Coal Ornaments

Whilst making a cuppa in our work kitchen today I had a few moments to kill awaiting the kettle boiling. So I casually picked up one of the magazines lying on the side. You know the kind. The ones with the sensational ‘I slept with my best friends son’ kind of affair. So anyway I flicked through the trashy stories to the readers tips page (yes tips not wives).
Now I kid you not some of these people lead scary lives. Other than the woman espousing the use of tea when stewing rhubarb to make it less tart, which is scary in itself – some people actually stew rhubarb? More scarliy though was the woman who said ‘when cleaning coal ornaments simply use a shoe shine pad’
Question 1 – what is a coal ornament (no actually on second thoughts I don’t want to know)
Question 2 – who has coal ornaments (no actually on second thoughts I don’t want to know)
Question 3 – what the f*#k