Monthly Archives: June 2017

Building A Bitter World

I had an email from a Guardian editor yesterday in response to my completion of their questionnaire about the smoking ban. She wanted to “confirm that you would still like to use the name in your submission if it is … Continue reading

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Multi-Tasking

Rapidly approaching the 10th anniversary of the UK smoking ban, there seem to be a plethora of blog posts about it. This one, at Facts Do Matter, even includes a list of links to other ones at the end. I … Continue reading

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I Don’t Believe It

H/T Rose, I’m not sure I believe this: Smoking ban 10 years on: share your memories and experiences A decade since smoking bans came into force in the UK we would like to hear from readers on how the ban … Continue reading

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The Pacific Night

Almost exactly 10 years after the UK smoking ban came into force, I’m trying to get a prototype new kind of smoky-drinky bar off the ground, to get round that obnoxious piece of legislation. It’s a sort of Wright Brothers’ … Continue reading

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Playing Captain MainWaring

I’m trying to foment a revolt. A global revolt. A global revolt against smoking bans. And so a global revolt against Tobacco Control. The way I see it, there are 1,500 million smokers scattered all over the world. They make … Continue reading

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The Value of Children

In the Smoky Drinky Bar last night, Nisakiman remarked that I’d saved myself several hundred thousand pounds by not having any children. He should know: he’s got several. He didn’t like abortion. It was a quiet night last night at … Continue reading

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The Bartender’s Story

Last night, while bartending and chatting in the Smoky Drinky Bar, I began to piece together a new explanation for 9/11. There are broadly two accounts of 9/11. The first one is that 3 or 4 jets were hijacked by … Continue reading

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Silence

I had an odd experience yesterday evening. At about 6:30 pm, while on my way home, I stopped off briefly at a local pub, bought a half of lager (Moretti, if you really want to know), and sat out in … Continue reading

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7 PM Happy Hour in the Smoky Drinky Bar

This morning I’ve been reviewing the events of the last few days, during which smokers have been meeting up in the Smoky Drinky Bar. I’ve been reminded once again of one of the last occasions when smokers met up, at … Continue reading

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Fingerprint File

A worried email about the Smoky Drinky Bar this morning served to concentrate my thoughts on matters of privacy therein. The author, who will remain nameless, expressed a concern that if video recordings of the bar should be made public, … Continue reading

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