During the 1960s and 1970s householders yearned for the latest trends for their home – hence the rise of the pastel coloured bathroom suite and the mesmerising lava lamp in every lounge from Looe to Lanark.  Fancy, elaborate ruched blinds and sandwich toasters made an appearance a decade later and then, at the beginning of the twenty first century, almost every fashionable household boasted a huge American style fridge-freezer and a coffee machine that was a bubbling, hissing miniature version of one found in the local “Starbucks” or “Costa”.

However, over the last 5 years in particular, there has been a huge rise in sales of wood burning stoves and multi-fuel stoves.  Is this a trend that is here to stay? Home magazines have not been able to show home make-overs without an attractive looking, cast iron stove nestling somewhere in their glossy photographs.  It is true that these cast iron stoves retain heat better than an open fire where most of the heat is lost via the chimney.  Yet, they still retain the cosy look of an open fire.  For those worried about global warming and the destruction of the planet, then wood is, at least, a carbon neutral fuel. With substantial heat coming from a stove, thrifty householders have found that it is more than possible to reduce the amount paid out on regular gas and electricity bills.

Time will tell whether this is a trend that will stay but, unlike other fads, the wood burning stove is durable and practical and, for stove “lovers”, a necessity during our cold, damp, grey Winters.