Stitch up (how low will this Govt go?)

Two days ago the Government quietly published the list of MPs who will sit on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill Committee.

It would have been easy to miss because it was number 41 (under General Committees: Appointments) on a long list of items entitled ‘Chamber Business’.

The Committee is currently scheduled to meet from April 30 to May 23 when it will hear evidence from stakeholders and other interested parties and consider amendments to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.

For the record, the 17 members of the Committee, who would have been chosen by Government and Opposition whips, are:

Nickie Aiken, Duncan Baker, Aaron Bell, Bob Blackman, Dr Lisa Cameron, Bambos Charalambous, Mary Kelly Foy, Preet Kaur Gill, Trudy Harrison, Dr Caroline Johnson, Andrea Leadsom, Rachael Maskell, Kirsten Oswald, Angela Richardson, Mr Virendra Sharma, Steve Tuckwell and Christian Wakeford.

Despite the fact that there was substantial and well publicised opposition to the Bill at the second reading last week, with 165 Conservative MPs - almost half the parliamentary party - either abstaining or voting against (58), the 17-member Committee contains not a single MP who voted against the Bill.

Instead, 16 out of the 17 MPs chosen to sit on the Committee voted in favour of the Bill, and the only one who didn't (Labour's Mary Kelly Foy – no vote recorded) is vice-chair of the APPG on Smoking and Health (which is run by ASH) so we know she supports the Bill and would have voted Aye had she been present.

Incredibly, no fewer than FOUR members (almost a quarter) of the Committee are also members of the APPG on Smoking and Health. Apart from Mary Kelly Foy, the others are Bob Blackman (Conservative), who is chairman of the APPG, Rachael Maskell (Labour), and Virendra Sharma (Labour).

Guido Fawkes has the story here with a comment by me. I don’t normally swear when representing Forest but on this occasion I felt it was justified.

“Committees don't need to be balanced but this is such an obvious stitch-up it's embarrassing.

“The make-up of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill Committee is effectively a f*ck you to every MP who voted against the Bill, and every member of the public who opposes the generational smoking ban."

See: Tobacco and Vapes Bill Committee members

Canada calling

I was on CBC Radio Canada yesterday.

Alberta@Noon is an hour-long phone-in broadcast on CBC Calgary and yesterday’s topic, hosted by Judy Aldous, was the UK’s generational smoking ban.

The programme began with a clip of me explaining that if you can drive a car, join the army, purchase alcohol and vote at 18, when you are legally an adult, you should be allowed to buy tobacco as well.

Although I was listening via the Zoom link, I wasn’t scheduled to take part in the discussion until the second half of the programme.

I was brought in earlier than intended however when another guest, representing Action on Smoking and Health Canada, questioned why someone with tobacco industry links was on the programme.

His name was Les and he sounded even more insufferable than Deborah Arnott!

However, while Deborah merely tries to undermine me by pointing out that Forest is funded by tobacco companies, I don’t remember her ever questioning why someone with tobacco industry links has been invited to take part in any particular programme.

(She might do it privately but I've never heard her say it on air.)

Anyway, I was invited to respond, and then talk about the UK's generational smoking ban, so I was happy with that. Thanks to CBC Calgary for the invitation and what seemed to be a well-balanced discussion.

Being on CBC Radio reminded me of the five days I spent in Toronto in July 2005. It was my first trip to Canada and the reason for the visit was to meet representatives of two groups that were fighting demands for public smoking bans in Ontario and elsewhere.

One was a new consumer group, mychoice.ca, that had been launched the previous year with the support of the tobacco industry in Canada.

I heard about it because in September 2004 it was reported that:

The Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers Council announced Tuesday it was giving $2.5 million to fund a new website dedicated to promoting smokers' rights.

Nancy Daigneault, president of mychoice.ca, said the site would give voice to the concerns of Canadian smokers, who face a growing number of increasingly comprehensive provincial smoking bans as well as personal demonization.

I was keen to meet Nancy, a highly experienced political lobbyist, because I thought I could learn something from her, so we met in Toronto for lunch and she was as impressive as her CV suggested.

