Have you heard about our story trail in Cromers Wood, Sittingbourne? If you’d like to know more, please get in touch – we’d love to create a story trail for you!
Author: Ribs Norman
Introducing the Cromers Wood Story Trail
We’ve been working behind the scenes with the Kent Wildlife Trust to create a fantastic story trail for Cromers Wood, near Sittingbourne in Kent.
We first visited this coppice wood back in 2018, on a cold winter’s day, to meet up with project officer, Martin Keelor. Thankfully he and his team had a fire going and supplied us with tea and hot dogs to keep us toasty as we explored the forest. Martin shared his vast knowledge of Cromers Wood and the various plants and animals within while we took photos and got our bearings.
Some months passed while we got our brains thinking about possible storylines. While we cogitated we brought illustrator Megan Metcalf on board, taking her to the woods to get a feel for the place. Eventually the seeds of the stories started to germinate and Michele and Ribs got to work. Michele did the lion’s share, writing five of the six stories – well, her business cards do say Chief Storyteller, so it was to be expected.
Sadly the planned launch wasn’t able to go ahead, thanks to the Covid-19 restrictions, but the carved wooden information boards have now been installed in Cromers Wood, so if you live nearby you can take the trail. And for those of you further afield, you can listen to and read the stories online on the Kent Wildlife Trust website. We hope you enjoy them!
Folkestone StoryMap Competition Open for Entries
o excited to launch the Folkestone StoryMap competition today! We’re looking for short stories from 500 to 2,000 words to be recorded by actors and accessed via QR codes throughout the town’s Coastal Park.
Entry is free and open to people of all ages living in the town or district, or with a strong link to the town. We’ll be holding a Zoom workshop soon if you want to find out more. We’ll announce details of that through our newsletter and on our social media profiles.
Stories need to be set in the town – and preferably the Coastal Park itself – but can be set in any period of time – past, present and future.
Before the Covid-19 lockdown, we visited lots of schools and held workshops with Folkestone Museum. All the museum’s wonderful collections are available online – visit them here to find some inspiration for your story.
You have plenty of time to write your story – the deadline is July 15, 2020. Because of the Covid-19 lockdown effect, we’re unsure when we’ll be able to announce the winners, record the stories and award cash prizes but we’re hoping it will be sometime in the autumn.
Submit your entry here. Please read the Terms and Conditions below before you submit.
Terms and Conditions
- Closing date for receipt of all entries is at midday on July 15.
- Stories must be between 500 to 2,000 words excluding the title.
- The competition is free to enter and is open to anyone of any age who has a strong connection to the district. This includes anyone who lives in Folkestone and Hythe district, or who used to live in the district, or whose family are from the district, or who works in the district, or regularly used to/currently holidays in the district.
- Entries are online only.
- All entries should be in English.
- Online entries should be submitted via the online entry page of the website: https://forms.gle/x9Rzihi33n513dYw5. All online entries will be acknowledged by an automated email. Online entries should be in a PDF and should be no larger than 10MB. We also accept audio files though please accompany it with a PDF document.
- Please format documents in 12 point Arial and double space with page numbers and the word count and title of the story at the top of each page.
- If you are over 18: Entries will be read and judged anonymously; entrants’ names and contact details should only appear on the entry form and not anywhere on their stories/manuscripts. The stories/manuscripts must be free of all personal information about the author.
- If you are under 18: Please put your name on the first page under the title.
- We’re looking for original stories peppered with lots of humour. Your story can be of any genre but strictly no obscene or violent content. It can be set in any period of time and must be set in Folkestone and mention the Coastal Park.
- Also consider your audience. The Coastal Park attracts thousands of families with young children. So though you don’t need to write your story for children, please think about use of language and suitability of content, as well as how well your story lends itself to being performed/read out by an actor.
- You can enter no more than two stories.
- Entries must be entirely the work of the entrant and must never have been previously published, in print or online, or broadcast or won a prize in another writing competition. Any entry found to have been plagiarised will be disqualified.
- If your entry has been long-listed or short-listed in other competitions, and provided it has not won a prize or been published, then it is eligible for Folkestone StoryMap.
- Simultaneous submissions are welcome but please let us know if a story is to be published elsewhere or has won a prize in another writing competition as this will preclude you from winning prizes in the Folkestone StoryMap competition.
- All entries will be read by a carefully selected group of experienced readers who will select at least seven winning stories. The judges’ decision is final and no individual correspondence will be entered into.
- We will award each of the winners a cash prize, amount TBC.
- Authors will retain copyright on their work.
Folkestone to become the first StoryMap town in the UK
Geo-caching for story lovers is coming to town! Hand of Doom Productions (that’s us!) is preparing to launch the UK’s first ever StoryMap in Folkestone.
The initial six short stories, written by residents or people with a strong connection to the town, will be recorded by actors and then accessed at various points within Folkestone via QR codes and smartphones.
The StoryMap, launching summer 2020, ties in with the Folkestone Triennial theme of Plot.
Supported by Folkestone Town Council and Folkestone and Hythe District Council and its councillors, the project aims to encourage residents of all ages and backgrounds to write and tell stories inspired by its landscape and heritage through workshops.
