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We're absolutely delighted to see Clapham and Austwick Brownies be featured in the BBC for their Protect The Peaks Campaign. Earlier in the summer, we were lucky enough to get to help these girls film their campaign videos, and it was two of the most joyous evenings we've had. They are incredibly passionate about this issue, please go ahead and support their campaign! ...
Brownies and Guides campaign against Yorkshire Three Peaks litter
www.bbc.co.uk
A group of Brownies and Guides launch a campaign to stop litter on the Yorkshire Three Peaks route.0 CommentsComment on Facebook
Lovely story in this week's episode of the podcast.
A shogun breaks his favourite tea bowl, absolutely gutted about it, sends the pieces off to China to be mended.
Comes back stapled together with iron. Works, but looks a state.
So he tries his own craftsmen instead, and this time they fix it with gold. Not hiding where it broke, showing it. The cracks end up glowing right across the bowl. People start travelling from other towns just to see it.
This episode's about memory, really, and how you don't need to remember every last detail of something for it to be worth telling. "I don't remember X, but I'll never forget Y" does more work than pretending you've got the whole thing straight.
Episode ten's out now. Have a listen, and tell us, what's the one detail you'll never forget, even from a memory that's mostly gone fuzzy?
Listen here: www.youtube.com/@Settlestories/videos ...
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Demon. Goddess. Queen of Sheba.
Depending which tradition you ask, Lilith has been all three. Katy Cawkwell lets each one stand.
You decide which version you believe. 18th September.
Built for people who like to leave with a question.
Book your space here: settlestories.org.uk/whats-on-event/lilith/ ...
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📖 Your reminder is here!
This Friday, we've got something very exciting - this week's story, Memories With A Bear, is written by the winner of our Children's Story Compeititon, Oluwadarasimi Oyelade. It has been illustrated and will be told by professional storyteller Sita Brand.
From 1pm on Friday 11th September, head to our #FridayStoryClub page and press play. A real storyteller, beautiful hand-drawn illustrations, and two hours of pure magic - completely free, no strings attached.
👉 settlestories.org.uk/stories-for-schools/fridaystoryclub ...
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Settle Stories was founded in 2010, and our story is only just beginning. Find out what we've been up to by having a look through our archives, and let us know I'm the comments your favourite project we've done! ...
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The charity sector is having a bit of an odd week.
Back in June, we had a really nice case study come out about our years working with Reach Volunteering, the charity that's helped us find illustrators, trustees and all sorts over the years. Then just three months later, Reach announced they're closing down after 45 years.
We wrote them a proper thank you while we still can: settlestories.org.uk/news/thank-you-reach-volunteering/
Has a volunteer or a charity ever turned up at exactly the right moment for you? Tell us about it below, we'd love to hear it. ...
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New episodes of the Storyteller's Toolkit Podcast are released every Wednesday. You can catch up now at the link in our bio. ...
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Shocking. Seductive. Entertaining. That's the poster talking.
What it actually is: a celebration of female power told through myth, one hour, one woman, live or streamed.
18th September. In the room or on your sofa, your choice.
Book here: settlestories.org.uk/whats-on-event/lilith/ ...
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For those local to Settle, we are partnering with Action on Climate Emergency Settle to share the People's Emergency Briefing on Thursday 17th September at 6,30pm. You can sign up for the online viewing here: streamyard.com/watch/iCXFsMV3dWja ...
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In the first session, almost everyone tells us the same thing: "I'm not really a writer."
Clare said it too. After her taster session, we asked if she still agreed. Her answer: it "unlocked something I've been blocked on for a very long time, solid gold."
All of them arrived as beginners. The doubt is normal, and it turns out to be a poor guide to whether the story is worth telling.
Try this today: say the first line of your story out loud, once, and then stop.
StoryLab starts 23rd September, £297, twelve places. Enrolment closes this Friday, 11th September.
Link in bio. ...
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There's a lovely old story in this week's episode about a singer called Tansen, said to be the greatest in all of India.
When he sang for the emperor Akbar, people swore oil lamps would flicker to life on their own and wild deer would wander out of the forest just to listen.
One night Akbar told him no voice on earth could possibly equal his.
Tansen said there was one. His own teacher, a man who wouldn't sing for gold and wouldn't sing for a king. If Akbar wanted to hear him, he'd have to go to him, disguised as an ordinary beggar.
So off they went. And for days, nothing. The teacher wouldn't sing a note.
Eventually Tansen sang first, on purpose singing one note slightly wrong.
The old man frowned. "No. Not like that. Like this."
What happened next is genuinely one of our favourite bits of any episode so far, and honestly, it's as much about breathing as it is about singing.
This one comes with a proper practical exercise too, a simple breath technique that helps drop the tension most of us carry in our shoulders and chest the second we're asked to speak up. Handy for meetings, presentations, or just Sunday lunch when everyone goes quiet and looks at you.
Episode nine of The Storyteller's Toolkit is out now. Have a listen and let us know, does your voice change the moment you're put on the spot?
Listen here: www.youtube.com/@Settlestories ...
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📖 Your Wednesday reminder is here!
This Friday, we've got something wonderful waiting for your class - Anansi the Spider, a new free story for KS2.
From 1pm on Friday 4th September, head to our #FridayStoryClub page and press play. A real storyteller, beautiful hand-drawn illustrations, and pure magic - completely free, no strings attached.
