The latest column from IMcMillan. This week, he meets his match in a wood burning stove
It's nice to have an adventure on holiday, and using my soft poet’s hands to pick up sticks counts as an adventure as far as I’m concerned. When I was young I was allowed to light the fire in the back room while my mam and dad were still in bed. I’d nagged them and nagged them to let me do it and eventually they gave in and I was able to sneak downstairs, avoiding the creaky step, and set fire to the newspaper and sticks I’d carefully laid the night before.
And now the opposite was happening; I was holding an unlit match in my hand and despite my efforts it just wouldn’t get going. I’d been looking forward to this firelighting ritual all day as I picked up a bit of driftwood on the beach and imagined it smouldering into life with a salty smell, and I even imagined that, as it burned, it might give off the faint sound of shanty or the cry of a gull.
And I still couldn’t light a match. I almost gave up but then one flared briefly and I made the mistake of waving it in triumph and it went out. I blamed the matches; they must be old and damp. I blamed the air: it must be old and damp. I blamed the time of day and the time of year. I struck a match so hard that it broke. All the stories those bits of wood could tell, and they’d never get to tell them.
My wife comes into the room. ‘These matches are useless’ I say, my voice almost breaking with frustration. She leans over and strikes one straight away and lights the fire. Well, apart from that match. That one wasn’t useless. Or was I the useless one? Surely not.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Adam Clapham: Two more arrests over Rotherham deathPolice say two men are being questioned after Adam Clapham's death in South Yorkshire.
Read more »
North Yorkshire poaching incidents drop by nearly a third - reportNorth Yorkshire poaching crimes in the April-September 'season' dropped by 32%, the report says.
Read more »
Molly Russell: Dad wants no further delay to online harm bill'It's clear to me that the age of self regulation on internet platforms must be ended for the sake and safety of our children.'
Read more »
Molly Russell: Dad wants no further delay to online harm billIan Russell says online platforms should not be allowed to self-regulate content.
Read more »
Ayr building firm boss killed worker with cable tiesGeorge McMillan is jailed for a minimum of 21 years after choking Michael Thomson to death.
Read more »