boat fire

[Chewbacka]

27 minutes ago, Mike Todd said:

We had a chimney fire in our present house - built around 12 years ago. It has no open fires and a single gas fire in addition to the gas boiler for everything else. We called the local fire brigade (retained so we knew most of them anyway).

 

The explanation: this was in reality a flue that looks like a chimney outside (to please the planners and salespeople no doubt). The flue was open to the sky - when the houses across the street were built a short time after ours, regulations changed and they were fitted with a protective wire mesh. Jackdaws had nested in our flue, probably more than once, and allowed dry twigs to collect and on one of the occasions when we lit the gas fire, the whole lot ignited. Fortunately there was no lasting damage and it all but extinguished itself almost before the firepeople could do anything!

No lasting damage? - except to the Jackdaws ?

[ditchcrawler]

15 minutes ago, Chewbacka said:

No lasting damage? - except to the Jackdaws ?

Good job they didn't fire it up in the spring or there may have been some roast ones.

[Dr Bob]

6 hours ago, Jennifer McM said:

Was never allowed to read the 'News of the World' as a kid, though the paper was kept to light the fire. The only time I could read the paper when it was up at the chimney 'drawing the fire'. It was a race to read the 'naughty bits' before the scorching became too intense, and the paper caught alight.

What were you doin' reading the naughty bits? 

Oh, it all brings back some memories of lighting the coal fire in the late fifties. The shovel with the paper over, then we graduated to the gas poker. I was only a lad but we never had the news of the world. 

[MtB]

7 hours ago, Chewbacka said:

We must have been posh as there was a gas bayonet outlet by both fireplaces for the gas poker.  Don’t suppose you can get those anymore.

 

Yes you can. 

 

I've fitted them in all my houses over the years. Took one out today coincidentally from one house, to fit in another 'ouse. They are bloody expensive!

 

 

[mark99]

I have a  memory of my auntie trying to light our coal fire with a gas poker. Something went wrong and she nearly crapped herself and her face was covered in soot after a mini explosion.

Anyone remember the "paraffin man".

 

He used to deliver our paraffin for our heaters.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, mark99 said:

I have a  memory of my auntie trying to light our coal fire with a gas poker. Something went wrong and she nearly crapped herself and her face was covered in soot after a mini explosion.

Anyone remember the "paraffin man".

 

He used to deliver our paraffin for our heaters.

This reminded me of my late father cooking our breakfast on the gas poker during the 70's power cuts.

[cheshire~rose]

6 hours ago, mark99 said:

 

Anyone remember the "paraffin man".

 

He used to deliver our paraffin for our heaters.

We had a gas poker when I was a kid

 

We also made a metal version of the sheet of newspaper for our fire when I was first married.

 

We also had a chimney fire once. We had recently moved into a downstairs council maisonette flat and drew up a decent fire (he worked for the coal board so there was never a shortage of quality coal) only for the chimney to set on fire. It was a bit worrying because we shared the chimney with the folks in the flat upstairs and the fire brigade had to access their flat to make sure things were not getting to hot up there.

 

The Paraffin man - we once bought a Thames 400E van that used to belong to the local hardware shop who were stockists of Pink Paraffin. The company would pay for stockists vehicles to be painted in their livery as an advertisement so the van was two tone black and pink.

[Jennifer McM]

7 hours ago, mark99 said:

 

Anyone remember the "paraffin man".

 

He used to deliver our paraffin for our heaters.

 

 

 

[BruceinSanity]

7 hours ago, mark99 said:

He used to deliver our paraffin for our heaters.

Some people had all the luck! We had to walk to our local hardware store and lug a gallon of Esso Blue back to fill the heaters in the bedrooms. Good job double glazing and draught proof windows hadn’t been invented, eh? Just think of all the condensation...

[Athy]

That brings back a memory: "The Esso Blee Dooler".

I don't suppose that the service still exists, and i'm not sure that the product does either.

