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“OW!! OW!!!! OW!!!!”, I screamed, (it bloody hurt — A lot)!
Careful who’s advice you listen to!
When I was 9 years old, my younger brother, who was 3 years old at the time was playing in the lounge and had his dressing gown on.
We had an open coal fire in those days and my Mum and Dad were always careful to ensure that the fire guard was in front of the fire at all times.
However, my little brother has always been an inquisitive little bugger (still is) and on this particular day he managed to somehow move the fire guard and got too close to the open fire.
His dressing gown was made of like a nylon material (these were the days before fire retardant rules for clothing) and as I turned around I noticed that flames were licking up the side of it and this black molten lava stuff was melting and dripping to the floor.
My little nine year old brain couldn’t think of anything else to do, but my little brother was screaming and so I dashed over and put out the flames with my hand (I know. Stupid. But hey, I was only 9).
Thankfully there was not a mark on my brother as my Mum came dashing in from the kitchen, but it was a different story for me.
My thumb and forefinger on my right hand were totally black and had the molten lava (molten, melted nylon) stuck…