Simon's News May 09

BLOG UPDATED: 14th May 2009

May 2009

Dear Storytelling Fans and Friends,

The other day I got a forwarded email with an anonymous note attached to it saying: "Opening your website and hearing The Lonely Boatman took my breath away!" It was, I was told, regarding the audio of my telling of the story at http://www.DiamondScree.com. It means so much to get comments like this. Storytelling is something that I love; it is my bliss. I cannot share it enough. It fills me with wonder and excitement and I truly loose myself in the tale I am telling. If one of the audience I am telling to falls into the story with me, I am a very happy man. It means I have done it right.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been performing at schools between Wells River, Vermont and just east of Concord, New Hampshire. The former was a week long residential working with two groups: the 5th and 6th graders and the 7th and 8th graders. It was a lot of fun. The object was to teach them, or have them learn a tale, either a traditional story or a personal one. Once they have learned these skills, they can apply them to anything. When I started the workshops I told them that I would love it if they would perform a story by the end of the week. I got one or two saying that they would like to tell. By the middle of the week there were a few more. By the end of the week I had about ten kids out of twenty who wanted to tell in the upper grades and many more in the lower grades. In fact with the 5th and 6th graders, I was not sure if we would have time to do all the tales they wanted to share, there were so many kids wanting to tell, but we just about made it! It is always wonder to see youngsters growing into something and wanting to participate in something new to them, something that they might think as irrelevant to begin with - 'what's this got to do with me?'

My second event was at Pembroke Hill School and I was performing to the 1st and 2nd graders and the 3rd and 4th graders. I was telling stories for St. Patrick's Day, so all the stories I told were from Ireland. Although I have a few Irish tales in my repertoire I wanted more, so I worked on four new tales especially for this event. The new stories were The White Trout, Fionn and the Giant (a story I had wanted to learn for a while), The Half Blanket and the Fairy Shilling (I need to get one of those to show folks who are interested). With a couple of the stories I wondered if the younger would 'get it', but I have thought about this before. There have been other times when I have told stories that I thought would go over the heads of younger minds (3 and 4 year olds), but then have had them come up and tell me those were their favourites. And this was the case again on Tuesday. When I told the story of The Silkies Farewell, a story I tell based on Duncan Williamson's tale (which can be found in Tales of the Sea), the kids, even the first graders, were sitting with their eyes wide in wonder. The first set of tales I was telling was before lunch and the second set of tales I was telling was right before dismissal. I really wanted to keep telling the students and teachers more stories and they wanted me to continue too, but sadly there was not enough time. Sometimes, with schools like the Pembroke Hill School and the Blue Mountain Union School, I wish I could spend a whole day simply telling tales to those willing to sit long enough and listen.

Resources
One of my resources, which is a great resource for teachers and other educators interested in all aspects of story, is: Brother Wolf Storytelling. If you want to know just about anything about storytelling from starting a storytelling troupe at a school, to how to help you improve your telling, it is all on podcasts at Eric's site, Storytelling With Children http://www.storytellingwithchildren.com/ . There are always good articles to see and when you scroll down you will see how to subscribe to these free podcasts. There are three ways you can listen, too! Both his websites are great places to visit and stay a while!

If you have not heard my telling of the story "The Lonely Boatman/The Faerie Bride", then please visit my website and go to downloads. The story is there in its entirety for free listening pleasure. http://www.diamondscree.com/downloads.htm

Gigs/Shows
Public Gigs and Performances:

Friday 8th May (see Blog - http://worldofstories.blogspot.com/ )
Nashua Radisson Hotel
Performance/workshop for NHAEOP members

Tuesday 26th May
Franklin, NH
Tea and Tales
Free/donations

Saturday 30th May
Open Fields Medieval Faire
Thetford Hill Green
Thetford, VT
11am
Nominal fee!

Wednesday 3rd June
Peacham Public Library
Peacham VT
1.30 pm
FREE!

AND

Mount Washington
Bretton Woods, NH
7.30 pm
Call for details

Saturday 13th May
Windsor Public Library
State Street, Windsor, VT
802 674 2556
1 pm
Free

Tuesday 16th June
Hartland Public Library
Hartland, VT
6 pm
FREE!

Saturday 27th June
Blake Memorial Library
Corinth, VT
1 pm
FREE!

Wednesday 1st July
Dunbar Free Library
Grantham, NH
11 am
FREE!

AND

Tracy Memorial Library
New London, NH
2 pm
FREE!

Monday 6th July
Rockingham Free Public Library
Bellows Falls, VT
802-463-4270
5 pm
FREE!

Friday 10th July
Stonewall Farm
2pm

Saturday 11th July
Norwich Farmers Market
Norwich, VT

Tuesday 14th July
Goodrich Memorial Library
Newport, VT
802-334-7902
10.30 am
FREE!

Wednesday 15th July
Windsor Public Library
Windsor, VT
802-674-2556
1 pm
FREE!

Friday 17th July
Fiske Free Library
Claremont, NH
603-542-7017
1 pm
FREE!

Wednesday 22nd July
West Lebanon Library
East Park Street, W. Lebanon, NH
603 442 6188

Tuesday 28th July
Cobleigh Public Library
802-626-5475
Books on Wheels II stop at the Burke Town School
West Burke, VT
10 am
FREE!

AND
Cobleigh Public Library
Lydonville, VT
3 pm
FREE!

Friday 31st July
Campton Public Library
Campton, NH
603-726-4877
1 pm
FREE!

Saturday 8th August
Co-op Food Market
Centura Drive
Lebanon, NH
Time tba (all day?)
FREE!

Remember to find the stories you love - be they folk, fairy, or family stories- and share them!

On line at: www.cdbaby.com/cd/simonbrooks www.cdbaby.com/cd/simonbrooks2

In the Upper Valley at:
Music Matters(sadly now closed)
Booked Solid, Bradford, VT (802-222-5826)
Norwich Bookstore, Norwich VT (802-649-1114)
Mini Kids Corp, Lebanon, NH (603-643-2633)
Chapman's General Store, Fairlee, VT
Woodbury Maintains Toys, in Montpelier, VT (802) 223-4272.

All these stores are run by wonderful people so drop in and see what else they have for you, or those you love. By purchasing from these and other locally owned businesses, you are supporting the folks who invest in the Upper Valley (and Montpelier) which is a great thing.

Well, that's all for now.