lat-puzz.com

by **Traveller** » Sat Dec 11, 2021 9:39 am

A man is standing, looking with intense dismay at some shards of glass lying in the fireplace of his cottage.

by **trebor2** » Sun Dec 12, 2021 7:37 am

Are the shards of glass part of something larger that is in the fireplace? Is it relevant what they were a part of before they came to be in the fireplace? Were they all from the same object? From a pair of glasses? A window? An heirloom? Something of great sentimental value? Great financial value?

Does it matter that it's his cottage and not his regular home? Does this occur in modern times? Is the man's identity relevant? His profession? Was he the one who put the glass in the fireplace? Is anything else in the fireplace? Is there actually a fire burning in the fireplace? Relevant whether it's a wood/gas/electric/etc. fireplace?

Does the glass being there indicate to him that: he has lost something? Lost someone? That his cottage has been burgled?

Is the rest of his cottage still standing? I have this WAG that he could be looking at the remains of a blaze that destroyed it.

by **Traveller** » Sun Dec 12, 2021 8:08 am

Are the shards of glass part of something larger that is in the fireplace? No
Is it relevant what they were a part of before they came to be in the fireplace? Yesish
Were they all from the same object? Yes
From a pair of glasses? No
A window? No
An heirloom? No
Something of great sentimental value? No
Great financial value? No

Does it matter that it's his cottage and not his regular home? Not really
Does this occur in modern times? Yes
Is the man's identity relevant? No
His profession? No
Was he the one who put the glass in the fireplace? No
Is anything else in the fireplace? Nothing of relevance
Is there actually a fire burning in the fireplace? No
Relevant whether it's a wood/gas/electric/etc. fireplace? Yes

Does the glass being there indicate to him that: he has lost something? No
Lost someone? No
That his cottage has been burgled? No

Is the rest of his cottage still standing? Yes
I have this WAG that he could be looking at the remains of a blaze that destroyed it. I used to know all the lateral-puzzles abbreviations, but WAG is new to me. Anyway, the cottage is still standing

by **Traveller** » Sun Dec 12, 2021 8:09 am

But the old formatting codes are apparently gone.

by **trebor2** » Sun Dec 12, 2021 5:36 pm

To make something bold or put it in italics you should be able to use the buttons above the text box, if that helps.

by **GalFisk** » Mon Dec 13, 2021 8:35 am

Is he dismayed that: a previously whole object is now in shards? That there are shards present at all? That they're in the fireplace, specifically? Is he dismayed with: himself? another person? An animal? The situation? His rotten luck? Did the object turn into shards by: falling? Having something dropped or placed on it? Being subjected to fire? Heat? Was the object a lightbulb? Other light source? Other technological device?

by **Sundowner64** » Mon Dec 13, 2021 9:14 am

Was it a wood fireplace? gas? petrol? electric?
Were the shards part of a drinking glass? a bottle? other household item? a fishbowl (one never knows ..)?
Was the item thrown into the fireplace as a whole and broke there? Was it put into the fireplace and broke there from the heat? Did it break before and the shards were thrown into the fireplace?
Was there ever fire in the fireplace? Was there fire when the glass/shards got there?
Did someone hide an object in the fireplace? and someone else lit up the fire and the object got destroyed?
Was something else destroyed besides the glass object?

by **Traveller** » Mon Dec 13, 2021 9:45 am

Was it a wood fireplace? This gas? petrol? electric?
Were the shards part of a drinking glass? a bottle? other household item? a fishbowl (one never knows ..)? None of these
Was the item thrown into the fireplace as a whole and broke there? No(ish) Was it put into the fireplace and broke there from the heat? No Did it break before and the shards were thrown into the fireplace? Yope, towards yes
Was there ever fire in the fireplace? Yes Was there fire when the glass/shards got there? No
Did someone hide an object in the fireplace? Here, my lack of knowledge of the minute details of the English language prevents me from giving an ironclad answer. I'll say No, but beware. and someone else lit up the fire and the object got destroyed? No
Was something else destroyed besides the glass object? No

by **GalFisk** » Mon Dec 13, 2021 11:35 am

Did you miss my previous post?

