Chloë of the Midnight Storytellers - My Story

• 1965-66 Started writing stories aged 6, attending school in Adelaide, Australia; then home to Cambridge
• 1969 Family holiday in Norfolk with amazing dramatic readings of 'The Hobbit by the other family's father. Moved to near Bracknell, Berkshire
• 1970s Loved creative writing, reading, music, history and languages at school, also painting, riding, squash, dance and performance. Interests dismissed by adults as 'hobbies'. Lots of travel with parents inc. 1975 month in Kenya, 1976 polishing French for exams on Loire Valley trip (chateaux + escargots!), 1978 for exams again stayed with French family', 1979 gap year courses in jewellery + painting; intensive fitness training
• 1979-83 Degree course at London University included medieval French literature plus training at Central School of Speech & Drama; involved in 2 student productions at Edinburgh Fringe; plus living in France (1982 Normandy, 1984 post grad in Paris)
• 1984-1987 Tried journalism, secretarial work and public relations, Berkshire and London
• 1988 Made redundant in Luton (Bedfordshire); started own copywriting business Dragons Ink specialising in brochures and company newsletters
• 1991 Auditioned against 200 others for 1 of 6 jobs with Performance Seminar Group. Spent more than 9 years as their associate presenting solo 1-day training courses throughout UK with trips to USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Subjects included 'Grammar & Proofreading for Business', 'How To Deal With Difficult People' and 'Communications Skills for Women in Business'. Was a top rated speaker - and learned to hold an audience!
         Discovered live storytelling (Duncan Williamson at Sidmouth Festival)
• 1992 Moved to a nearly derelict gamekeeper's cottage on a farm estate in West Berkshire. (A relief after 4 years living next to the M1.) Possible UFO sighting, quite distinct from early flights of unlit low flying Stealth Bomber off Salisbury Plain
• 1993 Conversation with Duncan Williamson: "You should be doing storytelling". Moved to farm cottage near Malmesbury (Wiltshire)
• 1994 Winter season of storytelling and reading at 'The Storyteller' Irish restaurant in Marlborough; 'No training, no repertoire, no idea what I was doing...'
• 1995 Moved to Cotswolds - cottage on a farm near Northleach (Gloucestershire)
• 1997 Desperate writer's block; gave up writing fiction; attended Foundation Course in Storytelling led by Alexander Mackenzie in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire - 'Like coming home'
• 1998 Karen-Eve joined 2nd year of classes; 'She walked in wearing exactly the same style of velvet multi coloured patchwork coat that I had, so I knew we were destined to work together'
• 1999 Co-founded Midnight Storytellers with Karen-Eve; first performance at Wine Bar, Northleach - a sell-out success! Seminar work ended
• 2000-ongoing  Promotion, administration, research, development and performance
• 2001 Moved to another cottage on a farm in deep countryside near Northleach
• 2004 Appointed Town Crier for Northleach
• 2008 Appointed Storyteller in Residence, Chipping Campden School (Gloucestershire)

Every other year Chloë sends herself on refresher courses such as Storytelling Retreats and Voice Workshops

She is an occasional lively guest on her local BBC Radio Gloucestershire, and on local radio where she tours. And yes, you have seen her - twice - on ITV's Golden Balls gameshow with Jasper Carrott; she lost spectacularly first time in 2007, so early 2008 they asked her back as a 'favourite loser'.. hmm... In 2007 she was also part of the Channel 5 series on women's body phobias.

Her continuing mission - "To boldly take storytelling where it's never gone before"