Office Breakfast or a home from home?

Have you ever eaten breakfast at your desk? It's time to reconsider such behaviour, says commentator on office and workplace life, Lucy Kellaway of the Financial Times.

There is a new man in the office who sits at a desk just behind mine. Most mornings he's in early, as am I, and as I leaf through the newspapers, I hear a rustling sound and the ring of metal on china followed by a slurp-munch-slurp noise.

I look around and see that he has pushed his keyboard aside and at his elbow is a box of Fruit 'n Fibre cereal. Presently, he gets up, takes the bowl to the sink, washes it and returns to his desk.

It makes no sense to eat cereal at work. It takes about 90 seconds to prepare and eat a bowl of Bran Flakes at home. The fridge is to hand, as is the dishwasher. But over the past decade there has been a steady onward march of objects, activities and emotions from hearth to cubicle, so there is now almost nothing left that belongs entirely at home.


People these days turn up in sweat pants, take a shower, clean their teeth and apply make-up when they get to work. Offices double as wardrobes and laundry rooms with damp towels, spare clothes and shoes strewn carelessly around the place. Grooming complete, workers present themselves at their desks, where they are greeted by stuffed toys, rugs, bunches of flowers and, of course, photographs of children and pets.

Differences in what we wear and how we behave at home and work have been steadily eroded. We may still be marginally smarter and more polite in the office, but it's a matter of degree. Crying and shouting are both deemed perfectly acceptable, as are jeans and flip-flops.

It is even OK to sleep on the job - it's called a power nap, and a few offices have installed beds or sleep pods to make it easier for us.

Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll are part of office life, too. The first and the second are officially forbidden, but still practised when no-one is looking. Rock'n'roll can now be done quite openly at work, thanks to the iPod. We also watch television at our desks, keep up with who did what last night on Facebook, do our shopping online and get the parcels conveniently delivered to our desks by the office post boy.

So is there nothing left that we do at home but not at work? There is still a taboo on nudity in the office, and I don't think I've seen anyone at a desk wearing a pair of flannel pyjamas.

Neither have I caught them knitting or daubing oil paints on to an easel, though that may be partly because hardly anyone does such things at home anymore either.

There is only one thing that people choose to do at home but not at work: to give birth, though this can't be far off. One colleague recently sent me an e-mail about a work matter as she was being wheeled into the delivery room, so to have the baby in a birthing pool on the floor at the office would seem the logical next step.

There is one final activity that we do less and less of in the office - work.

But this makes perfect sense: there is no point in working there when we can do it so conveniently at home instead.





Barry Eva (Storyheart)

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One of the things I have really missed since being in the US, is a "Real English Breakfast". Of course once in England one of the locations I headed for was one where I could purchase a real "English Breakfast".


My English Breakfast

Americans seems to find it "interesting" to have bake beans for breakfast, but then this is a country that has "puffed up cakes" or muffins for their morning meal.

In England we are taught that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, after sleeping and not eaten for many hours. This being the case we have a "Full English Breakfast" which sees you though the day until your evening meal... except of course for a snack and a couple of beers at lunch time.

Baked Beans are part of the staple diet of people in the UK. Be it with a fry up breakfast, a "Bangers and Mash" lunch or on toast for tea. The old UK TV advert states...
"A million housewives every day, pick up a tin of beans and say..Beanz Meanz Heinz."


And basically that is what is does. While most of the supermarkets have their own brand of Baked Beans, Heinz is still the number one. For those colonials who do not know the difference, Heinz beans are closest to the Vegetarian beans in the US.

The Heinz company markets their product in the UK under the name "Heinz Beanz" (before July 2008 as "Heinz Baked Beans"), in reference to a 1960s advertisement campaign which used the slogan "Beanz Meanz Heinz".

There are substantial differences between the Heinz baked beans sold in the UK and the nearest equivalent US product (Heinz Premium Vegetarian Beans). The US beans contain brown sugar where the British beans do not, and the US product contains 14g of sugar per tin compared to 7g for the British version (equating to 140 vs 90 calories). The US beans have a mushier texture and are darker in color than their UK counterpart. For several years, the UK Heinz Baked Beans have been available in the US, either in different sized cans than those sold in the UK or in a 385 gram can (the same can as the 415 gram can in the UK) with an "export" label with American English spelling and the word "baked" dropped from the title on the label. These are sold in many US specialty stores.

In New England baked beans usually are sweetened with maple syrup, and are traditionally cooked with salt pork in a beanpot in a brick oven for a full day.

