Where there's smoke

With winter creeping up (no, make that barging in and slamming the door on autumn!), I'm getting into hibernation mode, and craving all those wintery things like chocolate, and velvety furry blankets, and my authentic Australian sheepskin slippers, and the rain pouring down windows, and soup for supper.

And a fireplace. 'Cept I don't have one!

We used to have one, in the house we all inhabited just before the parents moved to Australia. There was nothing better than lighting up a pile of logs in the evening and letting dusk fall while the fire glowed. Even if it left a pile of grey ash and a smokey smell in the house the next day.

Sometimes we'd toast a marshmallow or our toes near the flames. Most times we just sat and watched the light dance in reds, yellows and little flashes of blue. The smell of pine or gum, the little popping noises as bark (and various unfortunate insects) exploded, the shudder of a falling log.

Now THAT's what winter's all about!

It's something I miss intensely in my little flat. Even if it meant giving up a couch space to make room for a fireplace, I wouldn't complain. Granted, our place is so small that a single log would have us sweating... The dogs would likely take over the best spots and growly-bite if we tried to move them. But evenings would see the TV off and the fire on, instead of us huddled around a one-bar heater ogling the magic box of lies.

There's something primeval about fire. One can imagine stone-age man and his tribe warming their calloused hands and roasting their meat, talking over the day's hunt or tomorrow's migration. It fascinates us. It draws us in. Boys (and many girls) the world over can't resist setting fire to things just to watch the burn.

I understand that many cities have banned wood fireplaces. It's sad. Not having a fireplace is the worst thing that can happen to a home. It's a centering place, a gathering place, a place to lose one's thoughts in glow and warmth. I can well understand why ancient folk hauled their hearthstones wherever they went, as a symbol of unity and family and home.

That, to me is what a fireplace is all about. And one of these days - the next time I need to move house - I want one!