~ From The Book of Sandwiches by Gwen Robyns.Toast comes from the French word 'Toster' or Latin 'Tostum' (to scorch), and was invented in the eighteenth century. In olden times 'the toast' used to be a slice of roasted bread - toast - put into a jug of beer and it was the last to drink who got the toast. He then had to make a speech. Hence came the present day connotation 'The Toast'.
(Well, I never...!)
You might be wondering why I own a book called 'The Book of Sandwiches'? Well, I bought it today from a second-hand bookshop (for a mere 30p. I'm no expert, but as far as my knowledge of sandwich-related literature goes, I'd say I found myself a bargain). I bought it as part of my dissertation research. I'm writing mine on 'Food and Found Stories' (...it's a bit more complicated than that. But, yeah, basically my research over the summer is people-watching in cafes and supermarkets, and reading recipe books for short story ideas. Brilliant!)
(Oh, p.s. You may have noticed that the picture in this post is not of toast or sandwiches. It's of a scone. First of all: well done! Second of all: I can assure you that there were a number of very delicious sandwiches just a few inches away from where this scone was (in The Butterfly and the Pig). I just like this picture better than the sandwich ones.)
♥
(Oh, p.s. You may have noticed that the picture in this post is not of toast or sandwiches. It's of a scone. First of all: well done! Second of all: I can assure you that there were a number of very delicious sandwiches just a few inches away from where this scone was (in The Butterfly and the Pig). I just like this picture better than the sandwich ones.)
Tres informative post! Hehe. I did know the Latin of toast strangely enough (only cos my momma knows Latin and often commands me to make her some 'tostum' >_<)
ReplyDeleteUhh i have a love-hate relationship with sandwiches, i worked in a sandwich shop every saturday from the tender age of 14 and was paid £3.50 an hour with no breaks up until the age of 17! Haha i got free food though so it wasnt all bad O_O.
Your dissertation sounds so interesting, what made you choose it for a topic?
Thanks for your comment!
ReplyDeleteHa ha, my main issue with 'sandwiches' is not knowing how to pronounce the word. ('Sand-witch' or 'sigh-mm-widge'?)
Oh, and thanks! Hm... I like writing that explores meaning buried inside (seemingly) ordinary things. I wanted to write about this idea (of the 'extraordinary ordinary') but figured that was a bit too vague idea, so narrowed it down to focusing on one of the most 'ordinary' aspects of life: food. (Ordinary, in that we need to eat every day).
I quite like the double nature of food, how it has both practical and symbolic significance... if we don't eat we die, but also there's so much more to food than just staying alive. Food is often about celebrations, intimacy, rituals, memory, etc. So there seems like there's a lot of potential for stories.
(That's the long answer. The short one is: I quite like eating it.)