Summer in the city

The 2023 Forest Summer Lunch & Awards take place in London today.

New banners, printed menus, and trophies have all been ordered and delivered. Now we’re busy with the last minute stuff. (I’ve been up since 4.00am!)

The most difficult thing is the seating plan because you're at the mercy of last minute call-offs that can lead to gaps appearing on tables.

I've been to events where a table of ten has been reduced, at the last minute, to just six or seven people and the hosts are frantically trying to rearrange the seating plan even as guests are being called to take their places.

So far we've only had a few guests cancel – and we were already over-subscribed – but it’s not unusual to lose more on the day.

Our venue, Boisdale of Belgravia, is not a large restaurant – it can accommodate up to 60 people in the main Macdonald restaurant, plus a further 12-16 in the adjacent Courtyard – but it's a slightly awkward shape.

As of yesterday we had 70 confirmed guests which means we will have to use the Courtyard (which is fully enclosed, despite its name), but the real issue begins when we start allocating guests to the various tables because I know from experience that it's impossible to keep everyone happy!

Anyway, that's my problem, not yours.

This year we have a guest speaker whose name I won't reveal just yet. He's not a household name but he has appeared on Live at the Apollo (BBC1) and The News Quiz (multiple times) on Radio 4, and I consider ourselves lucky to have him.

I won’t say any more because that would give the game away, but it's NOT Geoff Norcott! (Been there, done that, as they say.)

As for the awards, there are three categories this year.

First, there's the Voices of Freedom award which we have been presenting to various freedom fighters since 2016.

Recipients to date include David Hockney, Rod Liddle, Claire Fox, and Daily Mail columnist Tom Utley.

Second is the 'Nannies', a trophy that is awarded to the person (or persons) most associated with nanny state style diktats.

Last year we awarded a 'Nanny' to Javed Khan, author of The Khan Review. Sadly Dr Khan didn't collect it in person, although we did invite him to the lunch.

Instead it was accepted on his behalf by Chris Snowdon, editor of the Nanny State Index, who immediately gave it back to me and I still have it in my office. Occasionally, I even give it a quick dust.

This year a number of deserving people have been nominated for a 'Nanny' but you'll have to come back tomorrow to find out who they were

Third, we have a new trophy for those who deserve recognition for some outstanding achievement but fit neither of the other two categories.

Watch this space.

ASH “sympathetic” to calls to ban disposable vapes

The Local Government Authority (LGA) wants disposable vapes banned by 2024.

On Saturday the story led the BBC News website (Disposable vapes: Councils call for total ban by 2024) and was reported widely by other media.

ASH, naturally, was prominent among the voices that responded to the LGA, but was I alone in detecting a new and subtle equivocation from their previous position on disposable vapes?

According to deputy CEO Hazel Cheeseman:

"ASH is sympathetic [my emphasis] to calls by local councils and children’s doctors to ban single-use disposable e-cigarettes, but the risk of unintended consequences is too great for us to support a ban."

That's a bit like Forest saying, when the debate about a public smoking ban was at its height:

"Forest is sympathetic to calls to ban smoking in pubs and clubs, but the risk of unintended consequences [eg pub closures and the loss of jobs] is too great for us to support a ban."

Can you imagine?!

Nevertheless, Clive Bates, the former director of ASH and a prominent vaping advocate, was quick to tweet his approval:

The most essential discipline in nicotine and tobacco policymaking is the recognition of trade-offs and unintended consequences. Something you will never hear discussed by anti-vaping activists.

So this is spot on from @HazelCheeseman at @AshOrgUK
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Spot on? I read it as ASH having their cake and eating it. On the one hand they say they are opposed to a ban on disposable vapes, but at the same time they are “sympathetic” to the idea.

That doesn't bode well because I’m pretty sure I can remember a time when ASH was sympathetic to the idea of a ban on smoking in restaurants and chose instead to call for a less radical option - more smoke free areas - because taking little steps was a better way to achieve their ultimate ambition of smoke-free public places.

