Look at that sky.
That was Friday at five o’clock. Me, at the bottom of the garden, sausage in hand, face tipped up at whatever that was happening above the rooftops. Kiddo toasting marshmallows. Jatinder doing his caveman thing at the barbecue.
That right there is what Fridays at 5pm are for.
I caught the sun a bit. Worth every second.
The barbecue, since you’re looking at it, is not your average supermarket special. Real bricks. Charcoal. Takes forty minutes to get going and produces smoke that finds its way into things you’d swear were nowhere near it. What is it with men and proper barbecues? The seriousness of it. The absolute commitment to doing it the hard way.
I understand it completely, actually. Because I know what this one is.
Jatinder’s mum and dad visited us in 2023. Their first time in the UK. His dad wasn’t well, but he was here and he was loving every moment of it. He was a builder back home in Punjab. A respected one. He built schools. He built things properly, things that lasted.
While he was here, he and Jatinder built the barbecue. His dad laid the first bricks himself, then stood back and strictly supervised Jatinder doing the rest.
One month after they went home to India, he passed away. He had waited for this visit.
So that’s what Jatinder is tending so seriously when he’s doing his caveman thing at the fire. That’s what kiddo is laughing next to while he waits for his marshmallow to catch.
Friday at 5pm, under that sky, eating a sausage.
I’ll take it every single week.