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Reposted by Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller

Connection With Wonder @londondreamtime.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

banging bats in the belfry today- Storytelling Sunday at Loveshack #Hackney with @merlfluin.bsky.social Kamila Weilebska, Minnie Wilkinson, George Hoyle, Sola Story, Molly Kitson, Fran McKenzie & @dragonflytales.bsky.social plus an amazing audience!

A shot of George with his guitar at Loveshack. The space is eclectic and full of old vintage tvs and radios and fairy lights and skeletons

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

SOLD OUT—waiting list for returns. Tyrants, hide yourselves. #LiveStorytelling

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

When the dark gets darker, the stories burn brighter. Take hope and heart from TALES THAT TOPPLE TYRANTS, a storytelling show about bad kings and how to defy them Sat 31 Jan, 6.30pm Southampton Buddhist Centre, SO14 1NW www.tickettailor.com/events/merlf... Part of National Storytelling Week #NSW26

A cartoon fish wearing a cloak and crown, drawn in black against a yellow background.

A white woman dressed in red, pointing with one hand towards the camera, against a yellow fabric background.

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

Spotted on yesterday's walk. A Grimm tale in progress, apparently. But which one? #FolkTales #IsleOfWight

A headless wooden mannequin sitting on top of a pile of wood chips beside a fence in a a field.

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Reposted by Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller

Squid Horse Comics (he/him) @molluscdimension.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

🎄🐐🎉 For people who’ve left toxic family (or who want to!) Escapegoats Anonymous: No-Contact Affirming Zoom Christmas Party - sharing, silly games & prizes. Dress-up welcome but optional. 🎄🐐🎉 www.eventbrite.com/e/escapegoat... 🎄🐐🎉 #mentalhealth #survivors #alternativechristmas #mentalwellbeing

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Today's to-do list: registered my show for next year's Ventnor Fringe Festival #LiveStorytelling #IsleOfWight

An image of a humanoid figure with a moth's head, antennae and wings. Detail from Henry Fuseli's painting "Titania, Bottom and the Fairies" (1793–94).

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Reposted by Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller

Connection With Wonder @londondreamtime.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Wishing you more this Yuletide xxxx

LETS
HAVE
MORE
CURIOSITYW
MORE
CREATIVITY
MORE
WONDERI MORE
WEIRDNESS AND MORE STORYTELLING!

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Reposted by Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller

Arts Emergency @artsemergency.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

This year because of you, an amazing £6,000 has been raised through club nights, comedy nights, marathon runs, birthday fundraisers, artwork sales, and so many other creative acts of generosity! Thank you!! If you're interested in being a Community Fundraiser, get in touch 👉 www.arts-emergency.o...

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Reposted by Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller

Not In Our Name (NION) Women @nionwomen.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

💥 Seventy thousand women have now signed our letter. Seventy thousand women saying clearly that exclusion is not in our name and that trans people deserve dignity, safety and belonging. 🙏 Sign and share: notinourname.org.uk #NotInOurName #Love #Inclusion #WomenUnite

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

Current obsession: MacPhee’s Black Dog. A traditional Highland tale with rhizomatic roots in Scots fairy lore and Irish mythology. It’s a magnificent epic, but condensed into 15 minutes. And it’s started keeping me awake nights. I’m gonna tell it very soon. #LiveStorytelling #FolkTales #Folklore

A 17th-century Dutch illustration showing a creature with a dog's body and a bird's head.

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Tonight’s supermoon above my little hometown. Always remember there is beauty in the world. #IsleOfWight

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

Today's story research involves finding out all about mountain huts in the alpine areas of Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It is definitely VERY SERIOUS RESEARCH and not just looking at lovely photos and daydreaming, oh no. #LiveStorytelling

A photograph of a mountain range in Japan, with snow on the peaks in the background, and trees and a river in the foreground.

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Tomorrow I head off on solitary retreat for a week. Yes, in an actual hut. With no phone and no internet. But possibly with a beard by the time I'm done. I'll reply to any messages when I get back. Be good to each other, people, it's cold out there.

Twin sepia photos showing a bearded man outside a dilapidated wooden hut, surrounded by tall grass.

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Very sorry to say that tonight's Story Club is cancelled due to illness ☹️ Hope to see you at our December meeting instead – Thursday 11 December, 7pm at Sandown Library.

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Come and join the Island Storytellers for the Isle of Wight's monthly story club! A relaxed, friendly evening of traditional storytelling. Tell a tale yourself, or just sit and listen. All welcome. Thursday 20 November, 7–9pm, Yelf's Hotel, Ryde #LiveStorytelling #OralStorytelling #IsleOfWight

A lit hand-held sparkler against a dark background.

