Smokey Drinky

Leg Iron Often talks about having the smokey drinkey round at his place, and Dick Puddlecote has recently joined in too. It's because us smokers have been chucked out of the pubs so we have started doing our own thing and leaving them to it.

I've just had the parents and the in laws round for a smokey drinky at mine. What I didn't realise is we've been doing this for ages, we just didn't put the name to it. It's just a family gathering but the principal still applies.

We used to meet, one or two Saturdays per month at the local and play pool and have a few scoops. There are six of us and my dad is the only non-smoker. He doesn't mind smoking one bit. He married a smoker at the tender age of ? twenty something ? and has lived with her ever since, raising two smoker spawn.

When the ban came in, we had to take it in turns to go out for a fag so that there was someone in the pub with my dad to keep him company. In the end he started coming out to the smoking shelter with us. That's where all the action was anyway. He hated the ban even more than us smokers. He is a staunch believer in freedom of choice and he just wanted to choose to go in a smoking pub with his family. He has never been scared of second, third or ten to the power of twelve hand smoke. He just wants some social time with the wife and kids.

My brother in law bought a pool table for the back room, and a dart board. Me and Mrs Bucko did the same not long after. Now, when we all get together, we do it in one of our houses. My folks even bought a WII so we can go round to theirs for a beer at weekend and do something different. Even if we don't use all this stuff, we still get together at someones house and just have a gas.

Me and Mrs Bucko still go to the pub for pool and snooker and we smoke outside. We are still young though. My mum won't set foot in a pub any longer because she walks with a cane and going for a fag is just to much trouble.

The smoking ban came in to protect people like my dad, weather they want it or not. He's signed every "repeal the ban" petition I've put his way and he even donated to the release Nick Hogan fund.

He hates the smoking ban, even though the righteous put it in place to protect him.

If you were to ask him he'd say. "I'll worry about my protection, the rest of you can fuck off".

Is it not time to do away with this hideous smoking ban?