No smoke without fire

There has been little rain recently, so the ground has mostly dried out and we are able to move around without wallowing. It helped today that temperatures barely got above -1 °C. In preparation for hedge-planting along the eastern fence, a work party hacked and bashed and cleared the brambles, grass and other scrub. We burnt it all, along with pieces of wood left lying around, and those evil weeds which have been decreed are not to go near the compost. The cuttings were tinder dry and burnt in a flash in the stiff breeze, but the wood was decaying and smoulderous. So the smoke produced was not exactly as pure as the driven snow, but sulphurous yellow and billowing.

Coincidentally, I'd just been reading about bonfires, the Clean Air Act, Smoke Control Areas and exempt appliances. In summary:

• An occasional domestic bonfire would not be considered a nuisance.
• There are no Smoke Control Areas in Wychavon.
• Our biomass boiler is in any case an exempt appliance.