Janina Vigurs Storytelling

03/09/2024

My brilliant girl is now able to go to school again, but it was a truly horrific time when she couldn't.

We're not in that boat anymore, but if you are, please, please know that I see you.

Things never stay the same for ever.
Please, please know that you are seen.

This week is not simple or easy for many families..

26/08/2024

Shout out to creative parents. The summer holidays have been glorious this year, but my head is buzzing.

I have SUCH a busy brain, full to the very top with ideas for projects, things I want to research, stuff I want to build, but I struggle with transitions and so often my time needs to be poured into parenting and steering our family ship that I don't get the opportunity to follow them. I am also REALLY easily distracted. This isn't helpful.

The summer holidays this year have been so very different to last, my daughter and I have done so much more stuff, taking full opportunity now she's not in autistic burnout.

The time's come now that we both would quite like school to start again, for her so that she doesn't have the agony of the first day back looming over her for another week and a half (the return anxiety is very real.) And for me, so that I can have some headspace to quiet down the noise and get my ducks in a row.

Until then.

Quack.

PS. Please enjoy the incredible rainbows my bathroom window makes at 5pm.

19/08/2024

When a mate is going through a shi**y time, I can highly recommend an unbirthday party.

I helped run a full-on party for our brilliant mate today. We're talking balloons, cake, giant whack-a-mole, pass the parcel, buckaroo, dressing up and a story where we were all stuffed with food.

I've not cackled so hard in a long time.
It was brilliant.
I'll add that not a single one of us was below the age of 45.
(Though our inner 5yr olds came out to play)

I came home with a medal for excellent storytelling which made me silly-happy, then noticed that the sun through the bathroom window made the laundry look celestial.

Today was a good day 😊

Let me know if you know someone who needs an unbirthday.

07/08/2024

*The shortest distance between two people is a story.*
Children of many different racial backgrounds told stories with me at Mapledean Family Hub in Bucks today.

It. Was. Gorgeous.

None of them knew each other, yet they played, shared stories of food, made paper crafts, planted seeds, laughed, watched theatre and coloured together.

It was beautiful.

And profound that this happened today on the eve of the nation-wide, planned race hate riots.

I'm furious and heartbroken that the far right are trying to tear our communities apart when they contain such vibrancy, wisdom, humour, compassion and genuine humanity.

If you feel unsafe in the face of these vile attacks, I hope you have a place where you are protected, and people around you who are good-hearted.

Please also know that you and your wonderful children are always, always welcome on my story rug.

Hate has no place here.

30/07/2024

I'm in Buckinghamshire tomorrow at Elmhurst Family Centre as part of the summer tour.
Get your tummies ready for a mega story about fooooood!!

We would like to invite residents of Elmhurst, Aylesbury to this event.
https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/campaign/whizzfizz-2024/

12/07/2024

My daughter has been at her Autism Special School for nearly a year now.

To say that she has blossomed doesn't do her growth justice.

She won the school award for resilience.
She is flying.
Soaring.
And everyone is seeing it.

Our battle to get her here has been excruciating, but we did it.

Today we celebrated the school's 10th birthday with a summer fayre.

I took giant bubbles and my beautiful tent, not to tell stories in, but to use as a calm space for anyone who wanted 5 mins out.

My daughter sold bookmarks she and her classmates had made, chatted with her friends and laughed when the Head got pelted with wet sponges.
This time last year she barely left the house.
I'm so ridiculously grateful for the very ordinary things she's now able to do.

Autistic people are disabled by their environment and the people surrounding them, not by their brains.

Our battle to get her here has been excruciating, but we did it, we did it sweetheart.

Look at you go.
I can't wait to see what's next for you.
I love you endlessly.

Mummy xx

09/06/2024

Today's 10 years since the world lost panglobal phenomenon* Rik Mayall and I bloody miss him.

Rik was an enormous influence on my storytelling style.
I adore his delight in making his beautiful face so grotesque. His joy in how delicious words can be. His pure revelry in tales and character. From Kevin Turvey to Alan Bastard. Urrrrgggh. He was, is, just too good.

As a kid, I adored his Grim Tales, where he told lesser-known stories gathered by The Grimm Brothers while nestled in a living chair on chicken legs, wrapped in a dressing gown. Later, he told George's Marvellous Medicine for Jackanory with the same glee. Chewing up and spitting out each syllable with delight. Please treat yourself to these on YouTube.

