tree monkey

That does sound more like a heavy mast rather than water stress

I did hear about a swarm t Wimbledon, but it certainly isn't anything like i remember

Not seeing this up north yet but I do wonder when we will

I don't remember it that well, just vague memories of a very hot summer, well i was only 6 but what i do remember is the ladybird swarms, I was sure it was, until recently, in 76 but someone said they happened in 77, anyone else? I do very clearly remember thousands of the buggers and being bitten/stung by them

If we suspect enough does it become a fact rather than a suspicion?

I suspect those are coal inserts designed for the stove If you mean something like these https://www.logsdirect.co.uk/wood-wool-eco-firelighters?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22276531806&gbraid=0AAAAADtKd7Xxt75k-swCvZW5EMb-MrezO&gclid=Cj0KCQjwyIPDBhDBARIsAHJyyVi-sZJ-Ldfp2e5EKIibUqu6FeempCVegY0pO8r_Hv3ks5J0qzTzmjMaAlUsEALw_wcB They work fine

I burnt almost exclusively properly seasoned timber for about 10 years and kept in all winter, it smoked when refilling but generally fairly light smoke, but that was in a reasonably rural area where a decent number of houses had stoves, ash was cleared every couple of days, allowed to cool outside and dumped I the bin. I then moved to burning smokeless, kept in 24hrs, very little smoke, mainly on refilling, ash emptied every day allowed to cool outside and dumped in the bin. It's by far best to burn either and not mix, because both require different approaches, wood is best on a bed of ash, whilst coal is better kept relatively ash free, but plenty do mix the fuel and make it work, as I have as well I will say decent timber is expensive, bulky and not as easy to store as coal, when burning wood i always had a mooring where I could store a lot of timber and process it, plus of course I never paid for it or as a minimum it was a couple of pints for a mate