BBQ Corner

I've always preferred using Charcoal BBQ's over gas. Probably something to do with the preparation time, the need to allow the coals to heat up properly permits me a guilt free glass of wine or two as there is nothing else I can be doing but watching carefully over the coals, ensuring safety and judging the perfect time to start cooking.

This year however I also set up one of our very own SilverSteel Stainless Steel Gas barbecues more because of the rotisserie function and also because for the England Algeria game (less said the better) we were catering for 22 people and I thought we could do with the extra cooking space.

Baring in mind we already have a small charcoal Tripod BBQ and a much larger Outback Charcoal BBQ the space needed for these and the the even bigger SilverSteel BBQ led to a bit of a problem.

By our garage, at the back of it, we had a pretty dysfunctional patio area that never gets the sun and leads to a concrete shed base that we use for herbs and vegetables. Along the left hand side of the said dysfunctional patio area was a log roll border with pebbles and an old disused stone frog water feature, or more accurately speaking, a waste of space. The right hand said of this bit of patio leads to the garden and the functional patio area. The allotted space for the massive SilverSteel was always in front of the log roll.

So to work and it only took an hour to get the pebbles and log roll up and smooth over the earth that was left behind. Another hour and a half or and we had the 6 white paving slabs and border gravel that we needed to make the area look nice. The SilverSteel is now 2 foot nearer the fence and because it is so high the left hand shelf of the Outback slots under the right hand shelf of the SilverSteel.

What we are left with is a BBQ corner with the benefit of charcoal and gas and I don't think we could have catered for 22 hungry people effectively unless we had both on the go because for all the virtues of charcoal the gas gave me instant searing and adjustable heat, so when at half time, and some were in need of a pick me up sausage but the coal started to fail, we had something to be happy about.

5 Top Tips for Barbecuers

Nothing quite beats a good barbecue in the Summer. Whilst cooking on a barbecue is usually straightforward, the finer points of the event can make all the difference and ensure you'll become a top host in the eyes of your guests.

Make use of the five tips below to get the most from your barbecue this year:

1. Flies can be a real nuisance at a barbecue. For a simple yet effective way to keep flies at bay, light Citronella candles and place them near to where you are eating. The smell acts as a natural fly and mosquito repellent, while filling the air with an attractive scent.
2. The British summer is renowned for being unpredictable, so set up your barbecue and eating area accordingly. Have to hand windbreaks or umbrellas for windy days, and suitable lighting and heating for night time do's (or poor Summer days). Patio heaters are widely available, or go for something more attractive and natural such as a Chiminea.
3. Try toasting on a barbecue, it's not as difficult as it sounds! Put on a few slices of bread only when the barbecue is giving off low heat. Place on top a few slices of tomato, cheese and onion for a tasty treat. Perfect as a light barbecue meal or vegetarian alternative.
   
4. A must have accessory for your barbecue is a basic spray bottle filled with water. It's all too easy for a barbecue to get carried away when fat and grease begin to cook, so spraying small amounts of water can dampen the flames and prevent food from becoming unevenly cooked or burnt.
5. Lastly, don't let your dad (typically the self-styled barbecue expert) do the cooking unless you enjoy your meat extra well done i.e. burnt to a crisp!

Photo credit, chew-the-fat.com

Some Fun Outdoor Activities

There's a never ending number of activities you can do with your kids outdoors to keep them happy. For those without nearby parks, the garden makes the perfect place to have fun, even in small gardens without a lot of space, you just need to make sure that the activity is enjoyable and interesting enough. A garden allows kids to appreciate the nature around them, enjoy the fresh air and have fun at the same time. Below we've listed just a few of the activities you could enjoy with your kids in the garden.

TREASURE HUNT WITH YOUR KIDS

Kids always love adventure. It follows that kids would love an adventure hunt out in the garden. Setting up a treasure hunt is easy and can be played with virtually any items, most kids will enjoy searching for sweets and chocolate most, but anything that interests them will do. Make sure to hide them well as kids are particularly good at finding things! Treasure hunt is best enjoyed with a group of kids, such as a birthday party.

