By the peat fireside

When the weather sets in, like it has this holiday, there is nothing so comforting as the heat from a real fire. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of sitting in front of the open fire after a bath, drying my hair, and looking into the coals, imagining all sorts of pictures and stories. I remember blinking and realising how hot my eyes were after all that staring. Then, we got the gas in; much less hassle and dirt for poor mum.

I had to wait till buying this house in my late 30s. before I got all the pleasures back again - plus, of course, all the hassles and dirt. I suppose that there will come a time, old and infirm, when I will have to "get the oil in", as they say up here.

In the meantime, BLISS......