Hunter gathering for the new millenium

Most people who know me would, if asked, not have me marked down as the sort of person who would go out and hunt my own dinner, or forage the countryside for nutritious plants. They probably wouldn't mark me down as someone of a particularly practical bent, either.

However, yesterday saw something of an achievement, as Ros and I went to Bury St Edmunds to buy something we've been talking about getting for some time. Yes, we became the proud owners of a gas-fired barbecue. At least, we were the owners of a box of parts purporting to be a gas-fired barbecue...

In a touching display of faith, Ros left me to construct the thing, armed only with a twenty-six stage instruction manual, a screwdriver and a spanner, whilst she got on with some gardening. I hardly had the courage to explain that I'd never done such a thing before, especially something that might, if I got it wrong, explode.

I ran into trouble almost immediately, as I was unable to fit the foot to one of the legs. However, Marcus, our neighbour, demonstrated his project management skills and the first hurdle was overcome. Beer helped (it often does) and a glass of St Peter's Golden Ale acted as a spur to greater progress. It was when I got to the bits that carry the gas to the burners that my confidence wavered a bit.

For the life of me, I couldn't work out what happened next but, after a bit of headshaking, I finally worked out what went where and, from then on, it was simply a matter of methodically screwing bolts in and placing bits where they should have been.

Ah, but would it work? With some apprehension, I connected the regulator to the gas bottle and, after a few false starts, propane flowed to the burners. Ros turned them on, flames appeared in an appropriate manner, and nobody died by means of a dramatic fireball.

Ros has a touching faith in my ability to do things like this, whereas I have grave doubts about my technical skills. However, this time (as usual), she was right. We'll be using the barbecue today, so I'll let you know how it goes...