The strange tale of the boy who got stuck in a chimney....

We know the Victorians used to send children up chimneys. but we've just come across an unusual story from the States about a child who had to be rescued from inside a chimney by firefighters. Apparently the eight-year-old boy was stuck in the chimney for four hours after trying to use it as a way into the house.  He'd turned up there earlier and had played with the grandchildren of the couple who owned the house and been given a drink and snack.  He'd been sent home but claimed he'd come back because he was thirsty and had tried to get into the house through the chimney as the owners were out.  When they returned, they kept thinking they could hear a child's voice and finally tracked it down to the chimney - from where the boy was rescued by firefighters!

It's a rare tale and you can read more about it here - but it does show quite how skilled and agile those Victorian chimney children must have been!

Stove selection....

We're known for our huge range of antique, reproduction and modern fireplaces at Westcombes, but you may not realise that we now have a vast selection of stoves at our Lee High Road showroom.  As stoves have become more popular, we've been expanding our specialist stove selection and can now offer a great choice of different brands of wood burning, multi-fuel, electric and gas stoves.

We now stock stoves from Aga, Franco Belge, Esse, Carron, Capital Fires Stoves, Gallery Stoves, Burley, Broseley, Dovre, Eco Warm, Stovax and Gazco, Bohemia and Pevex, the range from West Fires and the Arada stoves including Aarrow and Villager.  We have one of our showrooms dedicated entirely to our stove range and we can offer help and advice on the most suitable stove for your home - so do come and pay us a visit.

Which local magazines do you read?

We're just sorting out our advertising for the autumn, and we'd be really interested in any feedback from S/E Londoners about which local magazines you get and whether you read them. If you get lots arriving free through your door, do you have a favourite?  Do you prefer one to any others?  Do you look at the ads, or do you just read some of the features?  We'd love to know what you think - you can reply to our blog, email us through our website or even talk to us on twitter - we're @westcombefires  

Don't forget - we cover the whole of South-East London and northern areas of Kent, so we're interested in your thoughts if you're anywhere in our region!

We're still open...

I know some of our customers were worried after reports that Lee High Road had been badly affected by the rioting in London earlier this week.  Sadly, our local garage and some of the shops in Lee High Road were looted or had their windows broken, and the garage is still closed now.  We can reassure you that none of the shops in our little row were affected (perhaps for once we should be grateful that most of our fires are so heavy!),  but thank you to everyone who has been in touch to express concern. 

Although many local shops in Lee, Lewisham and Greenwich shut early yesterday, we decided to stay open and we're here from 10 to 6 throughout the week from Monday to Saturday - you can find details of how to reach us here