The Tolkien Coming of Age Club 2

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

Having raked up a lot of dead stuff I was tempted to burn it in the incinerator but I decided it was too antisocial and incompatible with the laundry hanging on the outside line.

Well, our neighbours aren't averse to the occasional bonfire themselves, so I wasn't too worried. Although the Saucepan Boy (aged 5) did say that he was embarassed by all the smoke.

As for the ecological consequences, I am not too worried about the occasional bonfire, compared to all the stuff being put out into the atmosphere by heavy industry. When I visited Beijing last year, the permanent smog hanging over the city was alarming. It occured to me that, if rapidly industrialising and incredibly populous countries like China can't be persuaded into environmentally friendly means of production, we are all stuffed anyway.

Anyway, we do our bit. We recycle.

I have wonderful memories of family bonfires as a child, so I was rather looking forward to it. I never realised that they were such hard work to start and maintain ...

Still, it's still smoking even now after some heavy rain.