Project Resources

Story Cards

Storyteller Beccy Dye, introduced the ensemble to the idea of using Story Cards as an exciting story-making tool. With the help of visual artist, Lucie Maycock, the ensemble devised their very own set of story cards which you can download on this page. Print at ‘actual size’ (A6), cut them out and stick onto card to make your own set, and start making your own stories.

You can use these story-cards however you’d like.  Perhaps one of the images might lead you to develop a character, and from there a whole story.  Or you might be inspired to research one of the places more, uncovering local myths and legends.

If you’d like to create a simple and quick story, select 2-3 characters cards, 2-3 place cards and at least one item card.  Now use these cards to create your own story.  Every card should be important to the story.  You can add more details, more characters and more places, but the cards will provide you with the main ingredients.

And, most importantly of all, have fun with it!

Download the Story Cards

Story Cards

Audio Recordings

Three audio recordings were made during the project, listen to them here…

Stories created at Tapton Lock Festival

Here are three stories created by members of the public in a workshop led by our ensemble using their illustrated story cards to help create new stories. Don’t forget to download the story cards so you can create your own stories too!

A handwritten story on a card with a colourful border featuring all the logos from the project.

Once upon a time there was a fish and chip shop in Chesterfield that was called Chesters. It was the BEST! People came from far and wide to eat the chips and tasty fish, the queues were always so long, but it was worth the wait. One day there was a power cut and the chef couldn’t heat the oil. To make things worse by special appointment, King Teddy was visiting, ‘today of all days’ said the chef. All was not lost however, the chef had a secret, an old dragon friend. He called him up and asked him to blow flames to heat the oil to boiling point, hot enough to fry the potatoes and fish. The dragon saved the day and the King Teddy arrived to a fabulously delicious meal.

A handwritten story on a card with a colourful border featuring all the logos from the project.

Joshua was reading a book hugging his favourite teddybear, he was 5 pages in when there was a whiz pop and a bang and out of the book crawled a grey lady. She was very scared and she wondered why she was grey. She’d lost all her colour she cried so Joshua handed her his teddybear. The teddy bear lost its colour as well. But as the grey lady’s tears hit the bear its colour came back. Joshua had an idea, he got a pot and collected the grey lady’s tears, he ran downstairs and boiled them in his cooking pot, he made a lovely drink of tear tea. The grey lady drank it and slowly all her colour came back. Joshua took the book and burnt it on the fire under the cooking pot. Everyone lived happily ever after.

A handwritten story on a card with a colourful border featuring all the logos from the project.

Once upon a time there was a sad little girl who so wanted to leave her haunted house and go and live in the castle on the hill! One day the farmer’s cow broke free from his pasture – he had a secret to tell the girl – she was really a princess who belonged in the castle. He took her to the castle, up into the crooked spire to survey all that was hers. In the next story I will tell you how she came to be in the haunted house!!