Posted by Andy Clayton on October 23, 2006 at 17:44:18 from 83.104.41.160 user cousin_jack.
In Reply to: All Things Ransome - out of date images posted by Ed Kiser on October 22, 2006 at 21:28:17:
Aye. Tempus Fujit. (Wait for the local pedant to correct my spelling...)
About seeing lots of chimney pots from above Heathrow. We are well endowed with these and there are some magnificent examples scattered about, like the Tudor built stacks at Hampton Court. But you won't see a lot of them smoking nowadays due to the clean-air acts introduced in the '50's to combat the famous London smogs. (Some things actually improve with time!) So most people have central heating, usually gas or oil fired and maybe have an artificial log effect glow in the grate to create the illusion, though its not the same. Out in the country areas you will still see some cottages with a plume of smoke coming from the chimney, though not from some brand new houses I saw in Leominster recently. They had artificial aluminium stacks with plastic pots stuck on the roof-line just to give the box-like house a bit of character. Very tasteful. I've also seen artificial bricked-up window apertures on new estate housing - immitating the effects of the Georgian window tax! Another example of trying to claw back some character from the the past?
The lack of domestic fires nowadays leaves a hole in the development of the young. When I see youngsters around real fires they are either totally in awe of them, and won't go near or else they are overly facinated and can't resist poking and prodding them!
Still on fires but scurrying back to AR. I notice in the broads books the D&G's refer to chimbleys. Is this an archaic spelling, regional difference or merely an alternative to the standard (for me) chimney?
Andy Clayton.