Once upon a time, in the Welsh market town of Brecon, a storyteller came to bestow her magic upon a lucky few….
Once a month my family get a very special, and as it turns out usually, quite personal treat, when storyteller Marion Oughton comes to The Hours Café and Bookshop in our hometown of Brecon.
Marion gives a wonderfully individual touch to traditional tales from around the World. Her hour of stories and songs keeps my boys entranced as they happily munch on one of The Hours’ delicious teacakes. “This is the life” sighs my eldest son contentedly, “Cakes and stories from Marion, it doesn’t get much better does it Mummy?”
My little ones have always loved going to a storytime – something a little different from stories with Mummy and Daddy at home. Generally they involve the reading of favourite children’s picture books; they can be fun and sometimes, if you’re very lucky, you’ll even get a biscuit, but they’re usually too childish now for our seven year old and too busy for our autistic six year old. Marion however, appeals to all ages and easily entices even the most reluctant of children to join in - and she’s always willing to add in the occasional ninja or Jedi if her audience call for it. Her wonderful character and exuberance mean that babies of just a few months old and their parents as captivated as the children they’ve tagged along with.
Unfortunately, this fantastic - and amazingly, free – monthly treat is not very well attended, despite being nicely timed for children to come to after school. The cynical part of me suspects that the children are too busy rushing home to their televisions and Playstations to stop for something as old-fashioned as a story, but I truly hope this isn’t the case. If you’re passing do drop in; the art of the storyteller is a fading skill and one that deserves recognition - it can only be preserved by participation and support.
Marion brings her talent to The Hours in Brecon on the first Thursday of each month at 4pm.
More information about Marion Oughton can be found at:
http://storyteller-marion.blogspot.com/
Follow The Hours on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/TheHoursBrecon
Once a month my family get a very special, and as it turns out usually, quite personal treat, when storyteller Marion Oughton comes to The Hours Café and Bookshop in our hometown of Brecon.
Marion gives a wonderfully individual touch to traditional tales from around the World. Her hour of stories and songs keeps my boys entranced as they happily munch on one of The Hours’ delicious teacakes. “This is the life” sighs my eldest son contentedly, “Cakes and stories from Marion, it doesn’t get much better does it Mummy?”
My little ones have always loved going to a storytime – something a little different from stories with Mummy and Daddy at home. Generally they involve the reading of favourite children’s picture books; they can be fun and sometimes, if you’re very lucky, you’ll even get a biscuit, but they’re usually too childish now for our seven year old and too busy for our autistic six year old. Marion however, appeals to all ages and easily entices even the most reluctant of children to join in - and she’s always willing to add in the occasional ninja or Jedi if her audience call for it. Her wonderful character and exuberance mean that babies of just a few months old and their parents as captivated as the children they’ve tagged along with.
Unfortunately, this fantastic - and amazingly, free – monthly treat is not very well attended, despite being nicely timed for children to come to after school. The cynical part of me suspects that the children are too busy rushing home to their televisions and Playstations to stop for something as old-fashioned as a story, but I truly hope this isn’t the case. If you’re passing do drop in; the art of the storyteller is a fading skill and one that deserves recognition - it can only be preserved by participation and support.
Marion brings her talent to The Hours in Brecon on the first Thursday of each month at 4pm.
More information about Marion Oughton can be found at:
http://storyteller-marion.blogspot.com/
Follow The Hours on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/TheHoursBrecon
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