by **Traveller** » Mon Dec 13, 2021 12:19 pm

Did you miss my previous post? Yes
Is he dismayed that: a previously whole object is now in shards? No
That there are shards present at all? Not in an of itself
That they're in the fireplace, specifically? Noish
Is he dismayed with: himself? Probably not
another person? Yes
An animal? No
The situation? Yes
His rotten luck? Umm... Yope
Did the object turn into shards by: falling? Partly
Having something dropped or placed on it? No
Being subjected to fire? No
Heat? Was the object a lightbulb? Other light source? No to these
Other technological device? Very noish, but DOYD EDIT: I think I'll change that answer to a pure No

by **GalFisk** » Mon Dec 13, 2021 2:13 pm

Is the other person HAM? Did the other person make the glass thing? Break it? Was it made of any material besides glass? Was the thing mass manufactured? Was it expensive? Unique? If he'd seen powdered glass instead of shards, would he've been dismayed? Are the shards in the fireplace because: they were created there? Put there? Hidden there? Are any qualities of the shards relevant, except that they once were a whole object? If so: sharpness? Shininess? Crunchiness? Is anything else in the fireplace relevant? If so: wood? Coals? Ashes? Something burned? Something melted?

by **Traveller** » Mon Dec 13, 2021 2:40 pm

Is the other person HAM? Yes
Did the other person make the glass thing? Noish
Break it? Yes
Was it made of any material besides glass? No
Was the thing mass manufactured? Yesish
Was it expensive? No
Unique? Yope/Noish
If he'd seen powdered glass instead of shards, would he've been dismayed? "Flabbergasted" would be a better description
Are the shards in the fireplace because: they were created there? Partly, and DOYD Put there? Not exactly Hidden there? No
Are any qualities of the shards relevant, except that they once were a whole object? Maybe one thing, again DOYD If so: sharpness? Not more than you would expect of broken glass Shininess? Crunchiness? None of these
Is anything else in the fireplace relevant? If so: wood? Yes Coals? No Ashes? No Something burned? Noish Something melted? No

by **GalFisk** » Mon Dec 13, 2021 3:19 pm

Color of the shards relevant? was the glass object hollow? Was it bigger than a marble? Light bulb? Bottle? Window pane? Did the other person attempt to do something with the glass? Such as heating and reshaping it? An uncle of mine shaped nice and useful things out of old bottles and jars. Was the wood firewood? Wood scraps? Fresh wood?

by **Sundowner64** » Mon Dec 13, 2021 4:10 pm

Were the glass shards sticking in the wood?
Were they put to the fireplace together with the wood?
Did the other person put the wood? the shards? to the fireplace?
Relevant what kind of wood it was? or where the wood was from?
Were the glass shards part of some sort of container? if so: did it once contain a liquid? relevant where the liquid is now?

by **Traveller** » Mon Dec 13, 2021 4:19 pm

Color of the shards relevant? Yesish
was the glass object hollow? No
Was it bigger than a marble? Light bulb? Bottle? Yes Window pane? No
Did the other person attempt to do something with the glass? The way you pose the question forces me to answer "No". Which may be very misleading.
Such as heating and reshaping it? No
An uncle of mine shaped nice and useful things out of old bottles and jars. Was he a glass blower?
Was the wood firewood? Yes Wood scraps? No Fresh wood? No

by **Traveller** » Mon Dec 13, 2021 4:23 pm

Were the glass shards sticking in the wood? Not relevantly
Were they put to the fireplace together with the wood? No
Did the other person put the wood? No the shards? Yes(ish) to the fireplace?
Relevant what kind of wood it was? or where the wood was from? Both No
Were the glass shards part of some sort of container? No

by **GalFisk** » Tue Dec 14, 2021 1:20 pm

Were the shards: dark? Light? Clear? Iridescent? Before breaking, was the object: useful? Decorative? Valuable? Fun? A toy? A tool? An optical instrument? A lens? A container? A fastener? Part of a lamp? A window? Had it been modified from when it was new? Used for something besides its intended usage?

by **Sundowner64** » Tue Dec 14, 2021 1:31 pm

Did someone throw or drop the shards into the fireplace? put there?
Did they fall into the fireplace by accident? Did they fall down through the chimney?
Were the shards part of a flat piece of glass? like: a window glass? a picture frame? a mirror?
Did the item go completely into shards? or did a part of the item remain elsewhere?

by **Traveller** » Tue Dec 14, 2021 5:54 pm

GalFisk
Were the shards: dark? Light? Clear? This Iridescent? Before breaking, was the object:
useful? Depends on whom you ask
Decorative? Valuable? Fun? A toy? A tool? An optical instrument? A lens? A container? A fastener? Part of a lamp? A window? Had it been modified from when it was new? All no
Used for something besides its intended usage? Depends on the identity of the intender