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

TONIGHT. If you’re lucky you might be able to scoop up a pair of ticket returns, but you’ll have to be quick! #IsleOfWight

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

Step in from the December cold and enjoy the fine tradition of ghost stories for the festive season. @hollyofthestories.bsky.social and I take you on a journey to the places where wraiths walk at night. More info and booking: www.ticketsource.co.uk/storytelling #IsleOfWight #LiveStorytelling

The Dead of Winter: Chilling Tales for the Festive Season

Tuesday 16 December
Better Days Cafe, Ventnor

Cafe opens at 6.30pm for hot food, drink and cake
Ghostly storytelling starts at 7.15pm

Recommended age 16+

Book now: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/storytelling

The image on the flier shows a painting of a Victorian parlour lit by an oil lamp, with a ghostly woman playing a piano in the foreground.

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Reposted by Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller

Paul Cowdell @paulcowdell.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

A last-minute cancellation means a couple of tickets have become available for this previously sold-out #storytelling gig by the two best tellers on #IoW. So if you tried to get a ticket and couldn't, you've got another chance! Highly recommended.

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Fancy something a bit different for Halloween? Join @hollyofthestories.bsky.social and me for an evening of tantalising terror at Babushka Books, #IsleOfWight. Very dark, very scary, and strictly for grown-ups. There's only a handful of tickets left, so grab yours while you can. Info in AltText.

THE DIABOLICAL AND THE DAMNED
Live storytelling for Halloween

A hunted woman flees barefoot through the forest. A black cat drives a man to madness. A princess undergoes a dark transformation. Demonic spirits lurk by a moonlit road . . . Just pray they don't follow you home.

Join storytellers Holly Medland and Merl Fluin for a night of spine-chilling tales in the atmospheric setting of Babushka Books, Shanklin, Isle of Wight.

Thursday 30 October, doors open 7pm for a 7:30pm start

Tickets £10 including snacks and drinks

Advance booking essential: phone 07511220038 or 01983 652880

Suitable for age 16+

Background image: a detail from the painting Hell (1485) by Hans Memling, showing a winged and horned devil dancing amid roaring flames.

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

#FolkTales, #FairyTales, #legends, true tales, funny tales... if #storytelling is your brew, join Island Storytellers Story Club, Thu 16 Oct, 11am, Newport Library, #IsleOfWight Tell a tale yourself, or just listen. Free entry. Broomstick optional Get our newsletter: mailchi.mp/781efa6dcff3...

Three witches in silhouette against a parchment background.

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

A person went to Wales. A person came back. Apparently both persons were me. But only apparently.

A green landscape with a hill under a blue sky.

A tree with a clock face carved into a stump on the trunk.

A cup standing on a shelf beside an apple with a face drawn on it.

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

Heading off on retreat tomorrow. Will be away for two weeks. No email, phone or internet while I'm away, so I'll catch up with any messages etc. afterwards. The good news is I'll definitely have the world all sussed when I get back.

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

Words from the heart, and exactly what I needed to read right now. If you're a #storyteller or other artist, you might want to read them too. Art in spite of hard times, art because of hard times. Thanks Laura.

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Reposted by Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller

Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

#FolkTales, #FairyTales, #legends, true tales, funny tales... if #storytelling is your cup of tea, join Island Storytellers Story Club, Thu 18 Sep, 7pm, Ventnor Library, #IsleOfWight Tell a tale of your own, or just sit and listen. Free entry Sign up for our newsletter: mailchi.mp/781efa6dcff3...

Tenniel's famous illustration of the Mad Hatter's Tea Party

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Be careful what you put up your nose. Especially if it’s dust from a box you’ve just been handed by a wizard. “The Stork Caliph” is a story I learned from a Gazan girl named Hala. I retold it for Tell A Child In Gaza’s Tale. More info, video and links in Alt Text. #FolkTales #OralStorytelling

Hala told "The Stork Caliph" at the World Storytelling Cafe via Zoom from her home in Gaza in 2020. It’s a wonderful story, and Hala told it brilliantly, adding her own details and embellishments to make it her own, as all great storytellers do.

I recorded a video of myself retelling Hala’s story for the Tell A Child In Gaza’s Tale project. The project was started by David Heathfield and Haneen Khaled Jadallah. It’s still ongoing. You can get involved by watching and sharing the videos – or even better, by retelling a Gazan child’s story yourself.

Watch Hala tell the story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHdvjjFykiA&list=PLj-mcWeMmSZw63V5abQ4fw3JIITI_S_kS&index=10

Watch a video of me retelling Hala’s story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj-eJVdgbAM&list=PLj-mcWeMmSZw63V5abQ4fw3JIITI_S_kS&index=13

Browse a full playlist of all the project videos here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj-mcWeMmSZw63V5abQ4fw3JIITI_S_kS

Find out more about the project here: https://www.hltmag.co.uk/feb24/tell-a-child-in-gazas-tale

(Picture shows a white woman wearing glasses and a headscarf, gesturing towards the camera)

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

Woke up this morning to the sound of angry wasps trapped inside a Morphy Richards hairdryer. Yes, it’s another August bank holiday weekend on the Isle of Wight.

