Janina Vigurs Storytelling

07/12/2025

Back telling festive woodland tales in the sparkling forest holiday park.

Today my work has included singing with reindeer, discussing what size ice-skates a goose would need and blowing raspberries with 50 children.

What a silly job.

06/12/2025

It was a late, dark finish for my first birthday party back after ankle surgery and three months off work.

Thankfully, lovely Walter and his 5yr old chums made the sun come out for his party and we had a grand ol' time.

Was I as jumpy-abouty as I normally am? No.
Did the kids notice or comment? No.
Did it stop us from having ridiculous fun? No.

Was I relieved to discover his lovely Mum is a doctor? YES!

Honestly, I'm so very lucky that the parents who book me in good faith are so very wonderful. I put hard work into making sure each party is a joy-filled rumpus.

Is that dewy, complexion actually a sweaty face. Also yes.

05/12/2025

Different job, less glitter, same soppy grin. You might not know that alongside being a storyteller, I'm also an RHS qualified gardener. I trained at Writtle College 13 years ago but have worked on Estates and private gardens for around 25 years.

I'm lucky enough to have been with my current main garden for 18 months now. It's been created with love over many years by a truly brilliant couple and I'm super proud to be helping them tend it.

Today was my first day back here after my accident, I managed 2 and a half hours of gentle weeding and hobbling to the compost heap.
That was enough.
I'll plod on with the catching up next week, there's Autumn's cutting back and weeding waiting for me. It's not going anywhere.

And because the universe works in peculiar ways, when I arrived for my interview for the position, I parked up and realised I knew the grounds already, the family had booked me to entertain their little ones for a garden party a few years before.

A deeply smiley synergy.

02/12/2025

If you're on mailing list you have a creepy treat sat in your inbox.

Details of the latest offering from ._.monger is happening on Friday 12th December.

Live storytelling of the unsettling variety to counteract the saccharin of the season. We promise you a deliciously odd evening and a chance to tell a tale alongside and myself.

Tickets are pay what you feel and available from the linky link in the bio.

01/12/2025

Follow host Janina Vigurs and featured storyteller Mark Fraser on a cautious wander through some odd, bizarre and unsettling tales for the long winter nights.

Friday 12th December 7.30pm J3

This will be a typical Wonder Monger night for lovers of rich storytelling. Experiencing unexpected twists and a generous dollop of humor, this night celebrates the uncomfortable and deliciously weird with our featured teller.

Mark Fraser is an itinerant storyteller, traversing the land with his original tales and weird stories. Join him for a selection of the odd, ghastly and vaguely unsettling tales from his own brain and around the world. A dark hour of devilish deeds and strange characters, just perfect for a dark winter’s evening. A writer, an artist and the master of the bizarre story, Mark brings twenty years of storytelling experience to Wonder Monger at Cambridge Junction.

As always, there’ll be an opportunity for the audience to get involved too with stories from the floor. Bring your tails of the odd and unsettling to share. Or just sit back and treat yourself to the luxury of listening.

Tickets here. Pay what you feel https://www.junction.co.uk/events/once-upon-an-oddity-deliciously-strange-tales-for-winter-nights/

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRsxi01Ck10/?igsh=dXRvNG9uanhzOXg5

02/11/2025

✨ Once Upon a Parent ✨
A storytelling workshop for parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, and anyone caring for little ones.

This Friday 10am - 2.30pm

Do you want to deepen your connection with your brilliant small person?

Do you want to make them feel special, valued and like the best kid in the world?

After 20 years of experience I'm running my first public storytelling workshop where I’ll share easy techniques to help you build confidence, spark creativity, and connect with your child through story — no books, just your voice and imagination.

🗣 Learn how to tell tales from memory
📚 Explore folk + fairytales as story scaffolds
🎲 Play games that unlock creativity
🧵 Weave stories into your everyday moments
🍪 Plus: leave with a story in your pocket + biscuits in your belly

Perfect for complete beginners — supportive, relaxed, a little bit magical and fairly ridiculous.

