Storytellers head for the road
Hexham Courant, United Kingdom
Oct 6 2006
IT’S the traditional season to curl up next to the fireside and listen
to a good yarn, and the North Pennines Storytelling Festival is booked
to arrive right on cue.
The 15th annual celebration of the myths and legends of this colourful
part of the UK lasts the whole of next weekend, from Friday, October
13 to Sunday, October 15.
The stories are being told at several venues, and visitors can take
circular bus tours enlivened by guides and musicians, as they are
carried to storytelling destinations.
For Tynedale locations, Hexham railway station is the place to start,
and the route ends just over the Cumbrian border at Alston.
The Tynedale part of the festival programme starts at 6pm on Friday
evening, with tales at Whitfield Church in the Allen Valley.
The village is famed for its field sports and associations with the
Earl of Derwentwater and the Jacobites, and Malcolm Green – a member
of the North-East based A Bit Crack storytelling trio – promises to
breathe new life into old sagas helped by local school children.
On Saturday, the storybus leaves for an all-day trip from Hexham
station calling at Stanhope in Weardale, the Station Yard Hub in
Alston, and Allendale library, with musician Mike Bettison and a
local guide aboard.
At the library in Allendale, expect an abundance of short stories
from Michael Harvey and Chris Bostock, with a tea-time spread of
Northumbrian fayre included in the ticket price.
On Sunday, make tracks after lunch to the Garden Station at Langley to
join Malcolm Green, Michael Harvey and a small cast of giant puppets
for stories, followed by teatime refreshments.
Other storytellers taking part in the festival include Pascale Konyn,
Pat Renton, Nick Hennesey and Vergine Gulbenkian from Turkish Armenia.
Tickets can be bought on the door for most events, but weekend
tickets and bus reservations can be bought in advance by calling
01229 861355. Check the website www.npenninestorytelling. org.uk for
the latest information.