A Vegetarian Affair

I don’t usually write about the inner-workings of my romantic life…and that’s not about to change now, is it? The vegetarian affair of which I speak - or, technically, write - was a strictly faithful one, consisting primarily of the gathering of old friends round a symbolically meat-free BBQ. The date had long been set, the preparations made, and the weather was looking reliably unreliable for the British BBQ season.

I had managed to persuade my friends from college to work their way out of London and head for the wilderness of Zone 9, but in true Buckinghamshire style, the Metropolitan line was out of action for the weekend. My case was undermined after having tried to argue for so long that the Chalfonts were a well-connected paradise! Nevertheless, through trials, tribulations, and the (luxuriously air-conditioned and welcome alternative) Chiltern Train, my friends made it to the infamous village in one piece.

There was much discussion of its likeness to the village in Hot Fuzz. Thankfully there have been no ‘accidents’ here in recent years, and the Best Kept Village competition has well and truly slipped from our grasp, the last award coming in 2004 (but the sign still proudly displayed on the village green, of course). We do have an annual village show equipped with ‘funniest shaped vegetable’ and ‘local grown honey’ competitions though. Does that count for nothing?!

The Buckinghamshire air seemed to be suiting everyone rather well, and by some miracle that can only be explained by my recent Sun Dances to the pagan god Sulis (thank goodness I didn’t look ridiculous for nothing!), our imminent BBQ was hailed by glorious sunshine. Who’d have thought it? As a group we never miss the opportunity to glam up, so once glad-rags had been thrown on, tunes selected, and Prosecco cracked open, the BBQ could begin in earnest.

Sadly my outfit of choice ended up with a few extra accessories: a rather fetching BBQ apron, a dollop of coleslaw, and a streak of dribble from the ever-present, mostly-welcome and always loveable Percy. I made sure that most of the cooking was complete before the alcohol consumption made flipping veggie burgers an impossibility, and as far as I know all guests were fed and watered well enough. The festivities managed to last till 2 o’clock in the morning, so it can’t have all been bad.

Altogether it was a thoroughly lovely weekend. A chance to catch up with friends, an opportunity to show them a little bit of what life in Evie-land is like (but who can really fathom that?) and the possibility to play at being hostess, with perhaps not the mostess, but hopefully something not half bad.

The only grey lining to this otherwise silvery social occasion was the - still outstanding - disappearance of a beloved Gecko. LTC (as I believe she is known) was brought into our downstairs toilet to ensure she didn’t get too cold during the night. However, our good intentions have somewhat backfired as LTC is now L O S T, having disappeared from the vicinity. I have questioned Percy under duress and he has no more information to offer. So I suppose if you happen to see a Gecko, her owners would very much like her back, and I would very much like to know she’s not living in the walls of my house - although at least she’d be keeping the spider population at an all time low…