The Song of the Grumpy Toadstools

Lord Ancrum's Wood: excitement gathers under the leaf canopy as our first At Home approaches

Small People are sorting their party clothes and testing mixes of make-up, decoration and the best ways of firing hazel-nuts at visitors

Giants are gathering. Green And Leafy, Redbeard, Night-time, and Coombe have all sent themselves off for polishing.

a table-top of giants

Toadstools are sprouting enthusiastically, possibly emerging a bit early and we hope they won't have got so excited they've collapsed by Saturday (meet Newbattle College, Dalkeith, 2 pm Saturday 12th for this first storywalk through the Waking Wood).

But there is dissension.

THE SONG OF THE GRUMPY TOADSTOOL

I don't like this.

And I don't like that.

And I don't like much at all!

Conkers!

Acorns!

Crunching leaves,

Changing colour,

Falling leaves,

Collecting on top of me!

Spikey conkers,

Lumpy acorns,

Juicy apples,

Squirrels collecting nuts.

I don't like that!

And I don't like this!

And I don't like much at all!

I hate it all!

So I will sit here poisonous,

Sprouting in the leaf mould

And sulk

Other Toadstools are more optimistic but tinged with a sense of doom and the transience of flesh. These are Toadstool Songs and if you/we cannot find the rhythm and metre of them then that is more about our clumsy human sense not appreciating the subtlety of fungal song-writing. they are, after all, among the very few organisms who can effectively rhyme orange with porridge ( English-speaking humans can sometime manage it if they've got a bad cold)

necessary adjustments can be undignified

THE SONG OF THE HAPPY TOADSTOOL

I like playing in the woods,

I like collecting leaves;

(On my head)

I like conkers,

I like pumpkins,

I like juicy apples

And tasty brambles.

I like the sound of leaves under a rabbit's feet,

And watching the wild cats,

And skulls,

And Toads,

And deer sitting down in the dark,

And foxes in their burrows.

I like autumn,

Because of Hallowe'en

And watching the sky for the triangle lines of geese

I like autumn because winter is near

I would love to walk,

To go for a walk,

For a long walk

Through the tall forest.

I would love to

Jump in leaves

And swim through leaves,

Crunchy leaves, dry leaves

Beautiful leaves,

Changing colour

On cold frosty mornings.

I would be so good at trick-or-treating

I would love to do those things

If only I could.

The Story of the Trees, 3: the sad story of Night-time

Redbeard the Giant

The Trees project continues here in Lord Ancrum's Wood. This is a Forestry Commission project in these beautiful woods which they manage in partnership with Newbattle College, in Dalkeith, just south of Edinburgh

Working with schools, college students, community groups and the public, we are shaping new stories from the woods, gathering stories and images towards public storywalks on SATURDAY 12TH OCTOBER, meeting at 2pm  outside the college (follow link for directions)

Today we met some more giants (Hawthornden Primary School) and have prepared a set of vivid autumn banners (Newtongrange Primary School) that will fall into their full spectacle tomorrow

a giant receives some cosmetic attention

THE BUTTERFLY GIANT

The Butterfly Giant lives in a castle made of tree trunks and there he lives a happy, friendly life. Or he is friendly as long as he isn’t hungry. When he gets hungry he gets very grumpy and then he will eat a whole deer or chew a tree-trunk to splinters. For a snack, he always carries a bag of woodlice sweeties: as sweet and crunchy as Crunchies themselves and they stick to his teeth in just the same way

Not very long ago, he was in a battle with some unfriendly giants when even his Guard-spider, throwing webs at anyone who came too close, could not stop Butterfly Boy getting a few cuts. If you see him just now, you’ll see the butterflies sitting like plasters on his face, holding his cuts shut with their legs

Redbeard the Giant and friends

outlines ready, paint going on

an autumn flag with paint being applied

Night-time's story? it is so unspeakably sad we couldn't possibly publish it, yet. You'll just have to come and join us on Saturday!

The Story of the Trees, 2: Giants and Toadstools

Story of the Trees

Newtongrange Primary School

Woodland Giants and Grumpy Toadstools

... the strange woods and friendly classrooms of The Ancient Newton Grange, offer an insight into a wild and wonderful world....

Giants grow on tables, sprouting leaves and root-beards and pet bats

a giant taking shape

COOMBE

Night-giants are fierce,

Night-giants are dangerous.

