On barbecues, and baked potatoes, and picky bits. And spam callers.

I’ve never been a great fan of barbecues. Maybe it’s because I don’t eat beef. Maybe it’s because it’s a great deal of fuss for very little product. My friend Colin commented in his blog yesterday about barbecues, declaring his intention never again to do a barbecue. He mentioned the men who have always come to advise him on how cook stuff on the barbecue. Yes, it is almost always men. barbecues are the man’s regime. 

30 August 2026 – Thoughts from Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain

Anyway, barbecues are getting bad press at the moment. Here’s a link to an article against barbecues, an article which begins by advising readers to have a good meal before going to a barbecue, if invited to one. And this morning I skim read an article, which I have since been unable to locate, about the harm to your health and to the environment that comes from burning charcoal in your barbecue. Not to mention all the problems with disposable barbecues.

If you must eat outdoors, what’s wrong with a good old-fashioned picnic? A variety of sandwiches and a bottle of pop!

Mind you I have fond childhood memories of bonfires in the garden on Guy Fawkes Night. When the fire was nicely established, beyond its first burst of glory, when the guy was consumed in the flames, and most of the fire was down to very hot glowing embers, my father would wrap baking potatoes in foil and push them into the embers. Later in the evening, when we had set off most of the fireworks and we children had finished running round making patterns and writing our names in the air with our sparklers, he would rake them out and unwrap them. And we all ate perfectly baked potatoes.

Still on the subject of food, this summer my daughter introduced me to the term “picky bits”. We had gone away for a family weekend, packing the children into the car straight from school, planning to eat when we arrived at our destination.  We parked the children and my husband in the holiday accommodation and she and I went off to a nearby Aldi to buy supplies. “We’ll get some picky bits”, she said. And so we did: salad, cheese, pâté, sausage rolls, and so on. We spread them out on the table - picky bits! Well, here’s a link to an article protesting at the very use of the expression.  

I’ve just had one of those spam phone calls, this time from the employment agency ‘Indeed’. I disconnected at once. Even if I wanted a job, which I don’t, I’m not expecting to be headhunted by a bot. I keep reading about people falling for scam calls seeking their bank details, and about people falling for it and losing their hard-earned savings. Well, here’s a link to an article by someone who turned the tables on the scammers by pretending to be a confused old gent and keeping them talking and calling him back for several hours. Someone had to do it!

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!