Tonight on this full March sap moon, Orkney Islands storyteller Tom Muir has a blether with an old pal, well-known storyteller and harpist Heather Yule. This episode is a deep dive into the Scottish oral tradition, which Tom calls "a free class in great storytelling".You'll hear this and more: • How Heather ended up in Scotland from Chicago, and was raised deeply immersed in traditional storytelling • Scottish caleighs as early training for storytelling • How Heather met some legendary Scottish Traveller storytellers as a child • Tom's memories of Traveller folk in Orkney, and the specter of racism • Influences of different cultures on folk tales • Travellers' stories and Jack Tales • Anecdotes about the great Shetland storyteller, Lawrence Tulloch • A PhD on Jack Tales from Appalachia • Heather Yule tells a spooky Stanley Robertson story! • "Burker stories", relating to the horrible days of Burke and Hare, and the dangers to Travellers in particular • Press gangs, and the relationship to "disappearance" stories • Stanley Robertson - storyteller, seer, fortune teller, and how Tom's "fortune" worked out; and second sight • Christianity and how it was woven together with the ancient Scottish/Celtic traditions • The most haunted and evil house in Shetland - the true story of the sadistic laird • Telling other people's stories as a way of continuing the connection and honoring the memory of the teller • Hearing the voice of the storytellers no longer with us - "Kist o' Riches" online • The anglicizing of Scottish place names by incomers and map-makers, and re-learning the original meanings • Harps, harp-makers; playing the harp while telling a story • The beginnings of The International Scottish Storytelling centre, The Netherbow and the storytelling festival • Bursary for young storyteller: Meeting with Lawrence Tulloch and shadowing David Campbell • Heather pays a beautiful piece of harp music in the manner of the old tradition • Working with children and stories • Heather tells a Lawrence Tulloch Shetland story with a harp • Bouncing stories off other storytellers, like being around the kitchen tableLinks to mentioned:A Jack story: Silly Jack and the Princess - find it near the bottom of this page, under tales especially for the bairns. https://www.orkneyology.com/tales-from-tom.htmlHeather's website/TRACS https://tracscotland.org/storytellers/heather-yule/Heather's commission art: https://www.heatheryulepapertales.co.uk/paperdesignsStory Harvest ~ revered Scottish storyteller David Campbell's book of traditional stories and tips for telling stories: https://www.orkneyology.com/David-Campbell-Orkneyology-Press.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.