Jess books in

Jun 9 2009 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

PERTHSHIRE traditional storyteller and author, Jess Smith (below), features at an evening event in the AK Bell Library cafe in Perth, on Thursday, June 18.

Jess, who lives in Crieff, spent her childhood travellling Scotland in an old blue bus.

Her three autobiographical books – Jessie’s Journey, Tales from the Tent and Tears for a Tinker – takes her readers from her early childhood until the time she left the travelling life, and her first novel, Bruar’s Rest, was published in 2006 and was followed in 2008 by a short story collection, Sookin’ Berries.

‘An Evening with Jess Smith’ will also feature a guest spot by local musician and Wang Dang Delta frontman, Ian McLaren.

The event is a fund-raiser for the Perthshire International Brigade Memorial Fund, which earlier this year hosted a sell-out performance entitled ‘Hard Travellin’ on the life of Woody Guthrie at Perth Museum.

The aim of the fund is to raise money for the establishment of a permanent memorial in Perth to the volunteers from Perthshire who fought for the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39.Ten men and women connected to Perthshire went to Spain to support the Spanish peoeple in their defence of their rights, democracy, freedoms and the Republic The British battalion of the International Bridges was nearly 2200 strong, of which Scotland’s contribution was 476 volunteers. Of theat number, 134 were killed, 30 taken prisoner and 342 eventually returned home.

Tickets for the June 18 fund-raiser are £5, available from passionariabooks@blueyonder.co.uk or telephone Paul on 0777 1982 889.