Everyone to the table.

[SamF]

We eat at the table.... in front of the 42" plasma :P

We're halfway there :P

[shakermaker]

Originally Posted by Lilly

It doesn't matter so much if you are on your own or a young student living at uni but when you are setting an example to children it is very important.

We need to start them off on the right path with table manners otherwise we end up with a generation of people who haven't a clue how to behave at a table because they've never been shown.

We need to set the standards for the children to follow.

Lol. Fair enough.

[blazey]

Originally Posted by Lilly

It doesn't matter so much if you are on your own or a young student living at uni but when you are setting an example to children it is very important.

We need to start them off on the right path with table manners otherwise we end up with a generation of people who haven't a clue how to behave at a table because they've never been shown.

We need to set the standards for the children to follow.

What makes those standards right though?

My asian friends at uni sat on the floor with their family and eat with their hands, does that make them savages?

Convention doesn't necessarily imply it is correct.

[Lilly]

Originally Posted by blazey

My asian friends at uni sat on the floor with their family and eat with their hands, does that make them savages?

I wouldn't be too impressed if I was seated next to them at Franco's.

[Bonnyboy]

Originally Posted by blazey

What makes those standards right though?

My asian friends at uni sat on the floor with their family and eat with their hands, does that make them savages?

Convention doesn't necessarily imply it is correct.

Maybe your Asian friends need to integrate more fully with British culture if they expect to integrate with our society…just a thought.

[accyman]

Originally Posted by blazey

What makes those standards right though?

My asian friends at uni sat on the floor with their family and eat with their hands, does that make them savages?

Convention doesn't necessarily imply it is correct.

if they were eating human remains then yes but if not then no

we origionaly used bread as a plates which would then be eaten after the meal was finished which would also be eaten using fingers and not cuttlery and plates etc ,these items were a luxury for the upper classes but over time people saw themselves as having a higher status level if they copied the upper classes

its a bit like in the early 80's when it was considered posh if you had a vhs recorder but now in the 2000's it is no longer seen as a status infact they probably go for about £2 on a carboot sale

[accyman]

Originally Posted by SamF

We eat at the table.... in front of the 42" plasma :P

We're halfway there :P

you could flip that tv and use it as a tv/dining table

space saving tip right there for you and you can still watch tv and eat

[cashman]

Originally Posted by blazey

What makes those standards right though?

My asian friends at uni sat on the floor with their family and eat with their hands, does that make them savages?

Convention doesn't necessarily imply it is correct.

its the standards we were brought up with in this country, agree with bonnyboy.

[accyman]

when drinking tea i am going to start extending my little pinkie

i mean my bloody finger by the way

[blazey]

Originally Posted by Bonnyboy

Maybe your Asian friends need to integrate more fully with British culture if they expect to integrate with our society…just a thought.

Why do they need to live by 'british culture' inside the privacy of their own homes?

And what exactly IS british culture when we live in a country that has a massive takeaway industry specialising in foods from all over the world? Or is the charming indian/chinese/italian (to name a few) industry just a figment of my imagination.

And like I said cashy, it's nothing more than convention. It's no different than discussing what utensils people use to eat their food. If it gets the job done then it doesnt really matter does it?

[cashman]

Originally Posted by blazey

Why do they need to live by 'british culture' inside the privacy of their own homes?

ya said your asian friends at uni.

[shillelagh]

havent sat at a table since the last time i was at my sisters for tea. When i was a kid we used to sit at the card table (not the posh felt one - that one was for party time and cards) then when it was me and mum we just sat with it on our knees watching telly and now im either sat at the computer or sat on settee reading a book or watching tv.

[Bonnyboy]

Originally Posted by blazey

Why do they need to live by 'british culture' inside the privacy of their own homes?

In their own homes they can do as they please, I thought you meant in the dining hall of your Uni

[Padiham Lass]

When I still lived at home, I would generally eat my dinner (lunch) at the table with my parents and my tea would be on my knee in front of the tv.

Since leaving home, lunch has usually been a sandwich at my desk at work and tea has been on a tray in front of tv.

This changed about 6 years ago when we moved house and finally had a kitchen which was big enough for a small table. Since then our habits have changed and we prefer to eat at the table, although I have to confess that the tv is still the focal point when it's just the two of us.

We've always had a seperate dining room, but this has only been used when we were entertaining friends and family, and features music, but no tv.

I've been looking at houses in the UK recently (for when we return) and find that many properties are badly planned in respect of kitchen and dining lay-out, which must discourage other families from eating together.

[MargaretR]

England is getting smaller - (I haven't said UK because there are wild places in Wales and Scotland, but most of them are uninhabitable).
Our population is too dense, so new houses and the rooms in them are smaller.

I read recently that every German has twice as much space per head, and a Frenchman, 4 times as much!

So when architects have to economise on space they will shrink the area that many people wont use - a dining area