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****This weekend is now sold out.

Please contact me to be put on the waiting list****

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Fabula Rosa is delighted to host Shonaleigh, the world-renowned tradition bearer and storyteller, for a Tellers, Tales, Tradition weekend in Ditchling, West Sussex. This unique, immersive weekend 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.

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When Adam and Eve are thrown out of paradise, they are each given a number of gifts. Among the gifts given to Eve is a bag of treasure – not treasure of gold, silver, or jewels, but treasure of a far more precious nature – five hundred and forty seven herbs, seeds, and plants that will cure all mortal ills. When Cain kills Abel, Eve cries to the heavens in anguish … ‘Give me daughters!’ Her wish is granted and she is blessed with three beautiful daughters, to whom she passes on her treasure. These women walk the world still. What happened to the gifts they received from Eve?

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Shonaleigh is a Druts’yla, and 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 experience this tradition through listening, requesting stories, and asking questions. 

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The weekend will take place in Bluebells cottage in Ditchling, in a garden full of wild herbs, a beautiful place to hear stories that celebrate the ancient connection between humanity, ecology and life itself. 

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The weekend is suitable for adults and 14+ only.  

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Tickets are £100 per person.  There are a limited number of volunteer places available to help out at the weekend in Ditchling, where you’d assist during the weekend with cooking, cleaning and organising, and pay a reduced fee. Get in contact to discuss.

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Book Now: 

     

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Timing

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Storytelling runs from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon.

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On Friday from 4pm - 6pm, we'll be offering a tour of the wild herbs and flowers of the garden, and a demonstration of nettle cordage, for anyone who'd like to be creating nettle threads while listening to the stories. 

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For the storytelling itself, join us on Friday evening from 6pm for a shared meal (please bring bits!) We'll start the storytelling at 7.30, and end around 9.30/10pm.

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On Saturday, arrive for 10am, we’ll have stories in the morning, there’ll be a pause for a soup / salad lunch, then some stories after lunch, then break sometime in the afternoon to take an optional stroll. Then there will be stories at 7.30pm and we’ll finish around 9.30/10pm. 

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On Sunday, arrive for 10am, we’ll have stories in the morning and we’ll finish after lunch around 2pm.

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Do I need to bring anything?

Mostly… bring your good ears and hearts to listen. Bring food to share on Friday night, and for Sunday lunch if you'd like to eat together. We'll provide soup and salad for Saturday lunchtime.   

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What is included in the ticket price:

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

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What is not included in the ticket price?

 

Accommodation is not included, however we are able to host a few bodies, so please get in touch if you are struggling to find a place to stay. 

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Dinners and Sunday lunch are not included.

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Any questions and for the full address and travel directions, please don't hesitate to get in touch. 

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