GARDEN SANDPITS

Just about any child enjoys playing in the sand at the beach, but for many who live inland getting to the beach regularly may not be so easy. The answer to this problem is to bring the beach to your garden, or a small part of it at least. All you need to purchase is a sandpit, some sand and you're ready to go. Pick up a plastic bucket and spade and your kids will think they are at the seaside!


MAKE A DEN

Kids have vivid imaginations, and nothing comes close to stimulating them as much as an outdoors den. Throw a sheet over a table, between two chairs or similar and your kids have a cool place of their own to play, but do make sure that wherever you choose is safe. The fun is amplified when friends or siblings join in.

GIANT GARDEN GAMES

It may be hard to imagine for modern generations that games consoles were not always around to entertain, and that some fantastic, mega fun games can be played outdoors - no plug sockets required! Just take a look at the range of garden games available on our website, where you'll find classic garden board games, fun activities and much more. These games have been specially chosen to be fun for the whole family. Even without the kids they can still be a lot of fun!

PLAY HIDE AND SEEK

Last but not least is the classic game of hide and seek. No doubt this classic game has remained popular throughout many years as it's only requirement is having a handful of good places in which to hide - which just about anywhere will have. Some precautions need to be observed, such as making sure kids know the boundary limits and to not go near places where machinery or dangerous chemicals may be. Make sure that you keep harmful chemicals and equipment away from places where your children may possibly hide.

So there we have it, five of many fun activities that can be enjoyed outdoors with the kids and family. Hopefully these pointers have inspired you to do more with your outdoor space this year. We're sure you'll think of a few more fun ideas yourself! Have fun and enjoy the nice weather this Summer.

It's Time to Buy New Patio Furniture!

It's Time to Buy New Patio Furniture!

Warm weather is here. Do you know what that means? It is time to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather in your fantastic backyard. Part of that enjoyment should include relaxing on your patio or deck. If you don't have any furniture to sit on, you need to go shopping. You need a website that not only sells furniture, but also sells grills, outdoor games, fire pits and basketball equipment.

You have a fantastic deck, but you need a grill and a place to sit and enjoy a meal out there. Visit the website where you can buy a grill and furniture, its one stop shopping. It is time for a beautiful table and 4 chairs so you can eat that burger sitting down. Styles are endless so buy what meets your needs.

Choose from propane or charcoal grills. Don’t forget the accessories, such as a brush to clean the grill or a three piece tool set. You need the right tools to cook outside, so why not get them at the same time?

Don’t buy cheap plastic tables and chairs when you can buy wood. Teak furniture is very beautiful. It holds up well in all types of elements. You can buy a teak table and 4 chairs, or other styles with 6 chairs. If you want to add some punches of color to the outdoor furniture, add some brightly colored cushions.

If you just want some lounge chairs for your deck, there are a few options. Get a sun lounger with wheels and you can move it anyplace in your yard. If you want to sit up and read a book, then the steamer chair would be a great addition.

Don’t forget outdoor lighting to add beauty to your outdoor spaces. Extend your time outside with solar powered lighting for your pathway or tabletop. Exterior lighting is decorative as well as a safety feature, you don’t want to trip and fall.

If you want the kids to burn off some energy, get them a trampoline from the same company. They will love it. You can buy something each member of your family will find useful, comfortable and beautiful.

Buy your outdoor furniture and other accessories from an established company that offers excellent products, along with friendly and helpful customer service. If a problem occurs with a product you purchase, we will gladly take care of it.

The 2010 Summer Garden Plan

Like so many people I’ve had enough of Winter. Don’t get me wrong, I love snow & Christmas but we’ve done that now and the allure of the garden and sunshine and everything else that goes with it is now becoming ever increasingly appealing.

Every year, like many people, we try and make a few improvements to the garden and the outside of the house in general (see some of the other blog posts). Today we formulated our plan.