The reality, as I keep saying, is that the long-term goal of ASH and their chums in the tobacco control industry is not a smoke-free future, but a world in which the sale and consumption of all forms of recreational nicotine is severely restricted or, worse, outlawed.

ASH, in my view, are playing the long game. Unlike their trigger happy counterparts in Scotland who, like the LGA, are actively calling for a ban on disposable vapes NOW, ASH at least recognise that disposable vapes have an important role to play if the aim is to encourage adult smokers to quit smoking.

It doesn’t alter the fact, though, that their ultimate ambition is a world in which no-one smokes or vapes, a goal they share with every other Tom, Dick, and Harry in the tobacco control industry.

PS. Talking of the Local Government Association, it’s worth noting that exactly three years ago, in July 2020, the LGA urged the Government to ban smoking in the new outdoor licensed pavement areas that were springing up following the first Covid lockdown.

A combination of forces, including Forest, stopped that from happening, but a new threat to smoking outside pubs and restaurants has recently emerged.

I'll explain more later, but it demonstrates that bad ideas never go away. They merely hibernate until reactivated.

The Lord Palmer RIP

Smokers lost one of their principal allies in the House of Lords last week.

Sadly, Adrian Palmer, the 4th Baron Palmer, died following a stroke. He was ‘only’ 71, but suffered from diabetes and had been in poor health for some time.

A member of the Lords and Commons Pipe and Cigar Smokers’ Club, he attended the Forest Freedom Dinner at Boisdale of Canary Wharf on several occasions. (Four, I believe.)

He also accepted an invitation to Forest’s 40th anniversary dinner in 2019, but cancelled the day before the event:

I am so disappointed that I now cannot make tomorrow’s event at Boisdale. I was so looking forward to it. Please accept my most sincere apologies.

If this implies I knew him well, I didn’t.

Someone who did was Giles Roca, a former director of the Tobacco Manufacturers Association, who last week tweeted:

Sad news. I got to know Adrian well incl the pleasure of a tour & lunch at Manderston (roast pheasant cooked by himself). He was a true character with a mischievous sense of humour, but was passionate about safeguarding the Union and in preserving the traditions of the Lords. RIP

Manderston is the 109-room Edwardian stately home near Duns in the Scottish Borders. Apparently it’s the only house in the world with a silver-plated staircase but when it was built at the start of the 20th century it was notably modern with bathrooms, electric lighting, and central heating.

Of the man himself, the obituaries paint a colourful picture. The Telegraph, for example, notes that:

He was educated at Eton, but claimed to have been asked to leave because he was “so incredibly stupid”.

According to the Scotsman:

The peer once recalled eating a 20-year-old biscuit that was "perfectly edible" as he argued product sell-by dates "are far too cautious", and noted "everybody's amazement" when he was breathalysed one day at 10.30am and passed.

The Times, meanwhile, reports that:

He was a gentle, kind man, who made friends from all walks of life. He was particularly fond of the staff on the East Coast Mainline and invited several of them to stay at Manderston. And after befriending an Antiguan-born black cab driver in London — who used to pick him up and drop him off at King’s Cross — Palmer invited the cabbie and his family to use Manderston for holidays.

On the subject of smoking, he supported the cause even if he sometimes had a funny way of expressing it.

In December 2004, opposing further restrictions on smoking in the Palace of Westminster, he began his speech by saying:

My Lords, I feel that I must start by stating that I think smoking is the most revolting, unhealthy and disgusting habit, but I do have to admit to being a smoker.

Continuing, he pointed out that:

It is important not to forget that smoking is still a legal pastime, one practised by 26 per cent of the adult population of the United Kingdom … It should also not be forgotten that annually the Exchequer receives not less than £10 billion from smokers. There are some 6,000 full-time jobs in the tobacco industry; 23,000 people are involved in supplying the industry; and nearly 58,000 in retailing and distribution.

On arriving here nearly 15 years ago, I remember being told that the House of Lords was the last bastion of civilisation. Since then, places where one can smoke have been dramatically reduced and I am in favour of some of the restrictions that have already been imposed. But I feel that both of the amendments tabled by my noble friends are intolerant and unnecessary and, indeed, would diminish the reputation of your Lordships' House as the last bastion of civilisation.

