Meet the Storytellers: Crafters of Magical Tales and Mystical Adventure

Tomorrow marks the start of our storytelling season, and we’re thrilled to kick things off with the talented Winchburgh Storytellers. These gifted weavers of words have brought to life the tales that lie at the heart of our Scottish Myths and Legends exhibition. Mary Baxter from Tatterhood Tales and member of the Winchburgh Storytellers has kindly shared more about the storytellers and the magic they create…

Who we are

The Winchburgh Storytellers is a group of people who enjoy stories- listening, telling and co-creating them.  We meet on the last Tuesday of the month at 7:30pm at Winchburgh Community Centre– a mixture of developing, apprentice and professional storytellers, sharing stories, ideas and encouragement. We always welcome new faces so if you are interested, please come along. There’s no pressure to perform, either- every teller needs an audience so if you’d just like to come and soak up the craic that’s good too.

While some might think storytelling is for children, it actually has a long and distinguished history.  In times gone by, before widespread literacy, stories were cherished both as tools for teaching life lessons and as entertainment.  In Gaelic culture the shenachie (pronounced sen-ach-ey) was a combination of judge, historian, academic, school teacher and pop star, amongst other things! The shenachie was “the culture”, in a single person. 

The original meaning of the word ceilidh (pronounced kay-ley) is to gather together.  And where people are gathered together, stories are shared.  Dancing became a later addition to the practice. Storytelling ceilidhs still happen today; the Burgh Blatherers host one at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh every other month.  People sit around tables nursing drinks while a host will introduce anyone who’d like to tell a story to come up and share – kind of an “open mic” night (except without the microphone and much less scary).  All are welcome.

At Winchburgh Storytellers’ Tuesday evening meetings we are predominantly aimed at adults.  We start with a warm-up of gentle sharing round the circle, and then some collaborative storytelling before those that wish have time to share a story with the group.  Some come to listen, some come to practice (there are a number of Storytelling Apprentices in the group) but all come to share. 

The Museum Request

Jennifer Brown from Linlithgow Museum came to our 3rd ever meeting- asking us to come and support the Scottish Myths and Legends exhibition.  We were thrilled at such an opportunity but a little surprised that our limited publicity had reached so far!

What Happened Next

We came up with a list of potential topics for stories- to make sure that we had a good representation of the breadth of material out there.  And stories to please the purists, the youngsters, the busy and those that wanted something more in depth! While some are traditional tales, we included some newer variations. That’s the joy of oral storytelling; the stories endlessly change shape and content depending on the teller, the audience and the context.  These stories live rather than being pinned down on the page!

The Recordings

A Selkie story- where a seal takes off their outer skin to reveal a human underneath. Often a Selkie’s skin is hidden by a human who traps them on the land for a period of time before they find it again and escape back to the sea.  Recorded by Beith Watson.

The Trowie Wedding

A Kelpie story- where a magical horse comes from the loch seeking to capture unwary passers by and drag them to the depths for a light snack.  Here the boy wins against the Kelpie- hurrah! Recorded by Ruth McCabe.

A story of the Cailleach – ancient and fearsome Scottish goddess of winter, who rules the land until springtime, when Bride (or Bridget) takes her place for the next few months.  Diana Watt recorded a modern interpretation of her power and majesty.

The story of Thomas the Rhymer – a young man is taken to Fairyland for the price of a kiss. When he returns, many years have passed, but he has been compensated by being given the gift of truth. Thomas’ words have power, and he earns enough by his speech to build a tower in the Borders which can still be seen today- before leaving to be reunited with his Fairy Queen.  Recorded by Daru Mcaleece.

The Bannock Boy

A Trowie story.  Trowies (fairies in Orkney) live in Fairy Mounds and generally cause havoc.  In this story, a fiddler is diverted into a Fairy mound and returns several months later, to the annoyance of his new bride.  Recorded by Mary Baxter.

The Wee Bannock Man is the Scots version of the Gingerbread Man- and always makes me laugh. Recorded by Eleanor Bell.

The Loch Ness Monster needs no introduction; Alison Philip told a story of the monster meeting with St Columba, an interplay of myth and history.

