Pretty though our fireplace may have been, the fire itself was ineffective and so we have decided to have a wood stove installed.

Our trip to Leroy Merlin was disappointing as the only fires they had in stock were ultra modern and not at all to our taste, but there was at least a two week delay on anything else they could order and I would have to choose it from the catalogue without seeing it 'in the flesh'.

All the same, we decided to go for an estimate and an artisan came round to have a look. He reckoned he'd have to wreck the marble fireplace to get the 'insert' out unless we were prepared to have a pipe coming down from the top of the wall. Yuk! No thank you!

It looked as though we were stuck with the fire as it was.

Fortunately Bear saw an advert for stoves on offer at the Deville factory, in town and so off we went. There was 40% off everything and we could see exactly what they looked like.

Great! We bought one and the chap agreed to come and fit it for us. He came this morning and took out the old 'insert' without too much trouble or too many swear words.

It seems the bricks it was standing on were not right and had been damaged by the heat. The former owner has a lot to answer for. He was supposed to be an electrician and builder but it seems he was more of a cowboy.

Anyway, after less than three hours our new stove was in place and working. It sticks out a bit fiurther forward than we had expected. Bear was cross but I discovered he had left just enough room for the vacuum cleaner to pass behind and I'll be able to reach the marble to polish it without having to perform to many contortions - or lose too much weight. . . . .

He lit it for us and the heat output was fantastic. However, we had to shut all the cats in the the conservatory and throw open the doors and windows to get rid of the smell of new paint until the stove was 'burnt in'.

It will take some getting used to but I think we'll be warm at last!