A new study by market research firm Kantar has confirmed what we all rather expected here at the “Friend” office: tea and biscuits are best for a crisis.
During the past three months of coronavirus lockdown, the study says, people in Britain have splashed out a whopping £24m on tea and coffee, and an extra £19m on biscuits.
It may be a lot, but we can’t help thinking it’s a worthwhile investment . . . even if it probably isn’t great for the waistline!
A cheaper alternative
But if you’re starting to see the shopping bills creeping up (and the biscuit tin bulging out), why not start making your own?
It’ll certainly be cheaper, it might be better for you, and it comes with an added sense of accomplishment you just don’t get when tucking into another Time Out.
If you’re not sure where to start, our Cookery pages are a good place to look. Some of our favourite biscuit recipes include:
Time for tea?
As well as being delicious, tea and coffee are thought to have a variety of health benefits (when consumed in moderation), so lockdown might not have been all bad for our wellbeing.
Green tea in particular is thought to be beneficial for weight loss, and as it contains less caffeine than regular teas it is less likely to cause mood slumps. It also contains the amino acid theanine, which has a relaxing effect.
Surely that makes it the perfect thing to drink when your latest issue of the “Friend” hits the doormat!
A good book
Research from publisher Bloomsbury suggests another way we’ve been passing the time in lockdown: reading plenty of books!
With bookshops closed, they’ve seen a significant spike in online orders. We were so glad to hear that!
We love reading here at the “Friend” (unsurprisingly), whether that the fantastic short stories we pack into every issue, or the latest historical epic.
If you’re looking for something new to read, take a look at some of the team’s latest book reviews:
- Fiction Ed Lucy reviews “A Woman Is No Man” by Etaf Rum
- Production team’s Kirsty reviews “Once Upon A River” by Diane Setterfield
- Illustrations Ed Manon reviews “Unexpected Lessons In Love” by Lucy Dillion
Click here to read more of our reviews.
If you’re not keen on starting a new book, remember we have a fantastic Daily Serial running at the moment. “The Dividing Tide” is a historical saga set in a Cornish fishing village, by Lorna Howarth.
And we can even send a story pulled from our Archives straight to your inbox with our Fiction newsletter. Click here to sign up!
For more great content from “The People’s Friend”, head back to our homepage.
Iain McDonald I am the Digital Content Editor at the “Friend”, making me responsible for managing the flow of interesting and entertaining content on the magazine’s website and social media channels.
