News
Contact Sophie:
Tel: 01332 840007
email:info@sophiesnell.co.uk
Awsworth Primary School
"Teacher Theresa Green said 'She made it all very animated. You could hear them all laughing, so we know it went down well.'"
Eastwood & Kimberley Advertiser, 18th
March 2011
"I wanted to say thank you on behalf of the children and staff for your excellent storytelling sessions. They were very enjoyable and have inspired lots of storytelling from memory challenges!"
Teacher, Awsworth Primary School, March 2011
I am envious of her kids' bedtime stories,
she is phenominal!"
"An excellent addition to Wirksworth
Festival - amazing!"
"It really warmed my cockles!"
Audience comments, Seven Deadly Sins performance, Wirksworth Festival 2010.
"Utterly absorbing - Fantastic!"
"A superb evening - many thanks!"
"Absolutly brilliant and so atmospheric."
"Stunning!"
Audience comments, Seven Deadly Sins performance, Yard of Tales storytelling club,
Oct 2010, Market Harborough
"Sophie delivered the workshops with tremendous energy and enthusiasm and this was met with a terrific response by the young participants... fun and interactive... I would highly recommend Sophie."
CineMagic Festival / Events organiser, October 2010
"Thanks for all your work, generosity with time and skills and good humour."
"Thank you again for making our storytelling festival such a success."
Feedback from "Stories from the Hearth" Ireland tour organisers, Nov 2010
"I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful day on Friday... I've been told by many that it was fantastic and well enjoyed by everyone."
Teacher, Ilam Primary School, Feb 2011
"Thank you for your important input at the conferences last week. We got very good evaluations - mostly "inspiring" and "excellent" for all the workshops!"
Early Years ECAT Conference feedback, Cambridge March 2011
"I met with the Garden of Light people today.
I hope to work with you again next year...
You were great!"
Agency, Festival of Light, Chesterfield
October 2010.
Sookie as a kitten herself.
Merlin - who will be so missed.
Percy - the latest addition to our family.
This is my page of news and titbits to keep you in touch with what I am up to. It is really helpful to have any comments and suggestions on the work that I do and of course I welcome any enquiries or commissions. So please email me at: robandsophie@hotmail.com or Tel 01332 840007.
May 2011
Well, it has been too long since my last news update - but it has been so busy I have struggled to keep up with things like this. And trying to think of all that I have been doing since my last update ...
September kicked off with Wirksworth Festival - children's storytelling one day and another saw Seven Deadly Sins upstairs at the Red Lion - it sold out and received some great feedback (see panel). Wirksworth is a hidden Derbyshire gem of a town - so many lovely old buildings and some excellent cafes and restaurants - the festival has been growing into quite an event with amazing art, music, spoken word and drama - there was a very striking red igloo lit up on the high street as one exhibit and a very interesting exhibition of art and media works.
I had a couple of days work at Heights of Abraham - with a hair-raising journey up to the site via cable car - I am not too good with heights so I had to sit there with my eyes shut tight clutching my bag of props and dragon puppet wishing the swinging motion as we paused in mid air would stop... But they were so nice there, I still enjoyed it!
In October, I worked with CineMagic
(Belfast) and the UK Film Council, devising workshops on cinematic storytelling for primary and secondary schools as part of their International Film and Television Festival for Young People. It was quite an unusual brief but thoroughly enjoyed. When you look more closely at films with a storyteller's eye, it is fascinating to observe how close the techniques are, whether as director, script-writer and teller. I worked specifically on Kenneth Branagh's "Frankenstein", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", and "How to Train your Dragon" - all brilliant films from a storytelling point of view.
Seven Deadly Sins appeared again, this time at Yard of Tales, a new storytelling club run by Kevin Walker at Market Harborough. The audience were so welcoming. Looks like I will be back there again this coming September with a new joint piece working with Kevin - working title "Hatched, Matched and Despatched" - look out for songs, stories and fun!
The rest of October was a whirl of schools and a flurry of bookings over half term / Halloween. I was back at Kedleston Hall (a National Trust property just down the road from me) - and enjoyed some lovely moments of storytelling by the huge fires roaring in the great Caesar's Hall - such a wonderful setting. I also appeared at the Chesterfield Festival of Light over 3 evenings, and once again did the increasingly popular late night Halloween storywalks in Allestree Park, Derby. We were quite a crowd and it always makes me smile to see everyone dressed up with their lanterns, trooping through the trees.
