Tall ship No. 3 – travelling hopefully!

Posted on July 2, 2019

All aboard for my next adventure traveling up the coast of Norway following the Tall Ships Race! I am hoping to travel on Lord Nelson with my favourite charity The Jubilee Sailing Trust however they are currently facing 'stormy weather' and have issued a disturbing weather forecast! ‘Nellie’, as she is affectionately known, is one of two ships specially designed and modified to enable people of all abilities to experience sailing ...

Read More


The second tall ship on my storytelling quest ‘to tell tales on ten tall ships’ was The Glenlee, a Clyde built Cape Horner!   Thanks to my JustGiving fundraising campaign Telling Tales on Ten Tall Ships I was able to offer stories for free to the Friends of Glenlee on a sunny day when around 2500 folk visited the ship. Having told stories on HMS Unicorn in Dundee in April I wondered what stories awaited me in Glasgow. Imagine ...

Posted on May 19, 2019

Setting sail for 2019

Posted on December 31, 2018

Here’s to 2019 a stellar year of sailing stories and adventures at sea! ‘Thrawn’ in Scots or ‘Trass’ in Norwegian translates as stubborn and to create strength separate skeins of ropes are thrawn together. Earlier in 2018 I orchestrated an afternoon of ‘Thrawn’ story and song at Leith Dockers Club with two choirs: Trass Male voice choir from Norway and Newhaven Community Choir. Norwegian storyteller Hilde Eskild and I shared ...

Read More


Bags full of stories!

Posted on April 18, 2018

This Spring I have been working on an intergenerational project that combines my love of textiles as an artist and my love of storytelling. Commissioned by Newhaven Heritage Society, who together with Judith Crabb had successfully bid for a grant from the HLF, I have been working with P5 classes from Victoria Primary School in Newhaven in North Edinburgh and with the wonderful Haven Group who have kindly shared their stories with us. ...

Read More


The Thrive Archive project – empowering community

Posted on November 18, 2015

I dreamed up The Thrive Archive project 18 months ago following an amazing 2 weeks of collaborative arts training with XO Sco. After a year of fantastic opportunities including a residency at St Margaret's House with Edinburgh Palette The Thrive Archive is literally doing what it says on the tin! The Thrive Archive was set up to empower diverse communities to use their local creatives to produce innovative arts events and on our recent project ...

Read More


From the horse’s mouth and other stories…

Posted on September 30, 2015

A Kelpie is a mythical water spirit that changes form to lure you to your death. It often appears as a large black horse or a handsome stranger but if you can manage to bridle a Kelpie you gain its power! In the past few months I have spent many a pleasant hour on Falkirk’s Forth and Clyde Canal under the watchful eye of their mythical beasts. Radio 4’s Ramblings came along on one of our Walking With Words events and despite the rain we ...

Read More


Walking with radio royalty

Posted on September 19, 2015

What an exciting week, double walks down the Great Canal as they call The Forth & Clyde. Our longest walk to date was with Radio 4's wonderful programme Ramblings and the lovely Clare Balding - and what an amazing energy and charm she has. It lashed with rain for 3 solid hours from Falkirk Wheel to The Kelpies in Helix Park and we rambled regardless, notebooks sodden and glasses dripping. My favourite moment was when we showed our ...

Read More


Airing your dirty laundry…

Posted on September 4, 2015

Walking with Words got off its marks this week on a stroll up the Great Canal to Falkirk Wheel. Eyes were sharpened, photos posted, tweets twittered and words were even committed to paper. Falkirk historian Geoff Bailey gave us food for thought in a fascinating talk with archive maps in the social history section on the top floor of Falkirk Library framed by stunning views. From bleaching sheets with sour milk in public parks to tar works and ...

Read More


On the hoof and other ramblings…

Posted on August 24, 2015

Shy bairns get nae sweeties is one of my favourite expressions and so it was that a few months back I emailed Radio 4’s Ramblings program to suggest that if Clare Balding hadn’t seen the Kelpies yet they’d be happy to meet Radio royalty! The Autumn series of Ramblings is about walking with artists and so I am delighted to report that we will indeed be rambling down the canal from the Falkirk Wheel to see Andy Scott’s glorious Kelpies as ...

Read More


Knitted Kelpies

Posted on August 24, 2015

Whilst the Princess Royal visited Falkirk’s stunning Kelpies created by sculptor Andy Scott this summer I have been working on a knitted Kelpie head as part of my Reader in Residency with the Scottish Book Trust and Falkirk Libraries. Several libraries in Falkirk have knit and natter sessions and Meadowbank even has a Lego group, Bo’ness will also be creating a virtual library using Minecraft later in the year! My theme for the year is to ...

Read More