The Unicorn and the Lion is a modern story about the significance of emblems to reassure and encourage – told by Traci Mackie.

These stories are all available to hear within the museum via push-button and screen (audio-visual) technology.

The live tellings

Various of the Winchburgh Storytellers have volunteered to tell stories live within Linlithgow Museum.  We’ve tried to pair up more and less experienced tellers and will be presenting a wide variety of stories both of traditional Scottish myths and legends, and stories from a broader range of time and space to keep things fresh.  We look forward to seeing as many of you as we can!

In the meantime, if you’d like to know more about Winchburgh Storytellers we have a web page at https://marytatterhoodtales.wordpress.com/winchburgh-storytellers/  and an email too: winchburghstorytellers@cantab.net  .  Or just come along to our next session- we’d love to meet you!

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Linlithgow Museum is thrilled to be partnering with the Winchburgh Storytellers, whose passion for sharing Scotland’s rich heritage is truly inspiring. Together, we’re bringing our Scottish Myths and Legends exhibition to life in an exciting new way. As part of this collaboration, the storytellers will be hosting a series of live sessions right here at the museum – and we can’t wait to welcome you! Come along, immerse yourself in these captivating tales, and meet the storytellers who keep Scotland’s legends alive. Book your spot today!

Our Scottish Myths and Legends exhibition is on display until 28 September 2024.

Meet the Makers: Sculpting a Brownie for the Scottish Myths & Legends Exhibition

The trainees at Gate (The Donaldson Trust) got to work straight away when the news came in that they had been tasked with creating a model of a brownie for Linlithgow Museum’s Scottish Myths and Legends Exhibition. With many of the young artists being fans of fantasy and folklore, this was an ideal task to get stuck into.

The first job was gathering references and drawing up a plan. The silhouette and face were designed by Erin, who made a brilliant sketch which the rest of the team were able to base the model on, while Ryan and Declan contributed a fitting name: Count Spatula Bramblebush!

Next, Jay and Gemma built a wooden frame to act as the skeleton of the brownie. This was wrapped in mesh wire, then in tape, ready for papier-mâché. After a wonderfully messy morning with Corrie and Alex, the little creature began to take shape. He got a coat of paint, a head, feet and hands, plus a tunic and hat designed by Oberon.

The broom was made by the trainees in the outdoor classroom, and the bowl was sculpted by Cameron.

After being given a base to stand on, Spatula the brownie was delivered to the museum just in time for the opening night, which was attended by some of the trainees, no-doubt proud to see their completed efforts on display.

This was a brilliant team project, and couldn’t have been done without help from all the trainees who lent their ideas, opinions, and helping hands, and also put up with the “the thing” which has stood watch in the art room for the last few weeks, staring at us with his beady eyes, and smiling with his toothy grin!

We are all looking forward to visiting the exhibition with families, carers, and friends over the summer, and can’t wait to do more creative challenges like this in the future!

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Linlithgow Museum was thrilled to welcome this fantastic masterpiece into our new Scottish Myths and Legends exhibition. We were delighted to collaborate with Gate at The Donaldson Trust and other wonderful local organisations to bring this magical display to life. The trainees from Gate did a truly superb job—just wait until you meet Count Spatula Bramblebush in person! A huge thank you to Sean (CPS Activities Ltd) for the inspired suggestion to reach out to Donaldson’s, to Andrew for expertly guiding the creative process and writing this blog post, and to everyone involved in crafting this fantastic creature.

Our Scottish Myths and Legends exhibition is on display until 28 September 2024.

World Oceans Day 2025 - Sir Charles Wyville Thomson

Sir Charles Wyville Thomson

On World Ocean day, we take a moment to honour one of Scotland’s most remarkable contributors to marine science - Sir Charles Wyville Thomson, born at Bonsyde House, Linlithgow, in 1830. His and his team’s groundbreaking work laid the foundations for modern oceanography and opened the deep sea to scientific discovery.

A Scottish Scholar with Global Impact

Sir Charles began life as Wyville Thomas Charles Thomson, the son of a surgeon for the British East India Company. After schooling at Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh, he enrolled at the University of Edinburgh to study medicine. It wasn’t long before his passion turned toward the natural sciences, particularly botany and zoology.

