Hitchin: View From The BBQ

Being on Re:Act is all about the different perspectives... so here is my perspective from behind the BBQ grill at Saturday's event in Hitchin:

As I sat in my living room in a Hitchin estate a few minutes before the start of the fun day, I could see that it was tipping it down. Little did I know that onsite, in the market square, it was also raining but that the East Re:Act team where 'working' on the problem with the combination of fervent prayer and the kind of enthusiastic optimism only found on a mission team... By the time I arrived at the fun day, the sun had come out and it was starting to look like a lovely day!

The fun day was held right in the centre of Hitchin so it was very compact and felt really crowded but with a real buzz about the event. All the churches in Hitchin had got together to put on the day and there were people giving out cakes and sweets as well as the usual Re:Act entertainments. I was on the barbeque for the latter half of the day.

An estimated 900+ burgers and sausages were cooked up during the event and that's quite a leap from my usual experience behind the grill. Demand was thick and fast but the last thing we wanted to do was serve food that would be repeating itself. Some of the crowd were astonished to discover that all this was free while others took full advantage of what was on offer - coming back for seconds and thirds and then some! There's a lot to concentrate on - not burning your knuckles for one thing - but if you can see through the constant BBQ smoke, you can appreciate plenty of what the Re:Act day has to offer. The wonderful performances from the live band, the magicians / illusionists on stage astounding the kids (and some of their parents too!), the shouts from the inflatables, the general buzz from people enjoying lots of free fun...

One piece of advice if you're in the same position... make sure you have a pair of shades and avoid metal button flies on your trousers!