The first weekend of May I had to get up on the roof of my house to check that the eavestroughs weren’t blocked with last winter’s leftovers. The weather was so dreamy I invited my boyfriend and a couple friends to join me. An hour later a neighbour passed by and we asked him and a bottle of wine up as well. Three more boys eventually joined, and as we sat on the awkwardly slanted roof, the conversation flowed like rain on newly laid shingles.

Everything from Mariah Carey’s camel-toe to Rob Ford’s shenanigans was discussed, until I had to climb down to go on an ice-cream-sandwich run.

On the way to the store I thought about how fun it is to hang out with a bunch of gays, outdoors, not hammered, with no pressure to do anything but not fall 10 feet into the street below.

It’s something a lot of us don’t do enough. It’s too easy to meet for pre-drinks before a night on the town where we once again drink, dance or yell at each other over crazy-loud music until we stumble out the door. But take away the blaring beats, shots, cruising and various other recreational distractions, and one is left with a bunch of boy friends. Friends who like one another, friends who constantly promise to do things together outside a bar setting, friends who have hilarious and interesting things to say.

In our food and booze issue I wanted to concentrate on the social side of eating and drinking. Having a few afternoon bevvies in the park — easily plannable now, thanks to Sissydude’s guide on page 10 — invites different kinds of conversations and people watching. There’s very little to prove on a picnic blanket.

Growing your own food on your patio, balcony or even windowsill can blow up your world, what with the people one might encounter at the Homo Depot when buying all those seeds and the dinners that follow when everything comes to fruition. There’s something super sexy about a guy who knows what to do with coriander that he grew with his own dirt-covered man-hands, isn’t there?

I’m not saying we should stop going out for a good time with our friends and have tea parties instead. But this summer, let’s be more open to the idea of corralling on some turf, balcony or dangerously steep rooftop. A lot of sexy things can happen in the daylight. Eat! Drink! Be Mary. And see you in the park, boys.
— Phil Villeneuve