Night-giants are the wind that 

whistles through the woods in the dark

Night-giants are the creak and crack of trees in the night

Night-giants are the touch of a twig on your neck

And, worse of them all, Coombe is their king.

He lives apart from other giants,

In the darkest corners of the deepest wood. 

No light comes here.

No sunlight disturbs him

Even in the brightest summer day.

He lives apart, alone but for his animal friends, bats and owls,

Fierce and ferocious, he haunts the night-time woods

Hating sunlight, loving shadows

Toadstools push out of foam, slowly gathering eyes and features and voices, quiet voices, just whISpers for now, almost too faint to be heard yet

I have no eyes to see with,
no mouth to speak with

I like the colours of autumn leaves

I like their crunching under my feet

I like the smell of the wind 

And the taste of juicy brambles

But one day, one day soon,
I will be able to watch you!

I hate these autumn days

And colours and crunching

And conkers and kicking

And everything....

The Story of the Trees: the story begins

Lord Ancrum's Wood

Newbattle Abbey

Dalkeith

A project begins, unfolding the untold stories of the beautiful trees of these woods...
Descriptions of strange woodland people...

1. A curving seed nose
In a green leafy face
With wooden lips and acorn eyes
She runs through the wood 
With her twiggy arms
Tickling trees
Her clam shoes leave
Strange footprints in the mud

 (first spotted by Danderhall brownies)

another character evolves

2. Fatso-craig, the boulder boy
Only three feet tall, he is as wide as he is tall.
A boulder of a boy with a horn nose and a mouth as round as a cowrie shell.
Leaves grow as hair on his round stone head
And his gravel stubble needs shaving twice a day to stop it avalanching down his face

(discovered by 12th Midlothian Scouts)

3. A sea-shell hat

 Sits on top of flower hair,
While little acorn eyes peer out 

Either side of a little pine-cone nose
And a big shell mouth
Smiles above a
Dress of long leaves and moss

(discovered by Danderhall brownies)

there should be a song
"she had pine-cone eyes and a lop-sided smile"!

Old stones and ancient bones

Old stones and ancient bones

poems from the hollow hills

a new book from Gordon MacLellan

I don’t often publish my own poems and stories. I write articles and practical books and keep my more personal writing, well, personal.

But after a slightly hysterical trip to Orkney last year, I decided it was time to start sharing some of those more passionate moments with stones, bones, trees, woods and ponds. Old stones and ancient bones is the result: a small flock of poems inspried by neolithic sites, reclaimed limestone quarries and riverbanks

Getting your own copy: I will sooner or later have copies to sell - but I am on the road just now and won’t be home for another 3 weeks - it is probably quicker to get a copy direct from Lulu or maybe Amazon (but not on their system yet) - or order from your local independent book seller!

Contents include:

The hills are waiting, The satyr’s songs: the Waking Song, Broch of Gurness, Tomb of the Eagles, Anticipation 1 and 2, Kelpie

Taster poem to keep you going:

ANTICIPATION ii

Autumn waits, 

Falling into gold, and yellow, and russet,

As mist gathers,

Wool unravelled through the trees.

In the hollow dales, 

The lake anticipates winter,

And the rune-cracked ice.

But for now,

Its dark, cold reflective depth

Is divination enough

Title: Old stones and ancient bones

Author: Gordon MacLellan

Publisher: Creeping Toad

ISBN 978-1-291-46593-8

From sea eagles to small children: training courses this autumn!

Time for glue, imaginations, inspirations and wild and rewarding days! Flex those elbows, wiggle those fingers and give your inspiration a boost!

September

card sculpture landscape

Saturday 28th: Celebrating Wildlife

I am running workshops at this exciting event in Portree on Skye organised by the Skye and Lochalsh Environment Forum.. I’ll be running one session on building new environmental stories and another that i suspect will end up with either lots of dramatic sea-eagle, otter and wild cat masks or beautiful, elegant landscape sculptures in card...or both

Official blurb:

“Join SLEF and a wide range of other organisations to celebrate the biodiversity of Skye & Lochalsh.

Based in  Portree High School, activities will include wild stories, art, photography competition, lots of free stuff, advice about wildlife recording and how to get involved, music, drama.....

Also a chance to discuss the future of the Local Biodiversity Action Plan document - due to be revised during winter 2013/14.”

Visit the SLEF website for more information: http://www.slef.org.uk/events/28-sep-2013-celebrating-wildlife.asp

October

15, 16, 17th 

quick geometric shapes

3 Nights of Lanterns: 

willow, tissue and glue!

