Off-Topic: Eating Meals

In this post I want to give some insight into my life, past and present. I hope you'll find it interesting.

When I was eight years old my family moved into a house in Walsall. The kitchen was enormous, bigger than most living rooms. We had a table in the middle of the kitchen where we used to eat our meals. My parents, my sister Shirley and I. We took it for granted that we ate together every day, especially our Sunday lunch.

When I was eleven my family moved into a house in Aldridge. It was a better neighbourhood, but a smaller house. The kitchen was normal sized, only intended for preparing meals, but my mother wanted to keep to the family habit of eating in the kitchen. She bought a small table that was kept under the breakfast bar. We pulled it out when we were eating and pushed it back afterwards.

This togetherness for family meals only lasted a few months. My father began to eat in the living room, with a tray on his lap, while he was watching television. Soon afterwards my sister joined him in the living room, also with a tray on her lap. My mother and I remained in the kitchen. She insisted that it's wrong to eat while watching television. Food should be enjoyed. I agreed with her. For me the act of eating was a family ritual.

Years later my parents separated and my sister left home. When my father cooked for me I remained alone in the kitchen while he ate in the living room. It seemed like the right thing to do.

I left home. I got married. My new family always ate together at a table in our Essecke (eating corner), an open area between the kitchen and the living room. Distractions weren't allowed.

Now my children are adults, and they've learnt nothing from me. They all eat in front of the television, or worse still, in front of a computer! I tell them that they should concentrate on their food, relishing every bite, but they don't listen to me. Even my grandson is allowed to eat while watching videos on a laptop. I find it terrible.

One more thing that my mother taught me is that the telephone shouldn't be answered while eating. That was (relatively) easy to do while there was one telephone in the house, in another room, but today everyone has a mobile phone in his pocket. It's all a matter of discipline. If my phone rings during a meal, I don't even check the display to see who's calling.

I'm not just saying that this is the way I do it and you're free to do it your own way. On the contrary. I'm saying that I'm doing things right, and everyone else is wrong. Food shouldn't just be something that's stuffed in your mouth without thinking about it. Food is a treasure. Eat every piece slowly and enjoy it. Be thankful that you can have such delicious meals. If you're shovelling food into your mouth while looking at a computer screen, you won't even notice what the food tastes like.

Before anyone calls me a hypocrite for taking photos of my food at the dinner table, I take the photos before the meal begins. As soon as the photo's taken I put my phone away, and the meal takes my whole attention.

I hope what I've written will make my friends eat differently.