Our lives are made up of stories from the seemingly trivial and every day, to the most dramatic and sometimes life changing.
Through books, films, plays and songs we can ‘live’ moments of humor, danger, intrigue and love.
We can travel back in time, be transported to other worlds and dimensions or live in the moments of the here and now.
They say every picture tells a story and that is very true.
Photos of the London blitz when people were strong together and supported one another with both practical and emotional help. The scenes in the underground stations where people sheltered from the bombing. Vera Lynn singing to the troops who were far away from their loved ones. Flanagan and Allen performing in theatres with songs including Underneath the Arches.
Most of us have photographs which are snapshots of our lives from the typical baby shots of us or family members, to walking barefoot on a beach hand in hand.
Stories from those moments are brought to the fore of our memories, often with the smells of baby talc or the salt sea smell of the tide.
I love telling stories ! When I was a teacher, I really looked forward to reading stories or telling stories to the class. Then the cries of ” Oh no, don’t stop there !” when I came to the end of a chapter or the cliff edge which left them looking forward to “What happened next”.
There were many favourite books but near the top were ‘The Silver Sword’ by Ian Serraillier and ‘The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe’ by C.S. Lewis.
In 1979 Ian Serraillier spent a morning with my class at Kingsham Primary School , telling us how he came up with the idea and how the story weaved its way with Jimpy the cockerell and the paper knife which was – the silver sword.
My latest venture which is story telling and making with adult audiences I’m calling ‘Tales Upon A Time’. Bringing stories to life and providing opportunities for participants to bring pictures or objects in from home which have a story to tell.
Have a look around your homes and see if there are any items which have interesting, funny or remarkable stories behind them.
Think about stories going back in the generations of your families which are fascinating and of course part of our histories too.
The Tales Upon A Time.
Thank you ! Chris.
Tales Upon A Time. 