Hotter than July

I spent this afternoon in my friend's garden, having twisted his arm all summer to give us a barbecue. It wasn't exactly the weather for it. You do wonder what is the point of eating outdoors if the sun isn't shining - or, worse, the sky is leaden.

The forecast promised "sunny intervals", though, so we hung about, beer in hand, waiting for them to appear before we started cooking. Eventually the hunger got too much. The match was struck, the first flames leapt into the air and, right on cue, the rain started to fall, light at first then battering down. Twenty minutes later it had slackened enough for one of us to dash out and toss some burgers on the grill.

In the end it wasn't bad at all, but it was great to get back indoors and thaw out round a real fire.