One of the worst sights in Britain today is that of office entranceways crammed with smokers. Do we really want our staff and, indeed, some Members of your Lordships' House, to be forced into that syndrome? I would venture to suggest that we do not.

On March 1, 2006, two weeks after MPs had voted to ban smoking in all enclosed public places, with the Labour Government reneging on its commitment to exempt private members’ clubs and pubs that don’t serve food, he declared:

My views are well known and are certainly well documented in Hansard, from when we last discussed smoking. I echo the views of my noble friend Lord Monson, and the noble Lords, Lord Geddes and Lord Naseby. Particularly bearing in mind what the noble Lord, Lord Stoddart, said, I find it difficult to believe that a party in power can go so directly against its manifesto commitment.

If you own a restaurant, you have to staff it and pay all the financing. Therefore, if you want someone to work in that restaurant you can, after all, explain, “I am sorry, this is a restaurant where smoking is allowed. If you want to work here, you will have to accept that.” There are, of course, plenty of other places where that person could work.

In theory, I applaud the Government for wishing to limit the amount that people smoke. For years and years I have thought that the only way to stop people smoking is to have a blanket ban on the sale of all tobacco products. I know that we would have a bit of a problem because, at the moment, 27 per cent of tobacco products sold in this country are smuggled in. However, I believe that if the Government really want to stop people smoking, the only alternative is to ban the sale of all tobacco products, and I intend to produce an amendment to that effect in Committee.

He was not, I believe, being serious and was just making a point, highlighting the absurdity of the smoking ban and the war on tobacco, but that’s the trouble with mavericks and eccentrics. They can be a law unto themselves, and Lord Palmer was both.

Nevertheless, his premature death means we have lost one of the few remaining peers who was prepared to stand up to the small cabal of anti-smoking peers that dominates every debate about smoking in the House of Lords.

Late last year, for example, he asked, pointedly (and mischievously):

My Lords, have His Majesty’s Government estimated the loss to the Treasury if England became smoke-free?

The 4th Lord Palmer will be missed and Parliament is a poorer place without him.

See: Lord Palmer, aristocrat of vivid personality who lived at the Borders stately home Manderston – obituary (Telegraph)

Above: Lord Palmer at the 2017 Forest Freedom Dinner

Bravo! Little Green Bookshop is a giant success

Herne Bay is on the north coast of Kent, five miles from Whitstable, and eight miles from Canterbury.

Just over a year ago an old friend and colleague opened a bookshop in the small seaside town.

It’s called The Little Green Bookshop and yesterday I visited it for the first time.

But first, some background.

I’ve known Jacqui for almost 20 years. We met in 2005. She was working for a PR company whose office in Margaret Street, near Oxford Circus, was a short walk from where Forest was based after we left our previous office in Palace Street, near Victoria Station, earlier that year.

The proximity of our two offices was a total coincidence, but it was handy for meetings and the occasional catch-up in a nearby coffee shop (Benugo) or wine bar.

Jacqui’s company was hired to help us fight the threat of a public smoking ban and together we devised a campaign, Fight The Ban, Fight For Choice, that included a string of ads in magazines such as The Spectator, the New Statesman, and The Week.

(Private Eye refused to run the ads, claiming they broke their ban on political advertising!)

We also commissioned polls in ten cities throughout the country - a total of 10,000 people - that demonstrated that the public was decisively against a comprehensive ban on smoking in pubs and clubs when offered options such as separate smoking rooms.

The company also produced a number of campaign tools including an ashtray that featured the Fight The Ban, Fight For Choice logo and was sent to every MP a few days before the decisive vote in Parliament.

We had a limited budget but we did as much as we could with it and I was impressed with their professionalism and creative ideas.

After MPs voted for the ban, and our campaign came to an end, Jacqui and I kept in touch, and since she left the company to go freelance we’ve hired her on many occasions to help with this and that.

In 2009, for example, she helped organise the launch of the Save Our Pubs & Clubs campaign at a pub in Westminster.

