Storyteller Linda goes into print during lockdown

Linda Hampton ran drama workshops for the St Annes-based Ormerod Trust – now part of One Fylde – for seven years and has also been involved in storywriting workshops run by Lytham-based Fable Arts in schools and at family festivals.

Last summer, she was commissioned by Blackpool-based arts organisation, Auntie Social, to develop a storytelling project especially for The Big Pier Day which took place on North Pier.

The theme was ‘1950s Seaside’ and Linda invented the character of Violet, wrote nostalgic stories for children about traditional seaside holidays and performed them at the end of the pier to groups of children and their families.

At the beginning of lockdown, she decided to go online with the project and while shielding at home in Marton since March, has been reading her tales live on social media twice a week.

They have gone down so well that she has now published some of them in a book.

Her Facebook ‘Storytime with Violet’ sessions, while aimed mainly at children, have been attracting attention and praise from all ages - with the older generation delighted that they provide a taste of nostalgia.

“There are many regular viewers who have no children in their household,” said Linda.

“My youngest viewer is three years old and two of my most loyal and regular followers are a couple in their 80s.

“They’ve told me that during lockdown they have really looked forward to the stories as a means of cheering them up during such difficult times.

“The stories all have magic and fantasy in them and anything can happen.

“They’re set in the 1950s in the days of traditional seaside holidays and they have a nostalgic quality about them – a trip down memory lane for those of us who remember those times.

”The book version contains eight of the original tales and is already selling well on Amazon and I’ve had some great feedback.

“I love writing and reading the stories and I’m delighted they have gone down so well.”

Linda reads her stories live on Facebook on Mondays and Fridays at 6pm and says that she has enough new stories to publish a second volume, which she plans to launch later this year.

Details of Linda’s book, entitled Wish You Were Here Seaside Stories, are at www.amazon.co.uk