The Petal Demon: a weekend of storytelling with Shonaleigh

Join a Tellers, Tales, Tradition weekend in Scottish Highlands. This will be a cosy community event, by the River Spey, in the home of Nana, one of Shonaleigh's students. The telling will start at 7.30pm on Friday evening and finish at noon on Sunday. It will take place within a relaxed atmosphere with plenty of cushions and sofas and tea, coffee and cake/biscuits provided at regular intervals. You can join us for the full weekend, or for the Saturday night only at the local community hall.

You are invited to a unique, immersive weekend of storytelling for adults with Shonaleigh, the world-renowned tradition bearer and storyteller. This is a rare chance to hear these ancient tales in the light and on the tongue, stories untold for two generations and barely spoken of for decades.

The Petal Demon belongs to the Cycle of Hillel, which is the first of twelve epic, latticed, interlinked cycles of stories passed down through generations of Jewish women. It’s the story of a woman who is pursued by a mage, and how she’s helped by Lilith to create a maze of flowers, that traps the mage and becomes a sanctuary for her. This woman becomes known as the Petal Demon, and through her wanderings she leaves legends behind her. To men she’s a demoness; to women she’s a heroine.

Shonaleigh is the only known Drut’syla and the weekend will be a revival of a culture almost lost. Shonaleigh carries on a living unbroken oral tradition passed down from grandmother to granddaughter. She knows around 4,000 tales that she can recall on request, using the lost art of ‘stories within stories’. This is an unmissable opportunity for anyone interested in stories or in oral and lost cultures to come and help document and archive this tradition through listening, requesting stories, and asking questions.

Suitable for adults and 14+ only.

We will gather together in the warmth of a home and sit in the blooming, summer garden when the weather allows. If you are joining in for the Saturday night only, we will gather at a local community space for Stories from the Petal Demon.

Timings (for the whole weekend)

On Friday, we will gather from 7pm for cup of tea before stories begin at 7.30pm. We’ll end around 9.30/10pm.

On Saturday, arrive for 10am, we’ll have stories in the morning, there’ll be a pause for lunch of soup and salad, then some stories after lunch, then break sometime in the afternoon to take an optional stroll by the river, on Speyside Way or the local waterfall.

Then there will be stories at 7.30pm and we’ll finish around 9.30/10pm.

On Sunday, arrive for 10am, we’ll have stories in the morning and we’ll finish after lunch (more soup and salad) around 2pm. Then it will be time to say goodbye.

Timings (for Saturday night stories)

Doors will open at 7:10pm. Stories start at 7.30pm. You have the option to join in for the Saturday night only.

Venue, Transport & Parking

The venue for the weekend will be Nana's home. This is located in Aberlour, AB38 9QA. The full address will be given to ticket holders, one day before the event. There is plenty of free on road parking. There is also a car park 5 min walk away, the Speyside Way Car Park, Alice Littler Park, AB38 9NY. There is a bus stop 2 minutes walk away. The closest train station is Elgin. The closest airport is Inverness.

What to bring

Mostly… bring your good ears and hearts to listen. We’ll be making lunches but you’ll need to sort out your own dinner on Saturday. If you are local, please bring your a chair or cushion to sit (there will be regular chairs and cushions provided).

What is included in the ticket price (full weekend)

All the storytelling, lunches, teas, coffees, cake, and biscuits through the weekend.

What is NOT included in the ticket price

Accommodation is not included. You will need to sort out somewhere to stay separately. A list of hotels can be found here. If you enjoy camping, or have a motorhome, you can camp in a local campsite at Speyside Gardens here. As we are so close to the Speyside way, there are plenty of places for wild camping. There is possibility to park overnight at Speyside Car park (see Parking above).

There is some space for a tent or two in the garden, contact me to discuss.

Dinners are not included. There is a local Chinese takeaway (cash only), a local Co-Op shop, a lovely deli and two pubs that serve food, all within walking distance. Please note that booking is strongly recommended during the summer.

Tellers, Tales and Tradition: How does the weekend work?

"But that's another story for another time". The group will be able to interact with the story as was originally intended. It is the listeners that request stories, journeying through the lattice along a path guided by their requests. You will also be able free to ask questions directly about the stories and the environment in which they were told, from finding hidden trade routes locked within the tales to the reasons why a person might forgo a story in order to hear one of greater importance to the community. This is an unmissable opportunity for anyone interested in stories or in oral and lost cultures to come and help document and archive through listening, requesting stories and asking questions.

What People Say

"What a rich, nourishing, fulfilling weekend of stories. I would like to wrap Shonaleigh in an enchanted cloth and take her everywhere and be able to hear these stories all the time! Her love of the stories she tells and the wisdom and humour she brings and the fabulous discussions we had transported me back to my childhood. Looking forward to more, much more."

Siddartha (The Ruby Tree 2017)

"I cannot recommend this enough! Listening to the winding tales of Shonaleigh telling the tales of long past generations of women is a journey of the soul. Being a craft person, as I weaved my tapestry, I felt transported to a time between worlds - where so many have travelled under the direction of a master story-teller."

- Rosie May

"I feel as if all my stories are nothing more but scraps and patches and now I see the wonderful cloak they might once have been - and I want to put them back together."

- Jim Munro (The Diamond Girl and the Goat Horn Bee. 19 March, 2017)

"I came with my grown up daughter, having given her the weekend as a birthday present, and we were both captivated all weekend. These ancient stories had contemporary relevance. They were well told in a convivial atmosphere. We both came away nourished in the deepest sense of the word."

- Annie (The Golden Labyrinth. 21-23 April, 2017)

The Local Nature

If you are travelling from afar, this opportunity to visit the local countryside which is of astounding beauty. The North Sea with its staggering wildness is a 45 minute drive North. The Cairngorm Mountains are 1 hour drive South. There are ancient woodlands 30 min by car; many deep blue lochs, the river Spey at the doorstep, the local and famous Linn Falls waterfall, a mere 20 min walk. If you are a whisky fan, you will be in the heart of the whisky county, with dozens of distilleries around you.

Feel free to contact Nana at nana.tomova@gmail.com for any questions.