Do I need to worry about candles?
We had a wedding/honeymoon booking many moons ago. Their photographer spent the afternoon & evening staging for cheesy photos including (we found out later) floating candles in the pool & literally dozens & dozens of ‘naked’ tea lights & scented candles 'artfully' placed around the terraces & garden, precariously hung from trees etc. It was nudging 40c that summer so you can guess how well that ended! To this day the wax stains still show on the pool edgings & it took several years of sweating & swearing to gradually buff the scorch marks from the sandstone paving. Even as I'm writing this post, I can still see the bare patch on our olive tree where it got burned.
Mr & Mrs Newlywed & Ms Photographer were oblivious to the mess & damage when it was pointed out to them, offering not so much as an apology, but instead were most peeved at our failure to gush adoringly over the photos or publish them (with a business endorsement naturally) on our website
Conclusion 1: Absolutely no candles per our T&C's. Still, almost nobody takes any notice & we still end up with drawers full of frickin' tealights & half melted citronella. Oh, and the occasional black streaks snaking up the white paint are always a nice touch to turn up to!
Conclusion 2: Avoid wedding parties. Period.
As you may have gathered, I am not a candle fan.
Mr & Mrs Newlywed & Ms Photographer were oblivious to the mess & damage when it was pointed out to them, offering not so much as an apology, but instead were most peeved at our failure to gush adoringly over the photos or publish them (with a business endorsement naturally) on our website
Conclusion 1: Absolutely no candles per our T&C's. Still, almost nobody takes any notice & we still end up with drawers full of frickin' tealights & half melted citronella. Oh, and the occasional black streaks snaking up the white paint are always a nice touch to turn up to!
Conclusion 2: Avoid wedding parties. Period.
As you may have gathered, I am not a candle fan.
This time next year Rodney, we'll be millionaires.
We've been left the dreaded citronella but, so far, I think they've only been used outside. The owners of a house we look after for them/their guests were great fans of candles but once they had children they gave up on them - and a wood burning stove as "too dangerous".
In the 'old days' guests used to buy the mosquito coils for outside use and then one day granny lit one in the bedroom of the children. During the night a pillow from the child's bed fell onto it and burned the pillow. Luckily, granny woke to investigate the "dreadful smell" thinking it was the coil itself and the normal mosquito repelling smell. I dread to think what might have happened if she hadn't woken ………
In the 'old days' guests used to buy the mosquito coils for outside use and then one day granny lit one in the bedroom of the children. During the night a pillow from the child's bed fell onto it and burned the pillow. Luckily, granny woke to investigate the "dreadful smell" thinking it was the coil itself and the normal mosquito repelling smell. I dread to think what might have happened if she hadn't woken ………
Ah yes.....I tried LED ones a few years ago and everyone, without fail, ended up with a melted 'wick' from people trying to light them. I kid you not. Even when, in desperation, I turned them upside down so they could see the switch.
Interestingly in 14 yrs, apart from the odd melted candle left in the sun and one incident of a spray of melted wax, I haven't had problems.
Mousie
x
Interestingly in 14 yrs, apart from the odd melted candle left in the sun and one incident of a spray of melted wax, I haven't had problems.
Mousie
x
- PW in Polemi
- Posts: 1781
- Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2012 5:23 am
- Location: A village in Paphos, Cyprus
When I'm in the right mood, I will light a tea candle or three at home, on the basis that they are of limited life, sit in thick glass holders on a stone shelf and do not burn for very long, so if I forget to blow them out, they will simply burn themselves out. Last night, I decided to light a fat scented candle, in its non-flammable holder, on said stone shelf. Well, what with being tired after a hectic few days culminating in a 3 1/2 hour drive home alone, and relaxing in the armchair with furry feline friend snoozing sopurrifically on my lap, I nodded off.
I woke with a start to FFF demanding to be let out, so decided I might as well head for bed. However, having let him out, closed up the house, got myself ready for bed, I then had to let FFF back in for a bedtime snack. It was only as I walked through the unlit lounge en route to the kitchen that I realised I'd left the candle burning...
It had burned down enough that the flame was pretty much hidden behind "walls" of unburnt wax, but that wax is flammable and it would only have required a gecko nearby being noticed and chased by the cat ... So easily done, no wonder the Fire Brigade dislike candles so much.
I woke with a start to FFF demanding to be let out, so decided I might as well head for bed. However, having let him out, closed up the house, got myself ready for bed, I then had to let FFF back in for a bedtime snack. It was only as I walked through the unlit lounge en route to the kitchen that I realised I'd left the candle burning...
It had burned down enough that the flame was pretty much hidden behind "walls" of unburnt wax, but that wax is flammable and it would only have required a gecko nearby being noticed and chased by the cat ... So easily done, no wonder the Fire Brigade dislike candles so much.
Dogs have masters. Cats have slaves!