Monthly Archives: September 2009

There’s a new story sweeping the internet. It looks like it started at Climate Audit, but it got picked up by Watts Up With That, and  Bishop Hill, and now the Devil’s Kitchen is onto it too. The essence of the … Continue reading →

I’m always trying to put my finger on just exactly what it is that I hate about the smoking ban, just exactly what it is that so deeply offends me about it. It’s something truly visceral. I think about it … Continue reading →

In my last piece, I speculated that rising prosperity brought disillusionment with the prospect of a heavenly afterlife, and acted to enhance the value of natural life, and promote the need to extend human longevity. Once people had begun to … Continue reading →

A few days ago I remarked in comments: ‘What puzzles me is why, all around the world, public health seems to have acquired such singular importance, to the point where it is used to bulldoze cultural and social institutions like pubs.’ … Continue reading →

Heartwarming news from Croatia today. ZAGREB (AFP) – Croatia has made a U-turn on a law banning smoking in public after buckling to pressure from cafe and restaurant owners who told the government it was ruining their businesses. . The parliament … Continue reading →

Everybody’s had the experience. A car pulls up beside you, and the window is wound down, and someone leans out and asks the way to Tesco or Blagthorne-on-Sea. And you give them directions as best you can. Or you say … Continue reading →

H/T The Pub Curmudgeon When I first saw this photo, I thought it was just a holiday snap of Kate Moss. Because she’s smiling. And you know that supermodels like her never smile. But after thinking about it a bit, … Continue reading →

I read this news from Spain with incomprehension and disbelief: PLANS by the national health ministry to ban smoking in all bars and restaurants have severely angered business owners throughout the Valencia Region.    Although negotiations between the affected businesses … Continue reading →

My attention has been drawn to to an NHS video which shows smokers being punched by invisible people. No doubt this is what antismokers would like to do to smokers. Or, more likely, would like other people to do to … Continue reading →

Another thing I noticed about the River last night was that, at 9:30 pm, they didn’t have many customers in the large restaurant area. I’ve generally supposed, over the past few years, that as a pub-restaurant, the River would survive … Continue reading →