Preparing to smoke on the water
Wednesday, June 20, 2012 at 10:39 Tonight's Smoke On The Water boat party is fully subscribed.
Almost 300 people have registered for this annual event which this year is being held to mark the fifth anniversary of the smoking ban in England. We'll also be inviting people to sign the Hands Off Our Packs petition.
Tonight's guests include people from all parts of the Westminster village. High profile think tanks and other libertarian pressure groups will be represented. There will be parliamentary researchers, libertarian bloggers and several MPs.
Guest speaker is David Nuttall, Conservative MP for Bury North. In October 2010 David proposed a 10-minute rule bill in a bid to overturn the ban. It failed but the 86 MPs who supported it demonstrated the strength of feeling that the ban still provoked, even in Parliament.
We've hired a steel band and drinks will be free for the first hour when the boat will be static at Westminster Pier.
After that we will cruise down river towards Canary Wharf where the boat will turn around. Guests will disembark at Festival Pier at 10.15.
If previous years are anything to go by, the party will then continue in one of the many bars on the South Bank ...
Reader Comments (4)
Simon
I wish you, and your colleagues, a very happy and enjoyable evening. I believe the weather will stay clement until after midnight.
Perhaps there will be an opportunity to bend the ear of a sympathetic parliamentarian towards the plight of the elderly who are now finding themselves excluded and vulnerable, especially during the winter months, because of this unreasonable ban.
How come we're living so long if it's lethal?
However, and more importantly, I hope you find time to relax and raise a few glasses, and give yourself a pat on the back for all the hard work you do.
Cheers!
Somebody pass the sick bag - if you can find one big enough that is.
It's called living high on the hog Ellie.
Pensioner Ellie's husband can't type - well, not that much anyway.