Why Gordons will lose out to Marlboro

England is going smoke free on the 1st July. Welcome to the nanny state.

I read an article today about how smokers are secretly in favour of the ban. No we are not. Some of us weaker souls are pretending to be in favour of the ban because of the scorn that is being heaped upon us by media commentators, mothers with small children and the anti-smoking lobby. Boring. Do these people really think that we don't know that smoking is killing us? I do, I am reminded every morning as I hack my guts into the sink. Logically I should give up smoking and if I decide to I will. I don't need to watch the cancer adverts - I know. As do the hypocrites at number ten who will take the places away to smoke but will still let us buy the evil things and reap the rewards from the tax.

When the ban was first proposed I was actually in favour of it. It seemed quite sensible and I am not in favour of workers being subjected to other people's smoke. Passive smoking is dangerous and I accept full responsibility for this. I do not feel comfortable smoking around non-smokers and am constantly seen flapping my arm around in front of people's faces to waft the smoke away. Very irritating for all involved. Which brings me to this point. What happened to choice?
I was in favour of the ban because I thought that it would give non-smokers the choice not to have to sit in a smoky atmosphere if they did not want to. It has resulted in smokers not being given the choice to sit in a smoky environment if they want to.

It has begun to annoy me the way I am smugly informed by fat people, stuffing their face with a McDonalds, that I am killing myself. So are you sister and obesity is a bigger problem for the NHS. The problem is that everyone feels sorry for fat people - bless them whilst they stuff their faces, it must be horrible. Smokers look cool. They really do - even more so now it is ghettoised - thus non-smokers get all cross about it. No one feels sorry for the smoker because everyone is jealous and it is their bitterness that banishes us to the alley way, not concern for our health.

I don't really mind. The less time I have to spend with condescending non-smokers the better and I don't have any friends with young children - there's a ban I would be in favour of - children : ) There are worse crimes that I shall sign petitions for.

So, my smoking friends and I will be having smoking parties. No alcohol just tea and juice and a foggy haze. Non-smokers stay away, even the most tolerant of you will not be welcome. The gin parties of yesterday will be replaced with a tobacco frenzy and a general appreciation of the small white stick. Whether you roll or not, with or without a filter, smoke dodgy duty free fags or suck it from a bong you will be made to feel welcome and loved by the rest of your dying breed.

It was a hoax

I am delighted that this is the case. Congratulations must go to the dutch for pulling it off. It certainly has raised the profile of the donor crisis, particularly in the Netherlands but applicable here too. It is always impressive when a stunt like this is pulled and the media really go for it. I hope that it has achieved its aims and more people are aware of the shortage.

I was slightly disappointed in the Dutch when I first heard about the show originally. I have a lot of admiration for their politics (generally) and was quite taken aback by the prospect of the show. I am very pleased that their liberalism has not extended to the auctioning off of body parts but instead has lead them to opening up the debate on organ donation.

Netherlands Reality

De Gorte Donorshow (The big donor show) for anyone who hasn't heard is the latest reality TV offering. The 37 year old terminally ill woman must select a recipient for her kidneys, she is able to receive advice from viewers via text message. Oh dear. What is a viewer hoping to learn from watching this programme? What are the participants hoping to gain - apart from the obvious pair of kidneys?

The show has created quite a lot of negative responses from the Dutch, understandably. It still has not been pulled however and is due to be aired next week. We must wait and see what happens. I half expect it to take off and to see livers and hearts becoming the top prizes in those dreadful late night quiz shows. 'Solve this anagram and the eyes could be yours'. Brilliant. What are we waiting for?

What is Lemon Curd?

Lemon Curd was an electronic newsletter that I started a year ago. I wanted to provide the creative and opinionated people that I know with the opportunity to take over a 'space' and let their voices be heard. It began with a few friends contributing articles and short stories and has grown from there. It used to be sent as an email attachment but it now has its own website - where the back issues can be downloaded. It is considering going bi-monthly as more people contribute and the task of editing becomes more complex, although still enjoyable.

If you are interested you can check it out via the link...

My first ever blog post

For someone who has as much to say as I do blogging would have seemed the obvious choice. I have however struggled with pen and paper until my guilt over the trees has forced me into the technological sphere of the keyboard and screen.