1. Get the redundant bit of land next to the summer house and behind the swing chair at least looking nice if not serving a purpose.
2. Grow raspberries.
3. Get a clematis going along the fence nearest the climbing frame.
4. Treat all the visible fence panels as they are getting a bit ropey.
5. Make a balance beam from the 2 extra bits of wood delivered with the climbing frame.
6. Assemble the sand-pit that came with the climbing frame.
7. Power-hose the patio & side passage.
8. Get the summer house furniture and the teak chairs all matching with bright red cushion covers, maybe with a parasol for the table.
9. Paint the garage door blue.

Now that I’ve put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard anyway, let’s see how far we get. Below are pics of all the areas that we are looking to improve and I’ll blog back at the beginning of September, hopefully with photographic evidence that summer 2010 wasn’t all World Cup, Wimbledon, barbecues & backgammon.

Give the garage door a re-painting of blue

A wooden sandpit, as it currently is

The perfect area to grow raspberries

Needs a hoseing down

Start a Clematis growing along the fencing

The fence could do with a treatment

Frozen Parsnips Anyone?

There’s not much going on down in the garden at this time of year, everything has been battened down, the teak is in the summerhouse and the garage is full to bursting with garden toys and BBQ bits and loads of other stuff that we take for granted when our gardens are fully operational. Also, at the time of writing, the garden is frozen solid and we’re expecting a load of snow..

There is, however, one garden project that is ongoing, and is indeed being enhanced by the very cold weather we are having. It could be an attempt to enter the Guinness Book Of Records for the worlds largest snowman, but it’s not. It could be an experiment to see the effects of constant freezing and thawing on a whole range of garden furniture and toys, but it’s not. So what is it I can hear everyone exclaiming..

It is of course Adam’s Parsnip Project (does it sound familiar) and I’m very excited as by the time they’re ready for harvesting in March it is these re-occurring freeze and thaws that each time they happen will make the parsnips even tastier and are fully responsible for their unique sweet and nutty flavour. The rule here is the more times they freeze, the better the parsnip.

So even whilst the garden is a frozen wasteland of unused accessories that in the summer months I couldn’t live without, I still get a bit of pleasure venturing out to the garden on occasion and checking that all is well with the parsnips.

Have a look at Gardening Patch as further reading for all you parsnip enthusiasts out there.

Monster Climbing Frame

My house is cluttered up with far too many toys, many more than one 2 year old needs which is the cumulative result of two Birthdays and three Christmases with lots of grandparents and aunties etc. all being more than generous. With Birthday number three approaching and Christmas number four just a bit more than a month after that we were starting to fret about the colossal amount of toys and games and other bits and pieces that we definitely could live without taking residence in our residence and eating up the last piece of carpet we have.

It had to be stopped - but how? Simple, get any one of our family members who would take pity on our plight and see if they would club together for a monster Birthday/Christmas present thus negating the necessity to collate even more household child entertainment devices. And one more feature to our plan – the said combined offering to be an outside item.

Our garden is wedge shaped and is wider than it is long; it has a lot of bits and pieces (unsurprisingly) and we have always had one end of the garden for the swings, slide, trampoline, sandpit etc. and the other end of the garden for things like a summerhouse, bbq, furniture etc., a adult/child divide with a fair amount of lawn in the middle.

There is a reason lots of parents lovingly refer to their little ones as ‘monkeys’, it is not because of unfortunate facial hair conditions but more for their love of climbing…anything. It is this trait that our particular monkey has been exhibiting for some time leading to the simple answer to the above mentioned simple problem: the monster present had to be a climbing frame.

As you might notice I have a few very good climbing frames to choose from on the site and if you have got the space the Carisbrooke climbing frame is absolutely one of the best you can go for. Once the old swings were taken down, or more accurately, dug out, the trampoline found a nice home in the very corner of the kids end of the wedge and construction began. I learnt that there is a reason why we offer an assembly service for this particular model and that £400 is a very reasonable price to pay; the job was enormous, the Carisbrooke is massive, a monster climbing frame that wouldn’t look out of place in any park, with so many fun features any child is guaranteed to love it.

The end result – we have one very happy 3 year old, mainly because of his new monster climbing frame and also because each and every one of the afore mentioned family members still produced a space eating delight for him to unwrap on his big day.