British "lunch" times at the weekend - why so late?

[Howdoyoulikeyoureggsinthemorning]

Riddle me this, MN. (I'm British myself btw).

Been invited to yet another pub "lunch" with the family. What time have they booked? 3pm!!!!

I just don't understand this tradition.

At school, lunch is usually 12ish, if not 1ish.

At work, lunch is usually 12ish, if not 1ish.

For this reason, most of us have been pretty conditioned to get hungry around the same time of day.

So whenever I'm invited to one of these super late lunches, I end up either:

• Making a pre-lunch for myself anyway because I'm too damn hungry to wait (which often leads to overeating that day...)
• Waiting until I'm so weak that I barely feel like socializing by the time I'm in company (morning ruined) and just counting the seconds till food is in front of me...

Oh, and these late lunches always ruin my appetite for dinner as well!

What gives?

YABU: Weekend lunches are not, nor should they be, like weekday lunches.

YANBU: You're correct and the standard for all pub lunches/roasts/buffets should be brought forward a couple of hours.

booking at 3pm means spending more of the day having additional snacks/mini meals to accommodate eating half way through the afternoon, and then there's less time to do things.

How long does it take you to eat a slice of toast?

How long does it take you to eat a slice of toast?
If I'm having to eat at 3pm I'm going to want more than a slice of toast.

Thankfully my friends are similar to me so also have things they do on mornings / do things on afternoons.

I think a lot comes down to how people typically spend their weekends. The people who like to lie in, have breakfast/brunch throughout the morning, don't have weekend commitments, and then have lunch whenever aren't probably going to be that bothered.

The people who are used to being up, out with the DC / out for weekend morning activities, have their own hobbies and commitments, their spouses also have their hobbies and interests, etc are probably less inclined towards late afternoon meals because it does affect what everyone can do on the weekend. There's only so much time in a weekend.

‘Each to their own though,’ said so innocuously after basically calling a poster a greedy pig. 😂

It's so MN, isn't it?

Really? How come pubs are struggling to stay open then if this is the case?

You’ve gotta love the competitive undereaters and their veiled attempts at hiding their disgust at people who like their grub. 😂

So what are these elaborate "mini meals" you would need to eat at say, 1, to enable you to survive until a late lunch at 3? How does a late lunch affect getting up early or your morning routine?

So what are these elaborate "mini meals" you would need to eat at say, 1, to enable you to survive until a late lunch at 3? How does a late lunch affect getting up early or your morning routine?
Elaborate?Who said anything about elaborate?

Anything more than a slice of toast is elaborate!? 😂 Only on Mumsnet.

I don't see what's possibly confusing that there's a difference in weekend between:

Person A
Wakes up late, gets ready slowly, has late breakfast or brunch, has a couple of hours to do things, then has lunch late in the afternoon

Person B
Wakes up early, is used to spending their mornings up and doing things/hobbies/taking DC to their clubs/running errands/doing things as a family, lunch at standard lunchtime, then an afternoon of doing things/hobbies/visiting family/play dates, then dinner around 6 so the DC can unwind and get ready for bed.

A booking at 3pm is going to have a bigger impact on Person B's day than Person A.

@LolaSmiles

can you give an example of a “mini meal”?

Socialising is doing something

can you give an example of a “mini meal”?
It's a smaller portion of a normal meal.
What's confusing?
I've already found out that eating more than toast is 'elaborate' today as well.

I've already said a few times that my friends are similar so we tend to book our lunches in the standard 12-2 lunch window.

It actually quite funny how posters are so bothered about a stranger preferring not to have late afternoon lunch bookings because, shock horror, their family weekend might look different.

@LolaSmiles

why cook a mini meal though? Why not have a sandwich or a bagel or a some tuna or something? So then you don’t have to cook and use your time doing other stuff ahead of a lovely meet up with a pal

why cook a mini meal though? Why not have a sandwich or a bagel or a some tuna or something? So then you don’t have to cook and use your time doing other stuff ahead of a lovely meet up with a pal
Does it really matter what I eat?
I'm used to eating 3 meals a day. I don't like late afternoon lunches.