Writers will be paid a set fee and Hand of Doom Productions, a storytelling and theatre community interest company, hopes that the StoryMap will eventually spread across the town, as well as further along the coast, incorporating oral history too.
Michele Brailsford, of Hand of Doom, who came up with the idea for the StoryMap, said: “Folkestone’s beautiful landscape and amazing history naturally lend themselves to storytelling. The Coastal Park is an ideal location to start because it’s so well used and so well loved by residents and tourists.
“We’re particularly keen to encourage people from all backgrounds and ages to come along to the workshops because unfortunately there are so many barriers to writing opportunities, which are often seen as elitist. This is such a shame because as children, we’re all natural storytellers and everyone loves a great story in whatever format.”
The StoryMap aims to encourage residents to try their hand at storytelling, boost writing confidence, enjoy the mental health benefits of storytelling, get families out and about in the fresh air and boost tourism.
If you’d like to be added to our mailing list to receive updates about the project, please click here.
Did you know that, in 1930, Faversham WON the Roller Hockey World Cup?
Always wanted to try your hand at Theatre?
We’re entering a show into this year’s Faversham Fringe that tells this amazing story of local heroes winning against the odds.
The theme and inspiration for the production will be The Skate Boys of Faversham Town by Geoff Sandiford which tells the story of how, in 1930, a team of five men, all of whom were from Faversham, won the Roller Hockey Nations Cup – equivalent to the modern World Cup.
No qualifications or experience required, just enthusiasm!
Performance dates will be 24, 26, 28 August 2019 at the Arden Theatre, Faversham. This is an amateur production and all over 18s are warmly invited to get involved.
To express your interest, please email us.
Edinburgh Fringe Preview May 11th
Join comedians Maddie Campion and Aaron Simmonds as they preview their Edinburgh Fringe shows on May 11th in the Arden Theatre, Faversham. Tickets £7.50 each.
MADDIE CAMPION: TRULY MADDIE DEEPLY
Hot gossip about a ghost, Mississippi and the paper clip from Microsoft word. Directed by Thom Tuck. See this VAULT Festival sell-out-show before it heads to Gilded Balloon at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Maddie Campion is a Made in Kent comedy competition runner up, and was shortlisted for the BBC New Comedy Award 2018, “Very inventive and dry writer” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Funny Women. Her 2018 Edinburgh Fringe show was developed through Soho Theatres Edinburgh Lab and received coverage from The List and The Times.
AARON SIMMONDS: DISABLED COCONUT
“A comedian going places” *
Join the 2017 BBC New Comedy Award finalist and wheelchair enthusiast as he tells you about how his first paid gig led to him performing on BBC2 a year later, and what happens when you are being trolled online for not being disabled enough. Aaron is far better at stand-up than standing up and his unique perspective on life – usually of people’s belly buttons – gives him a distinctive edge in his performances as well as a sore neck.
*Places with wheelchair access.
Jewish Comedian Of The Year 2017
“A class act” – Chortle
Details and tickets here:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/handofdoomproductions
Introducing “Make a Scene!”
Always wanted to write a play? Then you might be interested to hear that we have secured funding for a community writing project to give Faversham the chance to ‘Make a Scene!’.
With the support of an experienced playwright and director, you will have the opportunity to develop a short scene for performance at Faversham Fringe in August 2019.
The theme and inspiration for the scenes will be The Skate Boys of Faversham Town by Geoff Sandiford which tells the story of how in 1930 a team of five men, all of whom were from Faversham, won the Roller Hockey Nations Cup – equivalent to the modern World Cup.
No qualifications or experience required, just enthusiasm!
The course fee is £50 with concessions available to those in receipt of benefits. Course places are strictly limited, so don’t delay.
To book your place, please fill out the application form. If you have any questions, please email us.
Radio Play: A Great Idea by Les Clarke
Our final radio play from last year’s recording session in Faversham is A Great Idea by Les Clarke. Thanks again to Robert “Woody” Burgess who recorded and produced all the plays for us.
Cast: Paul Doust as Dan; Ian Riches as Gerry.
That’s the last of our radio plays for now, but we enjoyed recording them so much we’ll be doing some more this Spring. Keep an eye on this website for a call-out for scripts.
Radio Play: Safe Word by Ribs Norman
Our penultimate radio play from last year’s recording session in Faversham is Safe Word by Ribs Norman. Thanks again to Robert “Woody” Burgess who recorded and produced all the plays for us.
Cast: Anthony Hall as Ulrich; Jude Sach as Soph; and Ribs Norman as Lucy.
We’ll share our final radio play from this session next Monday.
Radio Play: Mrs Shipley’s Spinning Wheel by Michele Sheldon
As promised, here’s the second of our four radio plays which we recorded last year in Faversham. Thanks again to Robert “Woody” Burgess who recorded and produced all the plays for us.
As promised, here’s the second of our four radio plays which we recorded last year in Faversham. Thanks again to Robert “Woody” Burgess who recorded and produced all the plays for us.
Mrs Shipley’s Spinning Wheel was originally a short story written by Michele Sheldon and was adapted into a radio play by the author. Susan Anderson played Daughter and Nicola Carter played Mother.
Stay tuned for play number three next week!