One of the things that drew me to mychoice was the fact that, within a few months, they had 40,000 subscribers online.

This was achieved, Nancy told me, through a series of commercial radio ads, and I was interested to learn more because in 2004 Forest had launched its own campaign against a workplace smoking ban, and I wondered if we might do something similar in the UK.

Sadly, the history of the international smokers’ rights movement is littered with false starts and abandoned campaigns and after two years the tobacco companies pulled the plug on mychoice.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Another person I met in Toronto represented a second tobacco industry funded group that, if I remember, was similar to a UK initiative called Atmosphere Improves Results (AIR).

The purpose of AIR, before the smoking ban was introduced, was to promote the scientific fact that the installation of modern air filtration units could remove many of the gases and particles that are a consequence of smoking and tobacco smoke.

Pubs and restaurants were encouraged to improve air quality and significant progress had been made, in England especially.

AIR's counterparts in Toronto (whose name I can't remember) ran a similar campaign, so the aim of meeting them was to share ideas and messaging.

Unfortunately the introduction a workplace smoking ban in Ontario in 2006 rather scuppered that initiative, and it was probably the reason why, the following year, mychoice lost its funding as well (too soon, in my opinion).

Without Nancy Daigneault, who left, it limped on for a year or two before being abandoned. (The URL – carelessly not renewed – was later picked up by the anti-smoking lobby, but that’s another story.)

The third person I met in Toronto was someone I had been keen to meet ever since he contacted Forest with details of a song he had co-written and recorded.

His name was Matt Finlayson and when I met him he could not have been nicer or more hospitable.

Not only did he give me a guided tour of Toronto, he also drove me to Niagara Falls, a round trip of 160 miles.

He even invited me to his house for dinner where I met his wife and Eric Layman, a close friend.

Eric was a poet and writer. Sadly, he died a few years after I met him, but in 2001 he wrote ‘The Smoke Police’, a poem or lyric that was subsequently set to music by Matt whose semi-professional band, The Intended, included it on their excellent CD Route 101.

Confusingly, there is (or was) another, better known, band in Canada called The Intended which may explain why there is now little or no trace of ‘The Smoke Police’ or Matt’s band on the internet.

I still have my Route 101 CD though and it brings back very happy memories of meeting Matt and visiting Toronto.

PS. The outgoing flight was one of only two occasions when I have been upgraded to business class. The other was on my honeymoon when we flew to Miami en route to the Florida Keys.

I dislike flying but business class, like first class (which I have flown once and at someone else's expense), does make it bearable.

The downside is that every time I turn right rather than left when boarding a long haul flight, I silently weep, knowing what I'm missing.

Congratulations, Hazel Cheeseman!

Hazel Cheeseman has been announced as the new chief executive of ASH.

She will begin her new job on October 1, taking over from Deborah Arnott who is retiring after 21 years in the role.

The news won’t surprise readers of this blog because I kind of predicted it in February when Arnott's 'planned retirement' was revealed.

At the time I wrote:

As for her successor, one would imagine that Hazel Cheeseman, her deputy since 2021, is the hot favourite.

And a year before that, having speculated that Arnott might retire, I noted:

I’ve no reason to suppose Arnott's retirement is imminent, but it didn't go unnoticed that in 2021 Hazel Cheeseman stepped up from director of policy to deputy chief executive.

I may be wrong but I don’t recall ASH ever having a deputy CEO (or deputy director) before, so it wouldn’t surprise me if she is being lined up for the top job when Deborah does call it a day.

According to the press release issued by ASH today:

Hazel was appointed by the Trustees following an open and competitive recruitment process …

I’m sure it was, but I’d love to have been a fly on the wall when the interviews took place, if only to know who the other candidates were!

The good news is that, although Cheeseman has worked for ASH for over ten years, she is significantly less prickly (with me at least) than the woman she is replacing.

On the relatively few occasions we’ve gone head-to-head, I can't remember things ever boiling over or becoming unpleasant or personal.

That said, I genuinely wish Deborah a happy retirement, although it wouldn't surprise me if she ended up in the House of Lords.

