TOAST Magazine

1 week ago | toa.st | Lucas Oakeley

Henwen’s opened in Forest Hill the day before Halloween. Opening up in the run-up to Samhain might be considered bad luck by some, but for south London butcher shop Henwen’s, it was perfectly aligned with founder Charlie Smith and Sweyn Hall’s approach. When I visit on a Tuesday, one of the shop’s two days off, linocut paper hearts are festooned across the window. Bay leaves hang on the wall, fluttering in the wind like cherry blossoms whenever the door swings open.

Sep 23, 2024 | toa.st | Raymond Antrobus

I’m often asked where to begin with poetry: how to discover new voices, how to interpret subtext, how to climb inside a poem’s skin so you can see how it breathes. I think many of us are discouraged by education’s insistence on there being a ‘right’ response to poetry, which can make us wary of the form in later life.

Aug 7, 2024 | toa.st | Zoe May Whitfield

The rules of Stone Club, of which there are four, were established in tandem with the succinct moniker, a riff on the two-syllable-titled action film from 1999 that the founders also honour, albeit playfully. “The third rule is ‘Pack a mac and pack a snack’, which is mainly because I’m rubbish at wearing weather-appropriate clothing,” shares Lally Macbeth.

Jun 27, 2024 | toa.st | Emma Love

Oak galls, yellow buttercups and vetch seed pods dangle from delicate strings of wire-threaded cocksfoot grasses pinned to one wall of artist Jill Walker’s home studio in rural Cheshire. On the other side, a curious collection of objects hang from thin bamboo rails – pine needles attached to an old tin lid to form a sculptural brush, a solitary broken pearl shell, long grassy lengths threaded from a tea strainer.

May 20, 2024 | toa.st | Emma Love

What grows together, goes together: that’s the simple sentiment at the heart of Annwn in Narberth, West Wales. Although the wild food restaurant only opened in its current location a year ago – and was awarded a Michelin Green Star a few months later – for chef-owner Matt Powell, it marks the next chapter of his culinary immersion into all things Welsh, from rediscovering traditional recipes to the land itself. “I’ve always found being surrounded by nature so inspiring.