Kilbarchan writer has a story to tell

Her latest project is alongside singer-songwriter Ewan McVicar, in which she is preparing to weave Kilbarchan’s rich history through story, music and song.

Thanks to Anne, for the first time Renfrewshire is to be part of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival with Warp & Weft — Kilbarchan Woven in Story and Song.

The project was Anne’s brainchild and she will be joined by members of Kilbarchan Pipe Band who will help provide a flavour of Habbie Simpson’s bagpipe music to the project.

61-year-old Anne recounts the tale of how storytelling became her full-time profession and, as expected, she tells it vividly.

“My dad was a brilliant storyteller,” Anne said. “I’ve grown up with storytelling and as a wee girl my dad used to tell me stories before I went to bed.

“It was lovely, I already had a love of storytelling because of my dad, who was also a minister in the church and he was really gifted.

“I wrote stories when I was a wee girl and I was always getting local children together to do plays, I was always doing something which involved storytelling.” Having also worked as a journalist for Dunfermline Press, Anne is, in addition, a registered childminder which led her into nursery school teaching for a number of years.

But in 2009, her career was cut short when she was struck down suddenly with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME) which meant she was unable to get out of bed.

“One day I was fine, then I just woke up and couldn’t move,” Anne recalled. “It felt like a combination of flu and jet lag.

“I remember I was so tired that I actually couldn’t get out of my bed. I was very quickly diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome which means you basically can’t do anything.

“But it hit me like, wham! It was awful, I was feeling terribly tired. It went on for quite a bit and even today I still get the tail end of it.” In 2013, Anne began a journey in telling and translating stories into French, with a bi-lingual storytelling project, almost 30 years after graduating with a degree in English at Strathclyde University.

Stories which are rich in humour, drama, passion, history, mystery, wonder and action appeal Anne, and Celtic stories — especially Scottish folklore — fairy tales and legends tug Anne’s heart strings in telling.

But she is particularly enticed by Kilbarchan’s rich history, having lived there for 31 years, which she has researched almost daily for her latest project.

Anne, who is registered on the prestigious Scottish Storytelling Directory, said: “I love to tell stories of Kilbarchan because I live in history, not this extension but the building my husband and I live in was built in 1933.

“It was the old police station and jail and it only got converted to a place to live in the sixties.

“We have a huge garden, it’s an acre of ground down here with an orchard. We also still have the old cell door. Our bathroom also used to be a cell.” We have to show you the cell door, Anne says, and leads us both to a giant, wooden door — heavy enough to kill someone — inside her hallway.

“It came with the house,” she explains. “Kilbarchan has an amazing richness in it.

“This year’s focus for the Scottish International Storytelling Festival has been ‘dig where you stand’ which is finding the stories, including myths and legends, of where you live and where you are. It’s a way of encouraging oral storytelling Scotland-wide.” The grandmother-of-two hopes that storytelling will eventually become part of the curriculum of excellence at all schools across Scotland.

Over the past few weeks, Anne has also been working a project with Kilbarchan Primary School pupils in which she tells one part of the village’s history.

The whole month of learning oral storytelling was be kept completely oral by using iPads to record progress and is to culminate with a performance to peers in primary five and six.

Anne enjoys recreating a sense of place and time with rich characters and interesting plots using a highly participative and multi-sensory approach with the help of songs, rhymes, music, sound makers, puppets and interesting backdrops.

Puppets are often part of Anne’s stories — she told how she has a “family” of about 500 puppets — and she also offers puppet making workshops.

“I’ve always loved puppets and done puppet shows since I was a little girl. I bring them into my storytelling to appeal to the senses for the little ones.” And with that, Anne whips out one of her favourite companions, a puppet named Brachen, who she says is a ‘Scottish fairy’ and is often used in many of her storytelling gigs.

Despite being a dismally frosty morning, Anne appears to be brought to life with the help of her beloved friend and smiles widely as she chats about the importance of interacting audiences through her work.

“For young children, I always think you have to appeal to all the senses for the little ones,” she says. “They like something to feel, touch, see and hold. I’ve always got a puppet for each child to hold.

“In all my storytelling I involve the audience because Scotland has got a rich tradition for storytelling and there’s the storytelling proverb which says ‘eye to eye,’ ‘heart to heart’ and ‘mind to mind’ so all stories are not a performance, not acting, but the audience is just part of the whole thing.

“I love to engage people and make them live though the story. That’s why I’m fostering and encouraging and it’s happening with the primary school children.” “It’s been a tall challenge but I’ve loved every minute of it.” Warp and Weft, Kilbarchan Woven in Story and Song, will be at The Performing Arts Centre, Steeple Square, Kilbarchan on Saturday, October 24.

Tickets cost £7, concessions £4, and are available from Anne Pitcher on 07700 059 770.