WE have an ornament that has been in our family for years, of a man sitting on a tree stump holding an axe. He is four inches high and dressed in what looks like Georgian costume. I think it may be German or Dutch.

Alongside him there is a basket, like a waste paper basket, and I believe it held matches or splints for lighting a fire. I think the ornament is made of pewter that has turned to a dark grey, but it seems to be quite soft, as it has been dropped at some time and the base is slightly bent. There is a small hole in the back of the figure's neck, but that could be there for a purpose. I have been told it is a "Go-to-Bed" but have no idea what this is. - E Thompson, Durham.

Go-to-Beds, or more specifically Go-to-Bed Lights or Getting-into-Bed matchboxes, were a kind of short-life night candle used by people as they got into bed. I believe they were made from the 18th Century through to the early decades of the 20th Century. They are usually made of some kind of metal, but are occasionally ivory or wood. Most include some kind of small container, often a miniature bucket large enough to hold a collection of matches, and often accompanying the figure. Sometimes the matches were concealed within the figure itself. Some Go-to beds are plain cylindrical shapes or boxes.

When a person went to bed, he or she would strike one of the matches against the rough metal surface and place the match into the specially provided hole. This would give a temporary light from the match for about thirty seconds allowing the person to safely snuff out all the bedroom candles and get into bed without a fire risk to the bedclothes.

WITH so many continuous waters running between Inverness and Fort William, does it follow that North West Scotland is an island? - W Sewell, Bishop Auckland.

IN some respects, the part of Scotland you refer to is an island, although not officially recognised as such. The continuous water you mention is formed by the Great Glen - a natural geological fault stretching from the sea inlet called Loch Linnhe, near Fort William in the west, to Inverness and the Moray Firth in the east. From west to east, Lochs Lochy, Loch Oich and the 24-mile long Loch Ness form the waterways of the Glen.

The lochs are linked by Thomas Telford's Caledonian Canal, which was built between 1803 and 1823. The whole 61-mile watercourse between the North Sea and Atlantic is often called the Caledonian Canal, but in actual fact, most is formed by the lochs, with only 23 miles of true canal.

The island you describe is formed from the landmass north of the Great Glen, but the glen's canals are crossed at regular intervals by bridges that give less credibility to it being an island.

Most people visiting North West Scotland do not get any true sense of visiting an island. Moreover, the particular landmass does not, as far as I am aware, have its own name, and we would expect a major British island to at least have a name.

If you have a Burning Question,

or can improve on any of the

answers above, please write to

Burning Questions, The Northern

Echo, Priestgate, Darlington,

DL1 1NF or by email to dsimpson@nen.co.uk