Why does it bother people so much that a stranger doesn't like late afternoon lunch bookings so has lunch bookings at standard lunchtimes with their friends?

@LolaSmiles

oh I’m not bothered by it, just find it interesting

I just couldn’t imagine being irritated by (or worse still not going to) a lunch or dinner with my pals that didn’t fall at my usual meal times

I would also see it as a day off from cooking so certainly wanna be making mini meals

but you do you

oh I’m not bothered by it, just find it interesting

I just couldn’t imagine being irritated by (or worse still not going to) a lunch or dinner with my pals that didn’t fall at my usual meal times

I would also see it as a day off from cooking so certainly wanna be making mini meals

but you do you
I like cooking, haven't said I wouldn't go to something, and couldn't really care about a fixed meal time as long as it's around the standard lunch window rather than late afternoon (booked for 3, eating more like 3.30+)

My friends are similar and also have lots of things they enjoy doing on a weekend, things their DC do. It's quite nice to go for a morning walk and then a pub lunch, then go home and have the afternoon to do other things. It suits us.

if you wake up at 10ish and have a weekend brunch you definitely won't be hungry for lunch till 3ish.

if you forego the brunch and eat your big pub lunch at 1pm then you have that horrible state at bedtime where you aren't quite hungry yet but feel sure you are going to start feeling hungry in an hour or so just as you are trying to get to sleep so you end up eating a joyless supper that you aren't really hungry for.

Haven't RTFT, but YANBU. 3pm is not lunchtime! It's bang right in the middle of lunch and dinner. I actually call this 'middle-mealing' 🤣

On what planet is a full meal at 12, another full meal at 3, and a third meal at 6 or 7 NOT a lot of food? (and don't forget they had breakfast too, because they are rigid with meals!)
It's not an MN thing to think that's a lot, it's a normal person thing. In the real world, people don't eat 4 full meals of a Sunday.

It’s tons of food let’s be honest

I don't see what's possibly confusing that there's a difference in weekend between...

Well, of course, if you have clashing commitments at 3, then meeting at 3 is a problem.

But if you have clashing commitments at 1, them meeting at 1 is a problem. The time is not the differentiator.

Most of your examples are not time-dependent anyway. You are listing some of your existing commitments as “doing things” and “visiting family” – we’re taking about doing a nice lunch with family! What errands can you not run at 1 that were going to run at 3?

I’m not suggesting anything beyond toast is elaborate. I am asking why you need to provide anything more elaborate than toast/a banana/a cereal bar just to stop people getting hungry between 1 and 3?

It’s like when at home normally I’d eat dinner about 5-6pm but when going out it’s more like 7-8ish. Can either just be a bit hungry and really enjoy the meal, or personally I’d have something like a slice of toast, maybe an apple, or some crackers with cheese, or packet of crisps, or cereal bar, or some cucumber and hummus, or cup of tea with some biscuits. Snacks are snacks aren’t they?
each to their own taste and volume of good/calories required.
This thread is hilarious.

id have normal breakfast, something like a small lunch like a slice of toast if I was hungry at 1pm & didn’t want to wait, & take the 3pm meal as the main meal (though it’s up to you what you order and how much you eat) & have a “light supper” type dinner if needed, like soup or cheese toastie. I’d likely be stuffed from lunch though.
I never really thought of myself as clever but this thread has made me feel like a genius lol

Yb23487643
I'm feeling like a genius too. I can't believe I manage to make plans on a weekend that involve eating breakfast at breakfast time, lunch some time within a typical lunch window and dinner as an evening meal, and that the arrangements I make tend to be ones that suit me and my friends.

Who knew preferring not to eat late afternoon and making plans accordingly was so controversial.

Lesson for a happy life: only mix with the "typical lunch window" people, not the wild free-for-all anarchists who dare to eat pub food in mid-afernoon.

Well it’s certainly eye opening how inflexible people can be over specific eating times.

I guess like minded people hang out together. I’ve never come across this in real life.