History – in its purest form, is simply the story of what came before us. Storytelling is an art form, defined by the National Storytelling Network in the USA as “the interactive art of using words and actions to reveal the elements and images of a story while encouraging the listener’s imagination.”
Like many nations, Scotland has a tradition of oral and written story telling – you need only look to the reverence afforded one of their best – Robert Burns to know the truth in that. Indeed Scotland celebrates its strong tradition of story telling with its own Storytelling Center located on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. The center celebrates Scotland’s culture year round and is a hub for the annual Scottish International Storytelling Festival. On its website the Center notes…”Humans are hardwired to love stories”… and if that is true, then the future is bright indeed for two young ladies in Inverness who are exploring Scotland’s rich history and sharing their findings, often with a touch of comedic entertainment, in a relatively new podcast called Stories of Scotland.
Jenny Johnstone is a cartographer working in forestry, qualified in environmental science. Annie Gilfillan is an archivist currently doing a PhD at the University of the Highlands and Islands in Highland folk memory and culture. With Jenny originally from the lowlands and Annie from the Highlands, their view of Scottish history is like a fine tartan, woven with both a warp and a weft, though either of the pair is likely to wander off the straight and narrow at a moment’s notice, taking their listeners on a zig zag journey before reaching their destination. Or as the famous song goes – one may take the low road and the other the high, but at least we all end up in Scotland together.
And it’s not just age old history from dusty books left too long upon the shelf that the two share on the podcast. Two recent episodes featured Jenny and Annie having a chat with Annie’s gran and papa – each recounting the days of their youth, living through world war two in rural Scotland, coming of age in the 1950s and more. I was listening on a drive across Texas as I headed home to see family for Christmas and suddenly I was awash in my own youthful memories of my parental grandparents who helped to raise me as a wee bairn. A smile fixed itself on my face and I laughed out loud when Annie’s papa, having been asked by Annie to introduce himself replied, as only a Scot would, “you already know me.”
Jenny and Annie say they like to find stories of old, and in retelling them, often with new and unique perspectives, find relevance in the stories to today’s life. One episode at a time they also are trying to do their bit to preserve the art of oral story telling.
I first met Jenny and Annie last summer while visiting Scotland. I reached out to them after having heard their first couple of episodes and they agreed to meet me for a coffee in Inverness where the two now reside and record their show. Their warm welcome left me thinking I’d found two wonderful new friends and as our time together was far too short I jumped at a chance to chat again- albeit this time via long distance.
Jenny, Annie, and myself meeting for coffee in Inverness, September 2019.
Their story is an interesting one, having met at a small comedy club in Inverness. Jenny, already a podcast fan was seeking a partner for just that purpose and decided a comedy club would be a great place to meet someone with the personality and “talkativeness” to be a suitable co-host. Annie too was doing comedy and the stars aligned - or as Jenny put it, “angels were singing..”
”Stories of Scotland” is still less than a year in production but already the pair have produced episodes on subjects as varied as Scotland’s bothy culture, Loch Ness and Nessie, Theatre in Victorian Inverness, Witchcraft and Witch Hunters, the Winter Solstice, Scotland’s incessant rain, and more. You can find the podcast at the link below.
We all agree that the image of Scotland is often overly romanticized with the stereotypical images of men in kilts, bagpipes, castles, and tartan. It is far more than that, but it is often the romantic image that first draws people to Scotland where Jenny says they then learn that it’s “better.” . Annie is quick to note however that Scotland’s history is one of great hardship and struggles to over come hardship. It’s a place she says that reminds you “everything gets better, and you can still laugh when it’s raining.”
•Stories of Scotland (podcast website)
•Scottish Storytelling Centre (website)
•Scottish International Storytelling Festival (website)
•National Storytelling Network /USA (website)