Mio tells a story at tea ceremony

A TRADITIONAL Japanese tea ceremony launched the 21st Scottish International Storytelling Festival in the Capital yesterday.

Mio Shapley demonstrated the ancient practice and regaled spectators with tales from the Land of the Rising Sun. The theme of this year's celebration of storytelling is Authentic Voices: Eastern Routes, and the launch at the Scottish Storytelling Centre on Royal Mile, was attended by Fiona Hyslop MSP, Minister for Culture, Sport and External Affairs and Masataka Tarahara, Consul General of Japan in Edinburgh.