When we moved into this house about sixteen years ago, one of the things we liked about it was the open fireplace in the lounge.
We had two working fireplaces in our first house (actually the only form of heating in that one) and in one house we had a combination of central heating and an open fire in the lounge, but mostly we’ve simply had central heating. Now a centrally heated house is a wonderful thing, but radiators and warm air heating ducts have no soul. They do not warm the heart as well as the body. They don’t thumb the nose quite as effectively at the hideous weather outside as do leaping flames and glowing coals and spitting logs. So even though the leaping flames are followed by cold ashes in the morning which have to be poked and scraped and cleaned before you can repeat the experience, and even though there is nothing more frustrating than painstakingly laying a fire and setting a match to it only to have the damn thing fail to catch, when we saw that fireplace, we wanted it, because a centrally heated house with a working fireplace? That’s the best of both worlds.
‘Does it work?’ we asked? ‘Oh yes’, they replied, ‘we often have a fire in the winter’*. So despite the many and varied faults in the house we signed on the dotted line and that fireplace (along with the incredibly numerous and varied faults) was ours.
So, did it work?
Is the Pope a Bhuddist?
The answer to both questions is no. The fireplace did not work, it smoked us like kippers in a sealed shed, especially when the wind was in the north or east (which being on the edge of the fens it usually is in the winter) and being asthmatic, I quickly stopped trying to light that fire and turned up the heating instead, and the bags of coal gathered cobwebs in the garage.
Eventually, we recovered sufficiently from the crippling mortgage to start addressing the many and varied problems of the house, and eventually, after we had the structural stuff sorted out, we decided to have our lovely builder raise the chimney to solve our blow-back problems, and that, dear readers, was about three years ago and until a week ago, we had not lit a fire.
Why? Well, we’d got kind of used to not having one, and I was nervous of all that smoke. I had a few persistent coughs and didn’t want to risk asthma on top of them. Then the wind was in the wrong direction. Then during the calm, ‘no cough’ periods, we didn’t have any kindling and forgot to get some. Or it was too cold to have the windows open to clear the smoke if it did blow back down, or it was too hot to want to try the fire in the first place. Or it was … oh, there were a hundred different reasons. But one day in the run up to Christmas (as if we didn’t have enough to do), we decided to give it a try.
And look! It works beautifully!
And you know how you can see pictures in a living fire? Well, now that we have it burning like a … well, like a house on fire, I see quite an exciting little scene in this one.
What do you see?
*These people, as it turned out, were economical with the truth.
Well, that central log is the Grail and I see Indy Jones hiding behind the pillar of fire on the left, just waiting to snatch it! BTW – the fires all over the room are one of the booby-traps…
Probably not at ALL what you see!!
I love fireplaces – don’t have one though!
Happy New Year, Jay!
Oooh, I SO miss my old coal fire, I never, ever minded clearing or setting it, it was all part of the pleasure of having it. Is the Pope a Buddist? Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, I must remember that one!
Hope you have a warm and toasty 2010 – get those marshmallows out.. (x)
I like a fire. We changed our wood fireplace over to gas now for inside the house. We also have a fire bowl outside that we make some fires in. Then when we go camping a fire is a must, for I am a big time roast marshmallow fan.
What do I see…when I first glanced it reminded me of cupped hands with streaks of light emerging from them.
Very nice photo. So glad you got to use your fireplace once again and without the irritation of previous lightings. It always creates such a warm cozy atmosphere.
I see a barn and a sheep grazing in front of it.
I love open fires and we had, and used, the one in out previous house, for two years. We tried coal which was too smokey for my breathing, and logs which made me nauseous every time we lit it. Eventually we had to admit defeat and made a TV feature out of the fire place. This house has an imitation coal fire and the open fire has been shut off.
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Haha like kippers in a sealed shed! We lit a fire in an old house once and possums came down the chimney we had to douse it toot sweet! I so agree about a fire having soul. I haven’t got one here but fortunately we’re able to light outside fires in winter which not only helps with hazard reduction but provides warm solace on a cold night. So glad you’re enjoying it! Are you still allowed to burn wood? When I was a child living in Cheshire, they banned wood and coal fires because they blackened buildings and increased air pollution so we had to use coke. I remember a huge bunker outside our lean-to.
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I’m envious. I’d love to have a real fireplace.
I see a giant chocolate bar. Quick! Save it!
JD at I Do Things´s last blog ..I Wish You a JD Christmas so you don’t have to
I see…two people in a big house with lots of time on their hands !
No seriously, like most people in Ireland (North anyway) in the 50′s, we had a peat fuelled fire and man was it a pain to get ready every morning and clean out every night. Yes it was lovely when it was ‘flaming’ but I just remember the work involved.
As for what do I see ? I see that someone has tossed a bar of Cadbury’s fruit ‘n nut into your fire.
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I see that candy bar, too, and quick! Somebody grab it – it’s on fire!
I love a fireplace, too, Jay, but I specifically asked for a gas one when were building our house. Not that I don’t love the idea of warm, flickering flames…but the thought of spiders hiding in the wood and hitchhiking into the house is too much for me!
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Jeannine – Wow, no, that’s nothing like what I see! I love it though! I have Indiana Jones in my fireplace! Haha! LOL!
Shrinky – I don’t really mind cleaning it out too much, except when my knees or my back are playing up. Thanks for the warm and toasty wishes! Mmmm … marshmallows… Mmmm.
Sistertex – Oooh, I need a fire bowl for outside! Wouldn’t that be great? And of course you need a camp fire. Isn’t it a rule of camping?
Cupped hands? I had to look hard, but I see them!
Babs – Aha! You have half my scenario with your barn, but until you mentioned him, I didn’t see the sheep!
I know what you mean about the smoke. I can only tolerate a tiny bit, or I’m husky and if it goes on too long I wheeze. But this fireplace seems pretty darned good right now.
Baino – Some areas are smokeless, but judging by next door’s hideous woodburning stove effluent which sits in our drive more often than not, this area isn’t one of them! Heaven only knows what they burn in that thing.
Poor possums! I’m glad you doused the fire and saved them.
JD – A chocolate bar! That’s novel! I see it, too, but I’m not putting my hand in there to retrieve it!
Silverback – You see chocolate too? Hahaha! So there must be chocolate … I’d better check those logs very carefully in future!
Peat fires – don’t they have a reputation for being very very smoky? Or is that only if you don’t build them right?
EthelMaePotter – And a third vote for the candy bar! How did I miss that? What I saw was a barn, and a house on fire! LOL!
When we brought the first lot of anthracite into the house there was a spider hiding in it – but don’t tell OH!
I love fireplaces! Very pretty too! Can you believe we had two fireplaces in our Texas home but we don’t have one now, in Wisconsin, lol.
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How I love fireplaces, Jay! I agree with you on its high maintenance, but for that special occasion, there’s nothing like the warmth and soul of a fire on the hearth! And definitely concerns with your health! Thank goodness Simon’s wasn’t lit when Laurie fall through the flue!
Wishing you and your loved ones a healthy, prosperous, and happy New Year, Jay!
)
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wow! I love a good fire! What a FANTASTIC photo. I can almost feel the warmth!
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I agree a real fire is very welcoming – but I had years of looking after one and moving here to central heating has been wonderful – I haven’t missed it at all – which is just as well as the chimney here was one of the first things to be condemned and subsequently removed!!!
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Apropos of nothing, I answered your questions.
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comforting on a 40 day in Fl
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There is nothing like a real fireplace. I love ours; especially on cold winter nights!