Dr. Maureen James, who is based near Sleaford in Lincolnshire, has decades of experience of giving talks and lectures to WI's, local history groups and the U3A along with running courses for the WEA and independent study groups. She has also presented papers and given Keynote speeches at Conferences. She has a Ph.D in folklore, folktales and nineteenth century storytellers, and is passionate about not just her main research area but also other historical periods and people particularly Calendar Customs, Witches, Eighteenth & Nineteenth century Radicals and the Fairy Folk. Here is how she describes herself: "I am a social historian and I love sharing my passion for the subject with others. Since I realised that my love of the past could become part of my career, over 30 years ago, I have worked in a number of fields, including historical interpretation, living history, historical storytelling, lecturing, writing and teaching. I have found that above all, I love speaking about the subject to interested groups."