[Alan de Enfield]

9 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Yes you can. 

 

I've fitted them in all my houses over the years. Took one out today coincidentally from one house, to fit in another 'ouse. They are bloody expensive!

 

 

See post # 121

 

£17.68 - not overly expensive.

[Athy]

2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

See post # 121

 

£17.68 - not overly expensive.

But you've got to add his labour costs. How do you think he manages to run three boats?

[Alan de Enfield]

3 minutes ago, Athy said:

But you've got to add his labour costs. How do you think he manages to run three boats?

 

Obviously a valid point and a major contributory factor.

 

"Greeno"

 

 

[bizzard]

2 hours ago, cheshire~rose said:

We had a gas poker when I was a kid

 

We also made a metal version of the sheet of newspaper for our fire when I was first married.

 

We also had a chimney fire once. We had recently moved into a downstairs council maisonette flat and drew up a decent fire (he worked for the coal board so there was never a shortage of quality coal) only for the chimney to set on fire. It was a bit worrying because we shared the chimney with the folks in the flat upstairs and the fire brigade had to access their flat to make sure things were not getting to hot up there.

 

The Paraffin man - we once bought a Thames 400E van that used to belong to the local hardware shop who were stockists of Pink Paraffin. The company would pay for stockists vehicles to be painted in their livery as an advertisement so the van was two tone black and pink.

The 400E van was the best van of its type on the road at the time, easy to to maintain and fast. Much better than its competiters, like BMC, Commer, Standard Atlas, which were all pretty sluggish and awkward to maintain. The 400E used the Ford Consul 1703cc engine which was very strong and reliable.

[Athy]

I remember the others - but Atlas?

[bizzard]

A customer of mine ran a hardware shop and sold paraffin from a big tank inside the shop, as most did at the time. He tol;d me that his paraffin arrived clear in a plain unwritten tanker and the driver would ask him which type he wanted, Esso Blue or Aladdin Pink. He would then add a blue or pink dye to it. If my customer, the shop owner changed the dye from one colour to another his customers would complain that it was not as good as the other.    Now I come to think of it I never ever saw a road tanker from a refinery written with either Esso Blue or Aladdin Pink on it.

[MtB]

38 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

See post # 121

 

£17.68 - not overly expensive.

 

That is just the poker. Once you add in the flexible hose and the bayonet connector you won’t be saying so cheap. 

 

[bizzard]

7 minutes ago, Athy said:

I remember the others - but Atlas?

 

[WotEver]

9 hours ago, mark99 said:

Anyone remember the "paraffin man".

One of my after school jobs was hanging onto the back of the paraffin truck as it drove around the streets of Kingston then jumping off, running to the front door of number 36 and asking “Want any paraffin Mrs Jones?”

 

The best round ever was just before Christmas when all the customers gave me a ‘Christmas Box’. I’d never been so rich. 

[bizzard]

1 minute ago, WotEver said:

One of my after school jobs was hanging onto the back of the paraffin truck as it drove around the streets of Kingston then jumping off, running to the front door of number 36 and asking “Want any paraffin Mrs Jones?”

Were they all Mrs Jones or was she the only customer?

[WotEver]

Just now, bizzard said:

Were they all Mrs Jones or was she the only customer?

How did I know you were gonna ask that?

[Alan de Enfield]

3 minutes ago, bizzard said:

Were they all Mrs Jones or was she the only customer?

Maybe the 'round' was in North Wales ?

[bizzard]

4 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Maybe the 'round' was in North Wales ?

Good Evans, your probably right.

Edited September 29, 2018 by bizzard

[Athy]

2 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Maybe the 'round' was in North Wales ?

No, Kingston he said. Sales of heating paraffin must have been, at best, patchy over in Jamaica.

[bizzard]

7 minutes ago, Athy said:

No, Kingston he said. Sales of heating paraffin must have been, at best, patchy over in Jamaica.

Some folk probably ran their Montego cars on it.