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This is a feature of my work that is becoming more and more important. From Library Theatres to secure units.

There is my work with Persula, Museum work, rural touring schemes and a whole stable of artists ready to work with me.

Persula is the busiest aspect and perhaps the most rewarding. I have just completed my third tour for them and may well be doing another October or November. I am also lined up for a Christmas special.

That will be James Christie and me. We have lots of material from previous tours that is specially for the festive season and are currently writing more for the year. We may well be doing a week for Persula, but there will be spaces in the diary if you are interested.

Generally the Persula work is wonderful. I tour many different venues with a musician to accompany my stories and poems. Workshops in prisons and safe centres, children’s groups and special needs schools, performances in mini theatres, Viking sagas in libraries, popping up unexpectedly in various parts of the room in community groups for the visually impaired. We primarily work with visually impaired people on the storytelling tours and so do the other tellers around the country. If you ever have any suggestions of groups that might benefit do let me know.

The museum work bounces off the work for the Jorvik Festival and for streets Alive and goes from there. Enquires are now coming in from all over. Harrogate was a lovely visit earlier this year. That was Egyptian drama which mixed with the launch of their exhibition at the pump rooms. I await further commissions and challenges from them with great anticipation.

All of the storytelling and performance material is also just crying out for a bit of rural touring scheming. Small theatres and community centres and church halls and…..

Stable-wise I have worked with multi-instrumentalists, percussionists and singers. Most recently I have worked with Dan Webster and with David Moss. I have also been chatting with two separated young women who play flute or clarinet (One was through the streets alive festival - she was a fairy - and the other through the Folk Club in York).

Dan and I have just toured for Persula to great effect. He is lovely to be around and brings a relaxed friendly atmosphere to the room. He mainly played inspirational guitar to accompany my poems but he also brought in a few songs. Mainly his own material that blended in with poems and stories as a seamless meld: Such as his lifeboat rescue song about his grandfather which fits well with a very moving poem of mine. He specialised in personal experience and has a lovely voice and guitar skill. He did have a car accident however - No that he was hurt, he reckoned to be all shook up but he is all right now!! So I had to cal on David Moss as a last minute stand in.

I have worked with David in the past in performance spaces such as my two year residency. So I knew it would be good. A very sensitive performer who adds drama and effect wonderfully. You should also hear his over tone chanting. He is just stood there with his mouth open and out come three different sounds simultaneously, a deep sound and a mellow tune and a sound like a flute! He brought with him a basuki (like a guitar crossed with a mandolin), a fiddle and an Indian Harmonium. Wonderful.

He of course was the lead in the band Banoffi who toured extensively. He now is performing solo in resonant buildings such as churches. So if you have a suitable building for an echoy set then do get in touch. I am hoping someone will book us as a double act with a set from me first. Either story or Viking saga (My own unique style) or a mixture of both with accompaniment from David followed by his music and song sessions.

As well as always being keen to hear from groups in need of story I expect this article will also draw in enquires from artist.