The highlight of the autumn was definitely my trip to Ireland in November. Two weeks headlining the "Stories from the Hearth" storytelling festival in County Wexford. It was a hectic fortnight - 3 schools a day on average for 2 weeks and a few care homes, a couple of adult storytelling evening events and leading a masterclass for a group of local storytellers and another workshop (set in a local iron age fort) for early years workers. I had never been to Ireland before, so this was a real treat, made all the more so by the warmth of the welcome. I met such lovely, kind people and I will always remember, the daily journeys to more rural schools, up and down hill, in the little library van with Jim, the driver, who had such an amazing knowledge of poetry, song and story that I was daily treated to a wonderful array of stories, song and recitations - before I had even got to my destination!
The run up to Christmas saw me back at
Kedleston Hall several weekends in a row, and then of course the snow hit us. I have never seen such deep snow and cold temperatures! I still managed to get to Kedleston though, battling my way through the snowy roads, to be treated to the most stunning views of snowy landscapes and a warm fire in the hall - the best way to share stories!
The new year brought a quiet spell for a couple of weeks, then there were various school bookings, a flying visit to Bristol to tell a couple of stories in their Storytelling Festival Marathon imbetween visiting family (and our new nephew, Oliver) in Devon.
Occasionally I do bits of work through the Nottingham Storytellers and so it was I did an evening of tales on my own at the Brewhouse Yard Museum for the Light Night Festival, then later a shared evening of "Macabre Tales" in West Bridgford. We are back together again at the end of May to do family stories in Wollaton Park (a regular gig now), and Pete Davis (who runs the group) and I are doing our show "Fireside Ghost Tales" at Erewash Museum tomorrow night (as I write), 21st May. We are also doing an hour of children's stories a bit earlier at 6pm.
World Book Week this year was the week beginning 28th February, and as for most storytellers, a full week. I found myself travelling from Derby to Nottinghamshire, to Oxford and then Cambridge, with schools ranging from local primaries to Headington School in Oxford - a private all girls school - where the welcome was particularly kind. They have a brilliant library - if only most schools could have such a resource - sadly many of the schools I visit seem to have lost theirs to ICT suites - so it was a delight to browse the shelves and talk to the staff and pupils about their favourite books.
I was at Cambridge to lead workshops and do a keynote speech for their Early Years "Every Child a Talker" Conference - 2 days of fascinating and lively discussions. I am passionate about the use of language and story to stimulate young minds - little ones just soak up so much at that age (and love it!) and it is an opportunity missed not to share stories and poetry with your child. My treasured moments are snuggled up reading or telling stories with our three boys. The eldest is 12 now, but he still INSISTS on a bedtime story - though by now we are onto more challenging fare - currently Anthony Horrowitz horror stories!
In March / April the weather turned spectacularly warm
- I was back at Kedleston for their two day Tree Festival, and again for the 4 days over Easter. Such gorgeous weather! Everyone was dressed in shorts and floaty summer dresses, picnic'ing in the grounds of the Hall or exploring the different activities. I was given a gazebo in the gardens and lead some storywalks through the grounds this time - gosh it is a hard life being a storyteller!
March also saw a shuffle round on the committee of Flying Donkeys (Derby's storytelling club), and I find myself now Chair.
The new committee is bursting with ideas and a drive to find new audiences, so we have some great events to look forward to. Already we have hosted a new evening of open mic spoken word - with 17 different performers stepping forward with song, story, poetry and music. It was a great success so we are hosting another one on June 8th, and in the meantime we are experimenting with new venues - the glamorous MultiFaith Centre at Derby Univeristy in July and - hot off the press - the Assembly Rooms at Derby Live for December. There are more plans afoot for another joint venture with my village's Live & Local group, after a sell out gig from Hugh Lupton & Rick Wilson in March with their "Beowulf".
May - ah - after a few weeks of frantic painting and decorating in our house imbetween work and family committments, we had the whole house re-carpeted. Now this is a big deal for us as we had been managing for far too long with no carpet at all in places! Then I was down in the Cotswolds, doing stories for a couple of schools in Gloucestershire and performing Seven Deadly Sins at the Chipping Campden Literature Festival.
It was a super venue - a beautiful old pub / restaurant just off the Campden high street, with candles and stone walls and - as I realised half way through the set - a glass panel set into the stone floor showing the grave-like original foundation to the pub - just as I was launching into the Thievish Sexton story (about a thieving grave-digger).
