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Smoking while dining Alfresco ?

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Jimbo:
Thanks, lllly. I think you summed that up perfectly. But I also agree with debra - enough is enough. I've probably said more than I would wish to have said, and will say little more on this topic.

As I'm a mere five feet six inches tall and elderly I am a deceptively easy target for bullies. What they don't realise is that I spent 27 years in a Japanese Dojo learning advanced ninja skills and several years in the SAS. Well - maybe not. But I have similar abilities, as all small boys wearing glasses have to develop if they are to survive. So don't pick on me!

middy:
             Just been out for a lovely meal at a country pub, eaten in a smoke free environment. In days gone by (before the smoking ban) this would have been followed by a return to our local to meet up with friends, have a laugh and maybe a game of darts before returning home at closing time. Unfortunately (since the smoking ban) the village pub has now closed, so after our meal we came home. Nothing much on the telly so thought I'd read the latest posts on the forum. This thread seems to have wandered off course slightly from the original subject of smoking while dining alfresco to smoking almost anywhere.
              The one upside of not going out as much because of the smoking ban in the U.K. is that we now have more money to spend, most of which goes on our two or three weeks holiday each year in Agios Stefanos. The friendliness of the locals, the strolls along the beach, people we have met over years and the laid back feel of the village are all things which draw us back each year along with being able to walk into a bar, buy a drink, sit at a table and light a cigarette. For most of the season empty tables far outnumber occupied ones so surely there is plenty of room for everyone. The views expressed by Jules and Lilly  
 are fortunately the views of most reasonable people and long may this continue to be so.              

stancooper:
This is only a suggestion Middy, but if you gave up smoking you would be healthier, save money and be able to spend even longer in SS, and may be able to have a taxi to the nearest pub?

Gavlah1973:
There's also a lot more to pubs closing than the smoking ban. As someone who works in the drinks industry there are a number of factors.  Mainly the aggressive duty escalator which has seen tax on beer increase by 45% since 2008. Also the fact that around the time the smoking ban came in, around 14000 of the Uks pubs were owned by Punch and Enterprise Inns. Basically they lease out pubs with high rents and charge their tenants over the odds for drinks when compared to the free market. 
Most free houses have coped well with the smoking ban. ..... unfortunately these tenancies haven't! !!
The Uk now has the highest number of brewers since 1940!
Then there's also the aggressive supermarket pricing......

Jimbo:
I think another factor is the rise of the wine-bar. There are four just round the corner from us and they are extensively used by women of all ages, unlike the three pubs.

The only time I go to any of the pubs is to watch football. The Pave wine-bar always has excellent guest beers and great and varied food. The pubs have all stopped serving food, and all you can drink is fizzy freezing cold "chemical" beer.

It's a shame that so many village pubs have closed. Here in the city we have vast choice; out in the sticks the best they can do is go to Asda and stock up. A whole dimension of social life has been lost.

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