On the 1st of July, London went smoke free!! Andy and I were very excited when the bars and restaurants in New York went smoke free, and NOW we get to do it all over again. It might be an even bigger difference here, where smoking is perhaps a bit more common.

Sunday was the first night of the smoking ban, and we obviously had to go out to celebrate. We went to the pub around the corner, which is a very snug little place that serves excellent food and is frequented by about a dozen very old, very intoxicated smoky men. We have been there many times in the past, but the one downfall was always that it can be very smoky in there.

It was wonderful. All of the old, drunk men were at the outside tables whining (or winging, to be a bit more English) about the smoking ban and smoking away, and we walked right on by to find a table inside. We stayed for about an hour, and we marveled at how much more we could SEE in there! For example, until Sunday, I had never noticed the back door. It’s probably about 15-20 feet away from where we were sitting, and yet the air had previously been so smoke-filled that I never noticed it. We’re wondering what the old, drunk men will do when it gets cold. Will they sit outside and freeze, sit inside and pop out every few minutes to freeze/smoke, or what? I guess we’ll find out. . .

THEN, on Tuesday, I had my leaving party for work. (Newsflash: I’m changing jobs) SO, I went to the best pub near my office with all of my colleagues. Normally, I tend not to go to other people’s leaving parties. If I do go, I tend to leave a bit earlier than most, because I get pretty uncomfortable after a while. I know it was my party, but still, I stayed happily to the end of the evening. It felt so much classier without all the mess and stinky headachiness that one normally finds in a pub. Wonderful, I say - just wonderful.

By the way, we are having the coldest, rainiest summer in the universe over here! England=skitso weather. The good news is that today is the first nice day we have had since about the 1st of June (NOTE: based on my perception only), so I plan to take advantage of it!