THE purchase of a wood burning stove means that a middle class man’s life is no longer superficial.
36-year-old web designer Stephen Malley found that he is much more real and grounded since buying a stove that wood goes into.
He said: “I’ve got a heap of logs. Logs made from trees. Actual trees, from forests.
“I handle the logs.”
Malley had been concerned that his desk-based job, consumerist lifestyle and inability to stop thinking about money had left him somehow removed from the natural world.
He said: “Now that I’m burning wood on a regular basis, I feel that I’ve returned to a primal state. A sort of rugged innocence, if you will.
“I am basically a caveman, except my cave is a house that has an Apple product in every room and several large books of contemporary art prints.
“Next thing is to buy an axe, although I need to call the council first to find out if I need an axe license.”