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A lot of people over the age of twenty have a sort of love-hate relationship with birthdays. They love to have a party and be the centre of attention and a lot of fun, but they hate getting older. But I think that people should celebrate their birthdays. After all, you like going to someone else’s birthday party and so you are morally obliged to put one on for others too.

And birthday parties ought to be a lot of fun. It does not have to be a children’s type party, of course, but you could still dress up and play games.

You could put on a barbecue for all your friends and family and do it cowboy style. Have a barn dance that would make ‘JR’ proud. The food for this is straightforward enough. Start by laying on plenty of Texas sized spare ribs, half-pounder hamburgers, T-bone steaks, and jumbo size hot dogs with loads of bread and salad.

For music, it has to be country and everybody has to put on cowboy clothing, although it would probably be better to leave the sidearms at home. Annie Oakley style costume for the ladies and Buffalo Bill style for the gents. If it is going to be a big party, ask everyone to bring their own favourite dish, in true Southern style. That would be a great way to celebrate an adult’s birthday for the family.

If you do not go much on the macho cowboy scheme, you could try a Caribbean style barbecue. Dress in flash short sleeved shirts and vivid colours or swimming costumes. The music could be reggae and calypso and the food would be grilled fish and chicken with salad and plenty of fresh fruit. Provide hot and not so hot chilli dips and barbecue sauces. You could have a go at limbo dancing too, that is always good for a laugh.

Or perhaps you would rather a humorous barbecue party and all dress up like the hillbilly family ‘The Clamperts’! That would be fun. The men could wear old velvet hats and old clothes tied up with string like Jed and Jethro and the women could come as Ellie May or Granny. I think that the authentic food like possum and bullfrog might be difficult to get hold of in some areas, but you could just supply what you want for this one. Steaks, hamburgers and fried fish; bread and salad with cake to finish.

Another favourite type of barbecue for a birthday do is the Luau. An Hawaiian barbecue is really something else. You will need bright colours and plenty of tropical Hawaiian decorations. You could supply half coconut shells for drinking out of and lots of coconut and pineapple based drinks. You should ask your guests to wear loud Hawaiian shirts and grass skirts, provide plenty of leis and hula music and a ‘loudest Hawaiian shirt’ contest is compulsory.

If none of those tickles your fancy, how about a ‘Vicars and Tarts’ barbecue? You can use your own imagination on that one though. Any more tea and crumpet, vicar?

If your barbecue party is to continue into the evening and it might get nippy, you could hire or borrow some patio heaters, just so as to give you a few extra hours in the garden.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the electric outdoor heater. If you are interested in patio heaters too, please click through to Residential Patio Heaters.

There are several types of gas lantern. They are chiefly used to produce light when you do not have a battery light or access to an electrical socket. In fact, they are most often used for emergency situations, when the power goes out at home, when you are camping or sitting in the garden later in the evening. They offer much more light than most torches and they are handy because you can stand them on a table, carry them, or hang them up.

There are quite a few models of gas lantern. However, they differ not only in design, but also in the type of fuel they burn. Some people like the old fashioned style kerosene or paraffin lamps. They like the design, the historical facet and possibly even the smell.

Their advantages are that the fuel is low-priced and easy to find. However, their disadvantages are that they smell and are very dangerous if tipped over. The storage of surplus paraffin or kerosene is also a grave risk, should a fire break out.

If you want one of these old style kerosene lanterns, they are widely available at camping, army surplus and hardware suppliers. If you are going to use them for emergency lighting, it is best to have four or five on hand, clean and ready to fill.

The wicks should be trimmed and the glass clean. Store them in plastic bags to stop dust building up on them. Keep one already filled with kerosene so that you can fill the others by its light. It is safer and less wasteful this way.

However, the modern equivalent of the kerosene lantern is the propane gas lantern. Propane gas lanterns burn with a very clean flame, which is also quite hot, so it does warm up its immediate surroundings, maybe to a distance of a foot or two. Therefore, it can keep faces warm on a cool evening in the garden.

Propane gas lanterns are fueled by gas canisters. They come in various sizes from quite small to large, but the gas does burn for a long while. The small canisters are best for emergency use and the larger ones for use on camping trips or in the garden. They are fairly cheap, are clean to burn, provide some heat, are light weight and are very safe.

On the safety side of things, it is obviously very important that you follow the manufacturer’s directions when using any kind of gas lantern, because they are all a potential fire hazard, especially when camping in a wood.

Become acquainted with the operation of the lantern you make your mind up to use before you have to use it. The gas lantern may get hot so be careful with it and get used to lighting it in the daylight so that you know what you are doing, when you need the gas lantern for real. One last suggestion, if you are taking a propane gas lantern on a camping holiday, take enough canisters with you. The merchant should be able to let know you how many hours they will last for the use you are going to put them to.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with the propane outdoor heater. If you are interested in patio heaters too, please click through to Residential Patio Heaters.