Life’s a Gas

I have a feeling that the last time this gas barbecue saw action was exactly 19 years ago. I say exactly because it was at the Le Mans 24 Hour Race which would have been taking place on this weekend in June 2002.
The following year, we moved to our current house and put the barbecue in the garage. Where it has remained ever since. Partly that’s down to unreliable English summer weather - but mostly down to us buying an apartment in Spain in 2003, and using that for summer holidays for the next decade or so!
However, the joiner needs room in the garage when he starts work so I had a look to see what could be cleared out. Took the cover off the barbecue and found it was in a right state - rusty, stained and covered in cobwebs. The gas bottle was almost empty when we put it in the garage - surely it must have all leaked out by now, given how long it’s been sat there? But, amazingly, after a bit of cleaning and checking, the burners all fired up at first time of asking. Now, I certainly wouldn’t want to eat anything cooked on that rusty grid, but it seemed a shame to take it to the tip when it was obviously still in working order.
So I put it on the local Facebook Sell and Seek site, free to anyone who cared to collect it. A chap claimed it this morning and collected it this evening. Didn’t seem fazed by how much cleaning would be needed and went off happy.
At the end of the day, if it cleans up and works then I’m happy it’s getting a new lease of life. If the chap finds it won’t clean up satisfactorily, he could probably get a tenner for the empty gas bottle to compensate him for his efforts. Either way, I’ve got more space in the garage than I had this morning - result!