Making Coal Fires In The 40S And 50S

[hellywelly4]

In the 40s and 50s my mother used to make coal fires every day, and made special things using newspaper which she folded in a certain way. I can't remember what she called them, the word 'skewers' come to mind, but I'm sure that's not correct.
Any ideas please?

[Hypognosis]

For years, I used to refer to the slivers of wood used to get all the bunsen burners going (saves on matches and spares burned fingers) as 'splints'. Not sure if this was a mispronounciation, on my part, or just short for 'splinter'. The thing everyone else here is calling spills.

[IggyB]

My gran used to call them scally-wags... No idea why.

[Hypognosis]

Scallywag (from scal-a-wag)

from Wikipedia:-

//scallywag,[5] which comes from an old Irish word for drudge or farmservant – sgaileog. It is a word which appears to be in common use within towns that have historic Irish communities…//

[BlackadderV]

On reflection, I believe that we called them 'splints' as well, rather than 'spills'. In the days of coal fires and almost universal smoking amongst men there would be a jar of them on the mantelpiece to enable you to take a light from the fire, thus saving on matches. A splint, or splints, was also the name for two pieces of wood strapped to a broken limb to render it immobile.

[Chipchopper]

When I light my woodburner, I lay a bed of approx foot long strips of twisted newspaper (only lightly twisted, leaving plenty of air space).
Next go's on the kindling and any torn up cardboard.
Once thats all blazing well on go the logs, which I cut and dried a year ago.

I just call the newspaper 'twists' Don't know if thats right or wrong but it does me.

[boxtops]

I don't think we actually called them anything other than "newspaper...."

[atalanta]

We used to call them concertinas when we as children were set to making them as our share of the household chores. When Christmas came round, we made the same things of silver (foil) strips and hung them on the Christmas tree.

[janbee]

We used to open the newspaper and roll the sheets into a knot. Didn't know they had a special name though. Just, newspapers, sticks and coal.

[janbee]

sometimes we used firelighters to help the fire kick start. I LOVED the smell of firelighters .

[Zeuhl]

I still do this if we run out of fire lighters:

fold sheets of newspaper into long strips, then tie them into simple over and under knots

[hellywelly4]

Well I seem to have sparked (sorry!!) your interest. I contacted my cousin and he just remembers calling them newspapers, so I guess the answer is lost in the 'mists of time '.
Thank you all for your interest. xx

[Zeuhl]

when we had an old range, my mum used to put grapefruit skins in there to dry out and use as 'fire lighters'

i suppose the oils were supposed to make them flammable - i can't remember if they worked

[grasscarp]

Did anyone else have to stamp out the rag rug when it caught light from the sparks thrown out of the fire? Where was health and safety in the fifties?

[Old_Geezer]

Oh, we could afford a grate (and a guard).

[x-ray]

Lovely reading all your posts - brings back some wonderful memories
We used to call them splints and I remember quite clearly catching the newspaper alight whilst trying to draw the fire. Oh happy days

[jackson]

yes my mum made spills
------memories thanks

[Zeuhl]

helly

this may be rubbish because i don't know which part of my memory this has surfaced from

but could the newspaper tied in knots have been called 'paper chips'?

[SirOracle]

" Paper Sticks" here in Edinburgh.

[jomifl]

Some people called a newspaper twisted into a 'stick' either a ,twist, or a 'screw'.

[andres]

I remember putting the shovel in the fireplace and putting a newspaper across it to draw the fire into a roaring inferno. !Sometimes the paper caught fire.
Also my mother filling tin cans with coal slack and putting them on top of the coals to give out more heat.