our last storytelling session at the Town Hall bar at Sunday lunchtime. Then it was already time to go home – wi a few songs and ballads sung all the way home in the car. (Wee Imp had her headphones on by this point, preferring Eurovision over ballads!)
Thanks to Portsoy Haal for having us both along, fit a gran time wi hid! And thanks to everyone who came along to share their stories, songs, poems. And thanks to Sheena for having me laughing so much!
Anither grand day today at Ashley Road Primary School! The P3, 4 and 5 pupils (2 classes of each!) are fair gettin on wi their class songs – The Fisherman’s Lassie, The Barnyards O Delgaty and The Silver Darlings which I spoke about yesterday. (They’re also learning a fourth song which everyone is to join in with, but more on that in another post!)
There are a few videos online, but I like this one the best – the recording is the original by Alastair McDonald and the film that has been put to the song shows old footage of the fishing fleets and the fish gutting lassies swiftly preparing the fish to be salted and packed into barrels. The pupils fair enjoyed watching it!
It’s another busy week ! This time starting off with the pupils of Ashley Road School who we Scat Youth tutors are visiting to teach penny whistle, guitar, clarsach and Scots song!
I’m teaching the P3s The Barnyards O Delgaty and the P5s the Fisherman’s Lassie (both of which I’ve spoken about in previous posts)… but the P4s are learning The Silver Darlings – a song about the herring boom in Scotland which peaked in 1907. “The Silver Darlings” is a fond nickname for the herring.
The song was written by Jim McLean, Bob Halfin and Andy Hulskrammer and later on this week I’ll share a video of a recording of it with Alastair McDonald. (Find a discussion of the song origins here on mudcat: https://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=40414 )
The pupils are taught the meaning of the song they’re learning – as well as any unfamiliar Scots words. Many pupils in each school have families who came from farther afield, but no matter where they’re from, they’re all doing a grand job of learning and pronouncing the Scots and Doric!
The image I’ve chosen to illustrate this post is an etching by James McBey (1883-1959) from 1908. The title is “Herring Fleet, Aberdeen” – the etching has made its way across the pond where it is stored at The Boston Public Library Arts Department. James McBey was local to the area and may be familiar to those that visit Aberdeen Art Gallery where there’s a fantastic exhibition of his work. My daughter and I love the interactive display of how etchings were made! (Thoroughly recommended!)
This week, and for a further four weeks, I get to do something a little different!
Rather than storytelling, I’m going to be working as a tutor with SC&T Youth (the tuition for bairns and young adults through Scottish Culture and Traditions). I’ll be teaching a different song to Primaries 3, 4 and 5 (this week it’s Ps 4, 5 and 6) and one song they’ll all sing together. Meanwhile the other wonderful tutors will be teaching them accompaniment on clasarch, guitar and whistle as well as some trad tunes.
This week we’ve been at St Peter’s Primary – and the snow hasn’t dampened the pupils enthusiasm for learning! Here’s a photo taken on Don St yesterday. A beautiful part of town affa bonny in the snaa.
The Primary 4 pupils are learning one of our old favourites –
The P4s are learning our old favourite, The Fisherman’s Lassie. Noo I wis rummaging aboot tae find a video tae show you of someone singing it – totally forgetting that I recorded a wee video of it at Fraserburgh Lighthouse Museum back in… 2016! Which seems an eternity ago
Here’s my version The Fisherman’s Lassie – more on the song tomorrow if I get a chance to post again
Elsie the Fishwife is delighted because she knows she’ll now be travelling to our storytelling sessions in style!
I have been looking for an authentic fishwife’s creel for years, and finally I got one yesterday from Fancy That? in Edzell! (We enjoyed our nosey around at all the other amazing things and will have a nosey at their shop Ivy’s Emporium next time we’re in Banff)
The creel came from Whitehills near Banff and has been well looked after, so it’s perfect for another few decades use. If you would like a fully costumed storytelling fishwife for your event, please don’t hesitate to get in touch
The students had been collecting stories from family members and friends and I was looking forward to hearing them – but that will now be postponed until January.
Oh well… I thought I’d find out what the fairies were up to!
After Mallku’s party it was a quick tidy up and off to Peterhead for the Light Up Peterhead event! There was so much on and I was lucky to be telling Christmas stories in the Muckle Kirk. (Just look at those stained glass windows!!)
Of course this required a quick costume change from Viking to Christmas Tree Fairy. See I’ve got my shiny tinsel crown and aathing!
I had some wonderful audiences throughout the afternoon and had the help of Fizzy the Fairy and my wee Tomte/Nisse pal – who is insisting he is not a gnome or a gonk!
Pauline Cordiner - Scottish Storyteller 