www.iva.co.uk

I don't want anoher debate on the pros and cons of having an open fire, but for anyone who has one, I can recommend the briquette maker.
It makes paper 'logs'from newspapers..and after a trial run I can report they smoulder and glow beauifully and kick out quite a bit of heat.
The briquette makers costs £17 and I get newspapers for free from friends and family. Each paper produces one brick. It will pay for itself in no time.

My parents had one of those years ago - they could never get to grips with it, but then anything like that passes them by!

Sounds like a good money saving tool, I do have open fires in all my rooms (not bathrooms) but had all chimneys blocked up due to my fear of birds but left the fireplaces.

I love birds - as long as they don't fly in the house!

We put nuts and seed out every day in the garden to encourage them in.

Unfortuantely we also get squirrels - and that is another subject entirely![:D]

I admire from afar but I'm the walking through town AR and look like I have tourettes as I'm ducking and diving from the pigeons and children who chase pigeons....well!

I don't like them flying towards me and do get annoyed when kids chase them, but otherwise I'm ok.

I'm like you Lesley, I worry they'll fly towards me.

My mum has budgies in an aviary and when she was ill last year there was no way I could do in there to feed the birds. Luckily she managed to do it herself, otherwise Dave would have had to do it.

Funnily enough - I'm fine with budgies or anything like that. It's wild birds I don't like flying towards me.

To go back to the original thread, the machine is a great idea if you have an open fire, and you can pick them up on Ebay for a reasonable price.

I've never actually heard of them before - not that I want to encourage open fires! When we were in Lyme Regis in September quite a few houses had them and they stunk! They are nice and cosy in the winter though!

There is nothing cosier than an open fire, but I do prefer my gas fired system!

You cant beat toast done on open fire its gorgeous and i could eat it all day every day its so soft. We are always on about toast done on fire at work.

I do love the smell of woodsmoke.

Not got it round here as we're all gas.

Don't you have freebie newspapers ladyh? We get three a week! Plus a couple of free glossy magazines a month.

I wasn't having a dig about the smell Ladyh! I was just amazed that the cottage we stayed in had a woodburner (we didn't use it) when it had perfectly good central heating!

I think I would have used it Skip if I didn't have to provide the wood!

I loved toast and jacket spuds done with an open fire when I was a kid.