For ten shillings more than ten pounds there is another
messy, beautiful summer plaything on the market. It is always the foreigners who think up these ideas. The impatient Americans want their photos right away. The French seem fond of picking up American habits. The barbecue is essentially the American great out- doors theme translated to the back garden. But it takes the French to produce a charcoal-tired spit that most people can afford, and use. Le Creuset have named this well-designed little grill Le Barbecue-Party. It works quite well, but takes some time to get hot. And disappointingly for father, if he still relishes camp-fire lighting, you light it with methylated spirit. It is so com- pact that urbanites without use of garden or backyard could operate it on a balcony. But don't tell the insurance company.
Incidentally. I favour the slightly unorthodox method of starting the fire with wood, not char- coal. That expensive fuel Sizzle, consisting of compressed briquettes of powdered charcoal flavoured with the hickory beloved of American barbecue addicts, needs a higher temperature to get it going than meths can provide. So in this model I would prefer the rougher, cheaper 'natural' charcoal.
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