Confluence

Storytelling

Michael Dacre

Working with the National Trust in the winter of 1999, we invited storyteller Michael Dacre to come to Stourhead Gardens in Wiltshire to tell tales, local stories (real as well as tall), offering insights into watery creation myths and offering a long story of his own around the water cycle. Michael held a mixed-age audience enrapt, during the afternoon in the candle-lit Gothic Watch Cottage, with a variety of stories and some of the classical myths that underpinned Henry Hoare's original vision of Stourhead's gardens. He also told of how old Tom Stour revealed the processes of the water cycle, and a Native American creation myth of how Raven brought water to the world.

Later in 1999, Michael completed a summer week walking the Stour, researching tales, myths, legends and anecdotes about the Stour. Confluence worked with the Dorset Countryside Stour Valley Project to connect with Michael as he arrived in Sturminster Newton. On the evening of September 3rd in 1999 lots of people joined a walk along the riverbank from Sturminster Mill towards Colber Bridge, in which Michael told stories, some new, collected on the journey.

After walking the length of the valley, Michael had extended the range of his repertoire. He visited four schools between 8 ­ 14 May and joined the celebrations on Hambledon Hill for English Nature's national day for Nature Reserves.

Books on the Riverbank

Confluence joined with the Libraries service of Dorset County Council to present an evening of readings, food and music at Christchurch library on June 20th, 2001.

DCC's reader in residence Nell Leyshon made a varied and fascinating selection from literature concerned with rivers and waters, which were read by mellow-voiced actor Alasdair Danson. Confluence's chamber trio Watershed provided the music.