Vocal Voices

for Grumpy

We need to sweep our chimneys and there is not a hope in wotsits am I paying 50 euros a chimney.

So this afternoon, we went into Ourique and had a look at the various hardware type shops we have here. One didn't (want) to understand us. Both young kids, taught English at school

A lovely bloke, older than Grumpy, told us how to do it. You have to climb up onto your roof, using this brush - he unhooked it from the handle-dangle it down and do it that way. Done it for years, he said. Use string to pull it down. All in Portuguese, of course. We thanked him and left

Went to see Marco in the drogaria. I have just the thing. 28 euros, he said, comes in bits, very handy. Grumpy now has a flexible, bendy thing, with a rough brush that he can shove up the chimney, rather than climbing on the roof

That's tomorrows job sorted - I'm covering all the furniture in the lounge and shutting as many doors as I can. And to think I cleaned this morning

Jan when we had our chimney swept years ago the sweep used to put a sheet across the fire place to stop the soot
going every where can't remember how he fixed it there there and lifted the bottom up to put the brush up the chimney
Good luck

and there I thought Grumpy would send you up the Chimney.

victor wrote:and there I thought Grumpy would send you up the Chimney.

I might steam Vic

We used to have the same, Saundra, with our open fires. But both of these are woodburners, with flues, so a little different.

Sad thing is, he's chuffed to bits

I remember the sweep and running outside to see when the brush would be poking out of the chimney pot... then we had a gas fire fitted.

We uses to do that too WM.

Our chimney sweep was a guy called Paddy and he would come along on his bike, with the brushes attached somehow

We paid him a fiver and then bought him a few ciders in the bar

He actually went on to become the mayor of Chipping Sodbury

Used to love our coal fire in different places we've lived burnt every thing and anything on it it's been a cooker during electric cuts and used to heat the water it would come out the taps as steam mind no wonder we had fog
and pollution ?

Makes me cough, Saundra, to go outside at night. We have one fire going from about 4.00, next door have theirs going all day and night, so a tad smokey

He actually went on to become the mayor of Chipping Sodbury

The only thing I can remember coming down the living room chimney at my childhood home was a bird!

I can also remember embers setting fire to the carpet ….

Well that was fun and games

I stayed out of the way.

He had to trim the brush, as it was too big for the chimney, then couldn't get it ip top the top. Managed that, then couldn't get the brush down

All done now though, it was a birds nest causing the fire to smoke. So we'll need a young man to shin up on the roof and put some netting around it.