Tom the Tale Teller

15/10/2026

My first tale telling of the spooky season, and I can't wait!. It's just around the corner from the very haunted Grace Dieu priory! Very atmospheric!

Tom The Tale Teller is here on Friday 16th for his final story telling session of 2026 entitled Dark Tales For Dark Nights. An enchanting evening of traditional stories, myths and legends with an Autumnal Halloween twist all taking place under our big gazebo in our Back to Nature Field suitable for older children and grown ups.

Bring a torch/blanket/warm clothing and sturdy footwear, snacks and drinks and settle down for the evening. Free parking and toilet available.

£7.50pp - message Carol 07960 014981, email [email protected] or via facebook to book your ticket.

Cinder Hill Farm, Ashby Road, Thringstone, Coalville, Leicestershire, LE67 8UH

10/10/2026

It's always exciting to see one of your books in the wild. On a visit to Oxford, this singular copy of Forest Folk Tales for Children was spotted in the amazing Blackwell's Bookshop Oxford bookshop! How very exciting!!!

09/10/2026

Super excited to be here for the villages Halloween celebrations! The night before will be a private booking at someone's house for them and their friends, spooky stories in front of the fire, then Sunday 1st Nov a return to The Cutting Garden Cafe for stories for families in the afternoon and adults in the evening.

🎃 MARKFIELD PARISH COUNCIL HALLOWEEN EVENT! 👻

Get ready for an afternoon of free family fun this Halloween! 🕷️

📅 Saturday 31st October 2026
⏰ 2pm–5pm
📍 Markfield Scouts Hut, Main Street

🎟️ FREE BUT TICKETED EVENT – tickets are limited, so make sure you get yours!

✨ Tales with Tom the Tale Teller
🎨 Shona’s Fabulous Face Painting
🎃 Pumpkin painting & Halloween crafts with Kidspace Nursery
🍰 Free refreshments & cake

Tickets are available from 1st October from the Markfield Parish Council Office.

There are three time slots: 2–3pm | 3–4pm | 4–5pm

Maximum 5 tickets per family.

For more information, contact Markfield Parish Council on 01530 245 933 or email [email protected].

👻 Costumes are encouraged – we can’t wait to see you there! 🎃

07/10/2026

This is a call for help. If you want to know more about my story as an author and how I need help progressing, follow. If you can help, if you know an agent who may be interested in taking on a new writer, I write children's fiction, picture books, folk tale inspired stories, with my 2 current projects being wildly different. The long running project is a middle grade fantasy adventure trilogy, the second, a very adult folk horror based on a Leicestershire legend.

Please help! Spread the word, share this and following posts, help me get the motivation to get back to the keyboard and write!

22/09/2026

Happy Hobbit day one and all. September 22nd marks both Bilbo and Frodo's birthday. I hope you have all enjoyed your breakfast, second breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and supper in good company.
May the hair on your feet never fall out.

11/09/2026

25 years ago I watched in shock and horror as the twin towers fell, counting my lucky stars as, if things had gone a little bit differently, I would have been there, in NYC when it happened.

2 years ago I surprised my wife with a trip to New York for her 40th birthday. Of course, we had to make a trip to the site. It was very emotional for me, there were tears, and a lot of reflection over what life could have been.

9/11 saw a monumental shift in the world, mostly in America. I have been back many times since to the states and have seen the decline of acceptance to others. This, sadly, has crept into the rest of the world with the rise of right wing views, from Reform and Restore here in the UK to the latest electoral victory by a far right party in Germany backed by Elon Musk. I try to keep away from politics on this feed but every story is filled with cause and effect, consequences for actions.

Lest we forget all those, across the world, who have lost their lives in needless terrorism.

08/09/2026

Tiffany, over at The Children's Literature Podcast , and I, had planned to do this video at the startbof June to celebrate Muppets Treasure Island's 30th anniversary, a companion piece to our Muppets Christmas Carol video we did a few years ago. Due to one thing and another, it didn't happen. Then, the sad news broke of the passing of the inimitable Tim Curry and we both knew we had to make it happen, to pay tribute to an actor that could portray pure glee and evil malice all within a flick of his eyebrows.

Have a look, see what you think. Do you agree with our perspective on the film? Tiffany is, as you might be able to tell, American, having grown up around Hollywood, but now living in the UK, and I've been here in England my whole life. She has the American perspective and a great understanding of film and music, I come at it from a storytelling point of view and help her understand some of the very British references within the film. Oh, and we give it a Snape score at the end. If you want to find out what that means, give it a watch.

Her channel is brilliant. She has her eldest daughter helping out who is a brilliant producer and has a keen eye for what works well. It's a lovely channel to subscribe to and all the videos are fun, easy watches. Have a look, let us know what you think in the comments. We would love to do more like this in the future.

Tom "The Tale Teller" Phillips joins me to take a look back at Mupp...

07/09/2026

Lovely to spot myself in tomorrows chip paper. This was part of the brilliant Snap Dragon festival, a great, free, family event over 3 days at the start of August in Hinckley. It's always great fun to be involved and share stories with the wonderful people of my home town.

27/08/2026

And another of the greats has gone too soon! Peter Cullen was the voice of my childhood. As I sat in front of the TV, bowl of cereal in my lap, his dulcet tones blasted out of the TV ordering the autobots to 'Rile Out!' as they wage their battle to defeat the evil forces of the Decepticons. "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings"