Surely there has to be

an easier and less messy way to put more coal on the fire.
I tried to catch some pieces of coal between the old 250G external hard drive and the remote for the electric blinds, but with limited success.
I would not be surprised if a team of German engineers in a secret lab were already working on a device that could transport the coal between the (aptly named) coal basket and the fireplace in a clean and efficient manner.

Stayed at home sick today and did not move too far away from the fire.

Mrs. Raheny, ever the opportunist, still managed to get me to install a new jumbo-size coat rack in the hall.
Her reasoning was that if I was temporarily well enough to mess around the fireplace with a tripod and camera, I would be fit enough to handle a hammer-action drill.