Many thanks for an informative reminder of _'keeping the home fires burning'._ Well, not quite when the quote is from a wartime song using your nostalgic imagery of cosy home fires that was utilised in said song to boost moral during WW1. So many of us older folk recall vividly those fireside needs as children when central heating wasn't readily available. You might like to investigate tricks that got fires going first thing in the morning when usually the fellow of the house was expected to be up in the early cold mornings in many family homes to have, at least, the living room warmed up in a cold wintry domicile. There was always 'kindling' _(finely chopped sticks)_ required laid on newspaper tightly twisted and rolled into doughnut shapes that laying beneath kindling would then have coal chunks put a-top the kindling pile. The base 'doughnut rolled paper' burned slowly once lit _(unlike loose newspaper that burned away in a jiffy and died too soon of flame)_ thus giving required minutes of flame to set the kindling alight above which in turn had the coal warmed and evaporated of any damp _(which it often was damp)_ for the coal too to take on its combusting and flame-burning and so warmth-giving action. A poorly laid fire was to be avoided at all costs in family homes where, in any case, against cold we wore far more layers of clothing.
The company Rippingilles factory was at the bottom of the street where I used to live, and during WW2 it was bombed, so they rebuilt it and the night after they finished it was bombed again.
Very nice useful information. I now realise that I’m missing some bellows to ensure the optimal coal Victorian fire operation in my home!
Many thanks for an informative reminder of _'keeping the home fires burning'._ Well, not quite when the quote is from a wartime song using your nostalgic imagery of cosy home fires that was utilised in said song to boost moral during WW1. So many of us older folk recall vividly those fireside needs as children when central heating wasn't readily available. You might like to investigate tricks that got fires going first thing in the morning when usually the fellow of the house was expected to be up in the early cold mornings in many family homes to have, at least, the living room warmed up in a cold wintry domicile. There was always 'kindling' _(finely chopped sticks)_ required laid on newspaper tightly twisted and rolled into doughnut shapes that laying beneath kindling would then have coal chunks put a-top the kindling pile. The base 'doughnut rolled paper' burned slowly once lit _(unlike loose newspaper that burned away in a jiffy and died too soon of flame)_ thus giving required minutes of flame to set the kindling alight above which in turn had the coal warmed and evaporated of any damp _(which it often was damp)_ for the coal too to take on its combusting and flame-burning and so warmth-giving action. A poorly laid fire was to be avoided at all costs in family homes where, in any case, against cold we wore far more layers of clothing.
The company Rippingilles factory was at the bottom of the street where I used to live, and during WW2 it was bombed, so they rebuilt it and the night after they finished it was bombed again.