Smoke Free England

On July 1st England , on the grounds of safety and health, became a smoke free zone in enclosed public premises. For us non smokers it is a "breath of fresh air" (excuse the pun) to be able to go home from a night out in a club or pub without having to strip completely and hang our clothes in the bathroom cause they reek of stale smoke and not having to suffer for two days after with a sore foul tasting throat.
I sympathise with smokers who have a right to do what they want with their own health, but frankly guys, you have no right to tamper with mine o.k. Nuff said.
However, now we have to suffer a spin off from this new Legislation ...Crowds standing on the pavements outside of drinking/eating places blocking the way for pedestrians, blowing their smoke over all who try and squeeze by and littering the pavement with cigarette ends. It's pretty disgusting actually.
Progressive pubs with small outside back areas have already made provision for smoking areas, some undercover and some with the proper receptacles for cigarette ends. Sadly, the likes of Yates Wine Bar and Wetherspoons which are mainly on high streets, do not appear to have made any such arrangements whatsoever, or in fact cannot because of outside space restrictions.
So folks, there you have it. One problem tackled and another one created as a result. Sometimes problem solving is not thought right through to the end. If you happen to be involved in an incident which damages your safety and health as a result of crowds of smokers spilling onto the pavement from drinking houses I would personally sue the pants off the landlord, particularly if it's a national chain ( you stand more chance of a pay out from a Plc than an individual) and then I would go for the local Council who is responsible for the pavement.

Town and Country Planning

I have just received a notification from the local council concerning a planning application to develop a run down pub nearby. You know the usual blurb...about your right to make comments and observations which of course will not be taken into consideration in the end !

Now I am not really against the development as the pub is an eyesore and it will help raise the profile of the area but .....

What amazes me is the intellect of these planning officials. There are twelve dwellings and the comment from one lady committee member to the Planning Officer was "I will be looking for a 35% for affordable housing as there is a substantial need in this area" (exact grammar). 35%...err.. derr 4.2 dwellings !! Would it not have been easier and more appropriate to say 1/3 rd ?

Beware these "intelligent" (sic) people who are making important decisions that may affect your life !! Brain transplants are not yet available on the NHS.

Withdrawing From A House Purchase

I have just been through a horrendous experience when trying to sell my property and buy another.

I found the perfect place and all the boxes were ticked. I couldn't believe my luck. My buyer was enthusiastic, came round three times, brought the parents and measured up. I even received mail in their name but on the day I was signing contracts and four days before moving they pulled out ! Their explanation was... it took too long. Yeah, pull the other one.. four days from them moving in ! Too late !!!

It turned out after digging that there was another personal reason.. but why lie?

As they had not exchanged contracts they could just walk away and nothing legally can be done about the £1,300 I was out of pocket. To add injury to my losses was the perfect property I had found was returned to the market place and sold again at full asking price within three days.. I was well and truly gutted.

All in all, other than find out where the buyer who jacked it in lived and sending the boys round I was left with nothing.

I have had to put my property back on the market, find another and pay out once again to my Solicitor and the Building Society for fees and surveys. My losses now are around £2,000 and the property I am buying just does not have the wow factor of the original but I have to be satisfied in order to move on.

I think it's time the law was changed on this business...and how many times have I been told..."This wouldn't happen in Scotland !!!"

At the very least, it should be mandatory that anyone committing to buying a property should lay down an "administrative" deposit of say £750 which would be forfeited to the vendor to cover towards out of pocket expenses if the buyer reneges on their agreement.

I think that's fair enough, don't you? If anyone out their from HM Government is reading this, I think it's about time you got off your butts and did something about this outrageous situation sooner rather than later.

Ambushed at Sainsbury's

Are you like me..just sick and tired of being ambushed at the entrance to supermarkets by a myriad of charity collectors !!

They place themselves in such a position that you have no choice but to squeeze past them and their held out begging bucket.

They even hover at the end of the check outs to pack your shopping and you feel obliged to give them your hard earned cash even though you have been duped into having your shopping shoved into a carrier bag.

Now don't get me wrong ..I am not a tight fisted person, in fact I am pretty generous when it comes to giving for good causes. However, I like to give when I feel it appropriate and to the charities I believe in and not those that make me feel uncomfortable when I pass by and don't drop a few coins into their bucket.

I want to enjoy my shopping experience not made to feel uncomfortable for gods sake !

So to all you supermarkets out there...please stop this practice or you may loose your customers. We all have to work hard nowadays to earn our little bit of cash and most of us don't have much spare to give away. So at least give us the courtesy of choosing who we give it to without these emotional hi -jacking tactics you are condoning.