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Child Item

what is the burning passion for having an open fire?

Andy From Sligo

what is the burning passion for having an open fire?

I do like them yes but i havent had an open fire in the house for over 5 years now and dont personally miss it and got on with life without one grand and havent froze to death in the winter months.

hauling in filthy bloody dirty coal from the freezing cold outside , cleaning out the grate dust everywhere, having to get the chimney cleaned once or twice a year, uncontrollable, hard to light most times, filthy stinking smoke blowed back into the room if the wind is blowing the wrong way, most of the heat going up the chimney and sparks off the coal spitting out onto the floor potentially causing a house fire - no thanks to all of that I have opted for cleaner modern fuel which heats up the rads and hot water at the flick of a switch.

so anyway, yesterday the local radio station said on their facebook page:

"We Irish need to stop lighting fires in our homes.
That's according to Dr Michael O'Dwyer of the Environmental Protection Agency, who says cosy fires in the winter need to become a thing of the past.
He says he knows people may be angry and not even believe the facts on air pollution, but this is the situation.
Do you agree or not?
We'll be discussing on North West Today on Wednesday"

(I didnt hear the show this morning, maybe i can get it on podcast or something)

well needless to say do i even have to tell you some of the comments underneath .. but I will:

"I will freeze to death if I dont light a fire"

"Good luck with that, I am not going to stop lighting my fire"

"how am I gonna heat up my rads and water without my open fire?"

"you can take my land but you are not having my cosy fire!"

haha, some wonderful feedback LOL .

But it just shows you a bit of how people especially in rural northwest of Ireland are passionate of their open coal fires as a matter of life or death (why?) - sounds like if legislation went through to ban coal fires that an all out riot could break out - maybe even more of an issue than paying for water!

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Comments

Neames

Bobblehats wrote: »

What's the name of that film....you know the one where the two boys strip off and start wrestling naked in front of an open fire for ages.

.......oh yeah....Women in Love....that's it.

Fiery mutant

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

do you know when the world will go to **** - until it does will ye not use Gas or oil to heat your rads and water seeing as they are like readily available?

there are cleaner alternatives out there.

many people wash their clothes in a washing machine these days, they no longer go down to the river with a stone and washboard because the washing machine is cleaner, more modern, less hassle and does a good job .
sure if the electric goes off and you can no longer use the washing machine you will have to wash your clothes in the sink .. but until that time comes ...

I can’t use gas or oil, as my heating is an air to water system, have it running now in fact. Don’t light the fire all the time, I drive an electric car, collect solar power, recycle anything that can be recycled, I do more than most, and will continue to do so.

I can understand the issue with burning coal, and agree it needs to be curtailed.

Stovepipe

He said it himself, too. he was being interviewed by Parkinson, I think, about the film and said that he "encouraged" himself, before stepping in front of the camera. It wasnt the kind of closed set that happens now and quite a few of the crew were there, so he felt the need to "stiffen" his resolve.

Neames

Mad_maxx wrote: »

have you heard the story from director Ken Russell surrounding that scene ?

apparently oliver reed was upset about not measuring up to his wrestling partner and insisted on warming up beforehand ?

There was clever use of an elastic band as well.

Good old Ollie...they don't make men like him anymore.

beejee

As someone said to me once, and it stuck, a good fire is like company.

There is something animate about a fire, something close to being "alive", the crackle and movement and shifting glow.

Really love a nice fire

harr

Changed ours over to stoves a few years back , mostly wood burning and it has saved a fortune on fuel.
Still wouldn’t be without a fireplace I love a fire on in winter. I don’t particularly like central heating on all the time an hour in the morning and an hour before kids go to bed is enough for me.
Light the stove in sitting room get it nice and hot and turn it down and we hardly ever have to put on a second load of logs on.
Friend purchased a house lately with no fireplaces and only central heating or a heat recovery system and had no heat for nearly a full day last week because of a power cut.. everything in his new house is nearly electric a part from a small solar panel that heats a bit of water and he isn’t even impressed with that.

Raconteuse

Mad_maxx wrote: »

apparently oliver reed was upset about not measuring up to his wrestling partner and insisted on warming up beforehand ?

Alan Bates. Big hulking guy.

milehip

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

what is the burning passion for having an open fire?

Cause there whopper in the winter, great way to banish SAD to the coal shed.

Fire on, shoes off,feet up.

Fire it's what separates us from the animals!

colm_mcm

is_that_so wrote: »

So what exactly does that mean in real life, like? It's the burning down of houses by fires that kills people.

Particulate matter is the carcinogenic stuff that gets into your blood stream via your lungs, causes respiratory problems, heart issues, cancer etc.

Then you have NOx emissions. Basically that and PM is what makes diesel cars bad for you.

