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Page last updated at 10:17 GMT, Wednesday, 23 January 2008

Meet the Lunch Bunch!

Lunch Bunch logo

The Lunch Bunch is our panel of viewers from around the country who tell us - and you - their thoughts on some of the stories we cover.

Through the wonders of technology they are able to speak to us live on the programme via their computer webcams.

Their comments give us a flavour of viewers' opinions on a variety of topics.

Click below to read profiles of each current member of the Lunch Bunch.


PROFILES

Adrian Danson
Adrian Danson
Kent
He's a retired civil servant who enjoys playing lawn bowling and is a national grade umpire. He has been a keen equity investor for over 30 years.

Graham Evans
Graham Evans
Cheshire
He works in marketing and is married with three children. He is interested in tax, family finance topics like higher education costs.

Carolyn Francis
Carolyn Francis
Hampshire
She works full-time, mainly from home, and she used to grow oysters on Anglesey. She is interested in issues that affect homeworkers.

John Henson
John Henson
Norwich
He started to work part-time after retiring. In his spare time, he is a bee- keeper and a boat builder. He is keen on educational issues.

Sue Brookes
Sue Brookes
Cheshire
She is retired and a member of an investment club. She is interested in environmental stories and even has her own wind turbine at home.

Azmina Jiwa
Azmina Jiwa
Surrey
She is married with two grown up children and works as a chiropodist and a life coach. She loves travelling and reading, and plays a bit of golf.

George Moran
George Moran
Anglesey, Wales
He is retired, and according to our producer, makes great homemade soup. He is interested in local community and welfare issues.

Susan Heaton Wright
Susan H Wright
Hertfordshire
She is an opera singer turned business woman in the music industry. She is married with one son, and is interested in investing and saving.

Tricia Woodgate
Tricia Woodgate
South Devon
Works full time from home and is interested in retirement planning, inheritance tax and affordable homes for first time buyers.

Max Levenger
Max Levenger
Warwickshire
He is self-employed and currently setting up an advertising company. His financial topics of interest include mortgages costs, loans, and tax.


Duncan McLaren
Duncan McLaren
Glasgow, Scotland
He's a retired Chartered Surveyor and does a lot of travelling with his wife. He is always on the lookout for ways to improve his finances.

A CLOSER LOOK

Azmina

Age group: 50-55
Employment status: Chiropodist, a life coach and a personal development trainer
Interests: She is married and has a daughter who is 27 and 25 year old son. She is comfortable and stable financially. She loves travelling, swimming, and reading books, especially self-help ones. She plays a bit of golf, and likes organising and doing presentations.

Max

Age group: 30-35
Employment status: Recruitment consultant and MD
Interests: Max has been married for one year, and has a baby on the way due in the middle of February 2008, and has a dog as a pet. He has been self-employed for two years and is in the process of setting up a company in advertising. He is also doing a major renovation project at home, including an extension and building an office and garage at the end of the garden. He is keen to do his bit on green stuff like recycling, and he records Working Lunch to watch every day. He has recently set up a self managed pension, and in interested in subjects such as loans, investments, credit card balance transfers, mortgage costs, and tax. He has taken on a major renovation project at home, including an extension and building an office and garage at the end of the garden.

Adrian

Age group: 65-70
Employment status: Retired civil servant
Interests: Adrian has been married twice and have a son by each marriage with the eldest being 34, and the youngest 27. He was a keen philatelist, specialising in Iran, played cricket for 40 years, badminton for 50, and was a keen swimmer. He plays lawn bowling most days in the summer, three times a week in the winter and he is a national grade umpire. He is also editor of "Author", which is the quarterly magazine of the Society of Civil & Public Service Writers. He is a keen equity investor with mixed success over the past 35 years.

Susan

Age group: 40-45
Employment status: Company Director
Interests: She is married with a seven year old son. Susan has a low risk attitude to investment and financial matters. She has ISAs and bonds, a few shares and rent out two properties. She has a very small pension from when she was a teacher, and a very tiny Equitable Life pension, hence her low-risk investment approach. She is an opera singer who has become a business woman. She was a teacher for a couple of years before working in business and going to music college. For a number of years she was a freelance musician, and less than two years ago she set up a limited company providing high quality live musical entertainment for private and corporate clients. Susan is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and enjoys cooking and eating fine food and reading.

George

Age group: 60-65
Employment status: Retired
Interests: He is married with three grown up sons and several grandchildren. He has no pension because the company he worked for was sold. He makes frames for his wife's paintings and they have a couple of rare-breed cats. George makes fantastic home-made soup, according to our producer. Despite having no formal qualifications, he had a good career as a journalist and a sales director. He is interested in welfare issues and local community projects.

John

Age group: 55-60
Employment status: Works part-time as a quality auditor
Interests: He is married. In his spare time, he enjoys being a bee-keeper, boat builder and chair of the Parish Council. He used to be a teacher before retiring from that profession. He's interested in pensions, best ways to invest, tax, bonds, and has on occasion followed the programme's tips.

Carolyn

Age group: 55-60
Employment status: Works full time, mainly from home, for the environment agency
Interests: She is married with a teenage son who likes the Lunch Lessons. She used to grow oysters on Anglesey and has managed a shop. She is interested in investing and prefers to use fund managers as she finds she gets better results. She's passionate about issues that affect homeworkers and the environment, in particular topics to do with the sea and the fishing industry.

George

Age group: 55-60
Employment status: Works full time, mainly from home, for the environment agency
Interests: She is married with a teenage son who likes the Lunch Lessons. She used to grow oysters on Anglesey and has managed a shop. She is interested in investing and prefers to use fund managers as she finds she gets better results. She's passionate about issues that affect homeworkers and the environment, in particular topics to do with the sea and the fishing industry.

Tricia

Age group: 50-55
Employment status: Works full time from home as an IT distance learning tutor
Interests: She is married with two adult daughters. They grow their own fruit and vegetables to avoid the high supermarket prices, and have lots of animals - far too many to list here. She has a large mortgage and is interested in affordable homes for first time buyers in rural areas, as her daughter can't afford to buy locally. Other interests include retirement planning and inheritance tax.

Duncan

Age group: 60-65
Employment status: Retired chartered surveyor
Interests: He is married with two adult children and one grandchild. He bought a car in Belgium after watching a Working Lunch programme, and does a lot of travelling with his wife. They have lived in the same house for 50 years. They also have a managed share portfolio and are interested in personal finance topics like wills, child trust funds and pensions. Duncan is always on the lookout for good financial tips.

Graham

Age group: 40-45
Employment status: Marketing manager in IT
Interests: He is married with two sons and a daughter called Sophie, who is a recent addition to the family. Graham is interested in tax and family finance issues, as well as higher education costs, and he has invested towards pensions for his young family. He spends his spare time with the family and is a season ticket holder at Manchester United. His wife is self-employed and works from home as a complimentary therapist.

Sue

Age group: 60-65
Employment status: Retired and has worked in several professions like subpostmaster
Interests: She and her husband are in an investment club. She likes to keep busy as chairwoman of the local history society and the Women's Institute. Sue is a caravan enthusiast who is interested in share-dealing, environmental stories and renewable energy (she even has her own wind turbine at home). She has a daughter in Australia, so air travel prices are very important to her.



SEE ALSO
Watch again
05 Sep 08 |  Working Lunch
Working Lunch viewers go 'live' for 2007
05 Jan 07 |  Working Lunch


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