Smoking Ban Scotland - Breathe Again!

From the 26th March smoking in public places in Scotland will be banned. No cigarettes. No cigars. No tobacco. Smoke free, clean air.

From my point of view this is not before time. I am a non-smoker and have lead a very active, sporty life without being tempted to smoke by social peer pressure. For me the smoking ban in Scotland will mean going to the pub in the evenings, or on a night out and come home smelling smoke and tobacco free. But rising above all the political talk of saving lives and improving Scotland's woeful health record (what's wrong with a black pudding supper??) it is also likely to have a profound financial effect on pubs. Debate has been raging for months about whether pubs will survive the smoking ban. The truth is pubs will close and jobs will be lost. Being realistic though smokers will have to embrace the ban - they have no choice. Besides how are folk like me able to tell if a pub is busy or not from now on? Just check the number of smokers huddling outside!

This was a great way of pub spotting when I was in New York, which has had a smoking ban for many years.

Although I have a feeling talking about the smoking ban in Scotland and actually conforming to the ban may be the real talking point.

I was talking to a taxi driver who had a great point about working mens clubs. Guys well over the age of 70 have been going to working mens clubs for a pint and a cigarette for years. Now - is the same barman who has been serving these guys for years now going to tell them they have to go outside for a smoke? No chance!

I think the same can be said for many other pubs and clubs too. Enforcing the ban may be the real issue.

Nonetheless, I am going to enjoy a smokeless Scotland! If the Irish can do it...We'll just wait and see how long England takes to catch up!

Tags:scotland smokingban

Favourite Quirky Phrases

The English language is fantastic isn't it? There are so many dialects and so many accents. Even travelling for as little as 30 minutes between one city and the next and you can notice the difference. Liverpool and Manchester, Yorkshire and Lancashire, Suffolk and London.

And with these accent and dialect changes comes a wealth of different phrases. Some music to your ears (how I love the Irish accent), and some not. For those who have lived in different locations around the UK you will notice the differences in not only how people talk, but the way they talk.

I have heard some quality quirky phrases recently, and some certainly worth sharing in the public domain so they can be picked up and talked about in the local pub.

So - top three favourite phrases plucked from TV and good old fashioned banter.

At 3 a nice one by Oscar Wilde used in the corporate world and even by posh toffs. Best used for those who have a 'lively' persona.

"The only thing worse than being talked about, is not being talked about"

It was a close race for number two, but in the end it had to go to the quirky one. I first heard this phrase during our Tignes ski trip, and it makes me chuckle each time I think about it. Not sure where it came from, never sure when to use it but still funny.

"....wetter than an Otter's pocket....."

Having done a little more research however, it seems the Urban Dictionary can shed more light on the phrase.

And at number one a phrase that is used by many....and....well...is just superb. Whenever someone pulls a face for something they don't like, pull this out of your personal vocabulary and it'll have your audience is stitches.

"He's got a face like a bulldog licking piss off a nettle"

Funny though how when we Brits are abroad, foreigners generally won't notice the accent differences between one British city and the next. And vice-versa. I'll be the first to admit that I couldn't tell the difference between a Lyon accent and that of a Parisian.

Could you imagine trying to translate 'wetter than an Otter's pocket' into French? Good luck with that one.

And that's why English is great.

July Update - just heard another brilliant phrase that had be rolling around on the floor, howling with laughter. So not to offend this is a small disclaimer to say I have nothing against ladies who like to have lots of children...

Anyhow, talking briefly during pre-season training about a chap who is now engaged to a lady who has had 6 children already, it was proposed that the lady in question had "a fanny the size of a wizards sleeve"

October Update - there are just so many quirky phrases it is difficult to fit them all into one blog post!

Here are a few more to wet the appetite!

"Tis far better to be pissed off than to be pissed on son"

Always a common one at Uni for those in need of 'number two';

"I've got to go and drop the kids off at the pool"...

Why not help me out! Send me some of your quirky and amusing phrases!

A Wicked, Wicked Musical

I'm getting excited about a musical again - I think I should be worried. This time its Wicked the Musical, a musical about the wicked witches from the Wizard of Oz. I have said in previous posts that its takes a lot for me to go 'wow', but I was lucky to be at the press launch of Wicked the Musical, and it had me charmed!

Wicked covers the untold story about the witches of Oz and will be performed at the London Apollo theatre from September this year.

So why am I getting excited? I guess it's because I had a first hand glimpse of the history of the show, its huge success on Broadway and the fact I had a lovely girl sing some of the music and lyrics to me. Well - not just me. Sigh.

