It's that time of year again.
I'm en route to Crawley - in particular the offices of the Morning Advertiser, the leading pub trade newspaper - to judge entries for the BT Sport Great British Pub Awards.
There are sixteen categories and an even larger number of judges. We have all been allocated a category - mine is Best Smoking Area - and our job is to sift through the mountains (ahem) of entries and select a shortlist.
There are normally five or six pubs on each shortlist. The winners will be chosen after every pub on the 16 shortlists has received a personal visit from a much smaller group of judges. (This is known in the trade as a pub crawl.)
A few years ago I was invited to join a team of judges in Scotland for the SLTN Awards. I couldn't go because I was on holiday that week but it did sound tempting. Three days in the Highlands travelling from one pub to another across hundreds of miles of breathtaking scenery. (This is known in the trade as a bender.)
The awards will be presented at a 'glittering' event at the London Hilton in Park Lane in September.
Before all that though we have to decide which pubs deserve to make the cut. It's a gruelling task made worse by the surprising lack of alcohol.
(If there's one time I fancy a drink it's when I'm judging the Great British Pub Awards.)
Anyway, this is the third year I've helped judge the Best Smoking Area award and I have a simple rule. You may have the most wonderful outdoor area but if the words 'smoking' or 'smoker' don't appear on the entry form you've no chance.
We might add your pub to the shortlist as an example of what a good outdoor area looks like but to win Best Smoking Area you have to convince us that it was designed with smokers in mind and that you invested your money to make smokers feel welcome.
The best smoking areas are effectively an extension of the pub. They encourage inclusion not exclusion because even non-smokers will want to join you but it's clearly designated as a smoking area so no-one can complain when you light up.
There should be attractive tables, comfortable seating, heaters and (frequently overlooked) ashtrays that are emptied regularly.
Some form of shelter from rain and wind would be good too. Ultimately the best smoking areas are those you would be happy to occupy all evening, with your non-smoking friends coming out to join you rather than vice versa.
That's my interpretation. What do you look for in a smoker-friendly pub?