Sundowner64
Did someone throw or drop the shards into the fireplace? Yope, DOYD put there? No
Did they fall into the fireplace by accident? No
Did they fall down through the chimney? YES(ish)
Were the shards part of a flat piece of glass? Yes
like: a window glass? This
a picture frame? a mirror? So no to these
Did the item go completely into shards? or did a part of the item remain elsewhere? Probably this

by **trebor2** » Tue Dec 14, 2021 7:16 pm

Was the glass dropped down the chimney by Santa? Was it meant to be a present?

by **Traveller** » Tue Dec 14, 2021 7:53 pm

Was the glass dropped down the chimney by Santa? No
Was it meant to be a present? No

by **GalFisk** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 7:28 am

Did the glass fall through the whole chimney? Part of it? Was it sitting in the chimney before falling? Was it originally a window? Is a crime relevant? A prank?

by **Traveller** » Wed Dec 15, 2021 10:57 am

Did the glass fall through the whole chimney? No
Part of it? Yes
Was it sitting in the chimney before falling? Yes
Was it originally a window? No
Is a crime relevant? Not exactly, DOYD
A prank? Noish

by **GalFisk** » Thu Dec 16, 2021 5:16 am

Did the person putting the glass in the chimney intend that it should fall? Break? Make the room smoky? Is the broken glass a sign that something relevant has happened? Such as someone or something entering the chimney? Is the chimney not being used to conduct smoke? Was the glass there to keep something out? In? WAG: does the man have animal(s) indoors, and the glass was meant to keep them from escaping through the chimney?

by **Traveller** » Thu Dec 16, 2021 10:39 am

Did the person putting the glass in the chimney intend that it should fall? Yes
Break? Yes
Make the room smoky? Yes
Is the broken glass a sign that something relevant has happened? I'll go for a "No". It is not a sign.
Such as someone or something entering the chimney? No
Is the chimney not being used to conduct smoke? EDIT: No. i.e. it IS there to conduct smoke.
Was the glass there to keep something out? No
In? Yes
WAG: does the man have animal(s) indoors, and the glass was meant to keep them from escaping through the chimney? No

I make a WAG that the "W" in "WAG" stands for "wild", and the "G" stands for "guess". But what does the "A" stand for?

by **GalFisk** » Fri Dec 17, 2021 7:20 am

WAG: wild-ass guess
So the glass was intended to make the room fill with smoke the next time someone lit a fire? And then break from the heat and fall down? Or get released by some other mechanism, fall down, and then break? Did the room actually fill with smoke? Was it intended that the person lighting the fire would be unaware that smoke-fillage was about to happen? Did smoke-fillage in fact happen? Did the glass fall prematurely? Break prematurely? Is a scam relevant? A break-in? Is the cottage his and his alone? Thieves marking a property to check if anyone comes and goes there relevant?

by **Traveller** » Fri Dec 17, 2021 9:21 am

So the glass was intended to make the room fill with smoke the next time someone lit a fire? Yes
And then break from the heat and fall down? No
Or get released by some other mechanism, fall down, and then break? No
Did the room actually fill with smoke? Yes
Was it intended that the person lighting the fire would be unaware that smoke-fillage was about to happen? Yes
Did smoke-fillage in fact happen? Yes
Did the glass fall prematurely? No
Break prematurely? No
Is a scam relevant? "Scam" is not the right expression
A break-in? No
Is the cottage his and his alone? Yes
Thieves marking a property to check if anyone comes and goes there relevant? No

by **GalFisk** » Fri Dec 17, 2021 3:54 pm

Not exactly scam, crime or prank: a trap? Revenge? Surprise? A sign? A warning? A reminder? A trick? Was the glass supposed to not fall? Not break? Did he know who put it there? Did he know the person who put it there?

by **Traveller** » Fri Dec 17, 2021 6:15 pm

Not exactly scam, crime or prank: a trap? slightly -ish Revenge? Surprise? A sign? A warning? A reminder? A bit more -ish A trick? No to the others
Was the glass supposed to not fall? It was supposed to fall
Not break? It was supposed to break
Did he know who put it there? Yes
Did he know the person who put it there? Yes

by **BitterLemonCurry** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 9:19 am

