Citizen Writer in Residence Eleanor Thom has been making stories with local families using special ‘Story Stones’ which were hidden across Musselburgh. The project has now been transformed into a film which tells the stories of those who hid the stones, as well as those who found them.

Before lockdown, if you were walking along the street in Musselburgh, something might have caught your eye. Tucked into the corner of a park bench or lying half-visible in a plant pot: these were the ‘Story Stones’. Scattered across the town, they were hidden by local families, part of a story-making game the children nicknamed The Musselburgh Stone Hunt.

Like seeds waiting for spring beneath the earth, each stone was the kernel of a new story. The stories have now been compiled into a film, written by Eleanor Thom and narrated by her son, Ivor.

Through the story, we learn more about the children who hid the stones, their favourite places and games.  We also meet characters finding the stones and see how this forms a web of connections between the families, like a grand game of pass the parcel with the whole town waiting to be unwrapped.

You can enjoy the film below. We are grateful to First Step Nursery and everyone who helped to bring this collection of stories to life by getting involved with hiding and finding the stones.

Citizen is part of Edinburgh International Book Festival On The Road. It is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and through the PLACE Programme (funded by the Scottish Government, City of Edinburgh Council, and the Edinburgh Festivals, and supported and administered by Creative Scotland).