TAFFY THOMAS was the founder of legendary '70s folk theatre company Magic Lantern. After surviving a major stroke in 1985, he used oral storytelling as speech therapy, which led him to find a new career working as a storyteller. One of the UK's most loved storytellers, he was made an MBE in the 2000 New Year's Honours List for services to storytelling and charity. In 2000-2011 he became the first laureate for storytelling, a role created to promote the power of stories. Taffy is the artistic director of the Northern Centre for Storytelling in Grasmere and is ethe author of many History Press books.