A Billy Big BBQ with Friends

OMG June went out like a furnace yesterday - it was by far the hottest day of the year with an evening which was very warm and no humidity - perfect for the barbeque that we had planned for Nicky and Mark.  In the morning I was going to the Garden Centre to meet up with my friend Yve and Sonia was joining us except I arrived and Yve arrived but Sonia was nowhere to be seen.  She did arrive all in a tizz as she had been waiting for a delivery from FedEx and had received a phonecall on her way to the Garden Centre to say that they were delivering it this morning.  She managed to arrive with enough time to say she was having to shoot off and meet the guy in Polis.  Yve and I carried on regardless and sat for an hour or so mainly discussing DIY painting techniques as Yve is decorating her bathroom.  It was exceptionally hot even at the garden centre where you can get a little respite from the misting sprays in the polytunnel.  

I only bought a couple of pots to bring on some of my succulent cuttings.  I am struggling at the moment to get the amount of water they require correct.  I have managed to drown two or three which is a pity.  Actually, generally, the garden is looking pretty good, still a certain amount of colour and the various green foliage plants looking lush which is good.  Many more days like today though and it will be a different story.

We started the barbeque cooking early as John had carved up a large joint of Pork Neck to cook as souvla.  With it we were having chicken skewers with an oriental marinade, sweetcorn, smashed potatoes and salad.  

I had even got up early before going to the garden centre to make a pudding - something I rarely do but I know that Nicky is a whizz at puddings.  I made a self saucing lemon sponge.  It is pretty fool proof and doesn't have much sugar which would be good for Mark.

It was amazingly hot in the afternoon.  John felt like he was cooking alongside the souvla.  I was in the kitchen doing everything else - I am not entirely sure who got the better deal but at least we would be able to sit outside and enjoy our food providing the flies and the ants allowed us to - we have had a real problem with ants this year - they seem to love the cat biscuits and even though I leave a pot of cat biscuits in the garden they still come into the kitchen looking and I have noticed that the newly hatched millipedes (40 footers that stink) have also taken a liking to cat biscuits so this morning my decoy bowl was a writhing mass of centimetre long baby millipedes who cleared the bowl in minutes.  What is it in cat biscuits that entices them I wonder?  Boris is not impressed that I have been picking his bowl up and putting it out of the way at night when he likes to graze.

The cats were strugging with the heat today.  Minnie was most disgruntled to find that Boris had pinched her favourite spot Up Top but he was out sparkers so she wasn't going to shift him.  It was a better spot than sleeping on my clothes which was where I had found him earlier.

We had a lovely evening.  Because of the glorious weather we made full use of the various areas in the garden - starting by eating at the outside dining area then moving around to outside the kitchen where it was cooler and then finishing off up on the roof terrace for the cool and the sunset.  The food was amazing even if I do say so myself and it was good to catch up with Nicky and Mark.