Seanchas

05/04/2026

Càisg shona dhuibh uile!//
Happy Easter to you all!

A few pics of the Seanchas cottage.... I've had a lot of work done/help on it. I'll be working part-time over the Spring and Summer while going over to get the place more ready....

Watch this space! X

Alis Ballance

07/11/2025

On Dartmoor! At Haytor Rock. In awe….What a place!

Heading to a weekend storytelling retreat run by the legendary Martin Shaw.

Doing this has been a dream of mine for some years now. Martin Shaw has been an inspiration to me. His work always looks kinda wild, well over the city walls, and for sure brought through from the Otherworld. The magical side of storytelling fascinates me and Martin Shaw's work seems to have a decent shimmer of this.

Our own Highlands and Islands tradition is very much of this ilk, in the way of all indigenous cultures. And maybe with this journey down South I am tuning in to the English side of my blood-line. While I have a Grandmother and Grandfather from the Isle of Skye, and a Grandmother from the Isle of Lewis, my other Grandfather was from England. From Yorkshire, mind, not from Devon. The Highland Archive Centre have been helping me make the family-tree of my blood-family. More of this soon....

For now I'm off on retreat on the Moor....

Alis Ballance

05/11/2025

Ceilidh House//Taigh-Cèilidh!

Having had builders, a digger-man, a stone mason and an electrician visit Seanchas at Grotaig, we've decided to start by using the cottage first from the new year, as it is in a decent state. The barn is going to take longer - maybe even a year - to turn into a heritage barn as it is needs a replacement tin roof, some stone-work etc, and there will be some ‘red tape’.

So, we're going to start by running some Cèilidh Houses from the new year. As you'll know, the Taigh-Cèilidh was a big part of folks' lives in the Highlands and Islands until relatively recently. Folk in the community would visit a house that was known for good storytelling, songs and a tune. In those days folk would be sitting getting on with their tasks from rope-making to sewing and even to spinning, with it not being un-heard of that someone would take their spinning-wheel along to the ceilidh house!

This is very much a part of what Seanchas is seeking to keep alive. We'll see if anyone brings their spinning-wheel?? (It would probably take up most of the living room in the cottage at Grotaig, but still??).

The Ceilidh House offerings will be based on what we were offering at Belladrum over the last few years in what had been my adoptive parents' house. However, now these will be taking place in this beautiful cruck-beamed cottage with original fireplace, very near where we live. They will be small gatherings, especially for now, but everything Seanchas does is small. The tickets will be purchased via donation so as to be inclusive for all, so folk pay what - or if - they can. Everyone is welcome, all ages. Car-share will be encouraged as will use of public transport and we will provide a pick-up service from the nearest bus-stop in Drumnadrochit.

Friends of Seanchas will be able to stay over in the cottage after a Ceilidh House. There is the main room, a double bedroom, a loft sleeping space (with original cruck beams :)), a kitchen and a shower-room. For now these stays can again be by donation. Later I will need to charge for the accommodation as I want to be able to offer a fee to storytellers that I would be inviting to perform with me, plus this is my livelihood.

I'd also like to offer the cottage on an ongoing basis to traditional storytellers from all over who are friends of Seanchas who'd like a retreat, and this definitely by donation not payment. Just message me on Facebook.

This is a really heart-felt project. We sold the large house I inherited from my adoptive parents at Belladrum to buy this traditional cottage and barn which are incredibly rare now, and to restore them and work here in this beautiful place in the ancient forest beside Dùn Sgriben Hill-Fort. We're on a very small budget so restoration will be the minimum required, but this will have the benefit that we can keep the place looking like it was meant to do, with exposed stone and beams.

Then we want to share it with folk from near and far.

There is some stuff I need to do and get done in the cottage, like updating electricity, treating woodworm in the beams, replacing some flooring, decorating and furnishing etc, but I'm thinking to aim at offering the first wee Cèilidh House for Là Nan Gobag//Eve ofSt Bride's on 31st January.

Alis Ballance

04/11/2025

This was 3 years ago, it seems, as popped up in my Memories Alis Ballance.... X

3 years ago
See your memories
Alis Ballance

01/11/2025

I'll be there at one of these!
Dùn Sgriben! Grotaig! Magical!
It's such a magical place for stories and feels like there have been lots of storytellers there in the past and should be again!
Well, and the Pottery for cakes....
Sounds fab Caoimhe Keohane Really looking forward to it x

Stories of the Clay ~ a winter mythology and nature connection walk.

Come along for a winter woodland walk above Loch Ness ~ a guided exploration of Highland ecology, mythology, and heritage.

