Brian Patten, Michael Rosen, Pete Suchil Chand, Patsy Heap, Del Reid and Simon Thirsk are patrons and official guardians of the first laureate for storytelling.

Thomas fronted and performed in the Fabulous Salami Brothers, the popular touring unit of Charivari, while The Magic Lantern traveled Europe illustrating folk songs by use of shadow puppets.

A stroke at the age of 36 brought another change in direction when he turned to storytelling as self-imposed speech therapy.

Now widely acknowledged as England's leading proponent in the art of traditional storytelling, Thomas boasts a repertoire of over 300 tales and elaborate 'lies' collected predominantly from oral sources and folklore.

With so many stories in Thomas's head, fellow storyteller Giles Abbot once remarked "when Taffy goes it will be like a library burning down."