At 3pm, it's gone. So set that reminder! 🎉
👉 settlestories.org.uk/stories-for-schools/fridaystoryclub ...
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Last day for £247 on StoryLab.
From tomorrow it's £297. Same six weeks, same small group, same one story, built properly and told aloud.
If you've been carrying a story and waiting for the right moment, this is it.
Book here: settlestories.org.uk/whats-on-event/storylab-craft-your-story-in-six-weeks-september-intake/ ...
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📖 Your Wednesday reminder is here!
This Friday, we've got something wonderful waiting for your class - Chicken Licken, a new free story for KS1.
From 1pm on Friday 28th August, head to our #FridayStoryClub page and press play. A real storyteller, beautiful hand-drawn illustrations, and two hours of pure magic - completely free, no strings attached.
At 3pm, it's gone. So set that reminder! 🎉
👉 settlestories.org.uk/stories-for-schools/fridaystoryclub ...
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Calling all Craven families and friends! 🌱
We're putting together something new for young people across Settle and the Dales, and we want them to help shape it. Think podcast studios, storytelling trails, bike workshops, community kitchens and more, there's a huge list of ideas on the table.
If you know a young person aged 10 to 25, please share this form with them and ask them to tick whatever catches their eye. It takes a few minutes, and every answer helps us build activities they'll genuinely want to turn up for.
👉 Fill in the form here: forms.gle/hXdtDESCQ5dsDNDW8
Please pass it on to anyone who might be interested. The more voices we hear, the better this will be. ...
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One week left of Early Bird pricing on StoryLab, open to anyone in the Settle Stories community.
After 31st August it moves from £247 to £297. Nothing else changes, same six weeks, same small group, same one story, built properly.
If you've been meaning to book, this is the week.
Book here: settlestories.org.uk/whats-on-event/storylab-craft-your-story-in-six-weeks-september-intake/ ...
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Thinking about StoryLab but not sure yet? These are the five questions we get asked most, answered honestly.
Have a look through, and drop any question we haven't covered in the comments. We'll answer it there.
Link in bio. ...
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There's a properly strange old fairy tale in this week's episode and it's stuck with us all week.
A princess has six brothers, turned into swans by a jealous stepmother. To break the spell she has to sew six shirts from star flowers, and she's not allowed to speak or laugh for six years while she does it, no matter what happens to her in the meantime.
She holds her nerve. Even when she's wrongly accused and dragged off to be burned at the stake, not a word out of her. She just keeps sewing.
Last day, flames already going, six swans fly down. She throws a shirt over each one and her brothers are men again.
All but one. The youngest brother's shirt is missing a sleeve, she ran out of time. So he spends the rest of his life with a swan's wing instead of a left arm.
The bit that gets us: nobody tries to fix it. He just carries it. It's simply part of him from then on.
This episode's really about memory, and how a memory doesn't have to turn up whole and tidy to count. A fragment, a smell, a sound, the feel of someone's hand, that's worth just as much as a full scene.
Episode seven of The Storyteller's Toolkit, out now. Good one for the next dog walk or the drive home.
Check it out here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=a46FI-LPPlA ...
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📖 Your Wednesday reminder is here!
This Friday, we've got something wonderful waiting for your class - The Song of Little Lark, a new free story for KS1 and LKS2.
From 1pm on Friday 21st August, head to our #FridayStoryClub page and press play. A real storyteller, beautiful hand-drawn illustrations, and two hours of pure magic - completely free, no strings attached.
At 3pm, it's gone. So set that reminder! 🎉
👉 settlestories.org.uk/stories-for-schools/fridaystoryclub ...
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"I've been around story for thirty years. But it was at that moment I went, oh, now I see how this is coming together."
That's a StoryLab participant, a professional storyteller of thirty years. She came in describing herself as an oralist, not a writer, and wondering whether that was imposter syndrome. She left having written her Camino story, and having felt, as the only American in the room, that she'd been with her tribe.
Thirty years in, and StoryLab still gave her something new.
Link in bio. ...
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The Storyteller's Toolkit Podcast is available for catch up on YouTube or at the link in our bio. New episodes every Wednesday. ...
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"Unlocked something I've been blocked on for a very long time. Solid gold." That's what one person told us after two hours.
None of them arrived as writers. None had done anything like this before.
StoryLab keeps it small, maximum 12 people, so you're never just watching.
Link in bio. ...
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Heading to the Settle Flowerpot Festival this summer? Keep your eyes peeled! 🌸🔍
If you’re wandering through the centre of town admiring the incredible flowerpot creations, make sure to look closely at the pots.
Settle Stories have added a little extra magic to a few of them this year. On select flowerpot displays, you’ll find QR codes - scan them with your phone to unlock exclusive short stories written by our team, bringing those very characters to life! 📖✨
It’s a fun, interactive way to experience the festival and dive a little deeper into the local creativity that makes Settle so special.
Have you spotted any of our story pots yet? Let us know your favorites below! 👇
#SettleFlowerpotFestival #SettleStories #YorkshireDales #CommunityArt #InteractiveStorytelling #VisitSettle #LocalCulture ...
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There's a thought a lot of people have before they book StoryLab: I don't think I could say something that personal out loud.
Umi had it too. She came to our taster session guarded. By the end, she felt relaxed enough to risk telling a story she'd normally keep to herself, and told us she thoroughly enjoyed it.
That's the shift StoryLab is built for. A small group, no more than twelve people, guided practice, and no need to arrive as a writer.
Link in bio. ...
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