Taliesin's Tales - Mr Hodgetts' Story Time Inspiration

Stories are important. We see them all around us in books, films, games and news headlines. People enjoy stories. Some people would say that humans need stories. They help us to escape into different worlds; they stimulate the imagination and satisfy that urge we all have to be creative and explore new dimensions and experiences.

Taliesin - the 6th-century Welsh bard

Before writing was invented, people told stories. Professional storytellers continued to earn their living long after writing appeared in the 3rd millennium BC. In Europe, the bard was a storyteller. He might travel from place to place with his stories and songs, or perhaps be employed at the court of a king. Taliesin was (according to legend) a Welsh bard at the court of King Arthur in the 6th century AD. Perhaps the first story to be written down in the UK was the epic poem Beowulf, which exists as a single manuscript in the British Library, dating to some time between 700 - 1000 AD. It is written in an Anglo-Saxon dialect and was, we are told, one of Tolkien’s favourite stories. It involves heroes, long journeys, fighting, magic, monsters & love. In fact, most of what you’ll find in its modern equivalent, Game of Thrones!

On the boys’ homepage you will discover Taliesin’s Tales. This is where you can find a number of stories being read aloud by TSH. At the end of a busy school day, you might resent the fact that you are tired, the sun has set, it’s dark and there doesn’t seem much to do. Well, instead of going back to another computer game, why not listen to a story and allow your mind to delve into new realms? You can listen while lying in bed - or while drawing, sorting out your fishing flies, cleaning your bike, painting your Warhammer figures or cooking your supper. 

Taliesin’s Tales offers you three options at the moment. You can listen to The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe, the first of C.S.Lewis’ famous Narnia chronicles. Or perhaps one of the adventures of the Arabian Nights is more to your liking? These are ancient tales from eastern lands. Or if neither of these tempt you, go for potluck and dip into Taliesin’s cauldron, where you will see some of Anthony Buckeridge’s Jennings stories, English legends and other snippets from some wonderful pieces of fiction not written by more familiar names like Dahl, Horowitz, Kinney and Riordan. New recordings will appear every day. Taliesin’s Tales is intended to help you relax, but I hope it will also stimulate and encourage you to try reading books for yourselves.

Stories help keep me sane. I find them in the Bible, and I find them in Shakespeare, Dickens, Lewis, Tolkien, Milne, Carroll, Verne, etc etc. I read lots but know that listening is often an easier option at the end of the day. Give it a try, who knows where Taliesin’s Tales might take you.

https://sites.google.com/cothill.net/cothillstorytime/home

TSH