Is the cottage used as a smokehouse? Or Sauna?
Is the Breaking glass thing a safety mechanism? to protect against overheating?

by **Traveller** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 9:56 am

Is the cottage used as a smokehouse? Or Sauna?
Is the Breaking glass thing a safety mechanism? to protect against overheating?
All no
Except the "safety mechanism" part - it could sort of be viewed as a saftety mechanism in a very contrived way.

by **GalFisk** » Sat Dec 18, 2021 9:49 pm

Is the other person his friend? Enemy? Relative? Colleague? Partner? Employer? Employee? Did he know that the glass was put there? Did he forget? Would it have worked if the glass was colored? If clear plastic was used?

by **trebor2** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 2:48 am

Is it relevant what else the object was made out of?

Is this object regularly put in wood fireplaces? If yes, is it's purpose always the same? To do some combination of falling down and breaking into shards?

Can we name the cottage owner Owen? Before seeing the shards, does Owen know this thing was in his chimney/fireplace? Do the shards alert Owen to a danger? Does the smoke alert Owen to a larger danger? Does this apparatus act as an alarm of sorts? Is there anything else relevant in the fireplace? In the rest of the cottage? Is there currently smoke in the room? Has the smoke already accumulated and dissipated?

Does the smoke? glass? object? put out the fire?

Insofar as the thing could be viewed as a safety mechanism, is it a safety mechanism for Owen? For a pet? For the person who put the thing there? For a different person? For wildlife in the the area?

Does it matter that this is his cottage and not his regular residence? Would this work if it was his house? An apartment building with a chimney? Other domicile? Is the location important? Does it matter that cottages (at least where I am) tend to be in forested or lake-y areas?

by **Traveller** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 7:49 am

Is the other person his friend? Enemy? Relative? Colleague? Partner? Employer? No
Employee? Noish
Did he know that the glass was put there? Yes
Did he forget No?
Would it have worked if the glass was colored? Maybe not as well
If clear plastic was used? No, or at least not as well

by **Traveller** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 7:58 am

Is it relevant what else the object was made out of? No; the object was a glass pane.

Is this object regularly put in wood fireplaces? If yes, is it's purpose always the same? To do some combination of falling down and breaking into shards?

Can we name the cottage owner Owen? Sure
Before seeing the shards, does Owen know this thing was in his chimney/fireplace? No
Do the shards alert Owen to a danger? No
Does the smoke alert Owen to a larger danger? No
Does this apparatus act as an alarm of sorts? No
Is there anything else relevant in the fireplace? No
In the rest of the cottage? No
Is there currently smoke in the room? No.
Has the smoke already accumulated and dissipated? Yes

Does the smoke? glass? object? put out the fire? All no

Insofar as the thing could be viewed as a safety mechanism, is it a safety mechanism for Owen? For a pet? For the person who put the thing there? This. But note that "safety mechanism" here is used in the broadest, most contrived sense. For a different person? For wildlife in the the area? No to the others

Does it matter that this is his cottage and not his regular residence? No
Would this work if it was his house? Yes
An apartment building with a chimney? No
Other domicile? Depends on the domicile
Is the location important? No
Does it matter that cottages (at least where I am) tend to be in forested or lake-y areas? No

by **Biograd1** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 7:00 pm

Was this some sort of booby trap? Was it's purpose to alert someone if the fireplace were being used?

by **Traveller** » Sun Dec 19, 2021 7:59 pm

Was this some sort of booby trap? No
Was it's purpose to alert someone if the fireplace were being used? No

by **GalFisk** » Mon Dec 20, 2021 11:11 am

Is his response to the smoke relevant? If so: coughing? Opening windows or doors? Going outside? Putting out the fire? Is the sound of breaking glass relevant? Did this happen in modern times? Is a certain situation relevant? Such as wartime? A disaster? Poverty? Crime or crime prevention? Edit: Santa or Christmas? Some other belief?

by **Sundowner64** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 10:48 am

Did the glass pane close off the chimney completely?
Was it kept in the chimney by nails? stones? other structure?
Did it break from the heat? from expansion? by something dropping on it from above?
Did Owen put the glass there?
Did the glass shards indicate that something had happened? something Owen was afraid of but hoped it would not happen?
Is the other relevant person a criminal? a burglar or thief?
Did the broken glass basically indicate that someone else was in the cottage and had lit up a fire there?

