There is nothing more traditional and safe than a woodburning stove. George Monbiot claims to have three! But now there moves to limit their use because of concern about air pollution. Only last year, or was it two years ago, new regulations brought in meant that only very seasoned wood could be sold by log merchants. The move certainly reduced very smokey chimneys and fires burn brighter. The downside was you could get through your log pile much quicker too… not that the log merchants were complaining.
Of course, the sight of a real fire beats the appeal of radiators hands down whilst the presence of a fire also acts as a focus to a comfortable living room. Much better a handsome fire as a room’s focus than a tele! Unfortunately the popularity of woodburning stoves in urban areas has not gone unnoticed by environmental inspectors nor those scientists who inspect the air we breathe. I am sure we can all understand the problem as we try to restrict our impact on the planet and neighbourhoods. In our hamlet every property has a stove (seven in total) and for me living in an old cottage, the woodburning stove is the focus of winter evenings indoors. It would be a great pity if it had to be taken out. What would you put in its place? A vase of imported flowers isn’t the answer. At the same time we could also ponder as to how a ban would be enforced. A heavy knock on the door perhaps?
