Brrr...

I'm wondering if a stove would draw cold air into the room in the way that my open fire does.

I don't think it does, jingl because the chimney is sealed off by a register plate if the stove is in a fireplace and if it isn't, the flue pipe goes straight through the wall or ceiling.

Good heavy curtains do make a difference even with double glazing etc. We used to live in a Swedish designed house in Devon with the stairs coming down into the living room, a curtain to cut off the stairs made a huge difference in the very coldest months.

The people who lived on the boats in my [canal] village always used to say what a difference it made drawing the curtains.

Oh yes merlot. You wouldn't get that through draft would you. I'm quite tempted, but I've had this old fireplace for so many years now. And once it's gone it's gone for good. I think I'm a stick-in-the-mud.

I need to make a decision. (And we've got a bunker half full of coal at the moment)

Triple glazing seems to be coming in now.

Would a stove fit into your fireplace, jingl? You would then still have an attractive surround. If you get a multifuel stove you can burn coal as well as wood but you have to have your chimney swept more regularly if you mix fuels.

You can get woods with different smells too and that's really nice to settle down with in the evenings.

When we first moved to the fens in the seventies the sickly sweet smell of bog oak burning on open fires was everywhere. It took some getting used to but I love it now. Bog oak is rarely ploughed up and dug out of fields now so it's in short supply but we keep our eyes open because it burns well in a stove, lasts for ages and really whacks out the heat.

Difficult ash to deal with though because there's lots of it and it's very light and dusty.