BBQ 2008

Sure enough, the weather god pissed on us today. If we'd held the barbie yesterday, as normal, we'd have enjoyed glorious sunshine with enough fluffy white cloud cover to avoid any serious sunburn. Today, the only thing we were in danger of was rust.

As a result of the weather only around half as many people turned up, so the food was quite heavily over-catered. And, ironically, none of it was barbecued. Thank heavens for our hostess's large oven. At least the kids had their hot dogs, so all was right with their world.

The quiz quizzed and the rain passed over just in time for a half-hearted three-legged race, but the day had a dampness to it that went beyond the rain. Tomorrow being a work day, many people started drifting away around 8pm, and as usual once a party loses its critical mass it turns into just another bunch of people sitting around drinking.

Even the karaoke wasn't up to much this year. Last year we were singing until 3am. Today, with only two-and-a-half good singers and no-one else much interested, we limped along with it for a desultory hour or so and then gave it up.

The end of an era? I don't think so. We've decided to "book" the barbecue weekend in advance next year so everyone can plan around it, and it'll be back to its normal Saturday slot.