Greetings from Edinburgh.
Flew up yesterday and am currently sitting outside Petit Paris in the Grassmarket, glass of wine in one hand, iPad in the other.
The sun is shining and on the table in front of me are copies of the Herald, Scotsman, Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph.
Bliss.
Talking of newspapers, I see my previous post - and the extraordinary article Snipers could soon snuff out smoking - has attracted some comment.
If I'm honest, I can't agree with those who want to bring in the Press Complaints Commission or, worse, the police.
Let's put it this way. I believe in free speech and that includes the right to be offensive. Do you really want the author of 'Snipers could soon sniff out smoking' sacked or charged with an offence? I don't.
What I want is for people to understand that the war on tobacco (and now smokers) has gone far enough. Stony Stratford, and now this, has drawn a line in the sand.
We should make our feelings known to the editor and to other interested parties, but let's not fall into the trap of becoming as intolerant as our opponents.
Personally I welcome the publication of 'Snipers could soon sniff out smoking' because it demonstrates the folly of the crusade to 'denormalise' a significant minority of the population.
Attempting to be humorous, Alan Dee took this policy to an absurd level, for which I'm grateful.
The villains however are not journalists like Dee or even editor Lynn Hughes, who I understand is contrite and regrets her decision to publish the article. (More on this later.)
Truth is, Dee and Hughes are merely reacting in a rather thoughtless way to the green light that has been given by successive governments to demonise smokers.
Thanks to government policy on tobacco, and the relentless campaign to denormalise smokers, the inappropriate nature of 'Snipers could soon sniff out smoking' never occurred to them. Smokers, you see, are easy targets. Literally.
My advice? Email the editor (expressing your reaction) and write to your MP (pointing out that publicly-funded campaigns such as 'If you smoke you stink' have created this culture of intolerance) but I really don't see what this has to with the police.
Update: Alan Dee's article is no longer available online on Hemel Today. See here.
Not sure about the digital edition of the Herald & Post.
More to follow.