🗓 Friday 14th November
🕙 10am–2.30pm
📍 Near Saffron Walden
💷 £60
🎟 Limited spots — link is here
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/janinavigursstorytelling/1892220?fbclid=PAb21jcAN0DaZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABp7bLk2V_z7vsQc01tQb6M7gffWJqohzHuFUOiA7V2ZQmkb8-XFe8cWR-7sro_aem_PGtQgtzHdttKwRv-qKQsXQ

19/10/2025

Once Upon a Parent: A storytelling course for grown ups.

Join me for my first ever public storytelling workshop created for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and caregivers who are new to storytelling, with a focus on building confidence, learning simple techniques, and connecting with their children through story.

I've been storytelling, (that means using no books,) and telling the tales in my head for nearly 20 years. So many adults have listened with their small people and at the end have approached me saying...

"Oh that was so wonderful, you're brilliant. I could NEVER do that"

The thing is, they can.
YOU can.
Without a doubt.
I'll be sharing my secrets for the very first time.

I'll help you feel comfortable telling stories aloud from memory in a supportive, low pressure environment.

You'll learn simple storytelling structures, games and techniques.

We'll explore folk and fairytales as ready-made story frameworks that you can use and adapt.

I'll show you how to weave stories into your day.

Encourage your creativity and connection with your small person through storytelling.

You'll leave with a story in your pocket, links for further discovery and some excellent biscuits in your tummy.

This is happening on Friday 14th November, 10am-2.30pm near Saffron Walden and costs £60

Reserve your place here

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/janinavigursstorytelling/1892220?fbclid=PAb21jcANholBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABp429Vd0ds9aAARagL8G8EmGhhAB8jdZ97pSXlVtDz1HHOWZV1ePS0ZsV1maq_aem_jp0Cv_SJYpg47fUFr4eyOw

12/10/2025

I had a brilliant night listening to poetry and songs from John Hegley courtesy of .
While I'm not able to perform due to my VERY broken ankle, I can listen as I still have two ears that work perfectly.

I've loved John's poetry for a long time. His stoic delivery of the absurd and loving care of the ordinary speaks to my heart.

We worked together over 25 years ago on a production of the 1950s musical The Pajama Game at Birmingham Rep. I was part of the stage crew, building and shifting scenery and he was front and centre, singing, dancing and playing a man from America and not Luton.

We spoke about it and marvelled at what a ridiculously long time ago 1999 was. He was then, and remains now, a very good human.

What with my joy at discovering poetry on neurodiversity and delight at playing with words I fear, dear reader that I am being dragged into the riptide of prose.

I will never leave the mainstream of storytelling, but I am developing a tributary that's meandering across lush meadows. I bloody love words and I look forward to continuing to be irreverent, passionate, ridiculous and enthusiastic about many things in an additional medium.

Scroll to see an unsolicited photo of three people who collectively managed to get me out of the house for the first time in six weeks. And it wasn't to a hospital. I bloody love them too.

27/08/2025

I'll be at tomorrow evening squeezing the last drops of joy from the summer holidays.

Bring your kids down from 6-7pm, grab a drink from the bar, dinner from the food trucks, I'll fill them full of smiles and tire them out in the garden and you can have an hour off duty.

Sound good?
See you there!

26/08/2025

New fings brewing..TLDR workshops will be happening!

I was diagnosed with ADHD earlier this year and a rather lovely thing that it's brought to the table is permission.

Permission to be the slightly awkward but quite affable big silly that I've always been, but not entirely sure that I was allowed to be that.

I'm relaxing into the fact that my sparkling brain never rests, and I'm pushing myself in new directions to keep it happy.

Part of that will be workshops for parents and those who work with small people, which is hugely exciting.

Other things will be clown training for my performance development, some therapeutic nature-connection work with young people, and a writing and performance collaboration with a brilliant (and equally silly) artist.

All this alongside my already solid offer of storytelling for schools, community groups, at my Wonder Monger nights, parties, festivals, village fêtes and opening of donkey sanctuaries*.

Anyhow, here's a flipping brilliant and cute photo of my face by the flipping brilliant

*I've never told in a donkey sanctuary before but would LOVE to. Who can hook me up with a donkey person?

thought you guys would appreciate knowing.

24/07/2025

I'm running out of words to describe my feelings.

I genuinely don't know how and .lammy are sleeping at night.

Please, if you're not the sort of person to email your MP, maybe you could be today.

Link is in my bio

24/07/2025