We have a stove in the Mess and its name is Fremont.

The name Fremont comes because this stove has a relief of the Three Billy Goats Gruff story with the troll under the bridge. In Seattle, the Fremont end of the Aurora Bridge has a troll under it. It was a short walk from our old house so seeing the stove reminds us of Fremont.

[Other things I can’t help but notice from the picture: we’re in a Gascon farmhouse with a wood stove heating a French pot containing Mexican; we’re running low on firewood; buckled heat reflectors that came with the farm fireplace; the concrete tiles I’m using to raise the stove a little; the Siporex cut-offs to hold up the weight of the chimney pipe; the Siamese cat keeping warm behind the stove. This is a farmhouse, not a renovation.]

The Siporex, a lightweight concrete, was used to create a register to block the large chimney opening. It is easy to work with and a good insulating material. I drilled in some angle iron and screws to hold up the slabs.

The stove itself is about 9kw, a medium size, and is called a Scandinavian 300. It is made by Dovre. They don’t sell that model in the UK but here it is on the French site. Between Fremont in the Mess and Mr. Green the Jotul f500 in the Library we have two second-hand Scandinavian stoves. According to the British Daily Telegraph these are the hot ‘must have’, like capers and sun-dried tomatoes and granite counter-tops used to be. In our case these are a ‘must have’ because we’d freeze without them.

My review of the Dovre? It is the easiest stove to start that I have used. The simple box design with an inner layer of cast plates warms up quick so the fire gets going in a couple of minutes. It looks functional rather than pretty and this works well for the Mess, which is a working room and doesn’t need the distraction of visible flames. It keeps the Mess warm all day. You can simmer good winter food like soups and stews on it. It doesn’t throw out the nuclear heat like the big Jotul, but it cost a fraction of the Jotul’s price and it is efficient in its wood use. In general we run Fremont all day and start the Jotul in the evening.

These two stoves are what we use to heat a huge old stone farmhouse. It is a change from centrally-heated American luxury, but the two main rooms are warm enough and a little heat leaks up to the bedrooms above raising their temperatures a little (from about 7 to about 10 Celsius). We’ll be able to roll out insulation in a couple of weeks and at that point the house will be as warm as it is going to be for this winter.

Jean took a photo of my happiness when we first lit the stove.