UK Observations
A sad farewell to a friend
Phil Johnson
13th August 2010 Imagine the scene if you can. Standing outside his pub in 'Little India' (the Evington Road side of Leicester) a man stands smoking his first 'business' cigarette of the day. He stands alone, outside the doors of his pub; his pride and joy. He speaks 17 languages so it matters not who goes past and waves or greets him he answers all in their own tongue - remarkable really. Everyone knows Rui. In the 4 years he's had the pub (aptly named "Rui's bar) I dread to think how many people have spoken to him, in depth or in passing. Four years ago Rui took the pub on himself as he had now settled in Leicester after roaming the globe. He had business interests in South Africa & South America; he was nobody's fool, he knew how to make money. From the grubby looking hovel that it was, he turned it into a pub that you would want to drink in. freshly decorated, spotlessly clean and with new furniture he opened his business to the world, well, 'little India' at any rate. In the first year he averaged earnings of between $500-£600 per week after all expenses. He had 6 staff working for him and all was going well. Plans to get the beer flowing in the upstairs bar were much talked about but the stumbling block came in the shape of the Brewery for they declared that if he opened to upstairs bar to drinkers his rent would have to rise dramatically for they had set a rental 'only for the ground floor serving area'. Now I find this very strange for you would think that the brewery would be happy getting their corn every week, regardless of how many bars were open. Would they have increased the rent if Rui put in another bar on the ground floor? I doubt it. Anyway, plans were shelved as the law was changing soon-dramatically changing. Rui was the epitome of the eternal optimist. "Smoking ban doesn't matter" he used to say, "this Rui's Bar, they still come here". Indeed they did but within months the numbers were diminishing. The following years figures were far from satisfactory. Rui was earning about £200 per week and had halved his staff, meaning that he was working more hours himself. He still mounted guard outside his pub every morning with that first .business' cigarette of the day. He still greeted people but some sheepishly feigned ignorance to the cheery wave. His first customers seldom arrived until 12.30pm as opposed to 11.00am initially and normally cheerful Rui was now beginning to look like a man under pressure. As we dragged ourselves into 2010 I sat talking to Rui one day. It was a long old chat for not one customer entered the pub for an hour or so. Rui's generosity knows no bounds but I would accept the free drinks being offered for I knew he was in trouble. The gist of the converstaion was as follows:- "Things not too good then Rui?" "They are bastards these people, what do they know about MY business? What do they care about my business? They are filling their pockets with expenses but they have taken all my money away from me with this bastard smoking ban. All my people Phil, all my customers, you know why they won't come in? because I can't let them smoke in my own pub! I haven't got any staff anymore I am doing everything. Bastards! (he paused for a quick liquid intake). You know Phil we had one good day last year and one good day the year before, the same, you know what I mean? Everyday used be like those days." (It dawned on me that the 2 days he was referring to happened to be the days of the f2c-AGM) For those that didn't attend, Rui had given us the upstairs part of the pub with improvised 'access' to a smoking area. All we had to do was to nip downstairs to fetch our drinks; no hardship. Two glorious afternoons/evenings where it was easy to forget the present times and simply enjoy the moments as they passed. I remember last year that Rui bought the few of us that were left at around midnight a drink as a thank you. Being virtually comatose at the time I did not even think about it but now I know why. "I applied for rebates on rents and rates but was telling me I don't qualify. How? (he comtinued with hunched shoulders and palms upwards) I am losing business faster than that Ratner jewellry guy because of smoke ban, why do I not get rebate because government law is killing my business. They didn't ask me my opinion what smoking ban would do, they didn't give me choice. I wanted to put on strippers upstairs but the wife says no, she thinks I strip with them all (I had to laugh for Rui probably would have!). This business is dying Phil, they are killing it for me. (He started on the 'top-shelf now). I talk to that a******e MP who lives down the road here, he's here Phil, 500 yards away from my pub (I knew he meant PeterSoulsby-extremist hater of smoking/smokers) and what's he say to me? 'Nothing I can do about it, it's now the law', smiled at me, SMILED I say and f****d off again. Barrrrrstard he is!" ( I pointed out to Rui that Peter Soulsby will not entertain me in any way, shape or form and that as far as he is concerned the smoking ban is the greatest law ever passed by any Labour government). I went past Rui's Bar several times in last couple of months but never saw many customers in there on either occasion. Then, last week I espied the inevitable, the pub was closed up, tables & chairs removed and no Rui standing, smoking at the entrance. It was indeed a sad sight. The last few months cost Rui a lot of money to stay open, all told, about £750 per week. On the day he called it quits he had sold 4 pints of John Smiths in 6 hours of opening, how sad an end is that? What was the problem? Easypeasy to answer. 