by **Traveller** » Tue Dec 21, 2021 9:16 pm

GalFisk
Is his response to the smoke relevant? If so: coughing? Opening windows or doors? Going outside? Putting out the fire? Probably all of these, but not particularly relevant.
Is the sound of breaking glass relevant? No
Did this happen in modern times? Yes
Is a certain situation relevant? Such as wartime? A disaster? Poverty? Crime or crime prevention? Edit: Santa or Christmas? Some other belief? None of these

Sundowner64
Did the glass pane close off the chimney completely? Yes
Was it kept in the chimney by nails? stones? other structure? This is the closest
Did it break from the heat? from expansion? by something dropping on it from above? None of these
Did Owen put the glass there? No
Did the glass shards indicate that something had happened? Nothing apart from the obvious
something Owen was afraid of but hoped it would not happen? No
Is the other relevant person a criminal? a burglar or thief? All no
Did the broken glass basically indicate that someone else was in the cottage and had lit up a fire there? No

by **GalFisk** » Wed Dec 22, 2021 6:06 am

Was the pane secured by something that burned? Melted? Was it put there by a family member? Did the person who put it there observe the man's response to the smoke? Chimney sweeping relevant? Other chimney maintenance? Was it put there in order to detect if the chimney had been swept, and its presence indicates that it hasn't? In order to detect if a fire had been lit, which it hasn't until now? Is the man's profession relevant? The glass-putter's?

by **Traveller** » Wed Dec 22, 2021 6:47 am

Was the pane secured by something that burned? Melted? Was it put there by a family member? Did the person who put it there observe the man's response to the smoke? Chimney sweeping relevant? No to all
Other chimney maintenance? Yope
Was it put there in order to detect if the chimney had been swept, and its presence indicates that it hasn't? No
In order to detect if a fire had been lit, which it hasn't until now? No
Is the man's profession relevant? No
The glass-putter's? Yes

by **Sundowner64** » Wed Dec 22, 2021 9:52 am

Was the glass pane supported by a man-made structure? did it contain: wood? metal? stone? plastic? organic materials?
Was the structure brought into the chimney to support the glass? or was it already there and just used to put the glass on it?
WAG: Was the glass supported by some wooden poles reaching from the fireplace to the glass? and someone thought that's firewood and lit it?
Anyway: did the glass fall because the supporting structure disappeared or failed?
Did the chimney masonry need a mending? Was the glass put there to prevent the fireplace from being used for a while? to prevent smoke from going up the chimney? were actually there people working on the chimney when the fire was lit?
Is the one who put the glass there a builder or mason of some sort? someone whose profession includes maintenance of the chimney?
Animals relevant? Was there a bird's nest on top of the chimney? and the glass was put in to protect the birds?

by **Traveller** » Wed Dec 22, 2021 11:10 am

Was the glass pane supported by a man-made structure? Yes
did it contain: wood? No metal? No stone? Yope/Yesish plastic? No organic materials? No
Was the structure brought into the chimney to support the glass? FA or was it already there and just used to put the glass on it? Difficult to answer, due to prior FA
WAG: Was the glass supported by some wooden poles reaching from the fireplace to the glass? No and someone thought that's firewood and lit it? No
Anyway: did the glass fall because the supporting structure disappeared or failed? No
Did the chimney masonry need a mending? No
Was the glass put there to prevent the fireplace from being used for a while? Yesish to prevent smoke from going up the chimney? Yes were actually there people working on the chimney when the fire was lit? No
Is the one who put the glass there a builder or mason of some sort? Yes
someone whose profession includes maintenance of the chimney? Yes(ish)
Animals relevant? Was there a bird's nest on top of the chimney? and the glass was put in to protect the birds? No to these

by **Sundowner64** » Wed Dec 22, 2021 12:05 pm

Was the glass pane put on top of the chimney?
Did the glass pane break first and then fall? or fall in whole and then break?
Did someone break the glass pane on purpose? if so: the builder?
Did the builder do some relevant work? inside the cottage? outside? on top of it? is he a roofer? did he mend or exchange the chimney cowl, top, cap or whatever might be on top of the chimney?
Did the glass break while the fire was on? before the fire was lit? after the fire went out?
Did the builder lit the fire himself? did Owen? is a third person relevant in the story?

