What are the ingredients for a perfect barbecue?

Good company, a barbecue, and the sporadic showers you can expect in London. And, according to Br Kevin, there is no other way you would enjoy an original British barbecue.

Good or bad weather, the parishioners of Sacred Heart in Battersea celebrated the community with an open-air day together on Sunday the 17th. Games and a barbecue in the playground of St John Bosco College were the protagonists. As mentioned, the day started with some clouds, that brought a quite heavy shower, to then leave the space to a bright sun from early afternoon.

While the cooks were rapid in moving tables, grill, and sandwiches when the increasing rain threatened to spoil the food, the children strolled from one side to another with their colourful umbrellas. Some others kept on flipping the ball under the wet glass of the table football.

Kids were not put off by few drops, so did the adults, who, as soon as the bad weather stopped for a moment, moved again bowls and sandwiches under the gazebos. The queue for fresh grilled meat was made on the opposite direction "so that people would have been covered from the occasional rain that reappeared a couple of times more" and the party went on.

A group didn't wait for the first sun rays to appear to walk back again in the football field. And actually, the smiles, friendly conversations, and the games that resumed, made soon the good weather.

The Filipino community prepared a traditional dance. With floral decorations and bright skirts, the women performed perfectly coordinated, cheering up the whole community.

A presentation was also made to thank Father Peter, who has served as Parochial Administrator in the last two years and a half. Fr Peter will remain with us at Sacred Heart, but from this summer on, the Parish will welcome a new Parochial Administrator.

The afternoon, later on, saw a completely different performance in the school hall of St John Bosco College. In this latest weeks, we have heard a lot about unity and foreigners. The Slovak Community Theatre presented a play all about the challenges and thoughts of the young and growing population of migrants: Migrants' Rhapsody.

On the stage, the beginning of the journey, the encounter with a chaotic London, the strenuous conditions of dreaming about the future. The young actors from Slovakia brought to life these and many more of the components of the fragmented and often lonely life of a migrant.

Because of the norms of security, as a line of the play goes, you cannot bring your whole heart with you, in the country you are moving to. So, as a foreigner, the risk is to live half, with part of you here, and part in your motherland. Where is home? How will improve your future life?

A shared joy is a double joy. And the time spent together at Battersea was just another proof of the enjoyable atmosphere a community gathered can recreate, no matter what the weather will be like.

Cristiana Ferrauti