Interesting Facts

According to the TUC (Trades Union Congress) 5.3 million people in the UK work an average of 7.7 hours of overtime a week. (Chief executives topped a list of those doing the most unpaid overtime, at an average of 13.2 hours a week, followed by teaching staff (12.1 hours), finance managers (11.3 hours) and managers in production and health care workers (10 hours). The TUC has called on people to take their full lunch break and go home on time, asking managers to set an example by leaving on time too. Oh dear, I never leave a session on time, but then I don't get paid either. The TUC would hate me.) Source

10th March National Pack Your Lunch Day - What's in your sandwich? Source

According to a study carried out by CheapHolidayLand.com, British holidaymakers double their daily calorie intake in the first 24 hours of an all-inclusive break. (Holidaymakers consumed on average 5,756 calories on the first day of all-inclusive trips.  Research found that binge eating amounts to twice recommended daily intake; enough fuel for them to run two marathons The meals worked out at:- Breakfast - 1,117 calories A bowl of cereal (113 calories), full English breakfast (870), a glass of orange juice (112), cup of tea (22) Mid-morning drinks - 240  calories A glass of Sangria (150 calories), a glass of Coke (90) Lunch - 1,260  calories Burger and fries (770 calories), a side salad (17), a glass of Coke (90), one ice cream (230), one bottle of beer (153) Afternoon snack - 425  calories A packet of crisps (160 calories), a glass of orange juice (112), one bottle of beer (153) Dinner - 2,191  calories Starter – a bowl of soup a...

Here is the full menu for the special Diamond Jubilee Lunch. First it will be canapes with the following drinks: Nyetimber Classic Cuvée 2007, Sparkling English Wine Sandringham Apple Juice THE MAIN MENU Marinated Uist Island Salmon with Lyme Bay Crab Fresh Herb Salad with Lemon Soy Dressing Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc, Bué Loire Valley, France 2011 Saddle of Welsh Cambrian Mountain Lamb with Braised Shoulder of Lamb Grilled Isle of Wight Asparagus, Jersey Royal Potatoes, Jubilee Sauce Château Cap de Faugères, Côte-de-Castillon, France 2007 Followed by a Symphony of Dessert Chocolate Délice Bread & Butter Pudding Berry Compote with Sandringham Apple Sauce This will be accompanied with: Ceylon Tea, Fairtrade Coffee Petit Fours

According to the charity BackCare, growing numbers of children in the UK are developing irreversible back deformities because of the weight of the bags they carry to school. (Pupils often have to carry bags filled with heavy books, laptops, sports kit and packed lunches, and their bag may weigh as much as 28 lbs. According to experts, children risk long-term and ultimately permanent damage if they regularly carry more than 15 per cent of their body weight over their shoulders and because children’s skeletons are still growing, carrying heavy bags can cause lasting damage. The British newspaper, the Daily Mail, worked out that bags can weigh up to 2 stone, which they calculated as:- Textbooks - 8lb 13oz Laptop - 8lb 13oz Lunchbox - 1lb 11oz Bottle of water - 1lb 11oz Exercise books - 1lb 1oz Pencil case - 1lb 1oz PE Kit - 1lb 1oz Sports shoes - 1lb 1oz Coat - 13oz Diary - 9oz Game console - 8oz Mobile phone - 5oz MP3 player - 5oz Wallet and ...

When citizens of Lychun, China said they were having a long lunch they were not kidding, assembling a dining table that stretch 6,000 feet. (1,860 tables were used in order to seat some 10,000 diners.  The lengthy lunch was not long enough to secure a world record however, with the biggest ever banquet stretching some 12,000ft.  I wouldn't want to be a waiter there! )

According to a study by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development), the French devote nearly twice the time to meals than do Americans, Britons or Mexicans. (Of course the French take eating very seriously, and whatever you do, don't try to talk about work during lunch. That said, the credit crunch is having an effect. According to the Guardian newspaper, over 3,000 traditional French restaurants, cafes and bars went bust in the first three months of 2008.)