Andy From Sligo

pablo128 wrote: »

It'll die quick enough if you have a power outage.

not many power-cuts to be honest these days. - a calor super-sir in the garage would be a good standby for those times tho if one were really paranoid about it

Calibos

Gas Central Heating only, except for the week either side of Christmas Day. For those 2 weeks we light an open coal/log/briquette fire for the Winter/Christmas/ Holiday atmosphere. When the rest of you feckers stop flying off on foreign holidays every year generating gigatonnes of CO2 emissions, I'll stop burning a few logs and a few lumps of coal for the week either side of Christmas Day.

puppieperson1

until the ESB get their **** together they cant ban fires we had a 4 hour power cut the other day for no explained reason so without the fire we would have frozen and not been able to have a cup of tea so sort out the bad service before you ban the fire. Also it it all goes tits up a fire is a necessity for heat and cooking in the worst apocalypse scenario

Neames

Didn't burn solid fuel for years.

Cost a fortune in oil. Had one of those electric inserts that gave off no heat and cost a.bloody fortune.

Got the stove in...bought briquettes. Reduced oil bill by over 60% and electric bill was reduced as well.

Sitting room is nice and toasty.

Andrewf20

Once you click this, theres no going back...

Andy From Sligo

Neames wrote: »

There was clever use of an elastic band as well.

Good old Ollie...they don't make men like him anymore.

the amount of drinking yer man done when he was alive I wouldnt be surprised if he had brewers droop when he was recording the part ...

Beau Bennett

Would only buy a house with an open fire or wood stove possibility. Plus I will have a hanging fire pit for the garden.

It's better than TV. Sit there with a book a whisky and a pipe.

Andy From Sligo

beejee wrote: »

As someone said to me once, and it stuck, a good fire is like company.

There is something animate about a fire, something close to being "alive", the crackle and movement and shifting glow.

Really love a nice fire

there's something caveman like about a good fire

arctictree

Just finished a new build and getting the stove fitted next week. IMO, a house is not complete without a fire/stove.

beejee

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

there's something caveman like about a good fire

Oh you bet. A very primal thing, no doubt hard-wired from our collective past.

It's light and warmth and comfort, also, a perfect setting for a good yarn. Especially out in the woods camping, being gathered round the small place of safety, pitch black unknown at your back as the shadows move around

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwSbRKd_J8k

Snails pace

Have 2 stoves here, converted a back boiler open fire to an insert back boiler stove. Saved a lot of oil, have my own timber. During a few storms there was no power for a few days. At least we didn't go cold with the stoves. I also love sitting beside the stove. As one previous poster said, it's like you have company

Andy From Sligo

Calibos wrote: »

Gas Central Heating only, except for the week either side of Christmas Day. For those 2 weeks we light an open coal/log/briquette fire for the Winter/Christmas/ Holiday atmosphere. When the rest of you feckers stop flying off on foreign holidays every year generating gigatonnes of CO2 emissions, I'll stop burning a few logs and a few lumps of coal for the week either side of Christmas Day.

hmm.. when i go out of my front door in the winter I get choked by, and cough and splutter my guts up from the nearby toxic fumes coming out of people homes chimneys TBH ..
haven't really noticed the plane fumes up in the sky to be honest

mad m

Back when I was a nipper we used to get the heel of batch bread stuck on a long fork, toasting over a red hot fire. Hands burning from heat of fire...

Nothing like batch bread off a fire. Pain in the arse when it falls off fork though into fire.....

Calhoun

Sometimes its hard for those who have to understand there are people out there who have not.

There are many reasons why people would be defensive of an open fire and one of the primary reasons especially for older generations with older houses is that it keeps the place warm.

branie2

It keeps you warm on cold nights

Andy From Sligo

puppieperson1 wrote: »

until the ESB get their **** together they cant ban fires we had a 4 hour power cut the other day for no explained reason so without the fire we would have frozen and not been able to have a cup of tea so sort out the bad service before you ban the fire. Also it it all goes tits up a fire is a necessity for heat and cooking in the worst apocalypse scenario

if you have an coal open fire with a back boiler you cant run it without electric too can ye? -- you need pump running don't ye to circulate the water , or is it done by gravity?

careless sherpa

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

not many power-cuts to be honest these days. - a calor super-sir in the garage would be a good standby for those times tho if one were really paranoid about it

Not many power cuts at the moment but as demand surges and the pressure is applied that could change

Alf Veedersane

paw patrol wrote: »

I love my open fire and my firepit out the back.

That fella is a gobsh1te he is looking at some tiny aspect and ignoring the major causes of pollution.
His theory is just pissing in the wind , I'd suspect him to be a paid industry shill with horsesh1t like that

The major cause of air pollution is particulate matter from solid fuel burning. Wood and peat being the worst offenders.

Andy From Sligo

Andrewf20 wrote: »

Once you click this, theres no going back...

cannot deny that does look lovely ...

SEPT 23 1989

Wouldn’t live in a house without an open fire

Gas heating is just heat no soul

careless sherpa

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

The major cause of air pollution is particulate matter from solid fuel burning. Wood and peat being the worst offenders.

Have you anything to back that claim up?