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! ❤
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. 
It’s a busy week for nature stories and nature places!
This Friday I’m going to be telling stories at Forvie National Nature Reserve ‘s yearly summer Fun Day!
Stories! Crafts! Fine pieces! And hopefully the opening of the moth boxes (our favourite!)
Come join us from 12 noon
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!
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…/
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!
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! 🤩😘😍🥰
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 
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! 
Somehow it’s been 15 years since I’ve telt tales at Girvan Traditional Folk Festival (time disnae half fly!) – but this year I’m delighted to say I’m going back for another visit! Yaaay, cannae wait!
On Saturday 2nd May I’ll be telling some Folkie Stories for Wee Fowk an their Grownups at Girvan Library from 11am – drop in for a tale or two! ( https://girvanfolkfestival.org.uk/family-events/ )
On Saturday afternoon at 2.30pm, I’ll be doing a couple of songs (hopefully wi ma amazing pal TBC) at the Bobby Rob Memorial Concert in the Catholic Hall https://girvanfolkfestival.org.uk/concerts/
And on Sunday afternoon 1.30 – 3.30pm (thanks for the lie in folks! 
), I’m joining the fab fowk fae CRAG Community Arts to tell the tale o Coultart the Cottar and the Devil, written by David Powell – we’ll then be making shadow puppets to tell the tale! This event will be held in the Wee School Art Space and links in to the shoreside fireshow at night! Children must be accompanied by an adult.
See https://girvanfolkfestival.org.uk/family-events/ for the workshop and https://girvanfolkfestival.org.uk/concerts/#seilach for the fireshow!
(Now ye can see fit wiy I cannae wait?)
Pauline Cordiner - Scottish Storyteller 