Warm Greetings from Scotland,Like much of Europe, the sun has been scorching here in recent weeks, some of our hillsides and forest have paid the price. The recent rain is unusually welcome.I write with opportunities relating to The Shieling Collecti...

Greetings I'm writing from an Air BnB in Seattle, gazing out across still waters to the glorious snowy peak of Mount Rainer/Tahoma. Having left my house at a full 24 hours ago, I should be asleep rather than writing emails, but here we are.I've prima...

Thank you to everyone who joined last night, and to those who couldn't make it but have been following along.It was a rich gathering, and I loved the chance to spend an evening sharing story, the living tradition, and the question of mentorship. I fo...

A quick note ahead of Wednesday evening.Passing an Ember starts at 7.30pm. Register here if you haven't already: https://www.rekindlingthehearth.com/passing-an-emberI'll be opening the evening with the Makers of Dreams — a story from Skye, passe...

Dear It's high summer, the days stretch, nature flourishes and Scottish people turn from pale blue to bright red after one day of sunshine.In old times, rural folk would take their livestock up into the hills to access the high pasture, the lush gree...

The date is set.On Wednesday the 10th of June, 7.30pm, I'm hosting a free online evening: Passing an Ember- storytelling, apprenticeship and the living tradition.We'll gather on Zoom. I'll tell a story. Then we'll talk — about what real mentorsh...

Dear I've been thinking lately about the people who changed my telling.My former mentor David Campbell pulled me aside after a session in 2021 and in his usual expressive style, stated, "Something has changed — how wonderful."He had noticed something...

Dear Happy Spring Equinox.As a late-March baby, I always enjoy this time of year. Not for the birthday celebrations, (although this year I did have a particularly fine cake!), but for the return of the sun, blooming of flowers and the birdsong that r...

Greetings I'm writing from Cascadia, deep in the Columbia Gorge, where I'm developing an appreciation for blues jams, 1950s diners and medicinal mushroom laden coffee.The Pacific North West is claiming a sweet spot in my heart, and whilst I'm not her...

Greetings I write from the Hood River Gorge in Oregon, marvelling at the majesty of this place- the vastness of the Columbia river, white water streaming down the hills, Mount Hood's jagged peak rising the south. I'm likewise delighted with quirks s...