Just like the old days :-)

As I recall trade is up 8% overall in Scotland. All this wishing it wasn't just doesn't wash.

Of course ther are anomalies, differences and those who suffer. So what?

That's what you would expect but the bigger picture is it is better. Better for good pubs and better for customers!

Peter

The reports I read said it was down 11%.

It continues to baffle me how any CAMRA member can support such an obnoxious, intolerant and blatantly anti-pub measure.

"First they came for the smokers, but I wasn't a smoker, so I wasn't concerned".

It is obvious that this will be the kiss of death for many community pubs, and sets many precedents for the campaign against alcohol.

"First they came for the smokers, but I wasn't a smoker, and was pissed off being made to inhale their obnoxious smoke, and made to stink like a dirty ashtray for the remainder of the evening, so I wasn't concerned".

On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 18:53:16 +0100, PeterE wrote (in article ):

That is a great piece of slippery slopeism, thin end of the wedgeism, tip of the icebergism even the Daily Mail would be proud of that one!.

Surely the difference is that smoking is an unpleasant minority interest as opposed to alcohol which is not.

What Keith said!!

Peter

AHHH, the loud but dim PRICKhall speaks again!!!

Perhaps you should should point that out to the A and E teams that repair the nightly alcohol fuelled carnage. I'm sure they'll put you straight on that one.

Now go back to your cosy world of delusion and one day you might post something here that isn't pompous, sanctimonious or, hopefully, complete bollox.

byee

On Mon, 16 Oct 2006 16:02:38 +0100, Fat Dicky wrote (in article ):

Which bit of the word "minority" don't you understand?

The bit without pictures I think. :-)

This all comes down to the government's disastrous handling in England of the smoking in pubs issue.

I'm a non-smoker and don't like being in a very smoky pub, inhaling smoke from others, stinking of smoke afterwards, etc., but I would be happy if pubs were allowed to have separate rooms for smokers and non-smokers (as some do already). Why the insistence that pubs should not accommodate smokers? As long as every pub has a room for non-smokers, that should be the only requirement. Then pubs with only a single bar would have to ban smokers, but others wouldn't.

And linking it with whether the pub serves food or not is senseless. What the hell has food got to do with smoking? Either smoking is a bad thing or it isn't, regardless of whether people are eating or not.

Why do they have to make everything more complicated than necessary?

SD

Because the nanny government knows what is best for us. The have decided that passive smoking is dangerous. Remember "speed kills"? Now it's "passive smoking kills". What's next on the agenda I wonder? Reducing carbon emissions so that future generations will be around to worry about such issues? No I thought not.

As for separate "smoking carriages", they would have to be well insulated - and have efficient extractor fans - for the smoke not to pervade the rest of the pub anyway. People have to come out of these rooms to order drinks at the bar, go to the loo, and so on. Better than the ludicrous "non smoking" parts of single rooms though I guess. Of course the smoke hits an invisible force field and bounces back. Not!

I think even our glorious leaders finally realised that was a complete non-starter. It was dropped ages ago. Even the government couldn't figure out how it could be made to work, so it must have been extremely complicated. ;-) They do seem to be having problems with the definition of a "substantially enclosed place" though...

It's just a shame York Brewery beer is piss.

The last/only time I've been in a York Brewery pub, none of us could finish the beer and left to find somewhere more interesting instead.

And the Grove should hopefully start brewing soon too.

Hebden Bridge's loss, Huddersfield's gain - so sad and it's basically turned into a nightmare situation for those of us in HB.

BTW anyone who finds themselves in Hebden Bridge and aren't that keen on a stream of expensive cloudy undrinkable beer then have a stab at The Stubbing Wharf - the new management seems to have got back the clue some of the more recent ... residents ... lacked.

Well, I guess evidently since you've once had a bad pint in one pub all their beer must be no good, consistent awards or not.

I'm struggling to see how you've made the supposition you did from what I put.

I've spent many a time in York and you soon learn to avoid York Brewery "beer", both in and out of York itself.

The most vocal opponent in this household of York Brewery beer was born in York, can't stand the stuff.

Born in York? Has (s)he lived in York while York Brewery has been in business?

If not, what relevance has that?

By the sound of it, I've spent longer in York than you have, and I have yet to learn to avoid York Brewery beer.

I feel like a right wally here, but I have always loved York's Centurion's Ghost Ale (I think that's the name): heavy, dark, malty. Very nice. When in York, we always take the long stroll from the center out to Micklegate for an ale.