In southern states along the eastern seaboard of the US, the beans become tangier usually due to the addition of yellow mustard. Ground beef also becomes common alongside bacon in these beans. They take on a flavor similar to Cowboy Beans, a similar popular dish.

In Poland, with addition of bacon these are known as Breton Beans (fasolka po bretońsku).

Many unusual dishes are made with baked beans including the baked bean sandwich. These are slices of bread topped with beans and other additions, such as melted cheese.

In 2002 the British Dietetic Association allowed manufacturers of canned baked beans to advertise the product as contributing to the recommended daily consumption of five-six vegetables per person. This concession was criticized by heart specialists who pointed to the high levels of sugar and salt in the product. Some manufacturers produce a "healthy option" version of the product with lower levels of sugar and salt.

BE WARNED....Baked beans are known on occasion to cause a considerable increase in flatulence following consumption. (Don't we know it)

Their low price (The supermarket own brand or discount beans can cost as little and 30cents) and wide availability has led to baked beans becoming a staple food in the United Kingdom, especially popular among students and those on a tight budget.

Barry



BARRY EVA (Storyheart)

Author of Young Adult Romance/Fiction book
"Across the Pond"

My Trip Across the Pond

So I’m back from my trip across the pond, as promised this will be a blog about my travels.

The journey to JFK airport in NY was not without issue and I arrived just about ten minutes before the gate was due to be opened to board the plane. Once again I was surprised about how the security checks when leaving the US have relaxed since my departures a couple of years ago.

As normal I flew Virgin Airways, I can’t recommend them enough from service to food, from entertainment to flights always they seem one step ahead of other airlines. There was as normal a choice of about 50 films to check out during the flight as well as TV, radio and music shows.

The flight which normally takes around 7hrs was quicker this time as we hit the jet stream with a tail wind of about 150mph which reduced the flight time to around six hours, only issue was we had a few bumps along the way.

Unfortunately about a hour from reaching England a passenger was taken sick, and with the flight crew looking after them and the reduction in flight time, we never got around to purchasing “duty free”. No biggy for me, but a pain for the family members who had asked me to pick up cigarettes for them on the flight.

Once through UK customs I picked up my rental car, a diesel powered Peugeot, which was doing about 52 mpg throughout my trip. That was a good thing with petrol (gas) costing about $7.5 a gallon.

I traveled about half way to my destination and stopped to catch some sleep before heading out to meet my youngest sister and her family.





After a good night’s sleep I carried on the rest of my journey to East Sussex, stopped just outside Hailsham for some real English breakfast.




The rest of the day was getting ready for the shopping, a new Tesco’s (The number one supermarket chain in England)supermarket had opened in the town. One nice thing they have done is keep in line with the town. Hailsham has a history of rope making, so they incorporated this into the fence that surrounds the car park finishing in a statue of a man hauling in the ropes.



In the store as normal I just walked around wishing such a store was available in the USA. There is so much more variety, the prices generally for food are much cheaper than in the US. I wanted another 3 suitcases to bring home half the stuff I wanted to buy. Loaded up with fresh supplies to bring back to the US, I then completed the shopping trip.


The rest of the day was spent getting ready for my eldest sons wedding, taking dresses to where the bride was staying.



I made sure I stopped and snapped a couple of pictures on such a mild autumn day, with the sea as smooth as a babies bum.



Later that Friday night I went out with a couple of old friends and shared a few beers with them.


Saturday morning was sorting out the reception tables, cake etc. As for the wedding itself? All went well, and everybody enjoyed themselves.




The next day after stopping off for another breakfast, followed by a look around a “car boot sale”… Car boot sales are a mainly British form of market in which private individuals come together to sell household and garden goods. The term refers to the selling of items from a car's boot (U.K.) (or trunk in the U.S.). Although a small proportion of sellers are professional traders selling new goods or seconds, the goods on sale are often used but no longer wanted personal possessions. Car boot sales are a way of focusing a large group of people in one place to recycle still useful but unwanted domestic items that previously would have been thrown away. Car boot sales generally take place within the summer months, however a growing trend of indoor boot sales and all year hard-standing outdoor boot sales are now appearing in some parts of the UK.

The rest of Sunday and Monday I spent with my parents, before heading back to the USA.

I had a good time, enjoyed myself, ate and drank well, had many laughs, met most of my family, even sold six "Across the Pond" books by me "Storyheart".


ENGLAND






The music is "ENGLAND" by Ralph McTell, perhaps more well known for his song "Streets of London" it is to me though a song that means so much. The pictures are of England, my own location and some sites that others would know.




BARRY EVA (Storyheart)

Author of Young Adult Romance/Fiction book
"Across the Pond"