I wish Hazel well too. We may not agree on much but I hope we can continue to be civil to one another. It's not a lot to ask, is it?

See: Deborah Arnott - a tribute (of sorts)

Forest office site goes smoke free

Twenty years ago Forest moved from a leased office in London to a substantially cheaper serviced office in Cambridge.

In January, as I explained here, the site previously known as Castle Park was rebranded as Journey Campus (!) and the building previously known as Sheraton House was renamed The Quad.

When we moved to Castle Park in February 2004 I’m pretty sure that smoking was already prohibited in Sheraton House. Instead, staff would go outside to smoke.

Later, smoking directly outside the building was banned too and smokers were given a small smoking area 20-30 yards away.

Today I received this message:

Journey Campus is now a NON-SMOKING SITE. Please be aware that smoking is now not permitted anywhere on the Campus.

If staff members do wish to smoke, they will need to leave site. To confirm, this also includes vaping.

I’m not sure that was in the terms and conditions I signed last year!

Mind my car

This takes me back.

In a video interview with his wife Sharon, reported by the BBC, Ozzy Osbourne ‘recalls moments from his childhood in Birmingham, including how he used to “mind cars for tips” during Aston Villa’s home matches’.

Osbourne was born in 1948 so that must have been in the Sixties, possibly earlier. The practise, however, was still evident when I went to Villa Park in the early Noughties and it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s still going on.

Villa Park is one of the great football stadiums in Britain, but parking anywhere near the ground is difficult if you’re unfamiliar with the area.

I took my son, who must have been ten or eleven at the time (Villa were playing Chelsea), and we found ourselves on a housing estate, half a mile or so from the ground.

Within seconds of parking the car I was approached by a diminutive figure, no older than my son, who asked if we were going to the match.

When I said yes he then offered to “mind the car”.

I noticed several other boys of a similar age lurking around and it was clear there was a small gang of them waiting to prey on drivers like me.

Minding cars for tips? Extortion more like!

It’s 20 years ago now so I can’t remember what I did, but I have a feeling I may have given him - against my better judgement - the fiver he was asking for.

Funnily enough, my experience of Villa fans - having sat among them once at Derby’s Pride Park stadium - is that they are among the most good-humoured supporters in the country, although it probably helped that they won that match 2-0.

Sadly I haven’t been back to Villa Park since that first time, but when I do I’ll leave the car in a city centre car park and get a taxi to the ground, or I’ll travel by train.

Anything to avoid giving “tips” to the heirs of Ozzy Osbourne to “mind my car”.

Farewell, Caffé Grana

James Heale, political correspondent at the Spectator, tweets:

Farewell to the best coffee shop in Westminster.

He's referring to Caffé Grana, which has just posted a notice that reads:

Due to the development of 55 Broadway, we are having to vacate the premises after 35 years years of trading. We would like to thank all of our customers.

55 Broadway is a Grade 1 listed art deco building that sits directly above St James's Park tube station.

Caffé Grana is one of several commercial units on the ground floor of the building, which was built between 1927 and 1929 and – according to Wikipedia – was once the tallest office block in London.

James is spot on calling it the best coffee shop in Westminster. I would go further and say it's one of best in London. It has certainly been my favourite, as I wrote here a few years ago:

The coffee shop I've probably gone to more than any other in London is Caffé Grana which sits among the small group of shops at St James's Underground station.

It's run by an Italian family and I've been going there for 20 years. Most customers are there for a takeaway coffee but those, like me, who are early for a meeting or have time to spare can drink and eat in.

Space is tight so customers perch on stools at small circular tables. I wouldn't make a special journey to go there but if you're passing I'd recommend it.

Actually it's not true to say I wouldn't make a special journey to go there, because Caffé Grana was a great place to spend an hour between meetings.

In fact I would often get off the train at St James's Park rather than Westminster or Victoria just to have a coffee and do a bit of work there.

As a venue it was probably a bit too public for clandestine meetings, but you were always aware that some interesting discussions – some more discreet than others – were taking place around you.

