My appointment with Loki
Published: Fri, 01/16/15
Want to know the secret of a successful bonfire? Well, the theory of fire is that combustion requires heat, fuel and air. There are various techniques for preparing and lighting fire and once it is going it is a matter of keeping it going until it has burned all you wanted it to consume.
The rented house we live in has not been over maintained in the past decade or so. At some point, probably 20 years ago, the garden was nicely planted out with various conifers and shrubs. Various tenants, who were possibly not enthusiastic gardeners, allowed these shrubs to grow unchecked and, with he encouragement of the landlord, we are finally getting the situation back under control. I have so far cut down a little more than half what needed to come down and I had to stop because I had run out of space to accommodate any more brush wood. So last night I built the second bonfire so far this year. The technique I use is to select a safe spot as far away from anything that could be damaged by heat as possible. Then build a small but dense ‘log cabin’ of completely dry scrapwood. Get this pile started with wood shavings and give it time to be burning properly. Then I pile the cut branches on one at a time until there is a
really hot blaze. Wait a while for it to die down a little and add the next. Eventually there is a good hot fire and the ends of the branches can be thrown into the middle as well. It took about an hour and a half to clear the whole lot and this morning there is a pile of still hot ashes which would barely fill a bucket. I did manage to singe my eyebrows and hair slightly when I go to close and a flame suddenly flared up.
Good result anyway and one more bonfire and the garden will be clear for this year at least.
This description of my appointment with Loki (Norse deity of fire) last night I started with satisfying the theory, I had plenty of fuel, although a great deal of it was still green wood. Air isn’t a problem since I was out of doors and the wood on branches instead of being in compacted form like, say sawdust. So the issue was to start with enough heat which I achieved by starting with the log cabin and adding the brushwood piece by piece. Of course I then had to light and manage the fire for a couple of hours while risking getting singed and coming in smelling of smoke. There is also a slight risk of getting complaints about the smoke although at this time of year people tend to have their windows closed and actually approve of efforts to make a garden tidy. (If you insisted on having a smelly bonfire smouldering away every day throughout the year you would soon get unpopular though.)
The theory of how we achieve something we want is usually very simple. The correct technique may be a little more complicated but you can usually work it out if you can’t just find someone to tell you what you need to know. However, if you are going to make transformation happen (just as this morning my garden looks totally different to the way it did yesterday) you are going to have to actually light the fire and stick with the process.
If 2015 is the year you are going to learn Stav then the opportunity is there, but you will have to light your own fire, no one else can do it for you. No better way of getting the blaze going by coming to the day foundation course on the 31st of January. http://www.iceandfire.org.uk/train.html
Regards
Graham