Step into the old cottage. Take your shoes off by the door. Walk across the slate floor. Brr its cold in here. You had better light the fire. The wood is slow-burning and difficult to get going at all. You light match after match but it just won't take. You tear off pages from the newspaper that haven't been read yet. You'd had every intention of sitting in the comfy chair with your feet up in front of a roaring fire. Stop! Save the newspaper. Take a look into the wood stack basket beside the fireplace. There you'll find a packet of Zip, natural and kerosene free, firelighters. . They don't come cheap in supermarkets so shop around when you're ready to buy more of these. I've even found them for under a pound in smaller retail outlets. Believe me after seeing the speed in which these firelighters work you'll be stockpiling them.

Inside the cardboard and plastic cover are thirty blocks of firelighters, made with wax and fibres of wood. The firelighters can be purchased in various sized packages. They are white and speckled with grey. Just snap one off. Gently does it so that it doesn't break into crumbs. Place half under a log and if required the other half at the other side of the fire. Put a match to it. That's it - only one match is needed. Careful, don't scald your fingers. Here's the beginning of the flames for your fire.

Watch the new flame from the fire lighter catch hold of the logs. Open the draught up on the log burning stove. Whoosh there it goes. Already the fire is roaring fire as so desired and most of your newspaper has been saved. Now close the burner up and snuggle down with the remainder of the newspaper and a favourite tipple.

Notice there's no smell from the zip firelighters just the woody aroma of logs burning. In summer you can use these firelighters to light your barbeque with ease. So swiftly do these work that all the labour has gone. Take a sip of your tipple, snack on some chocolate, and listen to the crackle of the fire. Feel the warmth spread around you. The lighter will burn for fourteen minutes though often I'm sure it's less than that. Don't worry if the duration of the burning firelighter is less than the packet claims because the fire is looking strong. The logs won't need any more help. No alternative to fires can beat the real thing. It's quite beautiful.

Oh, don't forget to read that newspaper after saving it from burning but, I know, it's peaceful and hypnotic watching the yellow and orange flames dancing in the fireplace thank to Zip firelighters.