Writing stories for an English Country Garden

At the beginning of June I was invited to tell stories at The Dorothy Clive Garden in Staffordshire.  I work regularly all over the country as a storyteller and whilst I have done outdoor storytelling in parks, playgrounds, gardens and woodland for festivals, fetes, birthday parties and events the majority of my storytelling work is in school halls, classrooms and libraries.   A lot of my contemporaries run very exciting storytelling sessions in outdoor spaces across the country and whilst there are challenges to telling stories outside when I receive invitations to work in the great outdoors I get romantic notions about audiences eating their picnics under shady trees as I tell tales surrounded by butterflies dancing on borders of summer time flowers and I find it hard to say no.  The other thing that appealed to me about the booking was that for this storytelling I would have to write my own set.

In the ten years that I have been working professionally as a storyteller my work has been a mix of adaptations of well-known tales or published works (Roald Dahl, Michael Morpurgo, Jeremy Strong et al), folk and traditional tales.  It can be very difficult to get the necessary interest in less popular or less familiar stories to work them up into sessions so to get an opportunity to expand my repertoire and challenge myself to create bespoke materials is a big deal.  In the past friends have suggested that I write stories but I am really a storyteller and not an author; in my view we live in a golden age of writing for children and my clients prefer my marquee projects to be written by more established names.  It’s far from easy to write for a young audience; it takes time and patience, which with a hectic work schedule and a toddler are things I really don’t have.  Saying this a deadline is a wonderful incentive and once I got started I found that there was no shortage of material; there are simply thousands of invertebrates to choose from and as I wasn’t necessarily restricted by scientific accuracy my imagination could wander within a world of creepy crawlies bugs and beetles.

Below is the set that I have come up with; in each instance my beginning point was to think about the characteristics of an insect and then think of a story that insect might suit.

The Bee who wouldn’t share – as I searched the internet for inspiration I discovered a Brazilian folktale which when told in combination with one of Aesop’s tales helped me create a story about a hardworking Bee who when robbed complains to the great Magician for assistance. 

The Brave Little Butterfly – this story was inspired by Beauty and the Beast and Hans Cristian Andersen.  As a splendid butterfly sets out across the meadow to find love he soon learns that beauty is about more than appearance.

How the Worm lost his clothes – in a recent addition of Storytime Magazine I came across a Serbian version of a Greek tale similar to The Emperor’s New Clothes.  Here I use it as the basis for explaining the relationship between the Worm and the Song Thrush.

The Toad and the Centipede – I love Devil Tales in which Beelzebub is proved to be foolish.  Here I draw inspiration from a Welsh Devil Tale as a clever Ladybird outwits a Toad who has caught a Centipede.

When supplemented with a classic Anansi story this set lasts 30-45 minutes.

My visit to The Dorothy Clive Garden was very well received.  Rather than being the idyllic weather day this storyteller had day dreamed about it was quite blustery but as I was working in a covered area of the garden the rain didn’t bother me at all and the vivid colour of the Rhododendron blooms were all the more striking.  As well as my stories I took along a bag full of fabrics and instruments which we were able to use to create the various birds, animals and insects in the stories and the children were very positive about the session.  All in all it was a very encouraging day.

I will be reprising this storytelling set on a couple more occasions this summer at outdoor venues a little closer to my base in Sussex.  They are as follows:

Saturday 22nd June 2019 – Cromer’s Wood, Sittingbourne, Kent (with Kent Wildlife Trust)

Monday 19th August 2019 – Borde Hill Garden, Haywards Heath, West Sussex

So if you spot a storyteller telling tales in an English Country Garden this summer why not stop, share your picnic and listen to a tale?  I can’t think of a more blissful way to pass the time.

To find out where you can see John telling stories this summer you can view his calendar or to make an enquiry or booking use the contact form.