Tis the season to start tidying up bits and pieces around the garden and batten down the hatches before the onslaught of mild winter weather.

The wooden patio table and chair set is to be cleaned and put in the garage, the lawns given their final trim and the fighting remnants of summer weeds given the coup de gras.

This means of course that the green wheelie bin will then go into semi-retirement with just a couple of full kitchen small pedal bin bags left to languish in its depths for each fortnightly collection.

Perhaps if I had wheels on the pedal bin I could roll that one out to the front each Monday instead. Remember you heard it here first!

Anyway during this autumn-clean I was briefly puzzled by an object in one corner of the garden hiding under a black cover. Upon investigation I discovered a …. barbecue!

Quite forgotten I’d had it. This summer has been so rotten that the contraption hasn’t had a look in. Still if the weathermen are to be believed we’re heading for a roasting at the weekend.

Now that could be a first. Having your mates round for a barbie and few 'tinnies' deep into October.