Chris, thanks for the response.

I will examine any I buy closely to make sure they're not inhabited.. though no doubt few of the little people would find the aluminum (sorry- aluminium) versions to their taste.

I had stumbled across these instructions for pouring and handling:

"To pour the boiling water, lift it by the handle and tilt it using the cork chain. There is a bit of a knack to it - pick up the handle bail, supported with your fingers to maintain a 90 deg angle to the chimney until you are off the fire, then let swing like a bucket handle. Grab the cork chain and lift the base to pour the water. Just do not lift straight up off the fire or you will experience the heat!"

Here :

http://www.kingsley-hughes.com/outdoors/kit/kelly.htm

>>There is only one maker of kelly's in G.B. so just find the best price.<<

That's certainly true per se, but there's also the very similar but not (I don't think) identical "Storm Kettle":

http://www.eydonkettle.co.uk/History/history.htm

And both manufactures (if there are two) seem to produce two sizes of the things, but no two on-line sources seem to agree on what those sizes are. For the "Kelly" version alone, I'm seeing everything from 1 pint for the small and 2.5 pints for the large, to 1 quart for the small and 2 quarts for the large.

http://www.wildernessaccess.com/products_kettle.htm

Very confusing.