History tales... in a phone box
Alyth’s Story Box launch success
A new community-led oral history archive has been launched in east Perthshire.
There was a good turnout in Alyth’s Market Square to see the opening of the Story Box, which contains more than 100 stories, songs and poems about the town’s present, past and future.
And those behind the innovative project hope that it will help to revitalise the town after the devastating flooding of July 2015.
Housed in an iconic red telephone box, the archive tells remarkable stories of the people of Alyth from pre-history, through to the present day and beyond.
They include tales of the Picts from pre-history and the monks of Alyth’s fifth century church, stories of the past lives of the farmers of the Strathmore valley and of the people, industry and shops of this historic market town.
The stories also paint an audio portrait of the present day and how the remarkable community spirit of this town helped it survive the devastating flash flood of July 2015.
And the future of Alyth is told through imagined stories and songs written by the young people of the town and recorded during digital and sound technology workshops run by the project in Alyth Primary School and Alyth Youth Partnership.
Project designer, producer and Alyth resident Marian Bruce, said: “After three years of planning we are Dorothy Lothian and Kamryn Burdass (5)
thrilled to be launching our timetravel phone box in Alyth.
“The project has really caught the imagination of the town. We have already collected more than 100 stories, songs and poems about the past through to the future of Alyth and the project will continue to gather more stories over the next 18 months of the project.”
She added: “It is great to see it open and up and running and it was fantastic to have the children from the school come along to the official launch. Children at the launch of the Story Box
“The Story Box is about them and their involvement meant that the whole community then became involved in the project and the songs they have come up with are just fantastic.”
The box, which contains contributions from 186 children, 10 young people from Alyth Youth Partnership and 35 adults, was opened by Dorothy Lothian, the oldest contributor to the archive, and five-year-old Kamryn Burdass, the youngest contributor.
A former teacher at Alyth High School, Dorothy recounts tales of her rural childhood during World War II, and said that she was “honoured” to have been asked to open the Story Box.
The de-commissioned telephone box was bought by Alyth Community Council, which then set the challenge to the people of Alyth to find a use for it.
Chair of the community council, Amanda Blakeman, said: “The Story Box is a real asset for the town which will give a boost to the community after the long recovery we have endured since the devastating flood of July 2015.”
The Story Box is one of three projects launching Cateran’s Common Wealth, a new initiative in eastern Perthshire which is using one of Scotland’s hidden gems, the Cateran Trail, as a stage for a programme of diverse arts, cultural and heritage activities and events aimed at inspiring people to think about and celebrate the area’s ‘common wealth’.