Beans on Toast – Foolhardy Folk Tales

The Collins Dictionary defines a folk tale as “a story, usually of anonymous authorship and containing legendary elements, made and handed down orally among the common people”.

Well, the authorship here is noted but otherwise this feels like a fair description of the new book by Beans on Toast. The stories do indeed contain legendary elements; I read this at the weekend and snippets from it are still making me chuckle at random moments. And I’ve already passed bits on by way of recommendation, though whether the recipients would fall into the category of ‘the common people’ is not for me to say.

The opening chapter, The Great Tesco Robbery is a book all of its own, and later tales of The Blag and Messing With Texas are at times both uproarious and incredulous. No spoilers here though about which might be fact or fabrication, only to say that truth is sometimes weirder than fiction.

Throughout the book, we’re introduced to a series of larger than life characters. There’s Foz, a tour bus driver of sorts (the terms ‘tour bus’ and ‘driver’ being used loosely in both cases) with an aversion to eating and sleeping. Then we meet The Coin Man, selling cigarettes at an impossible profit before disappearing into the London night air. And not least Beans himself, making adventures and folklore of his own, sharing his stories and love of music, his diversion into the world of art, and finally the realities of surviving lockdown.

For a blast of nostalgia for the past, and a reflection of the last couple of years when the world shut down without warning, this is an excellent read that’s sure to leave you with a smile on your face. 

Foolhardy Folk Tales is out now via Play on Words Publishing; you can grab a copy and catch up with Beans on Toast here

Review by Siobhan
Photos via Sonic PR

26th August 2021