Frank Davis RIP
Monday, October 11, 2021 at 15:40 I am sorry to hear that Frank Davis has died.
Frank was a smoker and a blogger who truly did bang on about the smoking ban.
In fact there was something almost heroic about his uncompromising attitude to smoking and smoking bans that attracted a loyal and substantial following.
I first came across Frank in September 2008 when he commented on something I had written on this blog.
In those days he had a pen name, idlex, and for a year or two he posted comments here on a variety of issues from smoking to speed limits and fat shaming.
I wasn't a regular reader of his blog, launched in 2009, but over the years I couldn't help notice that it had developed a real community of like-minded people, many of them from the States.
I'm not sure when the first one took place but a few years ago Frank instigated an online meeting that he called a 'Smoky Drinky'.
Over several hours – usually on a Saturday evening, I think – people could drop in (virtually) for a smoke, a drink and some conversation.
The idea was to recreate the atmosphere of a pub or bar where smoking was allowed so people came and went depending on other commitments. Dinner with their own families perhaps!
What Frank created online was another sort of family and the comments that are currently being posted below his final blog post indicate how popular he was.
I never took part in a 'Smoky Drinky' (partly because I'm not a smoker) but when Forest launched a series of webinars during lockdown last year I liked the idea of people smoking and drinking together, albeit hundreds or even thousands of miles apart, and we encouraged participants to light up or have a drink if they wanted to.
That was Frank's influence, which I acknowledged in a private email.
He and several of his 'Smoky Drinky' pals joined us online but Frank rarely said much, which surprised me a bit.
Occasionally he grumped about the technology (he had a problem unmuting the 'mute' button and sometimes he found it difficult to even join the meeting!) but perhaps he was more shy than his online persona led one to believe. He wouldn't be the first.
Given his strong views on smoking and pubs we did however persuade him to join us as a panellist in July last year when we discussed 'Smoking, Patriotism and the Pub'.
It was shortly after Boris argued that it was our "patriotic duty" to support the pub when they reopened following the first lockdown.
Other speakers that evening included Madeline Grant, assistant comment editor, The Telegraph; former publican Nick Hogan; and Rob Lyons, author, The Road To Ruin: The impact of the smoking ban on pubs and personal choice.
I guessed that with smoking banned in every pub in the country Frank didn't think it was our "patriotic duty" to support the hospitality industry and I was right.
However, being one of our early webinars, we didn't record it so I have no exact recollection of what he said. (Update: He wrote about it here.)
For his introduction though he gave me these details:
Aged 72. Qualified as an architect, but actually became a software engineer. Started writing my cfrankdavis Wordpress blog in 2009 to bang on about the smoking ban.
Frank was therefore 73 (or possibly 74) when he died on Friday, which is relatively young these days, but I understand he died peacefully in his sleep which is all anyone can hope for if you have lived upwards of three score and ten.
I sensed anyway that Frank wasn't someone who wanted to overstay his time on planet Earth if it meant living to rules imposed on him by politicians and public health activists.
After 'Smoking, Patriotism and the Pub' he accepted invitations to join us for most of our subsequent webinars. They included one on vaping in April this year to which his response was:
"I tried vaping but never much liked it, so I carry on smoking roll-ups as I have for 40+ years."
He was keen too to support his 'Smoky Drinky' friend Emily Wieja who was on our 'Consumer Voices Uncut' panel in July. "I'll be there," he told me.
That was the last email I received from him.
It was Emily who notified Frank's readers of his death when she posted a note below his final blog post which was written and published just six days ago.
Even at the end Frank was banging on about the smoking ban, and 'climate alarmism', and many other issues.
My condolences to his family and the many friends he made online.
PS. Another blogger, Legiron, writes:
Frank's was always a calm and steady voice among the blogging world. He wasn’t given to the wild rantings I, and others, sometimes give vent to, even though he faced the same smoker-persecution as the rest of us.
Well, now he’s gone to the Great Smoky-Drinky in the sky. I hope he saves us all a seat because we all go there in the end.
H/T Pat Nurse.
Reader Comments (5)
A lovely tribute. Sad news indeed. Frank will be missed. We all have a duty to keep on banging on about the smoking ban because like Frank we know deep down that exclusion and bullying people to comply with new state diktats or new trendy modes of behaviour is wrong.
I wonder if 74 is a relatively young age to die. I don't think it feels young when you're that age. Personally, I would rather die "young" at 75 than live into very old age and perhaps be a burden on my family or the begrudging state. Worse would be to end up alone in life as you watch friends and family all go first.
75 is the age I expect to pop my clogs. I think it's pretty average as an age of death. My mum and dad both quit smoking about 25 years before they died. Dad went a couple of weeks after his 75th birthday and mum went at 74, the day before her birthday.
The only certain thing in life is that we will all end up in that smoky drink in the sky. Life is not for counting but living.
RIP Frank Davis. I was a regular reader of his blog. Such a shame.
I am saddened to hear that Frank Davis has died. He was a tireless champion for smokers and smokers' rights. We must keep up the fight against antismoker tyranny in his memory.
I almost met Frank once, but couldn't make it in time.
They say the biggest regrets are the chances you don't take. It's true. Now I have to wait until it's my turn to visit the Great Smoky-Drinky in the Sky.
I hope he's got the drinks in.
A beautiful and thoughtful post, Simon – thank you. Frank's passing is a great loss. I hope we will somehow keep the community going. I have met so many lovely people through the years through Frank's blog and I consider myself fortunate to have known Jim. What first struck me about Frank's writing was that he was a truly original thinker. It is such a rare thing to come across nowadays.