The land is dry, and the people are ...stupid?

We haven't had a BBQ since the beginning of May. The Heat has meant that cooking and eating out of doors has been no fun at all.

Maybe I'm not being so dramatic. Kent Fire and Rescue Service have requested that people do not have barbecues until current drought conditions subside.

But I expect there's lots of people out there who know better 😏

Astitchintime

I’ve just read a post on MN where the OP became ill last evening after eating a Morrisons burger that her husband cooked on the BBQ and it was pink in the middle. She thinks she should get compensation from Morrisons for being ill! Personally, given the current drought and everywhere being tinder dry and people are being discouraged from lighting a BBQ……..I think her and her OH were irresponsible for having one at all! Sorry luv, don’t ask for sympathy when you behave like a self important moron!

That is unbelievable, isn’t it Astitchintime?
Where do these entitled individuals come from? Even if we weren’t in these drought conditions, where having a barbecue is, to put it mildly, foolhardy, then to suggest suing a supermarket when you yourself (or other half) failed to cook something properly is, quite frankly, ridiculous, and Morrisons would be quite right to laugh them out of the store.

Quite so, ferry. The fireworks on the beach, a regular summer event in my seaside town, have been cancelled.
The local social media thread was overwhelmingly supportive of this decision, but even here, some voices were protesting about the " nanny state ".

Surely the post about the Morrisons burger was tongue in cheek. I’ve always been baffled about barbecues. Standing around eating charred food and trying to balance everything . The best one I went to was when the wife brought out a tray of properly cooked food from the kitchen and tipped it onto the barbecue and told her husband to dish it out.

if you cook properly on the bbq it shouldn't be charred

I don’t see the attraction of barbecued food, which is often charred or undercooked, in my experience of the few barbecues I’ve attended.

Food cooked in this way may also be carcinogenic, particularly when allowed to char. (Not vegetables)

I live next to a very dry field with a footpath alongside, and am in fear of walkers dropping cigarettes ends. I would not be happy either if any house running alongside this field had barbecues, particularly during windy conditions when sparks can fly.

Cossy

No! You are not being “over dramatic”

You are being completely sensible and responsible.

I cannot print how I feel about the ones moaning about it, I’d be banned forever!

I cannot print how I feel about the ones moaning about it, I’d be banned forever!

You and me both Cossy...

Chocolatelovinggran

Quite so, ferry. The fireworks on the beach, a regular summer event in my seaside town, have been cancelled.
The local social media thread was overwhelmingly supportive of this decision, but even here, some voices were protesting about the " nanny state ".

but even here, some voices were protesting about the " nanny state

Lord, they are so tedious aren't they.

Oreo

It isn’t backyard barbecues that are dangerous, just the awful disposable ones which often result in wildfires and also people getting burned.
Most fires are started deliberately but we can also do without those caused by discarded BBQ’s as well.

I beg to differ.

With the heat and shortage of rain and a looming shortage of drinking water, no-one should be using barecues, lighting fires or smoking outdoors, using flame-throwers to get rid of weeds, or watering a garden using a hosepipe.

Or leaving empty glass bottles out in the sun!

I see Amazon are still selling Chinese Sky Lanterns, these should have an outright ban.

AuntieE

Oreo

It isn’t backyard barbecues that are dangerous, just the awful disposable ones which often result in wildfires and also people getting burned.
Most fires are started deliberately but we can also do without those caused by discarded BBQ’s as well.

I beg to differ.

With the heat and shortage of rain and a looming shortage of drinking water, no-one should be using barecues, lighting fires or smoking outdoors, using flame-throwers to get rid of weeds, or watering a garden using a hosepipe.

Or leaving empty glass bottles out in the sun!

Barbecues are safe if looked after properly, and in a garden there is water to hand.
Smokers should be careful to stub cigarettes out properly you cannot expect them to not smoke .
There are exemptions for using hose pipes.
I agree that leaving glass in the sun, lighting campfires or using flame burners in the garden are all stupid things to do.

