In the days before central heating was widely available, people relied on coal fires for warmth in their homes. A morning ritual, in cold weather, was to clear out the ashes from the day before, get the fire lit and get the chill off the house. This was a chore that most people could manage but, for those with certain religious convictions, this couldn't always be done. One such group was orthodox Jews whose religion didn't allow physical work, business, handling money and other restrictions on their Sabbath which was Saturday.

This led a small group of us to set off on Saturdays mornings to light fires for Jewish households. At one time I had six fires to light. I cycled round to each in turn, laid the fire, lit it, made sure that it was going to continue to burn, then off to the next one. After lunch, I did the same round again to stoke up the fires until the Sabbath finished and they themselves could put coal on. Since they weren't allowed to handle money, they left it out the day before - usually on the mantelpiece above the fireplace. I remember telling a Jewish friend about this years later. He laughed and said, "Oh yes, a fire XXXX". I have tried and failed to remember what the word XXXX was. I think it might have been Yiddish or perhaps Hebrew or maybe just Jewish slang.

Although most households were genuinely orthodox, some used me as cheap labour. I remember arriving at one house where the husband was just driving out in his car (something forbidden on a Sabbath) and stopped to tell me that he had forgotten to leave the money out. He delved into his pocket and pulled out the half crown for me!

The going rate was 2/6 (two shillings and sixpence - about 12.5p in today's money). So, for my six fires, I earned 15/-. This, along with my paper round money, made me feel quite well off.