It was a different kind of audience for me but a lovely reception, and a performance that I felt particularly happy with. Not least though because my parents came to see me perform for the first time. They had come to see Beowulf earlier (and loved it) - this the first storytelling show they had ever seen; so imagine how nervous I was to have them come see my own efforts in action! We had a long chat about storytelling afterwards - always a good sign with my family!
Looking forward, there is Erewash Museum this weekend, and next weekend a busy time with gigs at Wollaton Park (with the Nottingham Storytellers), Caldmore Festival (nr Walsall) and "Deep within the Greenwood" at Stamford's Corn Exchange Theatre. This is a new family show I have been working on - based on stories from the forest. I have been busy with this for the last few weeks and looking forward to its first airing - an invitation to perform courtesy of the Riverside Festival team in Stamford (for whom I worked last year).
As summer approaches I have more work in schools lined up, a return booking from Notts Libraries and new bookings from Crich Tramway Museum, Derby Univeristy and Nottingham University. Derby Uni have asked me to lead more workshops for an Early Years Conference and Crich will be fun - I had a lovely day last week, checking out the site, exploring the woodland walks and munching delicious apple and fruit cake made by the events manager - wondering if I can pluck up the courage to ask for the recipe!
In late December we had some bad news - Merlin - our wonderful cat Merlin - got run over. He was such a gorgeous cat - and far too young - barely 18 months old - full of life, a great hunter who transformed into a purring paragon on your lap. He will be so missed. I read now that a third of cats die to road accidents. A shocking statistic - and male cats, even neutered, seem to be most vulnerable as they wander more. To be honest I couldn't bear it, and for several weeks after was determined to find a new companion - not to replace Merlin but maybe to breach the hole he left behind in our lives.
So in February we brought home Percy (short for Perseus). A handsome fellow if ever there was. He is a Maine Coon and the first such cat I have ever had - and a complete revelation! He is super intelligent, super gentle and such company! He is about 6 months old now and already huuuge! With his long ears, massive paws and long, bushy fox-like tail! He is always in the thick of family life, sprawled out on the kitchen floor watching us, or pushing his way onto my lap whether I am working at the pc or finally sat down for a mo.
He seems very empathetic too and loves being carried around or investigating visitors. He's rapidly being very spoilt - not with food but loving attention from all who visit!
With Merlin going as he did, and this being our third cat to die on the road, we have had many discussions as to whether to let Percy go outside. I have always firmly believed cats should have the freedom of the outdoors, but - well after much debate we have reluctantly decided to keep Percy and Sookie indoors. I couldn't forgive myself it if this happened again.
One final little nugget of news - remember our little cat Sookie? She is expecting her first litter of kittens next weekend! We found her a perfect mate - a pedigree ragdoll with a super gentle nature and very attractive "blue" (= grey) colouring. They had a rather romantic conjugal visit lasting a week - the breeder said they were very keen on each other! Which resulted in the current pregnancy. Sookie is looking rather full now, her belly wriggling with her growing brood (much to our boys' delight!). We have various birthing pods (aka cardboard boxes with blankets and paper) perched in different spots around the house, and wondering which one she will go for when the time comes...
We are very proud of our Sookie - she is a quiet soul, but very gentle, with - for a moggie - striking colouring. She is a silver grey tabby - but her tabby markings are more streaks and whirls of silver than the more typical stripes, and she has lots of spots on her belly. In fact the breeder who took her in to mate is convinced her markings are those of a silver Bengal. With Dad a blue ragdoll we were both agreed it was an excellent match and we are looking forward to some very pretty kittens. All being well I will post pictures of the new brood, when they arrive! (Do contact me if you are interested in a kitten - loving, caring homes will be required!)
Favourite feedback quote of the year!
"Thanks for accepting me as a Facebook friend. I purchased a couple of your story CD's for my youngest. She adores them and they are about worn out now, but they have been her favourite stories both at bedtime and when she needs a quiet moment.
" This young lady has now turned 12 and is busy writing her own stories as a "gifted and talented child" - that is partly due to your influence so I thank you for that. Keep up the good work and take advantage of every media to publicise your brilliant work!"
Carol Smith, CD customer, Jan 2011
One week to go - expectant mum Sookie chilling out on the sofa!