Carl Merry - Talespinner

"To be born Welsh is to be born privileged. Not with a silver spoon in your mouth, but with music in your blood and poetry in your soul."

Welcome to my website. I am a storyteller based in Wickford, Essex. Stories are my passion. I welcome you to learn more about me and my work on this website.

Journey with me into the "otherworld" of the imagination where heroes and heroines; tricksters and fools come to life. Become immersed in a landscape, which is both familiar and strange as the old stories weave their magic.

Stories to excite, to comfort and intrigue are contained in my repertoire, tales that explain the world and help us understand others and ourselves.

"Stories told with humour, passion, wit and understanding."

Storytelling is for everyone. We all live in the story of our own lives and relish the stories we are told by others. Each day new experiences shape our lives and the way in which we view the world. The old storytellers knew this and shaped their tales to fit the needs of their community. Thus all learned from the wisdom contained in the stories. Listeners both young and old came together in an understanding of what it was to be part of a larger world and to appreciate many aspects of the human condition. Stories were told to entertain, educate, provide moral examples and to develop imagination, to take the listeners to “another place” so that they might better understand their own environment.

Storytelling has held an important place in education for as long as man could talk. Long before the establishment of schools and formal teaching the storyteller held a revered place within communities. It was from the stories that were told when they were young that children learned their first lessons. Whether it was from a grandparent, parent or tribal elder the stories of the people were passed from generation to generation. Later, with time these tales travelled, first from village to village, from city to city then across the globe from one country to the next, changing as they travelled. It is due to this movement of people and ideas that we can find versions of “Cinderella” across all continents and cultures, even in Native American tribes.

It is on this tradition that I base my visits to schools. Much of our sense of belonging to something other than ourselves and our immediate family has been lost in the march of “progress.” By using the old tales with young and old I hope to bring back some of the magic of these ancient tellers of tales. While I seek to entertain school audiences, I also use the stories to show the children how others have perceived the world they live in. By combinations of tales, mixing the funny with the thought provoking, the sad with the uplifting, I try to take audiences of any age on a journey they will remember and reflect upon.