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BBQ is scorcher once again

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Last year’s BBQ turned out to be on the hottest day of the year. After the crappy last couple of months, it was almost too good to believe the predictions for a warm sunny day for the second edition of Secret BBQ last Sunday.

Yet the forecast was right and some 65 of us sprawled across Chris’s back garden last Sunday basking in the warm sun.

There are photos of lots of you here. Thanks to Mark for his “official photographer” duties.

Massive thanks again to Chris for throwing open his flat to all of us (and for having the excellent idea of buying individual ice creams!). See you all in 2013.

Don’t forget to use your Spiga prosecco vouchers either!

Photos all (c) Mark Townsend apart from the top photo

Secret BBQ returns in 2012

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Last year, Chris generously volunteered to host a barbecue in his flat for whampers. It was a massive success (see pics), so we’re doing it again.

Why “secret”? We’ll reveal the exact location the day before to those of you who sign up (Chris isn’t a big fan of posting his address all over the internet and I don’t blame him). Rest assured, it’s within a 10 minute walk of West Hampstead tube station.

The date: from 2pm on July 22nd.

How it works: we provide all the food. Yes. All the food, the meat, the veggies the salad, soft drinks and all the ice for your beers. Last year we asked people for a donation to cover the cost, bit it didn’t quite work. So this year, we’re asking for £6.50 upfront (this includes the eventbrite fee). Doing it this way also helps us get a better idea of numbers. If we make any profit we’ll donate it to The Winch (the Swiss Cottage youth charity I regularly raise money for).

If you want to guarantee that The Winch gets some cash, there’s a £10 ticket option, from which £3.50 goes straight to them. Absolutely no obligation to do this, and if you’d rather give more or less, or donate anonymously then there’ll be a donation tin on the day.

You can buy tickets here via PayPal, or visit the BBQ event page.

When you get your ticket, we’ll need your mobile number (so we can tell you where it is), and please tell us of any dietary requirements. If you’ve got kids under five, bring ’em along for free (but please let us know in advance).

What else? You’ll just need to bring something to drink, some suncream (there was an “incident” last time – the hottest day of the year – she knows who I’m talking about), and your best party shirt/dress. Couldn’t be simpler. Oh, and no stilettos (wood floor you see).

Obviously, if you get a ticket, please do actually turn up. Imagine poor Chris sitting there that evening surrounded by bridge rolls and uneaten burgers!

Oh, and if it rains, there’s just about enough room to squeeze everyone inside and it will go ahead as planned. But it won’t rain. Definitely not.

See you there!

Summer sun for Whampgrill

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We managed to find the short sunny window of this fairly dismal summer for the Secret BBQ on Sunday. Just over 50 people turned up to a flat on the edges of West Hampstead on the hottest day of the year so far.

Chris very kindly opened up his house to a whole bunch of people he didn’t know but all of whom left as friends.

Some astute shopping and some industrial-scale grilling meant that no-one went hungry and definitely no-one was thirsty as the monster Pimms tureen was emptied as fast as it was filled. Same time next year?

Here are a few photos of the day taken by Michael. You can see the full slideshow here.

Put a Shhhh… rimp on the barbie

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The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted the Secret BBQ on the calendar. What gives?

A very generous whamper – Chris – has volunteered to host a barbecue after being converted to the delights of the whamp community at a whampreview a while back. So, between the two of us, we’re bringing you #whampgrill!

And the secret? We’ll reveal the exact location the day before to those of you who sign up (Chris isn’t a big fan of posting his address all over the internet and I don’t blame him). Rest assured, it’s within a 10 minute walk of West Hampstead tube station.

The date: from 2pm on June 26th.
The exciting bit: you don’t have to bring your own food – we’ll provide all the food – including non-meat things for the non-meat eaters. All you need to bring is something to drink. We’d also really like it if you brought a donation to help us cover our costs. Any extra money we make will go to The Winch, so do feel free to make generous donations.

Sounds good, right? A chance to make some new local friends, catch up with those you’ve already made, and enjoy some lovely grilled food in the rain (it won’t rain).

Now what? Given that it’s a party in his flat and his flat isn’t infinitely large, we are going to ask you to sign up for it so we can keep track of numbers – we can be a bit flexible but we’re expecting at least 40. If it looks like getting full, we’ll let you know so hopefully no-one misses out. Mail or tweet me if you’d like to come (with the number of any additional guests), with dietary requirements (coeliacs may need to bring their own bread rolls) and a mobile number so we can text you the location the day before.

Please say you’ll come if you actually plan to turn up, rather than just thinking “I’ll go unless a better offer comes along.” Sorry to get all pernickety, but just imagine poor Chris sitting there that evening surrounded by bridge rolls and uneaten burgers! Exactly. If you sign up and DO get a better offer/can’t come then please let us know asap. WHampers are invariably a well-brought up bunch, so doubt this will be a problem.

Oh, and if it rains, Chris assures me that he has enough room inside to cope and it will go ahead as planned. But it won’t rain. Definitely not.

See you there!