Had a good meal last night, sitting outside (yes it’s warm enough now!) at the side of the road perched on a wooden bench, surrounded by at least 20 others, all chatting away, drinking, laughing and having fun. 

It’s basically a makeshift BBQ, though smaller and -at just above ground level- everyone sits on small stalls.  You can get anything from mushrooms, peppers, sausages, corn-on-the-cob, chicken legs, bread (actually mantou -kind of a steamed bun), to  beef kebabs and bottles of beer. 

In warmer parts these are all over the place, all year round, but not here for obvious reasons. So it’s something to savour, only here for a few months.

I was thinking this would never be able to happen in the UK, besides all of the health and safety violations, I couldn’t imagine groups of people sitting at the side of the road, of all ages and backgrounds, mingling like this. Most evenings in centres of UK cities are not particuarly hospitable places, especially after dark- and it’s a shame.
It’s something that has to be admired about the way the society here respects it’s values. This was a family atmosphere, despite it being past nine and dark; there were migrant workers drinking after a hard day digging holes, students just home after the vacation, women and children out for a evening walk – all sorts.