And . . . relax

I forgot to mention on my "user manuals" blog, which will probably not make the blogging history books, that the main reason for writing it at all was my new barbecue.  This is a fairly recent purchase, bought with Amazon vouchers from a cashback site, primarily to be used when 'vannin'.  It fulfils its requirements perfectly, being fairly small and portable, but big enough to actually cook food on, and sturdy enough that it does not fall apart after the third use.  It is, to use the local parlance, a beauty.

Having said that, and even with a twisty bit on the side to regulate air to the coals, and another twisty bit on the lid to regulate the oven features when the lid is on, it is a pretty simple object.  Therefore it was with some consternation and amusement that I found the user manual to be a dozen or more pages, repeated in eight languages.  Now, it was a self-assembly item so that needs a bit of explaining, all done in a double page, and thereafter it was page after page of the most mindless twaddle.  I am now thoroughly and exhaustively informed and educated on several important aspects; setting fire to barbecue coals can make them hot; not cooking food thoroughly can make you vomit; using the barbecue in a tent can give you carbon monoxide poisoning (fair enough, I had forgotten I knew that) and I should not be using the barbecue to jack up my car.  That would fit in to the "way too much information" category for me.  I am guessing that the make is American, so chock full of Health and Safety type stuff, and that is all that needs to be said.

This weekend we are without Maggot 1.  He is off at lunchtime today, returning Monday afternoon, to a 4 day trip with his year group at school.  There was many a parent anxiously wanting to know if they rang when they got there, and many a small child lugging the family suitcase in to school (Maggot 1 being one of them), and there was obviously some conversations in the playground yesterday because most of the boys were in tracksuits, albeit of a sporting rather than a shell-suit variety.  Ho hum.  Peer pressure at work.

So, we are left with Maggot 2 for the weekend, who will, he has already told us, be really enjoying the one on one times two he will be getting.  We have some free cinema tickets and we are also going over to David and Samantha for the afternoon and evening on Saturday, which should be fun.

Sadly, Brad and Angelina can no longer come down for the weekend in a week or twos time, having tickets to some other engagement that I don't know about only because LO does not like to furnish me with facts, she considers them dangerous in my possession.  We are hoping to book an alternative arrangement.

I hope you have a great weekend, and speak next week.