We’ll wander the beautiful ancient woodland trails beneath the Iron Age hillfort of Dun Scriben, with views toward the lovely Mealfuarvonie, discussing the interconnectedness of mythology and ecology. Along the way, we’ll encounter native plant species through their Gaelic plant names.

We will finish the walk at the cosy Loch Ness Clay Works Pottery & Cafe ~ for hot drinks and cake by the woodstove.
(Included in the ticket price)

Led by Caoimhe Keohane of Wild Anam, this is a reflective and immersive experience for adults with an interest in natural history, folklore, and cultural ecology.

Sunday 7th of December
📍 Above Loch Ness, near Dun Scriben
🌿 Booking & details: in comments below, or check out my website Wild Anam.

https://www.simpletix.com/e/stories-of-the-clay-tickets-243660?fbclid=IwdGRjcANvV-9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHq9Czvgi73IGOV06Dsa93NJEy6iwS70An5QXC-aBItHe0TPFE52DbJJRullP_aem_C5Km_VxDZO1UvOmjUznhFQ

29/10/2025

Ùr-thòiseachadh/New beginning!

Uill, bha sinn air ar laithean-saora ann an Àrnasdal agus chuala mi naidheachd aig Theatre Gu Leòr gun robh an iarrtas agam airson “Aiteal” soirbheachail. ’S e deireadh sheachdain do sgrìobhadairean a th’ann an Aiteal. Tha an cothrom seo fosgailte do sgrìobhadairean aig diofar ìrean. Tha sruth don fheadhainn a tha a’ tighinn gu dràma airson a’ chiad uair. ‘S e cothrom cho math s a ghabhas! Tha Theatre Gu Leòr na prìomh chompanaidh tèatar na Gàidhlig agus bidh mi ag obair air sgrìobhadh sa Ghàidhlig. Bidh Aiteal a’ ruith bho Diardaoin 27mh den t-Samhain gu Diluain 1d den Dùbhlachd ann an Cromba. Bidh bùithtean-obrach ann, agus bidh mi ag obair air pròiseact sgrìobhaidh dràma ann an àrainneachd taiceil. Abair cothrom??

So attending this Gaelic drama-writing retreat in Cromarty will super-stretch and improve my Gaelic which is not yet fluent. This process started with submitting the application in Gaelic. Aiteal will let me step back into theatre work but with a new angle and allow me to explore a couple of wee pieces I have started writing in Gaelic. This opportunity should in turn help to take me further towards my goal of storytelling in Gaelic. I will need a lot of fluency for that as it takes a lot of flexibility and thinking on your feet. It’s much easier for me to learn and perform a Gaelic song which is shorter and which stays (essentially) the same each time.

I can’t really describe how excited I am feeling about this wonderful opportunity of a long weekend with the phenomenal Theatre Gu Leòr. It feels like it’s a very special new beginning, too, almost a year after my adoptive mum died. I’ve taken pretty much a year out since she died – I’ve done a few storytellings but just a few – and even took a year out of my Gaelic studies at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig (will be re-starting these in January). It seemed significant that I heard the news from Theatre Gu Leòr while we were in Glenelg, which was my adoptive mum’s favourite place – she was the doctor there in the sixties – many a story she had to tell of being Gavin Maxwell’s doctor – and I was feeling a strong sense of énding’. So, being offered a new beginning was very special.... Seanchas will also have a new beginning soon. For everything there is a time....

Alis Ballance

21/09/2025

Well, here we are around the end of harvest/Deireadh Buana, and we discovered that the old threshing machine in the barn at Grotaig still works! Our Snoopy was very interested in it! It seems to have been built in 1881! Thanks to Gordon Beckley for the wee film clip.

Thanks also to my lovely friend Fhionna Moore for celebrating the Deireadh Buana today by re-creating the ancient seasonal ritual dance, Cailleach an Dùdain/The Old Woman of the Mill Dust, with me in the barn at Grotaig.

The Spirit of the Barn seemed pleased with this hint of what is to follow....

Alis Ballance

20/09/2025

Well, we've got the Seanchas sign up on the gate at Grotaig :)
Alis Ballance

02/09/2025

Wanting to thank you for all the lovely birthday wishes and to share our news about Grotaig! Here I am with the keys to the door, the day before my birthday. It's all taken a long time, but, here we are, and we're delighted!

You can just see the barn in the background, to the left. It's a treasure trove - I'll post more soon about some of the finds! The house too is perfectly preserved with original fireplaces and cruck beams. It feels right to seek to share the old stories and songs of the Highlands and Islands - of my grandparents on both sides - in this place.

And all around the house and barn is forest, for sure the land of Fionn and Gràinne, with the ancient hill-fort, Dùn Sgriben, rising up out of the garden, overlooking Loch Ness…. A magical place for SEANCHAS to settle….

Alis Ballance