James Ellis reads five short stories

See the photos from the recording

Five stories translated from the French and adapted to an Irish setting by James Ellis who reads them on location in Corradreenan Farmhouse at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Northern Ireland.

James Ellis is best known as an actor in the theatre, radio and television - Z Cars, Playing the Field, Only Fools and Horses, Two by Two, The Billy Plays, and Ballykissangel amongst others. He is less well known for his writing of both poetry and prose and the five tales being broadcast this week are from his first collection of short stories Home and Away. James is also an accomplished linguist and enjoys translating stories and folk tales from other languages.

There is a long tradition of storytelling in Ireland where the Seanchai, or storyteller, is the custodian of tales which began many years ago. A good storyteller, and there are few better than James Ellis, enables us to forget that we are in the 21st century and conjures up images of the simple life lead by our ancestors, allowing us to escape the hustle and bustle of modern life and slip away for a while into the realm of traditional Ireland. By recording these stories with a small gathering of folk, by a turf fire, in the quaint thatched Corradreenan Farmhouse at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in County Down, it becomes easier still to imagine a bygone era.

James Ellis’ interest in storytelling stems from tales told at the fireside during his childhood. Then at the Methodist College, Belfast where he was a scholarship boy, he was introduced to the joys of the short story as a literary form, both in the English language and perhaps more exotically through tales from the French. Alphonse Daudet’s “Lettres de mon Moulin” and the stories of Guy de Maupassant were among his first and most vivid recollections, and a perceptive teacher encouraged his pupils to look for what they had in common with the characters portrayed, rather than regarding them as foreign! For example, in the story called “Le Diable”; it was the similarities between the harsh lifestyle of the 19th century Norman peasant and the unrelenting calendar of the Ulster farmer of days gone by that were emphasised.

As Jimmy says “In first translating and then adapting these stories to suit my own style of delivery I have perhaps strayed into the realm of folklore though Daudet certainly admits to drawing on oral tradition. In any event I have found both these authors to be excellent models in setting about original efforts of my own in this demanding genre.”

The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum ranks among Ireland’s foremost visitor attractions, recapturing a disappearing way of life. Various buildings have been painstakingly removed from their original sites throughout Ulster and re-erected at the Museum where you can stroll through yesteryear’s countryside and a typical Ulster town.

In this selection of stories there are tales of death and the devil, misfortune and miserliness and hardship and heroism, all told with light-hearted humour as only James Ellis can tell them.

The Devil – Old Granny Greer outwits a miserly son when she strikes a deal to sit with his dying Mother until she expires.

Scully’s Goat – Tragedy befalls an unsuspecting goat when she escapes the safety of her meadow to pursue her freedom.

My Uncle Julius – The Davenport family’s boat fails to come in in more ways than one when they take a day trip to the Isle of Man from genteel Bangor, Co Down.

The Miller’s Tale – Despairing Father Martin goes to desperate lengths to entice his erring flock back to the fold.

The Umbrella – When Mr McIvor’s brand new umbrella is ruined, his exceptionally thrifty wife finds a little white lie enables her to replace it without depleting her household budget.

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