Taffy's tales - in a book (From The Westmorland Gazette)
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Taffy's tales - in a book
2:10pm Friday 2nd November 2012 in News
Taffy Thomas with Steven Gregg (illustrator) and Maria Kourtoulos (from publishers History Press).
ONE of South Lakeland’s most celebrated figures has launched a new book charting his writings on Cumbria.
More than 75 guests gathered at the National Trust’s property, Allan Bank, in Grasmere, to celebrate the publication by Taffy Thomas MBE of the first significant collection of folk stories from the county in recent decades.
Published by the History Press, Cumbrian Folk Tales is by the Grasmere storyteller and features some of his most fascinating work to date.
Guests at the event included artists from literary and folk arts, together with representatives from the hospitality industry, libraries, schools and tourism.
After a taste of Cumbrian fayre from chef John Crouch, all were entertained with a mixed programme of music and stories, with Windermere’s Norman Bell singing a traditional song and giving a dialect recitation.
Local tunes from the collection of the Browne family of Townend in Troutbeck were played by Hugh Taylor and Steve Tomlinson, and there was a selection of stories told by Taffy himself.
In his foreword to the book, BBC Radio 2 DJ Mike Harding wrote: “Taffy Thomas is one of the world’s great storytellers, travelling the world like an old oak, shedding its leaves in an autumn blow. In this collection of Cumbrian tales there are lots more fallen oak leaves to dance in the wind and delight. Enjoy!”
The book is available from many local shops, and from Taffy himself.