'Little India' is a high density smoking area in Leicester, they smoke hard and they drink hard and they'll happily do the two together. Indians, West Indians, Poles, Latvians, Serbs, Magyars, Portugese,Roumanians etc, it mattered not to Rui, he could speak to all of them and make them welcome. If ever a man was made to run a multi-cultural pub it was Rui but a majority of uninformed idiots in Westminster put paid to that and he has an MP that "Doesn't work for you", unless you happen to be a non smoker! What were the true odds of Rui surviving as a licensee after July 1st, 2007? pretty slim I would say. For all those who endear themselves to the likes of ASH, CRUK et al you ought to hang your heads in shame as we (people of choice) say farewell to a wonderful publican, a man of the world, a man of the people and a people's man, for you have destroyed a perfectly good business and a mans financial stability through your zealous hatred of all things smoking. You couldn't abide the thought of choice so that people like Rui could run his business the way he knew it should be run. Perhaps you will be happy to know that your meddling has put another 7 people on the dole instead of earning valuable revenue for this government-and believe you me, these are people who know how to wring every single penny of entitlement out of the system. Congratulations on that! I for one wish them every success. On a personal note (and on behalf of f2c) I thank you Rui for those two wonderful AGM meetings, I doubt we will ever find a venue and host such as yourself again. This truly is a sad farewell to a good friend. http://freedom2choose.info/news1.php?id=1152
Smoking ban extension that would outlaw lighting up outside pubs is axed 29th July 2010 By Sophie Borland Smokers will continue lighting up outside pubs and offices after ministers yesterday scrapped plans to extend the ban. The last government had proposed enlarging ‘smoke-free’ zones to include the areas around building entrances, but this has been shelved. Anne Milton, public health minister, said: ‘We have studied the smokefree legislation and decided not to proceed with the planned review.’ She added: ‘We are not rolling back the smoking ban, nor are we deploying austerity as an excuse for deregulation. ‘I believe we need to bring public health out of the lecture hall and into the living room.’ But doctors and health campaigners fear further proposals to cut the rates of lung cancer and other smokingrelated diseases could also be scrapped. These include banning cigarettes being displayed at the front of shops or being sold in vending machines, both put forward in Labour’s Health Act last year. ‘These laws are vital as they will help put an end to the loopholes that allow tobacco to be advertised to children. 'Smoking remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the UK.’ Read
Big Brother spying tactics rejected
01/06/2010
by CLAIRE WALKER
THE leader of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council has vowed that the authority will never resort to spying on residents.
Councillor Sybil Ralphs’ pledge comes after report from a leading body found that 372 authorities in Great Britain have used covert surveillance operations in the past two years to spy on dog owners, people flouting the smoking ban and even their own employees.
SMDC is one of just several councils to be praised in the report by Big Brother Watch — a campaign fighting to protect liberty and personal privacy — for not embracing the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA).
Speaking exclusively to Your Leek Paper, Councillor Ralphs said: “What other authorities decide to do is up to them. Our policy in the Staffordshire Moorlands is not to use that kind of surveillance either now or in the future.
“The administration of Staffordshire Moorlands District Council has no intention whatsoever of following a policy of surveillance — it is unnecessary and unacceptable.”
Research, using figures obtained using the Freedom of Information Act, found there have been 8,575 cases of covert surveillance in the past two years, with councils placing people under surveillance for minor crimes ranging from littering and dog fouling to smoking in a public place.
The reported stated: “Not all councils embraced the culture of abusing RIPA powers under the current regime and they managed perfectly well without them.
“Furthermore, if it is ever right for surveillance to be used for such problems, then it ought to be the last resort, rather than — as so often in this country now — the first tool used by overbearing councils.” The news comes several months after SMDC was slammed for failing to provide top earners’ salary details for a national survey compiled by the TaxPayers’ Alliance.
Councillor Ralphs said: “Surveillance is something as leader that I have emphatically spoken against and every elected councillor in my council I think is of the same opinion.
“I am pleased that this particular part of our administration has been recognised and appreciated.” Read
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