So with the weather being sunny and warm, we hit the garden centre, then Sainsburys. I'd recommend not doing either - they are both solid buildings and do more damage to you than you can do to them.

Anyway.

At the garden centre we bought tubs to have herbs and salad leaves near the house, some cloches to go on over the top - which I'll have to keep an eye so Dave doesn't transform them into a steampunk space helmet, soil, and a brazier with a grill that fits on top. It works very well as a brazier - you could imagine freezing strikers standing around it, probably burning their legs more than warming their hands. As a barbecue it works a little less well, largely because it eats a whole bag of charcoal. But the veggie burgers were yummy - marinaded in a spicy sauce, served with blue cheese.

We didn't start the barbecuing until gone 8, which meant by the time it was ready to cook it had got dark. As we have a large floodlight, it really wasn't a problem though!