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Posted on 19/12/25 in Culture and Language, Uncategorised

Farewell to Storylands Sessions

In summer 2021, Hamish Napier and I dreamed up Storylands Sessions. It has grown into the most extraordinary community celebration of tunes, tales, poetry, song, visual art and even the occasional eruption of dance. I have loved it!

LOVED…

* my colleagues – who have grown to a team of five now including Jacky Pankhurst, Aila Schafer and Barry Reid

* the faithful team of volunteers, whose number is legion and gifts so valuable

* the performers – from seasoned professionals to children playing in public for the first time (o my heart!)

* the creativity and sharing – stories that have captivated me, music that has swept me away, poems that have made me cry, art that has left me speechless, dancing that has left me breathless!

* the precious people who gathered in the writing workshops. As one participant wrote at our last one, on the theme of Fire: together “We have made a hearth”

* the warm, generous and supportive space that the whole Sessions community has created. I often said to people, ‘I can’t tell you how much I love this project.’

Here’s an Instagram reel I created to celebrate all these wonderful people, and some specific thanks in my post on  Facebook. And just a few photos below, most of the good ones taken by Robert Paisley

So, it is with considerable heartache, therefore, that I have taken the very difficult decision to step back from the team. Our Dec 2025 show was my last ‘on staff’. (Scroll on down to see the farewell song I wrote and performed at that show, All For You.)

Storylands Sessions will continue in the capable hands of everyone else, and I’ll still be there, but just as another enthusiastic member of the community.

I need time for family and to write. (Significant things coming up on both fronts, so follow my monthly newsletter to be on the inside lane.)

For now, I celebrate what a rare and precious thing Storylands Sessions is. In a time when megalomaniacs and their machines seem hell-bent on destroying the Earth and all its creatures, this gathering of souls is an act of brave resistance. When we come together sharing the work of our human hands, our voices and our hearts, we prove that goodness is stronger than evil. How amazing are the combined powers of community, creativity and cake!

They bring out the best in us; they show us that the world – even in its suffering – remains bright and beautiful, and that we – even in our struggles – can love one another and know joy.

All for You

And here’s my song, All for You, accompanied here by Hamish Napier, December 2025. The lyrics are below the video.

All for You

– Merryn Glover, Dec 2025

Every time you come into this place
I can see the joy light up your face
And I know there’s a story there for us
There’s a smile for you at the open door
And a space for you to take the floor
Where you will shine like the stars

Chorus:

It’s all for you, all for you
It’s all for you, all for you
Every word we say, Everything we do
Every tune we play, Every story true
It’s all for you

An old man reads a poem for the very first time
Gives voice to his heart in a sweet old rhyme
And the words keep speaking even when he’s gone
For out in the cold and the dark of night
We carry with us the unfailing light
Of hope for the day that is to come

Chorus

There’s a song I heard you sing one day
That caught us up and swept us away
Your voice that made us cry out Amen!
I remember the time you took a chance
And let down your hair to get up and dance
So we can be children once again

Chorus

A young girl plays a tune with shaking hands
The whole room opens and understands
How brave it is sometimes to truly give
But only in love for the world out there
Will we find our hearts have room to spare
And this is how we’re meant to live

Chorus

Do you know it’s okay to come when it’s tough
When the wind is cold and the way is rough
‘Cause we will listen to your tears
For when it’s hard to lift your eyes
We have wings to help you rise
And fly you higher than your fears

Chorus