Breaking Bread

This week I attended a lunchtime Zoom session organised by a neighbourhood group, talking about our relationships with food. My neighbours shared memories of dinnertime growing up, which made me think back to family holidays where dinner time became even more of an event than it was at home, and how whatever the meal was it was essential to be served with chip-shop chips if it was to truly be considered a holiday meal.

After another busy week at work and feeling like I hadn’t been able to focus on one thing for any decent time period, it was a pleasure to just sit and listen to stories from the people in my local community. Lunch for me was a bowl of leftover shephards pie from the night before, and it felt like a real treat to sit quietly eating whilst letting others drive the conversation.

This year has been a massive shake up to everyone, and it feels like its been a huge trigger for change and radical thinking for many. It was inspiring to hear about a few of the new projects starting up in my local area; so many people feel ready to start again in many ways and it is heartening to hear about the positivity that many are now finding from these testing times. Sharing stories about food allowed us to share intimate details about our formative years and allowed us to find affinity in diverse upbringings.

For me, at the moment, prepraing dinner marks the end of the day, and time to relax and unwind. I know there is still a long way to go but it seems like there are a few positive developments in the news at the moment and a ray of hope that next year might be worth looking forward to. I would love to think that some time in 2021 I might be able to share another lunch with these people but in the same physical space – who knows where their ingenuity will have taken them by then…