Over the past decade she’s organised and coordinated a series of media tours undertaken by John Mallon, Forest’s spokesman in Ireland.

For many years she was also a familiar face at Forest events, although we saw less of her after she moved to the south west corner of Wales.

A couple of years ago, after a decade or so in Pembrokeshire, she moved back to England and in May 2022 opened The Little Green Bookshop in Herne Bay.

I’ve been following it with interest and as far as I can tell it’s been a great success, with Jacqui’s PR and organisational skills clearly in evidence.

Even more important, perhaps, are her interpersonal skills because what is evident is the genuine affection and regard people have for her as well as the bookshop.

Here are a handful of the many appreciative comments on social media:

When you next visit Herne Bay, pop in and meet Jacqui. It's such a lovely book shop.

We visited Jacqui at the delightful The Little Green Bookshop in #hernebay #kent today. Bought a book for my daughter so helping local businesses thrive. Only open barely a few months and doing a roaring trade and popular with locals.

Tired but happy author this evening, raising a glass to all of you amazing booksellers on #BookshopDay 📚🧡 With special thanks to the wonderful Jacqui at The Little Green Bookshop in Herne Bay for hosting such a glorious event today 📚🧡

To put this in perspective, before she moved to the area, Jacqui didn’t know anyone in Herne Bay. Slowly but surely she is building a business that is clearly prized (by those who are aware of it) as a small but important local asset.

Last night I attended one of many events Jacqui has organised in the bookshop. And it was sold out, creating an intimate and lively atmosphere.

Interviewed by author and podcaster Mark Stay, journalist Lesley-Ann Jones discussed her book, The Stone Age: Sixty Years of the Rolling Stones.

(I won’t go into detail other than to say she had some interesting insights into various band members and their girlfriends!)

After the event we went for a drink in a nearby pub that overlooks the sea and the pier.

I told Jacqui how much I admired the work she has put into the business and I meant it.

Seeing the premises transformed from an empty, nondescript unit (the previous occupant was a physiotherapist) into a smart and cosy bookshop has been remarkable.

Opening any business post pandemic was a huge risk, but running an independent bookshop in a sleepy seaside town when your main competitor is the might of Amazon is an even bigger challenge.

It takes guts, imagination, and hard work. Bravo!

Below: Jacqui with Forest Ireland’s John Mallon (and me) at a Save Our Pubs & Clubs event at the House of Commons in 2011

Footnote

A quick postscript to Monday’s post concerning the former Labour MP Doug Naysmith who died recently and whose obituary appeared in the Telegraph last weekend.

I was a little bemused by the paper's headline because it implied that Naysmith's most noteworthy achievement was campaigning to have smoking banned in public places.

Perhaps it was but, as I explained:

Having campaigned against bans on smoking in public places for most of the period Naysmith was an MP (1997-2010), I can honestly say I don’t remember him at all.

Today, and somewhat belatedly, ASH has finally included the Telegraph obituary in its Daily News bulletin, adding this strange and barely intelligible 'Editorial note'. I reproduce it exactly as it appears:

Doug Naysmith was an active member of the Health Select Committee in a first for a Select Committee tabled all-party amendments removing the exemptions to the smoking ban in the Health Bill 2005 for licensed premises and private members clubs. The amendments were passed on a free vote by a majority of 200, paving the way for implementation of comprehensive smokefree laws in England in 2007

Is it just me or did an AI chatbot write that?

Either way, I'm still not convinced that the former MP for Bristol North West will be remembered as a leading campaigner for a pubic smoking ban.

A footnote, perhaps ...

Big Narstie surprise

I was in London yesterday for the Boisdale Life Editor's Lunch at Boisdale of Canary Wharf.

There must have been around 180 guests, some of whom I knew, most of whom I didn't.

The star guests, who each received an award, were TV presenter Gregg Wallace (who announced he was off to smoke a cigar on the terrace), and – more surprising, perhaps – Big Narstie who I knew only through his (very funny) appearance on Would I Lie To You? a few years ago.

His real name is Tyrone Mark Lindo and he's a rapper, singer, songwriter, comedian and television presenter.

According to Boisdale Life, he's also a legend, hence his award.

