This is me!

taken yesterday in Parainen!

A storytelling update

This evening I told a story at a storycafe gathering in swedish-speaking Parainen, on the Archipelago. As I travelled there & back with a fellow blogger, I was reminded that I haven't written about this for a while. Too much weather!  (NB snow's nearly all gone)

A few weeks ago I told a "big" story at a storycafe gathering in Turku. The story was a traditional Irish tale - The Children of Lir - and it was the first time I had told it. It went well but I was very nervous beforehand... it was almost 25 mins long and I was telling to a gathering of Finnish, Swedish & English speakers. Amongst them were two visiting storytellers from Scotland. One of them, Claire Hewitt, I have mentioned before. The other is Judy Paterson, who I also met during the Nordic Voices Festival last Autumn. They have both become "mentors" in my journey into storytelling, so I really wanted to do well.

Claire & Judy were here in Turku for a week, revisiting the schools who are participating in the Story Harvest and Finscot Projects. At the start of the week, I spent a day with them at Puolala School listening to stories, learning new techniques and enthusing teachers. As well as catching up on all our news and having fun at the storycafe, Judy ran a worshop for teachers and we had the opportunity to socialise a little...

The workshop was originally aimed at teachers but only 2 came along. It meant there was time for Judy to answer lots of individual questions about her work, the schools projects and tips for the future of storytelling here. Also more socialising - pizza at Tinta - nice cafe by the river (which has now melted, but hadn't then - the river, not the cafe!). 

When I told the story of St Patrick to two classes at Puolala School in March, I also spoke to the principal about the possibility of an running afterschool club starting in August (the new academic year). She was quite enthusiastic, so Judy's workshop gave me some ideas and insight into how to run the workshops.

When we were at the Story Cafe in the Book cafe, Brinkalla, we were invited to attend another storycafe in Parainen and hence our trip today. The story I told, Two Trees, is from a book of stories given to me by Claire. It is a collection of Scottish Traveller Stories as told by a Traveller himself. He was aware that the travelling traditions were dying out and he agreed to have his stories transcribed - word for word. It is an interesting insight into a way of life that is dwindling fast. The storyteller, who died several years ago, was Duncan Williamson; the book is "Fireside Tales of the Traveller Children". Thank you Claire.  

So the winter continues to creep away and the storytelling continues. 

Oh! and I saw some crocuses today! YEAH!

oh...and this is the bus stop!

the trapped water running off the grass behind, unable to reach the drain in the gutter because of the compacted ice on the pavement - froze to form a mini ice rink!

bubbles under the ice!

sunset on 9th March (viewed from the bus stop)about 1715 ish

5 mins later - GONE!

how many words for SNOW?

In "Mother Tongue" Bill Bryson wrote

"The Eskimos, as it is well known, have fifty words for types of snow - though curiously no word for just plain snow"

Today I was thinking about this as I was walking from the bus stop... 

The snow that falls can be big & fluffy or so fine that it simply glitters in the subshine, it can be wet & sloppy or dry & sharp (especially in the cold wind), and once it's on the ground it changes over time - fluffy, settled, compressed, ice, melted, ice crystals as it refreezes, crunchy as it breaks up again, slushy as it melts, just plain wet snow.... and the colours.... white (of course), yellow (avoid that one), brown (avoid that, too!), various shades of grey through to black. I think someone has been dropping red napkins near the school as there are red patches of ice along the pavement...

Of course at this time of year, it is also full of grit. As I walked across the Market Square yesterday it was impossible to tell that it is cobbled. The months of grit left behind as the snow & ice are melting is so deep you cannot tell what the surface beneath might be. The same is true on all the other surfaces, too. It feels odd to walk on solid ground - you can miss the crunch beneath your feet.

as the melt water drains, you can see thelayers beneath your feet

the footpath/pavement is lined with the snow ploughed from the road and the pavement (and the grit therein!)

the surface of the snow is pitted at the snow beneath starts to melt & drain

the strata of snow, ice & grit tracking the winter's progress

on the roadside, the snow is pitted from detritus flung at it by passing cars

this particular pile of ploughed snow is over 5ft high! and you can see from the figure at the top, that it has already melted about  6ins!

and back to the weather!

snow falls, snow gets compacted underfoot, temperature rises, 

snow melts slightly, temperature drops, 

water freezes to skating rink consistency, grit is spread, temperature rises, 

ice melts slightly, grit sinks, temperature drops, 

water freezes with grit below, process repeats.... then as the temperatures rise more often, the water from the defrosting gutters and drainpipes gets trapped between the buildings & the ice - unable to get to the roadside drains.... so.... the people who look after the buildings cut little pathways through the ice on the pavements so the water can run away... isn't it pretty?

But painful if you slip on it...

and this is when people start talking about spring coming! 

 and of course icicles start to form & fall! 

 

OUCH!

King Lear - LIVE!

WOW!

Derek Jacobi must be SO fit! The stamina of a 72 year old to keep up that energy through several hours of powerful performance in such an intimate space (nowhere to hide) is just astounding!

The simplicity of the staging, the costumes, the almost complete lack of props all seemed to magnify the characters. The whole event is visually intimate, small, simple and neutral. The play itself, the words, the actors, the energy all filled the space and emanated across the globe - I felt it almost 1400 miles away! 

Oh, it was wonderful!

Shakespeare in Finland

Over the last year or so I have been enjoying occasional glimpses of English Theatre right here in Turku. The National Theatre in London has been broadcasting live performances into cinemas all over the world. Many countries are broadcasting live but because of time differences some are shown days after the live performance. 

As we are only 2 hours ahead of GMT, our viewings are late in the evenings but not normally too late to enjoy. I recently decided not to go to Hamlet, though - 3 hours plus an interval, starting at 9pm on a "school" night was not a good idea!! 

BUT This week I am going to see King Lear from the Donmar Warehouse, starring Derek Jacobi and this time I have had the opportunity to add something extra to the experience. As a member of the FinnBrits, I was invited to attend a lecture at the University. The English Philology students were offered the chance of extra credit if they attend the performance, a pre-performance lecture and a post performance debrief and then write an essay.

I went along to the first lecture with a fellow FinnBrit and found only one student in attendance - an English Translation student, not even Philology! She is, in fact someone I have met at another NTLive performance... 

So the Lecturer spoke to just the three of us. He is, in fact, someone else I know through other circles and is a very private person, so I won't name him here, but it was an interesting session and I feel like I woke up a few brain cells I had forgotten... those I used to use when I worked in the theatre - in my previous life. I am so looking forward to Thursday's performance with my newly reawakened brain cells and the debrief next week.