I very much enjoyed your musings on work lunches... As an almost-Boomer (Generation Jones in fact) working in "legal" during the 80s, I was lucky to have an hour's break to experience the various delights of cafe lunches in the central city during the 80s. Auckland's food repertoire was expanding rapidly with novel choices like quiche with a choice of 2 salads (Roasted kumara with apricots and walnuts! Feta & chickpea!) at the French-inspired Déjeuner or Épernay, or cottage-cheese heavy vegetarian options at Simple Cottage, as well as traditional pub-lunch fare with a pint or G&T, which we reserved for Fridays. Like you, the most enjoyable part for me was the shared experience of sitting down with friends & colleagues and catching up on news/gossip etc. I've just seen the wonderful Perfect Days film by Wim Wenders and (not really a spoiler) the lead character takes a break from his job cleaning Tokyo's toilets to eat lunch (a pre-packaged white-bread sandwich) in the same park everyday, communing with nature and smiling at/attempting to connect with a sad-looking young woman sitting on a nearby bench. Even though the character seems perfectly content, his lunch-time solitude makes me feel sad.
Oh I loved that film, and I’ve got to say that I’m someone who loves a lonesome lunchtime - I can knit and watch a film on my phone and enjoy the taste of my lunch without any interruptions for a glorious hour!
Kia ora Jo, thank you so much for sharing your own musings. A Friday pub lunch with a G&T sounds glorious – although I'm not sure I can imagine returning to mahi after that! Lucinda :)
"Of course, there are other, climate-related reasons to choose plant-based milks, but my advice is to choose what tastes best and makes you feel your best."
Of course, let's put our own self interest first - why should I bother about consuming climate -friendly products when I'd rather eat dairy (to say nothing of considering the fate of cows and bobby calves)? Perish the thought I should use oat milk, so much less polluting and a kinder choice for animals, when I prefer cow's milk.
With attitudes like these, is it any wonder we Ehavealready reached 1.5°C of global warming?
Kia ora Annie, thanks for your comment. It's a complex issue for sure, especially in Aotearoa where our dairy industry is responsible for almost half of our agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, hence including the link to ethical consumers so people can make informed decisions. Hopefully your comment also sparks some readers to consider whether they could swap the cow milk in their flat white for some frothy oat (my own personal favourite). Lucinda.
I very much enjoyed your musings on work lunches... As an almost-Boomer (Generation Jones in fact) working in "legal" during the 80s, I was lucky to have an hour's break to experience the various delights of cafe lunches in the central city during the 80s. Auckland's food repertoire was expanding rapidly with novel choices like quiche with a choice of 2 salads (Roasted kumara with apricots and walnuts! Feta & chickpea!) at the French-inspired Déjeuner or Épernay, or cottage-cheese heavy vegetarian options at Simple Cottage, as well as traditional pub-lunch fare with a pint or G&T, which we reserved for Fridays. Like you, the most enjoyable part for me was the shared experience of sitting down with friends & colleagues and catching up on news/gossip etc. I've just seen the wonderful Perfect Days film by Wim Wenders and (not really a spoiler) the lead character takes a break from his job cleaning Tokyo's toilets to eat lunch (a pre-packaged white-bread sandwich) in the same park everyday, communing with nature and smiling at/attempting to connect with a sad-looking young woman sitting on a nearby bench. Even though the character seems perfectly content, his lunch-time solitude makes me feel sad.
Oh I loved that film, and I’ve got to say that I’m someone who loves a lonesome lunchtime - I can knit and watch a film on my phone and enjoy the taste of my lunch without any interruptions for a glorious hour!
Kia ora Jo, thank you so much for sharing your own musings. A Friday pub lunch with a G&T sounds glorious – although I'm not sure I can imagine returning to mahi after that! Lucinda :)
"Of course, there are other, climate-related reasons to choose plant-based milks, but my advice is to choose what tastes best and makes you feel your best."
Of course, let's put our own self interest first - why should I bother about consuming climate -friendly products when I'd rather eat dairy (to say nothing of considering the fate of cows and bobby calves)? Perish the thought I should use oat milk, so much less polluting and a kinder choice for animals, when I prefer cow's milk.
With attitudes like these, is it any wonder we Ehavealready reached 1.5°C of global warming?
Kia ora Annie, thanks for your comment. It's a complex issue for sure, especially in Aotearoa where our dairy industry is responsible for almost half of our agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, hence including the link to ethical consumers so people can make informed decisions. Hopefully your comment also sparks some readers to consider whether they could swap the cow milk in their flat white for some frothy oat (my own personal favourite). Lucinda.