A Fife village that made an impression on celebrated novelist Jules Verne is hosting an event that lets local people share their stories.
OnFife, through the Dunfermline Wellbeing Through Heritage project, is bringing the five-day storytelling event to Oakley, which the great French writer visited in 1859.
The initiative invites residents to celebrate the people, places and events that make their village worth writing about – just as Jules Verne did 165 years ago.
Oakley’s industrial past, as a centre of iron manufacturing and coal mining, is one of many themes that workshop participants will be encouraged to explore. Other possible topics include shops, schools, sports and gala days.
Storyteller Luke Winter and his eye-catching blue Story Wagon, along with talented digital storyteller Taylor McInroy, will be in town from 22 to 26 April.
Their informal drop-in sessions, being held at the campus for Inzievar and Holy Name Primary Schools, are also open to people from neighbouring towns and villages.
Verne, the Journey to the Centre of the Earth author, who stayed at Inzievar House during a Scottish tour, later described the industrial landscape he had seen from the castle tower.
Verne, who also created Around the World in Eighty Days, wrote of Inzievar House: “The façade of the castle produced a charming impression, with its quaint asymmetry, its irregular roofs, its gothic gables and turrets.”
Anyone who is interested can get in touch with library staff to find out more or keep an eye on the Fife Libraries Facebook page.
“The sessions will be fun,” says OnFife Digital Engagement Co-ordinator Christine Cook: “You don’t have to be a budding Jules Verne – just willing to come along and get involved.”
“It’s all about drawing out stories and experiences – past and present – that give a real flavour of the people who make up this part of Fife.”
Organisers are also keen to hear more recent stories – among them, anecdotes that illustrate how the community responded to the challenges of the pandemic.
“We can’t wait to hear, watch and read the stories of the people in this vibrant community,” says Christine “It promises to be a great week of shared experiences.”
The eye-catching Story Wagon. (Picture: Ruth Armstrong)