I was there only last week, enjoying a thick frothy cappuccino in a tall mug with a long spoon and a delicious cheese and ham focaccia.

Several months ago I overheard a member of staff telling another customer that the cafe was due to close but I thought the year was '2025' so I'm disappointed it's happened so soon.

Apparently 55 Broadway is to be redeveloped as a luxury hotel with guest bedrooms and suites, restaurants, bars, retail units, meeting rooms, event spaces, gym and spa.

Perhaps Caffé Grana can open somewhere else, but I can't deny that its location – literally yards from the ticket barrier at St James's Park Underground – was a reason for going there, although a bigger factor was the coffee and the almond croissants.

Sadly the enforced closure of Caffé Grana reminds me that in 2009, directly opposite 55 Broadway, the traditional Italian barbershop I had been going to for 30 years (even when I lived in Edinburgh) posted a very similar notice.

As I wrote here:

The building, it said, is being refurbished and La Marca's lease had been terminated. Signed by 'Peter and the team', the note added that they are looking for new premises in the area, but there was no further information.

As with the redevelopment of 55 Broadway, the refurbishment of 28 Broadway resulted in a luxury hotel – the InterContinental, now Conrad London St James.

Another similarity is that La Marca (the barbershop) was run by a family of Italians led by a lovely man called Peter.

To the best of my knowledge they never did find new premises in the area and I suspect the same may happen to Caffé Grana.

Instead – and my memory may be failing me here – I'm pretty sure that Peter got a job working, temporarily at least, at Caffé Grana. (Are the two families perhaps related?)

What I do know is that, for a period, he also worked at a gentleman's barbershop in Jermyn Street, but I only went there on a handful of occasions because it was quite expensive and I haven't seen him for a decade at least.

Either way, we can ill afford to lose independent coffee shops like Caffé Grana and its closure feels like a genuine loss.

They’re on the pitch, they think it’s all over

Further to my previous post, this is what happened at Tannadice on Saturday.

First, the good news. Dundee United beat Ayr United 1-0 with a late goal scored by a young sub, Chris Mochrie, who was bizarrely given the Man of the Match award despite being on the pitch for less than 20 minutes and the goal he scored was, by most standards, an absolute sitter.

The award nevertheless said a lot about the game, which was terrible, and was arguably decided by the sending off of an Ayr player in the second half.

That said, a win’s a win and the three points meant that United are effectively guaranteed promotion to the Scottish Premiership, one year after they were relegated.

Knowing this, the United fans were keen to celebrate and after the final whistle a substantial number invaded the pitch.

It was all good-natured but after 15 minutes the stadium announcer informed the exuberant but well-behaved supporters:

“The team will not, repeat not, be coming back out. There will be no further celebrations tonight.”

I didn’t go on the pitch but I was one of the last to leave and when I did it was eerily quiet outside the ground, 10,000 supporters having mysteriously vanished into the evening air.

Anyway, it brings me to a conversation I had with Ranald Macdonald, MD of Boisdale Restaurants, on Thursday.

Ranald went to St Andrews University in the early Eighties and as you know I went to school in the same town a decade earlier, so we have some shared experience of both St Andrews and Dundee.

Aside from expressing horror that I liked football and was travelling several hundred miles to watch a match in the city, he told me how he and his university pals would visit Dundee’s casinos, which he described as a rather dangerous environment (in those days) for a “bunch of toffs”.

He also revealed that his wife’s uncle is the Earl of Dundee who owns Birkhill Castle which overlooks the River Tay and is just five miles from where we lived in north east Fife.

Now, I’ve known Ranald for 20 years, and danced with his wife in Havana (we were in a dancing class, to be fair), but this was still news to me.

Then again, he is the son of a Scottish clan chief so why am I surprised?!

Update: I sent Ranald a photo of the pitch invasion and he replied, ‘Wow!!! Looks absolutely ghastly!!!’.

Promotion push

Just arrived in Dundee for what I hope will be a small celebration if not a full promotion party.

Dundee United, the club I have supported since 1969 when my family moved to Scotland, are one win away from winning the Scottish Championship and I wanted to be there should they cross the line.

