Snack attack

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Posted at 2:59PM, 03 March 2008 by Graham Holliday - Blogger

It's nuts. On the one hand you've got Jamie Oliver screaming the British school dinner system down, pimping greens on the nation's youth, while out on the street it's a snack jungle out there.

Within two minutes of passing through passport control at London's Heathrow airport I wheeled my battered Samsonite through the green channel, cameraphone at the ready looking for what Britain has to offer visitors straight off the plane. I wanted to know what the first thing I could buy and eat would be on British soil.

Having lived in France for almost two years I've come to appreciate the relative lack of snack shops, the lo-fi presence or non-existence of junkfood at airports, train and bus stations. This is to the point where, if I do hit a must-have-a-chocolate-bar-or-the-puppy-gets-it moment I need to work to get my fix. There's not a cornershop on every street corner of France and of those that do exist not every one sells foil wrapped pap bent on blasting a lightning bolt through my serotonin. In France you have to toil to get your junk fix. In Britain, apparently, it greets you off the plane with a warm, artery-furring hug that says 'eat me and get one free'.

Chocolate, Jelly Babies and sugar coated sweets, "2 for £8", "4 for 3", "3 for 2", maxipacks and jumbo-sized choco bars aplenty - this is the first thing you see that you can eat when you enter Britain. If you're taking the train into central London, as I did, this is the second thing you see that you can eat. Jamie, airports next please. Then I have a feeling we'll need to take a look at the train stations.

Comments

James

3 March 2008, 5:54PM
James

Welcome to he country that consumes the most chocolate confectionary in Europe. That's what is says. And it's true. If we didn't buy it though it wouldn't be there. The cola manufacturers say they want their product to be on hand wherever or whenever you might think about it/ need it -a bit like the shop keeper in Mr. Benn. It's just about sales - we're letting them have control. I look forward to the day when it's broccoli on the shelves instead....

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Elaine

4 March 2008, 6:41PM
Elaine

I find I'm far less tempted to pick up a bar of chocolate now that the sweets aren't on display at the checkout. This used to be my downfall, especially as it felt like a reward for trudging round the aisles.

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kipperelli

8 March 2008, 10:57AM
kipperelli

It's not just that it's easy to buy hasn't a whole change in our lifestyle and the speed we live life caused and fuelled it. How many of us fit lunch in amongst other jobs, I'm guilty of eating while I'm moving to my next job/place and I don't eat properly at lunch time so I grab something I can eat one handed, or will give me a quick sugar hit. It becomes easier to do this till it becomes the norm. Maybe if everything stopped for a couple of hours at lunchtime as it does in france we would eat a better lunch, so we wouldn't need to snack, and life would slow down. Who knows? I'll eat a twix while i think about it!

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