Firstly prepare your fire site: ensure the ground is cleared back to hard earth, and is away from overhanging branches. If there is grass, lift turves in blocks and stack well away from the fire. If the ground feels damp, arrange a bed of dry branches to insulate your fire. Check that the ground is not full of roots - especially near pine trees or birches - otherwise the ground may catch fire. This would be bad.
Collect a good pile of dry wood and arrange in piles according to size, ready for use. Dry wood can be found as fallen branches, or as "standing" wood, where branches have broken off a tree but not quite fallen to the ground yet. You will need:
Prepare a good double handful of tinder: it should be about the size of a grapefruit when compressed in your hands. Make sure it is really dry, otherwise it won't light.
Having made the "grapefruit", split it open a crack with your thumbs, place a small piece of charcloth in the centre, and use steel and striker ("flint and steel") to drop sparks down onto it. One spark on the charcloth is enough: life the "grapefruit" up to your face and blow gently into the centre: you will see the red glow, instantly. Start a rhythm of blowing gently into the centre for as long as you reasonably can, then using your thumbs to fold the grapefruit closed as you take a breath in. Having inhaled, open the grapefruit and blow again - steadily, rather than hard - and continue to do this until flames appear.
As soon as you have flames, place the grapefruit down on the bed of dry wood and quickly place a handful of kindling over them. Gently add more, a little at a time. Once the kindling has caught the flames, start adding the finger sized wood and gradually build it up as normal.
