We are social creatures. In our earliest months, we respond to facial gestures and tone of voice, smiling our gummy smiles at those who grin at us. As we get older we forge friendships and learn to socialise. A gathering or coming together of family members or pals will, for many, hold happy memories of laughter shared and stories swapped over meals.
It can be easy to forget the power of a face-to-face conversation or the comfort of a hug when we increasingly live our lives online. But emojis, gifs and texts can’t replace the feelgood factor of connecting offline and what that can do for our happiness and wellbeing.
Packed schedules and the frantic pace of modern life can take their toll. Increasingly, it has become harder to draw the line, with emails pinging in at all times of the day. Mealtimes have suffered – with hastily grabbed lunches wolfed down in front of screens and Netflix dinners taken side by side.
But a lunch break should be exactly that – a break – especially since taking time out has been proved to boost focus and concentration. Ditching your desk lunch to eat with workmates is an easy way to feel refreshed, rejuvenated and more productive, as well as being a chance to make meaningful connections and get to know your colleagues better. Similarly, simply switching off the TV, laying the table and asking your family or flatmates about their day over some shared food – and perhaps even a glass of wine – can be transformative, both for your relationships and your wellbeing.
Socialising and food go hand in hand for Maider Lizoain, 22, who moved from the Basque country in northern Spain to London to study for her master’s. She speaks fondly of the annual saint feast days held in her hometown. Here, music, massive lunches and merriment abound, as locals gather in the squares to cook together in a joyous, colourful atmosphere. “Family gatherings are a big thing too,” she says. “People have lunch with the whole family every Sunday … My grandpa is from Valencia, so he always cooks paella when we gather.”
Bringing the tradition to London, get-togethers with classmates saw Lizoain cook up tortilla: “It’s a typical dish from home and everybody abroad loves it.” As well as being a fun way to connect, dinner parties would give her new friends an opportunity to share a taste of their cultures. “Each person would bring some food or drink. Since we were from different countries, it was a very interesting thing to do,” she explains.
Of course, connecting with a new group can be a nerve-racking experience, with a fear of rejection often holding us back when meeting new people. Which is why people find joining groups based on hobbies or interests to be a brilliant way of socialising; a common interest can break the ice and sharing a passion makes conversation flow much more easily.
For Heather Jones, 31, joining a 20s-30s book club when she first moved to south London worked out not only as a great way to delve into her love of reading, but also as a handy opportunity to make friends locally. Ten years on, she counts many of them as some of her most treasured pals. Their literary meet-ups are still going strong, although they’ve moved away from the library and set up their own book club, favouring gathering at each other’s homes or at a pub instead. “We have a bottle of wine, some food and a catch up,” she says. “We talk about a book that we’ve all read, but really it’s nice to have updates on their lives.”
Gathering together around a table to share food and drink has, for centuries, kept people close: from cosy family dinners to clinking glasses of wine at a special occasion. Taking the time to ensure it is a tradition preserved is well worth a moment away from our digital lives.
Made for sharing
Sharing is in the vines at Campo Viejo. In an era when Spaniards only drank wine from their region, Campo Viejo’s founders were inspired to share their Rioja far and wide, bringing people together over a bottle now and then.
Campo Viejo. Made for sharing. Discover more at campoviejo.com
