Fire Fire

I have been looking at fireplaces recently as they were always the hub and the comfort of the home. I was surprised to find that on some early homes the fireplace was really quite wide and made of wood. No wonder so many houses burnt down. We used to gather round the fire at night and listen to the radio, read or do craftwork but these days that has all gone as the lounge room is now organised around entertainment and the heating unit is something we try to hide. A fire was used for cooking though that often took place in a room separate from the main building to guard against fire. Fireplaces were a luxury item and the Hearth tax in England was levied on the amount of chimneys on the house. We saw a tiny house at Oatlands proudly boasting four chimneys which seemed to dwarf the rest of the building.



three chimneys one side and one on the other



The best fireplaces had a kettle on a hook dangling from chimney, waiting for the moment when the teapot would arrive. The gurgling, hissing water would hit the tea leaves and the pot would be sealed with a lid and decorated in a knitted cosy to wait for the arrival of the cups. At the side, would be a toasting fork with its long handle designed to save the cook from singeing eyebrows but still not quite long enough to protect from the red hot coals. A couple of patched well worn kettle holders or mitts would hang from a nail to be used to protect the hands when moving items around.

Poking the fire was fun. Knocking the charcoal from the blackened log to see the fiery coals underneath as the sparks would shoot upwards was a wondrous thing. Within those coals, patterns of light and colour would whirl and weave signalling the heat contained within.

To get it all started, the bellows were used, a leather and wooden teardrop decorated with studs, from which a metal tube emerged. What fun it was pumping away and getting that tiny spark to turn into a flickering orange flame and feel the warmth generated.

As the evening faded, the solid logs would gradually be reduced to ash  the burnt ends being poked together to eke out the last of the energy before bedtime called.

Turning off the heat pump is just not the same.