TABLE TALK #74
Someone asked me recently about the origins of Table Talk, and it reminded me of the importance in conveying this. Table Talk exists to celebrate the meandering conversations we all have around a dinner table.
It’s there to celebrate the serious and the silly in equal measure and to remind us of how much we stand to gain when we pull up a chair and sit down to a good meal with our family or friends, the occasional glass of wine included.
🍡 AMUSE-BOUCHES 🍡
Take Note: best spots to eat in London after midnight
Admire: one way to avoid forgetting your Tesco Clubcard
Recipe: make the ultimate clam chowder
🍝 MAIN COURSE 🍝
It’s around this time of year that we often allow our minds to creep forwards, thinking gingerly of the longer, warmer days ahead. And with this comes thoughts of Bank Holidays, but what less regularly occurs to us is how they came about in the first instance…
Back in the 19th century, workers in the UK typically only had a few days off each year, namely Christmas Day. So far, so Victorian. The good folks at Cadbury's thought this needed to change and they wanted to do something to improve the lives of their workers.
The company's founder, John Cadbury, a devout Quaker, was ahead of his time and believed in the importance of a work-life balance. He felt that his employees should have more time off to spend with their families and pursue their own interests...
John Cadbury - never knowingly underdressed
So, in 1871 when the government first introduced an additional day of holiday, Cadbury's announced that employees would be paid for the privilege of kicking back on the first Monday of August.
This was a pretty revolutionary move at the time, and it quickly caught on with other businesses following suit. But Cadbury's wasn't done yet. The company continued to push for more Bank Holidays, and in 1901, the government agreed to add an extra day off in June, then known as the Spring Bank Holiday.
So next time you’re tucking into a Fruit & Nut, or eyeing one up at a petrol station over a Bank Holiday weekend, remember the hand that the company’s visionary founder played in giving us all a little extra time to ourselves.
A London institution🍮 SWEET ENDINGS 🍮
Talking of pioneers, Isaac Rangaswami has been championing caffs, not cafés (important distinction) for some time now.
His ever-growing Instagram account is not only an homage to a British institution but has led to this cracking piece in the Guardian. To be enjoyed with a cuppa and four sugars.
🍷 WHAT'S NEW
FROM
WEDNESDAY'S DOMAINE? 🍷
In between making sure that our wines are appearing in your favourite restaurants and wine shops, we’ve managed to land some cracking partnerships of late.
In the next few weeks, we’re going to be serving up our wines at supper clubs with Mam Sham, keeping those brainboxes over at Rebel Book Club topped up and looking chic alongside the fashion elite at a GANNI event. Plenty more to come on that front…
See you next week,
Luke x
