Taffy Thomas has been living in Grasmere for well over thirty years. He was the founder of legendary '70s folk theatre company Magic Lantern, who used shadow puppets and storytelling to illustrate folk tales. 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. He set up the Storyteller's Garden and the Northern Centre for Storytelling at Church Stile in Grasmere, Cumbria. He was asked to become patron of the Society for Storytelling and was awarded an MBE for Services to Storytelling and Charity in the Millennium honours list.