A Sunny Saturday in Milton Keynes

Barbecue Boy
What is it about men and barbecues? Give them a few bits of charcoal, some flames and an apron and they come over all macho (not the apron, of course). No females are allowed near and, heaven forbid, they should try and cook meat! Cooking meat is 'man's work'.

Well, that suits me just fine because getting hot, sweaty and smoky is not my idea of fun - but sipping wine and watching the exploits of 'barbecue boy', is. On a hot, sunny afternoon, nothing is better than eating al fresco and a 'barbie' is an absolute must.

So it was on Saturday that we found ourselves in Milton Keynes, at our good friend, Paul's (Calum's godfather), sitting in the garden, enjoying a glass of chilled Chardonnay (fruit juice or me as I was driving) while he rustled up some steaks, lamb kebabs, chicken drumsticks, sausages and burgers, all the time slowly turning the colour of beetroot in the heat.

But, hell, he was having fun!

As a concession to our arteries, he also cooked red and green peppers and haloumi cheese (my favourite) which were delicious, as was the meat - mountains of it!

The Perfect Hostess
Paul's girlfriend Shelly was also there. We haven't known her long so it was a great opportunity to relax and chat and get to know her better. She was the perfect hostess, running around to make sure we were all being looked after.

So our glasses were never empty and our plates were constantly filled with food. Needless to say, we were all completely stuffed afterwards, but that didn't stop us devouring Hotel Chocolat truffles. Amazingly, now matter how full I am, I always have room for chocolate (although it does have to be dark).

Fabulous Feebz
It was a lovely way to spend a Saturday, catch up with each other's news and also see Paul's daughter, Phoebe, who is now a glamorous 17 year old and is spookily like her mother, with exactly the same mannerisms.

However, underneath she's still the same old 'Feebz', the surrogate big sister Calum and Lola grew up with. Although they hadn't seen each other for ages, they simply picked up where they left off and chatted away happily. I think they'll always be friends, just like I am with Phoebe's Mum, Nic.

Seeing her looking every bit the sophisticated young woman made me feel very old as I remembered her being born!

Fond Farewells
We didn't leave Paul's house until gone 10.00pm and parted with fond farewells, lots of hugs and genuine affection. We'll definitely make sure we see each other soon.

Paul is already talking about a 'boys weekend' with Calum. I see it now - pizza, playstation, dvds and a very late night.

Calum can't wait!