In the Spring of 2014, I spotted a post on Facebook by ALBA an organisation for Storytelling for Healing. They were hosting a week long symposium for Storytelling for Healing, "Tree of Life" in the Summer, in Karjaa, in the South of Finland. It's the town where my husband grew up, so we had visited many times.
I looked at the details - it was all in English - I recognised the names and faces of some of the workshop leaders and, although this was an area of storytelling unfamiliar to me - or maybe BECAUSE it was so unfamiliar - I liked the look of it - but it wasn't really affordable to me.
Then I met Maria Serrano, known as Maria Storytelling, when she came to the story cafe. She mentioned that I should consider going to the symposium and I told her that my finances were strapped. "Well", she said, "if you join ALBA before our AGM, we will be having a prize draw for all our members and the prize is free attendance to the symposium - you would only need to pay for your accommodation."
"How much is membership?"
"Only €20"
How could I resist? I joined ALBA
I couldn't go the AGM as it clashed with a 2 day workshop with Claire Hewitt, visiting from Scotland. Also at the workshop was Anna-Maria Toivonen, a folk singer turned storyteller, who had worked with Claire at the Medieval market - bilingual stories.
After the workshop, and a catchup in the pub, the three of us walked home along the river. They went off to the shop and I headed on. I had just left them when my phone rang. It was Maria Serrano
"How did the AGM go?"
"you won!"
"what??"
"Congratulations, you won the prize draw, see you at the Tree of Life!"
I was on my own, I was grinning, I must have looked like a complete lunatic! I couldn't decide whether to run back to the shop and squeal with the girls like a teenager or what to do, so I just stopped where I was. It turned out I was at a bus stop and a bus pulled in... so I got on and went home.
I secured funding from the Finnish-British Society for my accommodation and off I went....
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