A storyteller of worldwide repute will be heading to Ilkley as part of this year’s festival. Jan Blake, who has links with African, Caribbean and English culture, will perform Tales of the Diaspora alongside William Pearce-Smith on the fiddle at the Manor House Museum on Friday, October 12.

Miss Blake has been performing worldwide for 25 years, specialising in stories from Africa, the Caribbean, and Saudi Arabia and has a reputation for dynamic and generous storytelling.

Recent highlights include Hay Festival, Kerala and Dhaka, the World Wildlife Fund’s One Planet Leaders Programme and the Viljandi Harvest Festival, in Estonia. Last year, she was the recipient of the biannual Thuringe Marchen Preis, awarded to scholars or performers who have devoted their lives to the service of storytelling.

Mr Pearce-Smith studied music in Greenwich and began a career playing at parties, gigs and festivals, and busking on the high streets of the towns, across the length and breadth of England, before heading eas,t and he played side by side with the Indian musical gurus.

Tickets are £9 or £6 for anyone in full -time education and include a glass of wine. The event is sponsored by the Friends of the Manor House and tickets are available only from Liz Bowen, 21 Stourton Road, Ilkley, LS29 9BG or by calling her on (01943 609393).