Death of the Dining Room–TomorrowToday

Thought-provoking predictions about the UK in 205o from TomorrowToday’s UK co-founder Graeme Codrington (also printed in The Sun).

With a forecasted UK population of 75 million, it’s hard not to interpret his views as other than dystopian, unless your view of heaven is a blue-rinse invasion of the olive groves of Bournemouth.  However, it is persuasive stuff.

There are only two predictions I am less convinced of. 

Firstly, Dr Codrington predicts that roads will be busier than ever but I wonder if the combination of higher fuel prices (green taxes and shorter supply) combined with better broadband infrastructure will reduce the amount of road travel overall.

Secondly, while I can see the arguments for the death of the dining room, I wonder whether larger families (stay-at-home adult offspring driven by economic circumstance, and live-in grandparents driven by the collapsing NHS) combined with a more thrifty mind-set will increase, rather than decrease the amount of home-dining.  If there are also more people working from home, family meals may make a come-back.

Fantastic food for thought.