KELLY BROWN Mum's the Word...Whether it's rain or shine, us Brits are determined to have a BBQ

It could be that trip to the beach which ends in you sitting in the car eating fish and chips.

Or it could be that country walk where you can barely move because of the wellies, coat, gloves, scarf and what feels like a million layers of clothes.

A plan is a plan and we stick to our guns.

Well, last weekend was another episode of this never-say-die attitude which started with a long-planned family barbecue.

My older brother was visiting us for the weekend and my mum had long decided one of the nights was going to be an outdoor feast. Well, it is supposed to the summer, isn’t it?

It looked at one point as though the weather was going to clear up (well, it stopped raining, anyway) so we dispatched my dad outside to light the barbecue.

The food was cooking nicely and the rain was holding off so we all ventured outside for a drink, chat, and a little game of football with my son.

Finally the food was ready and we sat down to eat.

But with the first bite, came the first spot of rain.

Not deterred we sat outside, all wrapped in our coats (or hiding in the play house) and ate our food. We had planned a barbecue so we were going to have one – even if we needed to put the umbrella up.

Of course, once all the food had been eaten we rushed inside – but at least we had not been beaten by the weather.

The weekend’s rain also played havoc with a second birthday party we were invited to.

It was supposed to have been an outdoor games and picnic afternoon but was forcibly changed to an indoor party with little ones running around the full-to-bursting house with eggs and spoons.

There may have been no room to move, my little man may have been looking through the patio doors desperate to play outside, and the dads may have escaped into the shed. It didn’t matter.

We had planned a birthday party and a get-together – and nothing was going to get in the way!