Only one club is automatically promoted from the second tier of Scottish football and with three games to play United need just one win to achieve it because they have a far better goal difference (+46) than their nearest rivals, Raith Rovers (+11), who - after last night’s 1-0 win in Inverness - are three points behind United with just two games to play.

Any celebration on my part will be subdued though because the season hasn’t gone as smoothly as we might have hoped.

It began well enough - a 4-0 win under the lights at Arbroath in August - but what should have been a fairly easy league to win (given the size of the clubs United are competing against) became quite a slog.

Every substantial victory (5-0 at Partick Thistle, for example) was matched by an underwhelming draw or depressing defeat (five in total).

Most damaging of all were the home and away losses to Raith Rovers who at one point had taken seven out of nine points from three games against United.

United eventually won the fourth match (2-0) a few weeks ago, but since Christmas neither team seemed to want automatic promotion, such were the number of points they both kept dropping.

Meanwhile, with several journeyman players brought in from other Championship clubs with aim of winning the lower division rather than competing at a higher level thereafter, United are going to struggle next season without significant investment in players.

I can’t see that happening under the present (American) owner who, to be fair, has already invested millions of pounds he will never get back.

In fact, he’s made it clear he doesn’t intend to hang around much longer (another few years at most), and I don’t blame him.

How United got themselves in this mess is a mystery.

The sixth largest club in Scotland has been relegated twice since 2016 and although the more realistic fans know the golden era when United won the old Premier Division (1983), reached the semi-final of the European Cup (1984), and the final of the UEFA Cup (1987) will never be repeated, it’s sad nevertheless to see the club in such a state while city rivals Dundee are in the top six of the Premiership with plans to build a brand new stadium.

Anyway, I’ll put that to one side for now. Promotion is promotion so I’ll try and enjoy the moment, should it effectively happen today. The future can wait.

Apart from winning the Scottish Premier Division in May 1983, which I witnessed first hand, I can’t remember many better moments, football wise, than winning the promotion play-off in May 1996.

Having got relegated the previous year, twelve months after winning the Scottish Cup for the first time (another good day), United had endured a frustrating season, eventually finishing second behind Dunfermline.

That meant a play-off with Partick Thistle who had come second bottom of the Premier Division.

The first leg in Glasgow finished 1-1 and the second leg, in Dundee, drew a capacity crowd (12,000), with all four sides of the ground open to spectators.

I sat behind the goal at the Shed End (which these days is usually closed) and it was a cracking atmosphere, but United played poorly and when Thistle went ahead in the 70th minute many of us were resigned to a second season in the lower division.

(To put this in perspective, United had previously enjoyed an unbroken run in the top division going back to 1959, the year I was born, so prior to 1995 relegation was something that happened only to other clubs.)

But back to the play-off. Roared on by the crowd, United equalised with only 45 seconds left and Tannadice erupted.

In extra time Owen Coyle (who went on to manage Bolton and Burnley) scored the winning goal a few yards in front of me and the promotion party started in earnest.

There was genuine optimism too because while the team had under-performed that season, the club had some good young players who - with the help of three excellent Scandinavians who were brought in the following season - pushed the club to third place in the Premier Division in 1996/97.

Today’s game obviously lacks the jeopardy of that play-off. Also, I anticipate a crowd of around 8,000 with the Shed End and the old Jerry Kerr Stand (built in 1961) closed to spectators, so that will lessen the atmosphere too.

Nevertheless, if United win I imagine there will be a celebration of sorts because in 2020, after four dismal seasons in the Championship (and three play-off defeats), we were denied even that after United were awarded promotion when the season was abandoned due to Covid.

Nice as it was to go up, it was a bit of a damp squib so, fingers crossed, if we win today we can finally have a party, even if the future is less than bright.

Above: My trusty scarf in United colours, hand-knitted for me as a Christmas present in, I think, 1973. I still have it and will be wearing it today. Note one small repair for a pesky cigarette burn!

Below: The 1995/96 play-off second leg at Tannadice. I was behind the goal where Thistle scored from a penalty in the 70th minute and United scored the winner in extra-time.