By his early twenties, Thomson had already become a lecturer in botany at the University of Aberdeen. Over the next two decades, he held a series of prestigious academic posts in Ireland and Scotland, eventually becoming Professor of Natural History at the University of Edinburgh in 1870. Among his students, none other than Arthur Conan Doyle, future creator of Sherlock Holmes.

Deep Sea Dreams

Thomson’s fascination with the deep sea - especially creatures like crinoids - led him to question prevailing scientific beliefs. Was there life in the deep ocean? Were its temperatures stable, as once thought?

In 1868 and 1860, he led deep-sea dredging missions aboard HMS Lightning and HMS Porcupine, proving that life existed at depths over 1200 metres. His findings, published in The Depths of the Sea (1873), were revolutionary, revealing diverse marine life and deep-sea thermal variability.

These pioneering efforts captured the attention of the British Government and Royal Navy - just as the rise of ocean telegraphy (undersea cables to transmit messages across vast ocean stretches) made understanding of the seabed more urgent than ever.

HMS Challenger: A Scientific Odyssey

In 1872, Thomson was appointed chief scientist of the most ambitious marine expedition the world had ever seen, the Challenger Expedition. A royal Navy vessel, HMS Challenger was refitted into a floating laboratory, stripped of most of its guns to make way for scientific equipment.

Route of HMS Challenger

Crew and Scientist hauling in a deep sea specimen

For three and half years, the ship sailed over 70,000 miles around the globe. The crew conducted countless dredgings, soundings, and temperature readings - and discovered over 4,500 new species of marine life. The expedition was the first to measure the depths of the Mariana Trench including Challenger Deep (the deepest part of the ocean known at the time), collected data on ocean currents, temperatures and water chemistry at 362 oceanographic stations, and mapped the first broad outline of the ocean basin.

A Legacy Etched in Glass and Ocean Floor

Upon his return, Thomson was knighted and began the monumental task of publishing the expedition’s findings but the burden proved immense. Plagued by ill health and stress, he eventually withdrew from public life and died in 1882 at his birthplace, Bonsyde House.

His work lives on. The massive 50-volume report of the Challenger Expedition, completed by his friend, colleague and expedition naturalist, Sir John Murray, remains a cornerstone of oceanographic research. Murray called the findings of the expedition:

“the greatest advance in the knowledge of our planet since the celebrated discoveries of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.”

Thomson’s memory is honoured in a stained-glass window at St Michael’s Parish Church, Linlithgow, and in the Wyville-Thomson Ridge in the North Atlantic Ocean. Even NASA paid tribute - the Space Shuttle Challenger was named after the ship that carried Sir Charles and his team across the seas.

World Oceans Day

HMS Challenger officer and scientific team

Over 150 years ago, the groundbreaking HMS Challenger expedition set sail, revealing the hidden wonders of our oceans and uncovering just how vital they are to life on Earth. Unfortunately, our oceans are now under threat from pollution, overfishing and climate change - all of which are putting unimaginable pressure of our blue planet. Why not channel the bold spirit of pioneers like Sir Charles Wyville Thomson, Sir John Murray, the scientific team and crew of the HMS Challenger and others - let their legacy inspire you to explore the wonders of our oceans and rise to the challenge of protecting and restoring them for future generations.

• Images courtesy of Internet Archive Book Images/Wikipedia

• Sources: Wikipedia/Undiscovered Scotland/Britannica/

Women's History Month - Nora Devine

Whether selling wool from her haberdashery shop on Linlithgow High Street or the driving force behind the Linlithgow Folk Club, Nora Devine was a well-known face in the town of Linlithgow.

Many of you may remember her babysitting for you when you were younger, or visiting her shop, where Low Port Records are today.  For all those knitters, cross-stitchers, and embroiderers, Nora’s shop had everything you could think of to create your crafty masterpiece.  I remember Nora, probably from when my nana purchased wool at the shop or latterly when I ventured briefly into the world of cross-stitching.  She always gave a warm welcome and had a sparkle in her eye.

However, it is her work with the Linlithgow Folk Club for which Nora is fondly remembered.  Not only did the Linlithgow Folk Club attract some big names from the traditional music world such as Aly Bain and Barbara Dickson but they were known for giving younger musicians an early opportunity to play before moving onto bigger things.

