The thing I can't stand about the present storytelling revival, unless it's changed drastically in recent years, is the "Are you sitting comfortably" voice which so many storytellers revert to, even when they're addressing an audience of perfectly rational adults.

Even now, with all the incredible work which the School of Scottish Studies et al have carried out, we have nothing like a comprehensive overview of traditional storytelling styles in English. Well, nothing like as comprehensive as our view of traditional song at any rate.

Nevertheless, traditional storytellers have been recorded from Cornwall to John O'Groats and from Cork to Donegal and across huge swathes of the United States. I've never heard one who made me feel like I was listening to Listen With Mother.