Almost the Weekend - Almost Fit, Almost Watered & a Peach Punch We Didn't See Coming

This week on Almost the Weekend, it is scorching, the garden has surrendered and we have launched a brand new segment.

Introducing Almost Fit — our weekly fitness check-in now the Race for Life is done. Our son got the whole family onto the Step Up app for a step challenge, and it has been the making of it. It has given our daughter a real focus after a long, low summer, she has taken up strength training too, and she now genuinely cannot keep up with us — especially uphill, where we are cheerfully running away. Next up, we are easing into strength training on the Peloton, starting with the beginners and seeing how much our muscles ache. We want to be around for each other for a long time, and this feels like the right way to do it.

Almost Blooming is a tale of survival. In this heat the front garden has been given up as lost, but the back garden lives on — the bonsai, the herbs and the tomatoes are all being kept going, with a lovely sweet second crop already eaten at a barbecue and a third on the way. Lesson learned for next year: bush tomatoes in a deeper pot.

We also gave the lease car a proper bucket-and-sponge wash before handing it back — done in the dark once the sun was down to avoid streaks — and in this dry spell the water came out absolutely filthy.

Mr Almost has finished building the Lego Harry Potter Knight Bus, the adorable purple triple-decker complete with figurines, and it has sent us straight back to the beginning of the films for a full Harry Potter rewatch. With a new Harry Potter shop opening on Oxford Street on the 4th of November and the new series on the way, there is magic in the air. We have a deadline to finish all the films — but we are not telling you what it is just yet.

We have been watching After Life on Netflix — Ricky Gervais writing, directing and starring as Tony across three perfectly judged series from 2019 to 2022. A black comedy that is funny, tragic and genuinely moving. It made us laugh and it made us cry. Five out of five and one we wish we had watched sooner.

We also finally caught The Devil Wears Prada 2 — a great returning cast in Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, but a sequel we do not think needed to be made. Enjoyable enough as a standalone, but it could not live up to the original. Three out of five.

Tipple of the Week is Barr Flava Explosion Peach Punch — a no sugar sparkling soft drink with an Irn-Bru orange glow that led us to discover Barr make it. Very peachy, very fizzy and a genuine surprise hit. We would happily have it again.

And Almost Edible went a little off-piste — our weekly Caffè Nero treat on the Vitality voucher brought an almond croissant, a delicious tiramisu and a rather disappointing apple crumble and custard tart, all wonderful but wildly overpriced for the size. We also tried a new ASDA tomato, bacon and cheese quiche alongside the barbecue — sloppy on day one but much nicer reheated on day two. Quiche Lorraine, however, remains the champion.

Pull up a chair. You’re one of us now. 🎙️