In recognition of her dedication supporting Scottish traditional music, Nora was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame in 2020 in their Services to Community category recognising individuals that work tirelessly to help their community and enrich the lives of others through selfless service or charitable work.

Murdoch Kennedy’s article in the Black Bitch (Issue 76, August 2020) and entry for the Hall of Fame outlines Nora’s contribution to the folk music scene in Linlithgow beautifully, particularly the words from Ian Walker (a popular Scottish traditional music artist) who was heavily involved in the Linlithgow Folk Club in his earlier days, suffice to say, according to Ian, “Nora Devine was the warm hearted, unassuming host at Linlithgow Folk Club. In fact, Nora was Linlithgow Folk Club and Linlithgow Folk Club was Nora.”  You can read the full entry here.

Ian Walker also dedicated a song to Nora after her passing and you can listen to it here.

Nora also supported the establishment of the Linlithgow Folk Festival Association but sadly passed away a few weeks before the first festival was held.  The festival became a popular and annual event on Linlithgow’s social calendar.  Funding from the annual Matt McGinn night (created by Murdoch Kennedy), funded the Nora Devine stage that was used during the Linlithgow Folk Festival and Ian Walker’s song launched the event each year.

Knowing that many people knew Nora, this article probably doesn’t do her justice, but we hope that by celebrating her contribution to Linlithgow and its traditional folk music heritage, that her legacy lives on, and continues to inspire people.

This is our last in the series for Women in History month, but we will be back next year with more, so please do get in touch if you have any suggestions.

Sources:

·       Facebook (The Real Linlithgow Page)

·       Local knowledge

·       Black Bitch (Issue 76, August 2020)

·       Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame

Guitar image courtesy of Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Disclaimer: This article was written under the understanding that the sources of information are correct, but we apologise if that may not be the case; no offence is intended, we merely wish to share and celebrate the achievements of the individual.

Women's History Month - Mary-Louise Coulouris (1939-2011)

Mary-Louise Colouris was a printmaker, painter, and muralist, who, along with her husband, moved to Linlithgow in 1976 and opened her art studio on Strawberry Bank.  Mary-Louise made an indelible mark on Linlithgow with her mural reflecting the heart and soul of Linlithgow Marches at Linlithgow train station in bold and vibrant colour, a trademark of Mary-Louise’s work. It can still be seen as you make your way up to Platform 1.

Mary-Louise was born in New York but spent her early years in Los Angeles where her father, George Coulouris, was a Hollywood actor of Greek descent.  The Greek aspect of her heritage, through the rich colours of the Mediterranean, inspired her palette and widened her subject matter.  She held several Greek government scholarships and held her last four exhibitions there.

She then taught for eight years in various locations in the UK including Scotland, and also Greece while she established herself as an artist.

From the 1980s, Mary-Louise won many prizes, scholarships, and residencies, including public art murals here in Linlithgow, the Royal Edinburgh Hospital and designed rugs for the new Scottish Poetry Library, a tapestry for Yale College, and watercolours for the House of Lords.

A prolific artist, Mary-Louise held many solo exhibitions in cities such as Athens, London, Edinburgh and Perth and her work can be found in public and private collections across the world including the Ashmolean Museum, New York Public Library, and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.

Mary-Louise initially studied at the Chelsea School of Fine Art, completing her three-year diploma at the Slade School of Fine Art.  She went on to spent two years in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts after winning a French scholarship, and at Atelier 17 studied under master printmaker, Stanley William Hayter.

Mary Louise herself said “I am enthusiastic about people and what they achieve every day and what they have the potential to achieve.  People figure strongly in my work, as they did in the European tradition, from Mantegna to Leger.  Colour is essential to my way of working, as it communicates the emotional impact I want to achieve.”  This is certainly true in the Marches mural here in Linlithgow.

Sources:

• ·       www.colouris.net

• ·       Wikipedia

• ·       Guardian Obituary

 Images by Kayleigh Hirst.

Disclaimer: This article was written under the understanding that the sources of information are correct, but we apologise if that may not be the case; no offence is intended, we merely wish to share and celebrate the achievements of the individual.