Three workshops to learn willow making techniques- in return we hope you can spare some time to help families make their own lanterns at our public workshops in November

Its not necessary to attend all the workshops but beneficial if you can

Tuesday 15th October 7pm til 9pm Willow lanterns & fixings: starting with the quick ones - a chance to meet materials and get a feel for how willow works and just what you can do with some wet tissue paper and glue!

Wednesday 16th October 7pm til 9pm More complex willow lanterns & Starting large sculptures: getting more adventurous: with me, you can try your hand at willow fish, processional people or whatever takes your fancy: looking at the basic principles involved in making more complex shapes that can still be carried. While I’m doing that the wonderful Mark Hornsey from the equally wonderful  Babbling Vagabonds will be starting work on some static lantern installations and looking at some much bigger things

Thursday 17th October 6pm til 9pm Large willow sculptures: Mark is leading this session when the ideas from Wednesday really come to life!

Please book - limited places- invite anyone you know who may be interested

e-mail buxtonsparkles@gmail.com for more details

we might even end up with a lantern family!

Materials and tools will be provided. Dress for mess!

November

2 training courses down in Devon. These days are designed to give participants that opportunity to try activities but also to pause and think, to plan and to share ideas, experiences and issues with each other. Rich, rewarding days in a wonderful setting - come and join us!

Monday 4th

Celebrations!

9.30 - 4.30

Dartington Estate

£115/£95/£70

Organised by Wildwise: contact them for more information or to make a booking

“we live in a world worth celebrating" - and this workshop will help you do just that. From first inspirations and wild ideas through planning the event to activities to excite and engage people, Celebrations will help you organise your own occasions of wonder and delight. With lanterns, flags, processional masks and tiny installations, there will be activities to try and materials to improvise with

Who the course is for:
Teachers, youth and play workers, environment and community workers and anyone who is hoping to get people out and doing something adventurous and creative in their local area

What will you take away:

• ways of getting people started; how to spark first ideas and encourage imagination
• a plan for designing celebrations with groups
• checklists for yourself – points to cover
• ways of using the immediate environment to offer stories and settings for celebrations
• discussions about traditional celebrations and new ideas – principles and goals to look for in a celebration
• the experience of trying activities for yourself: processional flags, tiny installations, lanterns, masks, puppets - small and very large

woodland giant!

Tuesday 5th

Adventures with younger children!

9.30 - 4.30

Dartington Estate

£115/£95/£70

organised by Wildwise: contact them for more information and to make bookings  

Build your own toolkit of activities and themes to use with younger children. Looking at a world full of stories, we can use the world around us to inspire language, encourage communication and foster a deep sense of excitement in and connection with that world - and discover the best pizza for a troll, who hides on the other side of the tree and how to call a dragon from a flowerbed. Using readily transferable techniques and easily sourced materials, this workshop will encourage us to value and cherish the creativity of younger children

Who the course is for:
Early Years teachers, Forest School practitioners, family centre and playgroup leaders, environmental education and countryside staff

What will you take away:

• ways of building storylines with young children that help us shape their experience and learning
• activities to encourage creative exploration
• event ideas for family groups
• direct experience of a range of activity ideas for outside storybuilding to rainy day alternatives, mixing discovery with story, drama, art and craft ideas
• the value of tiny things and the power of giants

the value of tiny things1

On the road and far from home...

storymaking in the rain in Migdale Woods

Up in the far north of Scotland just now in the middle of 2 weeks of storytelling and storymaking with groups....images and some story beginnings....

Story start 1

One dark night in the middle of the forest, 

when the trees were swaying and owls hooting, 

a boy called Flash and his dog Storm....

Ogden Water: away with the faeries, goblins and trolls!

Shaping stories with drawings, words and found materials...

Storystart 2

One freezing cold night when everything was deadly quiet, 

someone knocked on my door. 

It was a strange little man with long spiky hair....

Out  among the midges in Migdale Woods, story makers gather....

and at the end of the day, this big Toad meets a small cousin!

Thanks to all our schools and groups so far:

Ogden Water Country Park, Halifax (1st stop on road north, no they are nowhere near Thurso, the next port of call!)

Reay Primary School

Pennyland Primary School

Auldearn Primary School

Kirkhill Primary School

Avoch Primary School

The Woodland Trust at Migdale and Ledmore Woods

more sessions next week!