Mike O'Leary | Local Legends #6: Hampshire

On this week's episode of Local Legends, Martin gathers round the campfire with the author of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Folk Tales Mike O'Leary.

Mike has been a professional storyteller since 1995, and across the last almost 30 years has developed a real expertise in the folklore of Hampshire.

Based in Southampton, a city which he’s studied academically, as a Geographer, Mike has led a rich life that has seen him travel, live, and work, all over the UK.

He’s written several books, including Hampshire and Isle of Wight Folk Tales, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Ghost Tales, Hampshire Folk Tales for Children, Sussex Folk Tales, and The Pilgrimage of the Piltdown Man. But his career started out in nature. Having spent his early life in Scotland and several years in Bristol, he worked as a professional gardener and spent lots of time in some of England’s wilder places, including the New Forest, which he knows particularly well. Later in life he then qualified to become a primary school teacher, while also telling stories to audiences of all ages and in a dizzying array of places, including in the sea, neck deep in the drink!

One of the special things about Mike’s storytelling style is that he likes to play tunes on his walking stick flute, a wonderful prop and instrument, but, as anyone who has read his books will tell you, his voice has wit and humour whether in person or on the page.

So settle in for an hour of chat with a storyteller who knows Hampshire's stories as well as anyone, from knights and giants to ghosts to those ever elusive white deer...

Learn more about Mike and his work here: https://www.facebook.com/MikeOLearystoryteller

About Three Ravens 🔮

Three Ravens is a completely independent English myth and folklore podcast where we share stories, celebrate folk culture, and fall backwards through the hedgerows of history.

Hosted by real-life couple Eleanor Conlon and Martin Vaux, and mostly recorded at our home in rural Sussex in southern England, Three Ravens is rated 4.8/5 from over 500 reviews and has grown by word of mouth care of our lovely listener community ‘The Conspiracy of Ravens.’

We release three episodes a week, on Mondays, Thursday and Saturdays, through which we explore folktales, folkways, fairy stories, folk songs, mythology, local heritage, seasonal customs and traditional beliefs.

Our research inspires our retellings of stories from across history and culture, with episodes standing alone but connected together across over 500 chatty, mostly light-hearted, swear-free installments driven by passion, kindness and curiosity.

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