How fitting it was to discover that his last recording for TV was telling a story on Crackanory called The Weatherman for Dave. During an interview after recording, he was asked "What makes a good story?" He replied "A great storyteller."

I'll drink to that.

*his words to describe himself. Naturally.

02/06/2024

The joy of catching a story and telling it together!
I get asked quite often, what story I'm going to be telling..
the genuine answer is that I very rarely know.

I have a gaggle of tales that follow me around, but I usually don't know which one's going to shove it's way to the front until I open my mouth.

Thankfully it's usually the right one for the small folk I have eagerly waiting. If it's not, we re-work it until it's perfect for us.

Frankly, it's a terrifying way to work and have a really ought to know better by now, but the stories are in control and they know far better than I do.

Photo by

18/05/2024

I'm really excited to share my shiny new promo reel, shot and edited by Forecast Designs (Dan is an actual wizard)

This is me and what I do; silly stories for small people.
Ridiculous faces, chicken impressions, zero hecks and maximum wonder all included as standard.

I tell tales with children, not to them.
We create worlds together and the magic just flows.

This happens anywhere and everywhere.
Here it happened at Tea at lil Maggies & The secret Barn in Newark, but stories can, and have, happened in a Shetland Pony stable, on the lawn for Cambridge University and at Glastonbury since 2012.

Let me know if you need wonder and joy at your event.

01/05/2024

Way, way, waaaay back I told big stories to small people in a shetland pony stable and I made the adults stand outside.

It was for a family garden party in 2010 and I was just starting out. I was presented with this space, although it was full of wood shavings, spiders and a rather pi**ed off pony.

Pony removed, I set about mucking out, sweeping up and making lovely. I don't know about you, but I think I did a flipping lovely job. I still stand by the mantra that there's nothing that can't be made better by a bit o' bunting.

Today I'm used to performing in far more refined settings; major cultural festivals, museums and national heritage attractions. The thing is, 16 years later, I still expect to have to shovel wee-musted straw out the way before I start making magic.

This ingrained thought pattern makes any small gesture of hospitality such as complimentary drinks, or even lunch and somewhere to get changed, all the sweeter.

Funny, innit?

20/04/2024

This is going to be super-big-smile fun
(and free!)
If you're near Newark, please come and join me, Penny Farthing's Hoop School and This Bean Spins for some spring silliness.

FREE CIRCUS FUN DAY in North Muskham near Newark. Tea at lil Maggies & The secret Barn
Join 3 amazing creatives for a day of family fun!
Janina Vigurs Storytelling This Bean Spins
Sunday 12th May
11am-2.30pm

17/04/2024

I have three clocks in my storytelling hut.
None of them work.
It doesn't matter.
I like that.

31/03/2024

28/03/2024

Festival season is warming up.
It'll soon be here.
Can you feel it waking up??

Here are some shots of me storytelling (taken by my brilliant girl) at

I need to give props, literally to this chair too. It's the most resilient thing ever crafted. It creaks and groans under the weight of many bad jokes, dramatic turns and plump parts, yet never fails any of us fable-mongers.
Check out how beautifully colour-cordinated I am with it too.

Pleasing.

10/03/2024

I'm really flipping lucky.
My Mum's ace and she's taught me to not do what I'm told, to be loud and how to not really get caught.
To shout about injustice, and not care about being thought a fool.
To be tell the truth and have no truck with liars.
How to sew, grow, stitch and hem,
to reuse, to make do, again and again.
How to wash your face when life gets mucky.
Yeah. Mum. Val.
I'm really bloody lucky.

04/03/2024

Do you have a kiddo?
Want to give them an excellent birthday?

Cake, presents, venue, guest list...You've got a lot to think about.

Give yourself one less thing to stress about by getting your entertainer booked in ASAP.

There are stacks of venues and cake makers available, but only one me!

Drop me a message to book your party date and take one step closer to inner peace, kinda.

21/05/2023

It's with an incredibly heavy heart that I am letting you know I am pausing storytelling and party bookings to support my family through stormy waters.

I will be performing at Glastonbury with Christine Willison, John Row and the rest of my story family in Green Futures and the Kidz Field. It will be the usual standard of riotous joy and I am so incredibly happy to be returning again.

With love and bright smiles,
Janina.

31/12/2022

A story from me to you for New Year, via and Allan Watts.
2022 has been up and down.
2023 will be what it will be.
I'm grateful for it all.
I'm grateful for you.
I'm grateful.

09/11/2022

Children stop the removal of their play space.

Tower Hamlets contractors tried with exceptionally short notice, to remove this pop up play space under the cover of darkness.

This was installed during lockdown and has been used heavily by children ever since.

They saw what was happening and came out of their houses to put themselves between the contractors and the planters that keep their playground safe from traffic.

Kids, you are powerful and you deserve the right to play. I absolutely stand with you.

Children in pyjamas and wellies stave off a second council attempt to remove a "pop-up playground".

08/09/2022

No words really.
An astounding life.
The stuff of fairytales.

08/09/2022

I've long loved Mark Grist's poetry and this is a belter. If you're a teacher and anxious about dealing with poetry he has some great resources on his website www.markgrist.com

(No affiliation, I just think he's great)

06/09/2022

Honestly cannot believe it's September already. Who authorised that?!

A few weeks ago I was blown away to be asked to perform at the opening of Our Place in Space, a mulit-arts celebration of the magnitude of the cosmos and our role within it, curated by the wondrous

It's a little known fact that I am an undercover nerd, with more than a passing passion for physics. So a chance to dust off some gorgeous sun, moon and star stories to help small folk wrap their heads round the enormity of everything was an opportunity I grabbed with both hands.

The most excellent (who assured me they were Actual Space People) did a grand job of hosting our stage in a befittingly ridiculous manner.

Deep thanks to for bringing this glorious, cosmic circus to Cambridge and to Mr. Jeffers who's books have their own shelf in my heart library.

24/08/2022

*EDIT* Given the thunder and lightning, we're looking at indoor space options!

Today I'll be sharing woodland stories at

Come and chill with us in our secret meadow. There'll be hula hoops and giant bubble play after too, all for £5!

Wholesome family loveliness for your summer holidays.

Tickets available for 10am and 12pm here
https://scotsdalegardencentre.co.uk/summer-storytelling-woodland-wishes.html

10/08/2022

Tomorrow I'll be sharing stories about food (my favourite sort of story!) at

Come and chill with us in our secret meadow. There'll be hula hoops and giant bubble play after too, all for £5!

Sessions at 10am, 11am and 12pm for 45mins.

Wholesome family loveliness for your summer holidays.
Or here if you're on Facebook https://scotsdalegardencentre.co.uk/summer-storytelling-magical-food.html

27/07/2022

I'm going to be telling stories and playing in a secret meadow that nobody knows about.

But I do, and I think small people are going to LOVE it!.

Come and join us at Scottsdales Garden Centre tomorrow, sessions at 10am, 11am and 12pm

Link for tickets here
https://scotsdalegardencentre.co.uk/summer-storytelling-animal-tales.html

21/07/2022

I'm really excited to let you know I'm running three outdoor storytelling events at Scottsdales Garden Centre this summer.

Filled with themed stories and activities suitable for 3-8yr olds, we're kicking off on Thursday 28th July with some very silly animal tales.

Thursday 11th August we'll be food-focused and
Thursday 25th August is all a bit magical and woodlandy.

Get booked up for some wholesomeness and I'll see you there!

Click on the link HERE

"Summer Storytelling – Animal Tales" https://scotsdalegardencentre.co.uk/summer-storytelling-animal-tales.html

11/07/2022

This is beyond heartbreaking.

The trauma he must still be carrying is incomprehensible to most of us.

This is why it's vital we listen to people's stories so we can understand, learn and grow.

Just because we don't see trafficking happening, doesn't mean it isn't..

We need to listen.

The Olympic star says the name Mohamed Farah was given to him by a stranger who flew him to the UK.

03/07/2022

From the glorious riot of Glastonbury to the refined fanciness of Christ's College Cambridge, this has been quite the week!

Kids are kids the world over though, and the combination of stories, dressing up, animal noises, giant bubbles and general ridiculousness seems to hit the spot no matter where you're playing.

I was asked to bring my carnival of chaos to Christ's College Alumini Family Day where past graduates return to catch up with reconnect.

I was asked this while I was away at Glastonbury. Unsure of how much longer I'd have mobile coverage, I decided to reply to the call there and then, while making my way past twiddly folk on the Avalon Stage and a man singing about lobsters in the Theatre and Circus field.

The contrast was really odd. I did my very best to sound professional and it seems to have worked!

Thanks to the brilliant staff at the college who helped me porter my gear in and out of the garden and were generally delightful at every turn.

25/06/2022

Glastonbury photo rummage!
Part 1

25/06/2022

Thoughts on very small people and their capabilities.