"More Second-hand Tales"- Rob Brookes © 2008

Dear Storytelling Friends,

The colours are in full bloom! Not the flowers but the leaves. Fortunately the wind and rain has stopped for the last couple of days and we are seeing hordes of cars from Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut, peeping at slow speeds, enjoying the reds, oranges and yellows of our autumn foliage.

Last week I was performing at the Norwich (Vermont) Farmers' Market on such a beautiful fall day it did not seem like I was working. My voice merged with those of venders and shoppers as I stood in the middle of cheese stalls, farm stands, pottery, wool and ice cream - yes ice cream stalls. My eyes feasted on the colours of the foliage as well as the stands. My nose smelt the scents of fall as well as home-cooked foods. It was a glorious day. People were kind enough to come and ask for my CDs and I was able to give away posters to some of the children who were there. Also, this weekend, I reconnected with Valley Quest by hiking with about 50 Questers on the Velvet Rocks Quest in Hanover. We had a great bunch of kids and grown-ups. At the end of the Quest, when the treasure box was found and stamps were placed in the guest book and the Quest stamp was put in the kids books I told a couple of stories sitting on the mossy rocks. The children sat in the AT shelter and parents gathered around in what could only be described as a perfect setting. It was a fun afternoon with healthy snacks and great people.

The Three Apples Storytelling Festival in Bedford MA was great. If you want to hear about how I fared with my 8 year old son and three year old daughter on a day that began with an almost three hour drive and their responses, visit my blog! It was a wonderful event. For info about the festival, go to: http://www.threeapples.org/ They are always looking for volunteers, and ways to raise money, so please visit the site and maybe help support this fantastic event.

The end of the summer saw an article in the Valley News. I have posted it on my website. I thought the article was well researched and was as much about storytelling as it was about me. It was a well written article and I have to thank the writer Alex Hanson for that. There is a rumour that there will be another article about me in an upcoming local magazine. Keep your eyes open forDean Whitlock's article! And check out his website www.DeanWhitlock.com - there is a free story to download.

I am starting the Peabody-Latham Storytelling Workshop on the 4th November at 3.30pm. This is the third year I am offering a storytelling workshop for free at Peabody and Latham libraries in the town of Thetford, Vermont. We will be meeting on Tuesdays and / or Thursdays (at least once a week, if you want, twice a week) over seven weeks. We will take a break for the week of Thanksgiving. Some folks find it more convenient to meet at Latham Library on Thursdays and others will meet on Tuesdays at Peabody. Same time for both locations: 3.30 pm until around 4.30 pm. We will be learning a story to do with the coming of light, enlightenment, winter, a personal story or a traditional tale. The stories will need to be around 5 - 10 minutes long and we will work on making long stories short. We will learn how to find a story, how to sequence it, how to remember it and different ways in presenting it and then... we will present the story at the annual Peabody Winter Solstice Celebration on Tuesday the 16th December at 3.30 pm. If anyone is interested in doing the workshop (this is for adults as well as youngsters), please let me know.

Well, that's all for now. A lot of school gigs coming up and a few Halloween events, of course! See below for details.

If you want to subscribe to my email newsletter - this is one of them, please send me an email asking to be added to the list. If you come to one of the venues where I am performing, please come up and say 'hi.'

Wiley and the Hairy Man - , er Aidan and me at the Silsby Library, Charlestown, NH, Aug 2008

CD

Yep, the new CD is DONE. It is all very exciting. For a sneak peak and a bonus story go to: http://www.diamondscree.com/audio.htm - I will be trying to update the stories with new ones - taking the 'old' ones down as and when I get to record new tales. There even stands a chance these stories will end up on another CD, but not for a while! If you want to hear more clips of stories, you can hear them at CDBABY.com

My CDs are always available from www.cdbaby.com/cd/simonbrooks www.cdbaby.com/cd/simonbrooks2 and and also locally here in the Upper Valley at Music Matters, West Lebanon (603-298-6625), Booked Solid, Bradford, VT (802-222-5826), the Norwich Bookstore, Norwich VT (802-649-1114), Mini Kids Corp, Lebanon (603-643-2633). It is also now available at Woodbury Monutains Toys, in Montpelier, VT (802) 223-4272. They have wonderful people that work there, so if you live nearby, drop in and see what else they have for you, or those you love. By purchasing at these locally owned businesses, you are supporting the folks who invest in the Upper Valley (and Montpelier) which is a great thing. Also, you can buy the CD from me at a gig!

Well, that's all for now. A few more gigs to go to:

I hope that the summer is being good for everyone and not too wet!

Peace,

Simon Brooks, storyteller
Orford, NH
603-353-9305
http://www.DiamondScree.com

It's a World of Stories out there! Listen for them, share them!

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Member of LANES League for the Advancement of New England Storytellers
http://www.LANES.org