by **GalFisk** » Wed Dec 22, 2021 12:40 pm

Was the glass supported by: clay? Brick? Mortar? Did the glass fall because the supporting material underwent some change? Or movement? Will the man get in trouble with the glass-putter? Is the glass-putter in trouble witht he man? Will the man lose money? Experience some other loss (apart from the bit of glass)? Had the man relevantly been told not to light this fire? Or was he otherwise expected not to?

by **Traveller** » Wed Dec 22, 2021 3:53 pm

Sundowner64
Was the glass pane put on top of the chimney? No
Did the glass pane break first and then fall? Yes or fall in whole No and then break? Yes
Did someone break the glass pane on purpose? Yes if so: the builder? Yes
Did the builder do some relevant work? Yes inside the cottage? Yes outside? Only as specified in your next question on top of it? Yes is he a roofer? No did he mend or exchange the chimney cowl, top, cap or whatever might be on top of the chimney? No
Did the glass break while the fire was on? before the fire was lit? after the fire went out? This
Did the builder lit the fire himself? No
did Owen? Yes
is a third person relevant in the story? No

GalFisk
Was the glass supported by: clay? Brick? Mortar? This
Did the glass fall because the supporting material underwent some change? No Or movement? No
Will the man get in trouble with the glass-putter? Is the glass-putter in trouble witht he man? Who is in trouble with whom is a matter of definition. But they are in trouble with each other
Will the man lose money? If by the man, you mean Owen, Yope toward yesish, otherwise No
Experience some other loss (apart from the bit of glass)? No
Had the man relevantly been told not to light this fire? No
Or was he otherwise expected not to? No

by **GalFisk** » Wed Dec 22, 2021 9:47 pm

Oh, I missed that we'd named him. Can we name the builder Bob?
Did Owen cause the conflict specifically by lighting the fire? Did Bob break the glass in order to relieve the smoke? Did Bob put the glass there in order to avoid getting smoke on himself? On something else? Was the glass supposed to be broken at some time? Such as when the job was finished? When something had set, dried or hardened? Did Owen cause damage to something relevant when he lit the fire?

by **Sundowner64** » Thu Dec 23, 2021 9:41 am

Was the builder in the process of building the fireplace and the chimney?
So it was not yet ready when Owen lit the fire?

by **Traveller** » Thu Dec 23, 2021 12:32 pm

GalFisk
Oh, I missed that we'd named him. Can we name the builder Bob? Absolutely
Did Owen cause the conflict specifically by lighting the fire? No
Did Bob break the glass in order to relieve the smoke? Yope
Did Bob put the glass there in order to avoid getting smoke on himself? No
On something else? No
Was the glass supposed to be broken at some time? Yes
Such as when the job was finished? No
When something had set, dried or hardened? No
Did Owen cause damage to something relevant when he lit the fire? No

Sundowner64
Was the builder in the process of building the fireplace and the chimney? No...
So it was not yet ready when Owen lit the fire? No

by **GalFisk** » Thu Dec 23, 2021 7:08 pm

Was the glass left there until Bob was paid for his work? Is payment relevant at all? Did Bob do thus at any other place he worked? Do other people do this? Did Bob repair a chimney? Build a chimney? Did Owen do something wrong apart from setting a fire under a blocked chimney? Did Bob do anything wrong? Did Bob break the glass within minutes of the fire being set? Hours? Days? Weeks? Months? Years?

by **Traveller** » Thu Dec 23, 2021 8:51 pm

Was the glass left there until Bob was paid for his work? YES

************ SPOILER *************
Owen was infamous among craftsmen for being a difficult customer where payment was concerned. He would put it off, not pay despite numerous reminders and generally be as difficult and obnoxious as possible, hoping that the craftsman would ultimately give up.

So when Owen commissioned the building of a fireplace and chimney at his cottage, Bob realised that he would have to think outside the box if he were to get paid. So while building the chimney, he fixed a plate of glass halfway up. This was in the summer, and as expected, invoices and reminders were ignored, phone calls were met with half-baked promises of payment, and Owen was obviously not going to pay no matter what. Come autumn, Owen lit a fire in his new fireplace for the first time, the smoke filled the cabin, and Owen promptly called Bob and asked him to come immediately and fix the good-for-nothing fireplace. Bob answerd that sure, he'd fix it "as soon as my invoice is paid and the money is in my bank account". Owen paid up, and Bob appeared the next day, armed with a broomstick, which he shoved up the chimney, breaking the glass pane. Needless to say, Owen was not happy, realising he'd been had.

Thanks for your participation all of you!