My fireplace is a hole in the living room wall, about 18" wide, with a grate at the bottom and a flue at the top. I'm afraid I use firelighters to light it - I put one on top of the unburnt residue of the previous fire, light it and pile fresh coal on top. I've tried using bundles of newspaper and wood kindling, which is what my parents use to do, but it's too much hassle and makes a lot of ash. Coal produces very little ash.

It's vaguely like the ones here, but not as posh.