Once Upon a Time ... ; Storytelling Isn't Just for Getting the Kids to Sleep -- It's What's Going On in London's Hippest Literary Salons, Says Liz Hoggard -- And It's Definitely Not for the Children

Evening Standard - London › August 17, 2009

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Summary

YOU are at one of London's chicest boutique hotels, drink in hand. Everyone is wearing glamorous nightdresses and pyjamas. A tall dark stranger enters the room and asks you to curl up on cushions on the floor. No you haven't stumbled on an upmarket sex party, this is the Bedtime Story Night at the 40 Winks hotel -- a restored 1717 townhouse in the East End.

"We invite everyone to dress up, there are drinks and nibbles with musical accompaniment and then two professional actors tell us fantastic stories," says the owner, interior designer David Carter. "There are themed nights, such as 'Love and longing', 'Stories to make you dream' and 'Tales of Gothic horror'."

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Once Upon a Time ... ; Storytelling Isn't Just for Getting the Kids to Sleep -- It's What's Going On in London's Hippest Literary Salons, Says Liz Hoggard -- And It's Definitely Not for the Children

At 40 Winks, guests also have the chance to share and exchange stories of their own. The idea, Carter says, is to emphasise storytelling as something that is natural and innate for all of us. "There's a lovely social dynamic. You are b...

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