Popping corn in the fireplace

One of my nice memories of childhood was popping corn in the fireplace in our living room. The instrument we used to pop the corn was made of wire and had a long handle. You could get a little singed yourself while holding it over the fire, shaking it from time to time. When it appeared that all the corn was popped, you pulled it out and dumped the contents onto a plate or other container. Usually there were a few burned kernels, but no one minded much. It was great fun.