DATES on Saturdays: 3 June, 1 July, 26 Aug, 16 Sept

Time: 11am to 2pm

Facilitator: Daru Mcaleece

This event is by DONATION OR FREE.

Booking here is essential as spaces are limited to 8. We highly encourage joining all dates to maximise the benefits. However, if attending all of them is not feasible for you, feel free to select the dates that suit your availability.

ABOUT THIS WORK

A series of 4 workshops that will explore storytelling, story-making and take a journey exploring the structure of story – on a functional level, as well as how these ideas relate to us emotionally, psychologically and to our lives. The themes each week will be highlighted via a particular story, presented by Daru, and then explored using a range of arts techniques. The hope is for participants to gain a deeper knowledge of stories, how they work and relate to their own lives; and to take away experiences that allow them to take charge of the stories within their own lives.

03  Jun theme: “Finding our place”

The themes for the first workshop will be beginnings. The session will explore the initial parts of story structure - finding a place and getting a sense of character. The Scottish tale of ‘Thomas the Rhymer’ will be used as an initial guide, as this tale moves through many different worlds. And for the arts activity, a map will be created, mapping both the ideas within the tales and exploring the imaginary territory within ourselves.

01 Jul theme: “Finding our character”

The themes of this workshop will explore character and what their purpose is in stories in a deeper way – as both are central to any tale. The archetypal character of ‘Jack’ will be used in this workshop – as there are many surprising elements to this well known fellow. For the arts activity, the making of creatures, story dolls and beings will be shared – to embody the inhabitants of our imaginations.

26 Aug theme: “Finding help & meeting challenges”

In this workshop the obstacles and helpers in tales are examined. The Welsh tale of ‘Blodeuwedd’ will be used this week – as it covers many challenges, transformations and assistance. Intuitive mixed-media collages will be explored – giving full form to the ideas explored in previous weeks.

16 Sep theme: “Finding resolution”

In this workshop the turning points, climax and the dénouement in story will be looked at. Another Welsh tale of ‘Taliesin’ will be used – as it contains a strange series of story changes and multiple endings. There will be further work done on the mixed-media collages – along with creating sensory poetry to draw feelings and ideas together.

ABOUT DARU MCALEECE 

Daru is a Druid, a Storyteller and an artist. He is a Forest School leader and member of the Scottish Storytelling Centre Directory of professional storytellers. His storytelling is a love of  myths and Nature, for him storytelling supports inspiration and connects  communities. His work is interactive and with people of all ages and abilities, combining telling with activities designed to encourage creativity, connecting  people to one another and the amazing world around us. His background includes years of facilitating therapeutic storytelling workshops and sessions, including 1:1 work

WHERE

Meet at The Planetary Healing Community Woodland, Cockburnhill Road, Balerno, EH14 7JB. Bus 44 / 44A. Stop at the third bus stop after the roundabout. From there, enter Cockburnhill Road and walk for approximately 15 minutes and at the V junction turn right and walk for 2 minutes.

If you are driving, please ignore the SAT Nav at the very end as it takes you to the other farm, park at Cockburnhill Road near Pirnie Ha' house (which is the only house on the right). From there, go straight ahead until you reach the V junction, where you will need to turn right and walk for another 2 minutes. Upon arriving at the woodland gate, there are 7 small bridges to cross before reaching the Hut, which is situated at the end of the woodland. Along the way, you will pass by the Yurt and the composting toilet.

PARKING

There are about 6 car spaces in front of the woodland reserved for elders, those with mobility difficulties and parents with children. Please try to arrive a bit earlier and park at Cockburnhill Road, just after Pirnie Ha’ house. The woodland is only 2 minutes walking as you turn right from there.

IMPORTANT INFO

If you have any questions before or on the day regarding this event, please text: 07853845019

If you need any other support or have any concerns please contact our office on email holistic@planetary-healing or text: 0750 4438 763.

LIFTS: If you need a lift from the village to the woodland, please text us the day before your event: 075 0443 8763 and we can organise a volunteer. Otherwise it is a beautiful 15 minutes walk in the country side.

WEATHER: For rainy days we have the HUT where we have a wood burner stove. We hope to be outdoors too and we also have pop up gazebos when needed.

EMAIL REMINDER: You will get an email reminder of your event 3 days before it. Please make sure you add holistic@planetary-healing.org to your email address book or safe senders list. This way you won't miss out on any important updates we have for you.

NOTE: On your arrival, please feel free to let us know your preferred pronouns (e.g. he/him, she/her, they/them) and what name you would like us to refer to you by.

CANCELLATION POLICY: Space is limited, so if for any reason you need to cancel, please let us know asap, so we can free up the space for others on the waiting list. Due to the amount of work involved, tickets are non-refundable.

DONATIONS: When you make a donation, you are supporting the continuation of our charitable work in the future. If you cannot make a donation because of your financial circunstance, you can access this work for FREE. We aim for this work to be accessible for everyone and we thank our funders for their support. If you need support with transportation costs, please contact us.

WHAT TO BRING: Please come in warm clothes ready for all weather. Layers are recommended and outdoors footwear. We will provide tea and cups. If your group is 3 hours or longer, please bring a packed lunch

PHOTOS: Occasionally we take group pictures for promotions and funders, if you would prefer not to be in the picture, please communicate this to the facilitator on arrival.

CAR SHARE: We recommend car share and lifts between friends and participants as much as possible. Whenever you see a friend walking at Cockburnhill Road, check if they are coming for our programme and kindly offer a lift.

Please help us to spread information about this work and invite others as well.