The Toast Maker – Episode 15: A Free Woman Till Nine

The Toast Maker — Episode 15 By Eliza Hartley Tonight's reading is free. Over 500 more — and every new one first — are on Sleepbound Premium. Free for 7 days, cancel any time.→ Supercast: sleepboundstudios.supercast.com→ Patreon: patreon.com/c/SleepBoundOur other two shows, if tonight's isn't quite what you were after:→ Sleepbound — classic literature read slowly enough to fall asleep to: Apple Podcasts→ Sleepbound Soundscapes — ambient sleep music, no narration: Apple Podcasts December dark — the kind that arrived at four and settled in like it owned the place. Hello, lovely listeners — welcome back to The Toast Maker. We've been through quite a lot with Iris and Tom over the past few episodes — attics and old tools, Emily's marine reptile presentation with its chopstick pointer, and Margaret's kitchen table, where a quiet "you'll do" said more than most speeches ever could. It's been tender, and a little heavy, in the best possible way. Tonight, Iris steps out alone into the December dark for a long-overdue evening with Rose at The King's Head. It's warm inside, the logs are actually burning, and Gerald — the enormous, banned cat — is conducting a dignified protest on the wall outside with great commitment and absolutely no shame. This is a quieter episode, in the way a proper pub evening with a good friend is quiet: unhurried conversation, decent red wine, laughter that comes from somewhere low and surprised. The kind of night that reminds you what you've been missing. Settle in, get comfortable, and let the fire do the rest. Thank you for being here — your support makes every episode of The Toast Maker possible, and every cosy evening in a little warmer. Patreon · YouTube · Website Includes mentions of: Beverages, Food, Animals, Cold weather, Mention of loss.