The Squinty Tree – world premiere!
The Squinty Tree, infamous in the Craigshill community, or at least it will be now! 
The premiere of the short animation about the Squinty Tree took place on Thursday 19th June in the Big Living Room at Almond HQ and was attended by local Councillors, Almond contractors and staff, as well as pupils from Letham Primary school.
The tree, which is thought to be a Hawthorn, sits on Almond land, just below the new community orchard at Hobart Street in Livingston. It is a one off and has grown and flourished despite everything that has happened to it. To celebrate its uniqueness Almond engaged with local Scottish storyteller Colin Williamson to produce a narrative about the tree.
“When I first heard the story of the Squinty Tree” said Sally Thompson, Comms Officer for Almond Housing and the animation originator, “I envisaged a giant tree, standing proud on a hill, when in fact it is rather unassuming and possibly unseen by many who walk by. But the tale was amazing and the way that Colin told it was captivating.”
Colin doesn’t write his stories down, he tells them in the traditional way, like his grandfather taught him. Consequently, there was nothing to publish in the conventional sense of the word, which is why Sally considered the use of animation to bring the tale to life and allow it to hopefully live on for many years to come.
With drawings from Perthshire based artist Katie Bourne, combined with production skills from Sabine Klaus-Carter at Creation Editor, the animation took shape, but no one got to see it before the premiere. Jane Deary, Community Engagement Officer at Almond who organised the premiere explains:
“We wanted to create a bit of a buzz and make an occasion of the first screening, so no one else was allowed to see the film in advance (not even Colin) and I think it worked! We had a great turnout, and the response was really positive. It is a film about the community, made for the community and was supported by the community.”
Following the screening, the school children took part in an art activity which was supported by Spark and involved them creating wooden signs for the community orchard. Whilst they did this other audience members had a tour of the local area in the sunshine, visiting the Squinty Tree, the community orchard, the Craigshill community garden and the recently renovated Victoria Street planters.
John Davidson, CEO of Almond Housing comments: “I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect but I thought the film was superb, beautifully presented. Colin is inspiring and I think the animation captured this. It was great to invite so many people to our office and have such support for this project. Thanks to all those who took the time out of the day to join this premiere event!”
Colin added: “It was amazing to be a part of this animation. I am very proud, and I hope that we can inspire future storytellers, especially those who are less confident with the written word. I am dyslexic, dysgraphic, dyspraxic and autistic, and only found my voice at the age of 40. I’ve realised that children who have hidden differences, like me, respond to storytelling as a learning tool.”
The Squinty Tree animation can be found on YouTube: https://youtu.be/y7TejPCyRqs
