Dear LPG readers,  

When we retire, it is generally expected that we get used to not having to hurry when it comes to doing anything, but though each thing that we do often takes a bit more time, I am of the opinion that more of us do more than the young give us credit for.  

I read with interest what MH had to say about doing our best to make our meals  more interesting and sociable (►►►)  and it really does not work as well if you are habitually sitting there and eating on your own.   

If you do live alone I can imagine how easy it is to only eat when you are hungry or if you happen to go past the kitchen.  Many of us who live alone capitalise on the freedom it offers.  Having no one to distract us can leave a person so busy concentrating on whatever they are doing that their focus on the time, or when they last had a bite to eat, gets lost for hours.  It is also fact that that ‘whatever’ may well be too much nodding off in the middle of the day just because there is no one there to prod you into action.  

I know a lot of people who will tell me that hunger is all about that empty feeling in the pit of your stomach, but I often get so caught up in a project that the time does its proverbial flying trick, and I am so engrossed that my stomach forgets to tell me that it’s time for lunch.  

Then there is the other thing which MH touched on in her article.  Cooking for one can sometimes feel like a whole lot of work for no real reason and while most of us can still produce a better plate of food than can be found in a pre-frozen packet, the time it all takes is a major off-putter. 

MH talked about a video dinner, which is not a bad idea, but getting out to a café for breakfast with a friend or even the occasional restaurant is seriously more than a waste of money or time.   

The latter involves more of an effort, but making sure you look good while you fill your stomach, was one of the most important pastimes that the gentlemen and gentlewomen of English heritage (and many others) saw as an integral part of daily life.   I have observed that more and more members of our present younger generations accept going out to dinner as an essential part of socialising with friends, although the dressing up aspect of the thing is not as important and the cost is making it something that we all do a little less often these days.  

Here is a question for you: when you go out for a meal with friends, be it in a café or a restaurant with all the trimmings, and you are asked if you enjoyed it, how would you answer? Would you start your answer by focussing on the quality of the food, or the mood of the evening and the accompanying conversation?   

There are no statistics, but having tried asking six of my friends the day after we all went out for a meal together recently, their reactions to the question left me with a 50/50 split on the outcome.  

To me this proves that eating is all about the ingredients, but whether you are eating with a Video-friend who is having his or her meal while propped up against that salt cellar or pepper pot on your table; in a café; at the local club for the elderly; in the kitchen having visited one friend, or even being the host of a dinner where you are forced to present one element that is a slightly darker colour than you would have liked (because it was in the pot or in the oven for just a bit too long): the one that we all need to add to at least a couple of meals each week has to be the ambience that can only be achieved when you are sharing and not eating alone…  

AH, Hither Green