A row of colourful motor scooters parked on a cobbled street. Public domain photo from Wikimedia Commons

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

Storytelling fun at Chale Show on Saturday. Photo and hat both courtesy of Sue Bailey. #LiveStorytelling #IsleOfWight

A white woman in red clothes and hat crouches in front of an audience of adults and children inside a marquee.

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

Hey, you! Stop your tyrannical ways! Last night I told Tales That Topple Tyrants to a lovely warmhearted audience at #vfringe25. Tales That Topple Tyrants will return in new formats and venues before too long. Watch this space! #livestorytelling #folktales Photo by @paulcowdell.bsky.social

A photo of a white woman with short hair and glasses, dressed in red, with one hand raised above her head and the other pointing at the camera.

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Reposted by Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller

Ed Finch @edfinch.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

Who's going to arrest him?

A packaged action figure wearing a keffiyah and with a placard reading 'Stop Genocide' labelled Palestinian Action Man

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

👑 Feeling gloomy about the world? You need TALES THAT TOPPLE TYRANTS – a storytelling show about bad kings and how to defy them 👑 Sun 27 July, 6.15pm The Bijou @ Fringe Village More info & tickets: bit.ly/4jrPjTl Proud to be part of Ventnor Fringe #vfringe25 #LiveStorytelling #IsleOfWight

A black and yellow show poster showing a fish dressed as a king, with the following info:
Tales That Topple Tyrants
Performance storyteller Merl Fluin weaves wonderful tales about bad kings and how to defy them
Sunday 27 July, 6.15–7.15pm
The Bijou @ Fringe Village, Ventnor Park
General admission £12, under-25s £10, Culture/ Unlimited Pass 2 for 1
Book now: 01983 716767 bit.ly/4jrPjTl

A white woman dressed in red, gesticulating on stage in a circus big top.

A poster showing colourful drawn images of two figures, one holding a microphone and the other playing a trumpet, against a pink background, with the following text: Ventnor Fringe, 18th-27th July 2025

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

Had a delightful afternoon yesterday, joining a fab line-up for #LiveStorytelling as part of the Waterloo Festival. Tales of changelings and roses, cabbages and kings, gods and fools – and a lovely audience too Photos courtesy of @paulcowdell.bsky.social and event host @londondreamtime.bsky.social

A white woman dressed in red, standing beneath a tree, speaking into a head mic.

A group of women seated beneath a tree and smiling into the camera.

A mixed audience seated beneath some trees.

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

Today! Come and join us for some Secret Garden Storytelling, a late afternoon treat for story-loving grownups. Bring a picnic, bring a sun hat, bring your friends, bring your heart 🌞🌳💚

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

Step into the heart of Sherwood Forest with the legendary hero who stole from the rich, gave to the poor, and always had a trick up his sleeve! THE DARING ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD Wed 23 July, 7pm Ventnor Library, #IsleOfWight Book now: bit.ly/3SbmmPw #vfringe25 #FolkTales #LiveStorytelling

An archer shooting an arrow in the air, in black silhouette against an orange background.

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Do you love a good story? Do you fancy trying something new? Treat yourself to some #LiveStorytelling at the Island Storytellers' Story Club. Bring a tale of your own to share, or just sit and listen. Free entry. Thursday 17 July, 11 am – 1 pm Lord Louis Library, Newport, #IsleOfWight PO30 1LL

A person wearing a carnival mask with wide eyes, shaggy hair and beared in tones of brown and russet.

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

This Saturday I'm making a wild dash up to London for some Secret Garden Storytelling! Bring a picnic, relax in the lovely garden, and enjoy a fab line-up hosted by @londondreamtime.bsky.social. Find out more and grab your free tix: connectionwithwonder.com/events/secre... #LiveStorytelling

A photo of colourful wildflowers, with a sunflower at the centre.

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

Well, what a lovely evening that was! Telling tales “Under The Tree” with the Island Storytellers crew in Northwood Park yesterday, as part of the #IsleOfWight Biosphere Festival. Charming setting, charming audience, lots of fun. #IWBiosphere #LiveStorytelling #FolkTales

A white woman standing under a large tree in front of a seated audience, holding a microphone, one hand outstretched.

A side view of a white woman standing under a tree with a microphone in her hand.

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Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

Home sweet home. Tell me you don't envy me living in this little fun-palace of a town and I won't believe you.

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Reposted by Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller

The Hands up Project @handsupproject.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

🚨 HUP Summer Courses 2025 Are Here! 🚨 Join us for a summer of creativity, connection & learning! 📢 To apply: Palestinian & international students must send a 1-minute video saying who they are & why they want to join. 🎥 Send your video to: info@handsupproject.org

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Reposted by Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller

Merl Fluin | Performance Storyteller @merlfluin.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

Looking forward to telling some tall tree tales and leafy lies at the #IsleofWight Biosphere Festival! Join the Island Storytellers for an evening of #LiveStorytelling under the magnificent trees of Northwood House, Cowes. Tickets £5 Book now: www.ticketsource.co.uk/theislandsto... #iwbiosphere

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