Tag: Storytelling

Festival of the Sea 2026!

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Weel folks! That’s Aberdeen City Council – City Events#FestivaloftheSea over for me for another year!

What a great day Saturday was – some fantastic shadow puppets made in my “Silhouettes from the Sea” workshop, an amazing audience of all ages for my “Salty Stories and Tales from the Tides” family storytelling session – and finally, Sheena Blackhall and myself had a great time telling “Secrets, Stories and Songs from the North East” to round off the evening! Fantastic audience for that as well 🙂

Here are some photos of Sheena and myself (thanks Lindsey!) having fun sharing our tales and songs and an extra thanks to Alice, our fantastic steward for the day, Wee Imp for being workshop assistant extraordinaire, OpenSpace Trust for letting us use such a wonderful performance space – and everyone who came and joined us and those who shared my (many!) posts advertising the events! 🙂

Stonehaven Folk Festival 2026

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And just like that… Stonehaven Folk Festival was over!
I have had a wonderful time 🙂
Storytelling at Stonehaven Tolbooth Museum
Bairns Scots Song Workshop
Family Storytelling
Adults Only Storytelling
Sunday Story Craft Workshop
and…
Petanque!
Seafood platter at the Ship!
AQUACEILIDH… and…

I’m going to blow my own trumpet here…. well my own comb n paper. Can announce that I am the 2026 WORLD PAPER N COMB CHAMPION!!

Thanks Festival and Tolbooth for having me along. A wonderful weekend! ❤

Stonehaven Folk Festival 2026!

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Also this weekend I’m going to be telling stories and running workshops at Stonehaven Folk Festival!

Friday 10th 7 to 8pm I’ll be telling Tales The Tide Brought In at the Stonehaven Tolbooth Museum

Saturday 11th I’ve got the bairns singing workshop and storytelling session (see below!)

And on the evening of Saturday 11th I’ll be telling tales for adults from 9 to 10pm before Susie’s singing session. Please note this will be at the Legion on Barclay Street and not the 65 Club as previous year.

Finally on Sunday 12th I have a workshop “Flotsam Fables and Driftwood Ditties” – this is fully booked, but if it’s successful I’m sure we can run it again in future years. 🙂

Wild About Aden 2026

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Nae lang noo!

Wild About Aden returns on Thursday with hunners o free activities for abdy! Storytelling in the Aberdeenshire Farming Museum being one of them! 🙂

Come hear tales from North East farms and wild places! 11am to 1pm and 1.30pm to 3.30pm.

If you’re driving to Aden Country Park, there will be plenty of parking – bring £5 cash which will allow you to park for the whole day! 🙂

Festival of the Sea 2026!

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Woohoo! I’m delighted to announce that there will be three storytelling events on Saturday 18th July 2026 at St Mary’s Chapel, St Nicholas Kirk as part of Aberdeen’s #FestivalOfTheSea2026 @AberdeenCC

The first event from 1 to 2.30pm, is a shadow puppet workshop, “Silhouettes of the Sea” aimed at children aged 8 upwards and their grown ups(s). Workshop attendees will learn the basics of creating shadow puppets with a nautical theme connecting to Aberdeen’s maritime past and stories – fish, whales, fishermen and fishwives, even our 17th century privateer! Tickets are £5 per child (plus booking fee) – accompanying adult is free.

Tickets here – https://www.tickettailor.com/…/paulinecordinera…/2178847

Then from 3 to 4pm, join us for “Salty Stories and Tales from the Tides” – A 1 hour family storytelling session with Aberdeen Storyteller Pauline Cordiner. Suitable for age 4 to 104!

Tickets are £3 for children and £5 for adults (plus booking fee)

Tickets here – https://www.tickettailor.com/…/paulinecordinera…/2178939

And finally, from 7 to 8.30pm, Sheena Blackhall and Pauline Cordiner will be telling Local ghost stories and singing traditional north east ballads from Aberdeen and the North East’s haunted and horrible past, age 18+

Tickets are £15 (plus booking fee).

Tickets here – https://www.tickettailor.com/…/paulinecordinera…/2179003

Check out this years Festival of the Sea – https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/…/festival-of-the-sea…/

Stories and Sangs at the Portsoy Haal!

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It’s aff tae the Portsoy Haal this weekend for Sheena Blackhall an masel!

There’s heaps gaen on, but come find us at the following times for Stories and Sangs:

Friday 5th June, late night storytelling at the Town Hall – 11pm to 1am. Come tell us a tale or just listen!

Tales of Mythical Monsters, stories for the young and the young at heart – Saturday 6th June, 12 to 1.30pm in the Scout Hall

Doric Sangs an Stories – Sunday 7th June at Macrae Court – 11.45am – 12.45pm

See ye there!

It’s Spring in Aberdeenshire! Two wonderful storytelling sessions on one lovely warm day!

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I’m not bragging or anything… but I’ve had the most wonderful day!
It’s truly spring in the NE and today i had two wonderful storytelling sessions which were full of fun and joy!

First I was at the Broomhill Primary School Spring Fair where Fizzy and I told some of our favourite folk tales from around the world… to an amazing audience of bairns and their grown ups!

Then it was off to a private party at the GORGEOUS Ballogie House

Oh wow I was seriously in awe at the Fantasy, Mythical and absolutely Legendary costumes! 🥰
Fairies! Faun! Atlas, Medusa, Icarus , a rogue Anubis, Green Men, Green Women, Green Bairns, Mushroom Fowk and all round wonderful people!

(I seriously need to up my headdressing 😂🥰)

Thanks so much to both events for having me (and Fizzy the Fairy) along to tell our tales! 🤩😘😍🥰

Girvan Folk Festival – part 2!

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And a second post from Girvan! On Sunday I was working with the fab team at CRAG Community Arts in the Wee School Arts Space!

We made shadow puppets based on David’s story of the Cottar and the Devil. Unfortunately I only got a couple of photos because it was time to tidy up all too soon!

In the evening Wee Imp and I went to CRAG’s amazing fire show on the beach. My phone’s camera is not great so I’ll be sure to share some of the official images!

The other two pics are of amazing wicker lantern Pikachu and chip scoffing scurry at the Wee School ☺️

Girvan Folk Festival – part 1!

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Aye it’s only taken me a week to post these photos from last Saturday at Girvan Traditional Folk Festival !

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

Thanks Amy for the photos! 😁