A Diary Entry: The Barbecue by Adam Rutter

 Sunday, August 17th, 2025

I went to a barbecue at Stuart’s house. There was a party of about twenty people from High Town Writers sat in the garden. The party was split in half. The first half were sat on a mosaic patio, next to a small pond. The other half on the lawn, nestled beneath the trees. I took a three legged walking stickwith a foldable seat attached. I opened the foldable seat and sat on the patio, facing the sun, with my back to the barbeque. I felt my back and head burning, even though I was wearing a kepi. The flames flickered in a bowl of charcoal, like an Olympic torch. The burgers sizzled and hissed ferociously as a transistor radio on the grill. I joined the other half, so that I could shade myself under the umbrella. We chatted about writing and publishing. Once the sausages and burgers had been cooked, Stuart announced that they were ready to be eaten. We all went into the annexe area of the house, which was presumably the dining room. All the food was prepared for us. The salad was in plentiful supply with an ample amount of sausages and beef burgers. On the windowsill was a Bluetooth speaker punching hard rock music across the room. I asked Stuart what were the rock band called.

‘The Cult’, he replied.

When I went back on the lawn, I had to resign to using a deck chair since I had a plate of food on my lap. Jennie Hart asked about my holiday, the places that I went to. Like me, Jennie has walked along the beach from Tywyn to Aberdovey. It is very popular among visitors in this part of Wales. I then went onto the subject about my ‘time travel novel’ with Marie Sever, which I started writing almost a decade ago. I told Marie that I was no longer pursuing my novel and decided to start afresh with my new sci-fi book, which is also going to have time travel in it, eventually. I briefly discussed Star Trek and Men In Black with Rena’s husband, Andy. He too is a sci-fi fan. For my second meal, I had a beef burger. I don’t normally eat beef burgers, though I must admit that I ate the best beef burger for a long time. I have to say that it sure beef-ed up my day. Pun intended.