Sago

I see Amazon are still selling Chinese Sky Lanterns, these should have an outright ban.

Totally agree, they are a danger to livestock, and in this current dry spell a fire waiting to happen!

BBQ’s in gardens are safe as long as they are not against a fence or close to shrubbery.

I am amazed at all of the bad BBQ food that posters have experienced. As for juggling most people have outside tables and chairs nowadays.

We use our gas BBQ whenever we can, as do our AC is theirs, never have I had a charred sausage or undercooked chicken leg I have had succulent fish, prawns, lobster, kebabs, homemade burgers and all sorts of vegetables…

I absolutly hate BBQ's. No matter how good people say the food is. Its purely personal choice.
It's idiots who start them in this weather and do not take care who cause the bother. People are told not to use disposable BBQ's yet they still do it .
I really cannot see the attraction to a BBQ sausage or burger or anything else for that matter. A couple of years ago a neibour had one and the smell and smoke was revolting. I had to re wash the clothes I was line drying.
Unless people are very responsible I cannot see why they would want that type of food in this weather.

Our former neighbours used to barbeque most weekends weather permitting but he started it with paraffin and the smell was disgusting.
Thankfully the new neighbours don't. I live near some woods so I'm glad about that.

Many people use disposal barbecues in their gardens. Not all are used in al fresco circumstances.

No, I am not doing any special pleading. Just pointing out that not every disposal barbecue is used in a way that could damage the countryside.

Nothing to do with barbecues, but I read a Mumsnet thread recently about the care of an elderly parent. I was shocked by the number of responses telling the poster to 'maintain her boundaries' and to 'live her own life.' This didn't really happen when I was young., or is it just me?

And about barbecues, I was also shocked by the responses from people demanding their 'right' to have barbecues on their own property.

Funny, I was just thinking the other day that bbq's weren't a thing when we were children. I seem to remember going to my first ever bbq sometime in mid 70's.

Not having any open flames during a drought is a common sense restriction, especially in public parks and wild areas. There are many ways to cook a meal without overheating a kitchen, especially air fryers.

Supervised BBQ's sat on solid patios away from flammable objects like dried grass are not a problem. Disposable BBQ's on open fields are. These often re-ignite as they are left unattended.
Just recently some fools set of lanterns at a funeral, landing in open fields and gardens. These things should be banned outright, drought or no drought.

What is wrong with doing something constructive like planting bulbs or a tree? If they need to see something 'soar', maybe just blow bubbles!

StoneofDestiny

Supervised BBQ's sat on solid patios away from flammable objects like dried grass are not a problem. Disposable BBQ's on open fields are. These often re-ignite as they are left unattended.
Just recently some fools set of lanterns at a funeral, landing in open fields and gardens. These things should be banned outright, drought or no drought.

What is wrong with doing something constructive like planting bulbs or a tree? If they need to see something 'soar', maybe just blow bubbles!

I wonder why then, the Fire and Rescue Service are asking people not to have barbecues?

Perhaps you know something they don't.

My daughter and her family have just come back from San Francisco. We were talking about drought restrictions and she said the sale of fireworks is completely banned over there and everyone has survived.

Deedaa

My daughter and her family have just come back from San Francisco. We were talking about drought restrictions and she said the sale of fireworks is completely banned over there and everyone has survived.

... bet you were pleased to welcome her back!

M0nica

Many people use disposal barbecues in their gardens. Not all are used in al fresco circumstances.

No, I am not doing any special pleading. Just pointing out that not every disposal barbecue is used in a way that could damage the countryside.

Well said. I'm not whinging or complaining but when we go on a cottage holiday with our adult children and grandchildren, my son prefers to use disposable BBQs placed on the rack of the standard outdoor one usually provided. They often aren't as clean as one would like, and it saves hours of scrubbing the grill before cooking your own food. This year we won't have our traditional BBQ night, but we'll survive and I fully support this temporary ban.