Smoking

It seems that Film Four is coming to Freeview, yahoo!

There is a now a new smoking ban on smoking in all enclosed public spaces that will take effect next summer. I don't smoke, never smoked and because I have asthma I'm glad I never did try it. I did used to find smoking sexy though, so it never put me off someone if they were a smoker. So, I've never been an anti-smoker it's just that it has never appealed. Most of my friends who used to smoke have stopped or only smoke an occasional fag once in a blue moon. My wife was a big smoker, until she met me and then she stopped. Funnily enough her stopping has made me more of an anti-smoker now than I've ever been. So, I'm glad that pubs and clubs are going to become smoke-free but, like mobile phones in phone free train carriages, how are they going to police it? I can't see some pubs ever being smoke free completely.

Last week I sat on the train opposite a young lady. It was going to be nearly two hours for me and I was a bit bored. For about half an hour I sat wondering what I could talk about and whether it was silly to start a conversation with a stranger. Would she think I was mad? Would she prefer to be left alone. The mind goes round in circles and plays its tricks. In the end I did start the conversation, a simple observation about not being able to fall asleep on the nice, cosy, warm train despite having gotten woken up at 4am by the kids. And boy could she talk! I think I new more about her than a close friend by the end of it. I was glad to be able to say goodbye when my station came up. I suppose it was good in a human-spirit kind of way. It just shows that you think there is nothing to talk about and this massive amount of material just surges forth, a bit like owning a blog sometimes.