Sunday things

Howdy, not a lot going on today.

Some talk of Gabriel Jesus again but nothing particularly different and nothing from a source that would merit more discussion.

There were some internationals yesterday. I didn’t watch. England lost it seems, Bukayo Saka came on at half-time. Ireland lost to Armenia. We don’t have Bukay O’Saka but I bet we’d have won if we did.

So, on that basis, I am going to leave today’s blog short. I have some things to do today, including:

Cleaning the barbecue: There comes a point where you have to admit it needs a proper cleaning. Not the grill part, but the inside where there’s ash and dust and stuff that needs taking care of.

As a bbq aside, I’ve had a number of them down the years, including one where one of the wheels fell off on its second use and every time I wanted to cook I had to use a brick to perch it on and it was a pain in the arse. Last year got a Weber, one of the roundy lads, and it’s the best thing ever.

Learning about indirect cooking, i.e having the coals on one side so you can go fast or slow depending on what you’re making and how you want it, has been quite a lot of fun. Burger, whack it on coal-side for that flame grilled whopper … er … finish; steaks with that great char on the outside but medium rare on in the inside (meat thermometer is a must-buy); fish; veg; it’s the best.

Unfortunately it’s pissing rain here this morning so after making myself very hungry for barbecue I don’t know if I can have it today. Still, there’s always tomorrow.

Scraping paint off the pillars: Another job that the rain might impact, but the front garden wall needs some touching up. I wish I could just lash a load of paint on, but I have to scrape away the flaky stuff that’s there now. The tops of the wall are grand, but the rest is pebbledashed and that’s much more difficult (to paint, you can’t scrape that stuff).

Sort out under the stairs: The summer DIY project is to clean out under the stairs, put down some new flooring (clicky-clack stuff), add some kind of finish to the walls which are just bare concrete, and turn it into a space for the jackets, boots, golf clubs etc that currently hang around in the front hall.

I say ‘Trust the process’, but also I say ‘I am to DIY what Mikael Silvestre was to being a good defender for Arsenal’, so this could be quite the challenge. Can I hang a mirror? Sure. Can I do much more than that? No. I’m not good at envisaging things, or figuring out how things go together, or, essentially, how to do anything that involves tools and/or the stuff that you use tools on. I was going to say ingredients but that’s not the right word. However, it should tell you plenty about my DIY aptitude. Housegredients. I dunno. What is the word? Stuff? That’ll do.

Hit some golf balls: I need greater accuracy in my approach play. Practice makes perfect, or at least a bit less hooky.

Right, that’s it. Whatever you’re doing today, I hope you do it well. Till tomorrow.