George Gershwin’s immortal song from Porgy & Bess certainly sums up the joy of summertime, and although the fish may well be jumping, there aren’t too many cotton fields around the UK.
Despite that, for the majority of us summer is still the best time of year, when we can throw off the shackles of winter and spring, get outside and just chill and enjoy life alfresco!
In fact, over the past few years, and helped by the recent Covid lockdowns, there has been a fundamental change in our attitude to outdoors living, at home.
Whereas once upon a time, in fact back in 1997, when our original BBQ campaign first appeared, the main reason that we all went out into the garden during the summer was either to do some gardening, or occasionally sitting in one of those awful plastic garden seats, or to have a BBQ.
Eating or entertaining alfresco, other than consuming a burnt barbecued sausage in a limp bap, whilst trying to balance on a flimsy canvas or plastic seat, was something that we really, only did occasionally just to prove that summer was here!
But gosh, how things have changed as over the subsequent years, we’ve all not only spent more chasing the sun by holidaying abroad in Southern European, Caribbean, Asian and American hotspots, we’ve also sought to replicate the healthy & relaxed Mediterranean lifestyle, by investing in our gardens and patios at home, with decking , posh furniture, gazebos, mood lighting and exotic plants, as well as more sophisticated BBQ’s and drink stations.
It’s certainly a long way from the days of knotted handkerchiefs, rolled-up trouser legs, deck or plastic chairs or those horrible canvas folding ones!
In fact, life alfresco these days, seems a far cry from how we used to spend our time in the garden, or outside!
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