The awards were presented by restaurant critic William Sitwell and Made In Chelsea star Georgia Toffolo.

The latter should have been given something to stand on because she could barely reach the microphone, even on "tippy-toes" (as she herself acknowledged).

I was pleased that the New Statesman's Rachel Cunliffe won an award. Two years ago I noted that, despite attending the Editor's Lunch (having been nominated in two categories), she won nothing, even though neither winner bothered to turn up.

'Poor show,' I huffed. 'If you turn up you deserve an award!' (especially if you've been nominated twice).

This year only one person failed to collect their award in person and he had a good excuse – his flight from Las Vegas had been delayed.

Fortunately his mother – the Nicaraguan ambassador, Her Excellency Guisell Morales-Echaverry – was there to accept it on his behalf.

Next week all eyes turn to Boisdale of Belgravia for the Forest Summer Lunch & Awards. But more on that later.

PS. I was surprised to see this notice in the gents' loo:

Please note it is not permitted to vape inside our premises!

A school toilet, I could understand, but Boisdale?

Oh dear, how sad, never mind

STV News reports that:

Not one fine has been issued since smoking was made illegal within hospital grounds in Scotland last year.

Oh dear, how sad, never mind.

Public health minister Jenni Minto MSP hopes the lack of fines means people are "taking heed" of the new rules and have changed their behaviour.

Well, that's one way of spinning it. According to a similar investigation by the Scottish Sun in January, however:

Smokers are stubbornly flouting the SNP's ban on lighting up outside hospitals – but not one was fined in the law's first three months.

(See also 'Scottish hospital smoking ban a failure'.)

I'm pleased because when it came to opposing a ban on smoking on hospital grounds, Forest was pretty much on its own. Remember this?

Plans to make smoking in hospital grounds a statutory offence have been branded "inhumane, petty and vindictive" by a pro-smoking (sic) group.

Simon Clark from Forest made the remark while giving evidence to Holyrood's health committee.

Hospitals have banned smoking in their grounds, but it is being flouted.

Mr Clark told MSPs: "Going to hospital as a patient or a visitor can be a very stressful experience. It's also quite stressful for many members of staff.

"To ban smoking on all hospital grounds, we think, is totally inhumane, it's totally vindictive, it's petty, far pettier actually than banning smoking in pubs. At least people can still go outside.

"To extend it to entire hospital sites, we think, is absolutely outrageous."

Full story: Hospital smoking ban plan 'petty', Holyrood committee told (BBC News, September 2015).

Whatever the reason for the lack of fines (ASH Scotland says it may be due to a lack of funding to pay for enforcement officers), I'm pleased that smokers aren't being punished unnecessarily.

It also supports our argument that NHS managers have far more important things on their plate than targeting patients, visitors, and staff for having a quiet smoke in the open air.

My interview with the plastic surgery queen

In 1991 I interviewed an American woman called Cindy Jackson.

She was in her mid thirties but looked younger:

Chemo peel, temporal lift, rhinoplasty, collagen lips, silicon breast implants, abdominal lipectomy – you name it, she’s done it. The question is, why?

A few years ago I posted the interview on this blog, adding the following note:

We met in a little cafe just inside the Cafe Royal in Regent Street. I was editing a magazine for an organisation she was a member of so I don't remember if I contacted her or she contacted me. Either way, she had an interesting story to tell that had already attracted the attention of other journalists. Her claim to fame was cosmetic surgery. When we met she had already had twelve 'procedures' costing £20,000 …

By 1999 that sum was reported to have risen to £60k for 27 operations, resulting in an unwelcome and arguably misleading entry in the Guinness Book of Records.

Now 68, the 'eternally youthful’ Jackson, who has been dubbed a ‘human Barbie doll’, has just published a new book, 'How Not To Get Botched', and last week the Telegraph conducted their own interview with the ‘plastic surgery queen'.

I have to say she sounds almost exactly the same as she did all those years ago - modest, down-to-earth, and genuinely anxious to help others learn from her experiences, good and bad.

Published 32 years apart, you can read the two interviews here and here.