There is everyday magic in the tales of London. Some stories are swirling in the waters of the Thames; some are hidden in the old stones that lie beneath our modern pavements. In London Folk Tales f Anne and Sef have gathered stories from the words and memories of Londoners past and present. They tell of the mighty river, the streets, and the hills of London. You’ll find stories of babies that turn into flowers, of tower ravens and a two-headed bird, and a child who has to travel across the world all alone. You’ll also meet the people of this welcoming city: ever since the Romans, people have come here from all over the world to become Londoners. They’ve brought delicious foods, new music and hundreds of languages, but, most of all, great stories – London stories.

Sef Townsend draws on his personal experience of living and working on all five continents; and on reminiscence and language support work in immigrant and refugee communities to inform his storytelling and music.

He has been running Arts projects with people in exile and immigrant communities since 1995. Through storytelling, song and ‘join-in’ music games he emphasises the use of traditional material from the participants’ original backgrounds, and promotes work that enables other cultures to be seen as an invaluable resource contributing to a shared diversity in the wider community.

He has devised and presented several of his own radio programmes on traditional music and oral history including programmes for BBC Radio 3, Spectrum Radio and Radio 4’s “Woman’s Hour”