‘Afterlife’… on the roof

It was during our frantic search for another Heygate Estate location that I found the roof of the bakery. That was when we decided to do a late-night ‘tales from the afterlife’ on the roof. The roof would make such brilliant, lonely theatre for ancient myths, with the starry sky as our curtain. (In fact, … Read more

Supernatural Urban Forest zombie mix-up

The Heygate Estate is one of the most beautiful and atmospheric urban spaces I’ve been in, so I was thrilled to be able to arrange some spooky storytelling in the ‘Urban Forest’ growing among the concrete walkways and broken windows. Unlike most of my commissions, this was unpaid – it was just for my own … Read more

True stories in the dark on Hampstead Heath

“Five women, five true stories from their own lives, all told at night in the magical surroundings of Hampstead Heath Ladies’ Pond.” Well, it was a good idea – and though we were disappointed not to get permission to go inside the actual pond enclosure, we’d decided to pitch up just by the gate and … Read more

Getting wet at the Big Forest Picnic

It was sunny. It was also my husband’s birthday, so I decided to bring him and the kids along to this picnic event in Hainault Country Park being run by the World Wildlife Fund. The event started badly for us because our children were screaming and biting each other in the car. We also got … Read more

How To use smell in storytelling

Displayed below is an article I’ve written for Early Years Educator magazine that explains how I use props – including smelly things – in some of my favourite stories for children under 3 years old. I also talk about things that went wrong for me. I love hearing about other people’s mistakes, so I thought … Read more