Where have we lived? Where have we rested? Where have we dreamed? The No. 1 Be-friending Agency’s Heritage Project, ‘Every Life is a Story’, continued on Monday the 3 rd of October with a reminiscing session led by Trinidad from the Village Storytelling Centre, shining a light on living spaces and sleeping areas.

Kelpies are typically portrayed in Scottish folklore as monsters who transform into horses or humans for the sole purpose of tricking and eating people who live on land. Trinidad told the story of a kelpie who — contrary to popular perception — truly loved a human and wanted the best for her. She loved him too, enough to leave her warm bed behind land and live with him underwater. Seeing how blue the cold of his cave made his lover, the kelpie hired another human to build them a fireplace in the cave to keep her warm.

Trinidad’s telling highlighted the ability of oral storytelling to connect people, bring vibrant life to a story, and keep it there. This tale fascinates her because it explores the question about the kelpies that she’s most curious about — where do they live? When considering heritage, living places are important stories. Attendees recorded the place they had rested in that they liked best through drawing, writing, and afterward, oral storytelling. These places of rest ranged from physical places — tents in fields and childhood homes — to the feeling of rest that could be found with other people.

For the kelpie, his lover, and for many of us at the event, home seems to be a feeling that you make. The deliberate documentation of time and places that make us feel good was a definite mood lifter and the intergenerational connections of sharing how we live and rest not only preserved this heritage but brought people together at the moment too.

This week our Blog was written by our volunteer Charlie!

If you are interested in writing a Blog please get in touch with your volunteer coordinator or contact info@befriend.org.uk.