The New York Times has said that Wicked the Musical is "Broadway's biggest Blockbuster", which is a very large shout considering their are some fantastic musicals on the circuit at the moment. So I think I'll take a trip to the Apollo theatre and judge the musical for myself in September.

Tickets are going fast too - apparently Wicked sold over 100,000 tickets in just one hour when they went on sale at the beginning on March. I have vivid images on this being pretty big when it comes out...

Tags:musical wicked

Lynx Clicker Advert

Fantastic advertising by Unilever. The new Lynx clicker advert has taken the UK by storm, and on an average night out you'll probably find groups of guys going round with their very own Lynx clicker, clicking each time a girl makes a pass at them. Genius piece of marketing.

For those who haven't seen the Lynx clicker ad, it stars Ben Affleck who goes about a typical day shopping and eating etc, but each time a girl gives him 'a look' or the eye, a click gets counted. At the end of the day he gets into a lift with another guy and they compare the total number of clicks. Ben Affleck's is around 239, the other guys is over 2000. Why? Because he uses Lynx (the deodorant, not a Lynx test browser).

And now the Lynx clickers are available to buy on eBay, nights out in a club are filled with groups of guys going round clicking their Lynx clicker, totalling the number of passes they've had during the night. I'm thinking of buying one for a few of my mates, but making sure the clicker doesn't pass the tenth click....

Lynx clickers are selling for around £6 on eBay, so get one and sell it on - they're hot property!

Better than the Sony Bravia advert? No chance.

Have a look at the Lynx Clicker advert below...

St. Patrick's Day - Its Guinness time!

St. Patrick's Day - one of my favourite days of the year. Not that any of us need an excuse to drink copious amouts of the black stuff, but three of four pints of Guinness does not go amiss on St. Patrick's Day!

So let the preparations begin! Funny how the real Guinness drinkers sup the stuff all year round, but when it comes to St. Paddy's Day the part-time Guinness drinkers are always noticeable; they are usually slumped asleep by the bar after five pints. Pah. Amateurs.

I might even go wild and bake a Guinness cake - pretty tasty, but then again the taste buds go numb sometime around lunchtime on the 17th March each year...

And this year St. Patricks Day is on a Friday, so I'm going to take a stab and say the average number of people who call in sick next Friday will increase by 110%. 'Slainte' guys!!

So, the best things to do on St. Patrick's Day, 17th March;

1. Go to Dublin - what better way to celebrate St.Patrick's Day than with the Irish on the Emerald Isle, drinking the proper black stuff.
2. Take the day off work and have an all-day session. Come on, its Saturday the next day.
3. Get a Guinness hat and act like a fool. Same as any other day, but now with a hat.
4. If your lonely, turn on your computer, hook up to the internet, listen to music online with Pandora, get absolutely BLOTO with Guinness then go and stupidly buy a Nabaztag Rabbit and pretent it's your new best friend.

Finally, lets get the pint of Guinness joke of of the way. It lasts for about two weeks after St. Patricks Day each year, but is necessary. Just because.

So, a pint of Guinness is blonde on top, but the

body is generally darker.

Enjoy the drinking!

Dubai - A Cultural Delight

After recently returning from a short trip to Dubai, I have to confess that I was truly amazed by the place and the cultural merge between Western and local Arabic civilization.

Although I wasn't in Dubai long I had to get a sense of what the 'real' Dubai was like. Many of the new and popular hotels house a Starbucks, a Costa Coffee and other famous Western brands - all nice, but not for me on this trip. After business was finished I was told to get away from central Dubai and the Jumeira area, and head into the desert.

Great advice. Only a 45 minute drive from the Dubai coast puts you in the middle of the desert, with only the distant Bedu village preachers to be heard in the distance. Ok, I'm lying. The increasing tourist trade means that venturing out on a desert safari ensures you probably won't be alone for long. Nonetheless, its quiet enough.

You, friends or strangers, a guide, a 4x4, water and away you go! Above all else a desert safari in Dubai is one of the best experiences. Powering over sand dunes, camel riding, quid bike dune jumping and soaking up desert camp like. Even sandboarding is great fun - if you've got good balance (and nothing valuable in your pockets!). Finish off the evening with a great meal, smoking a shisha and boogying with a professional belly dancer. I thank you...

HOTELS, HOTELS and more HOTELS. It is fact that Dubai currently has 20% of the world's cranes. No surprise. Development in currently underway on the Burj Dubai - planned to be the world's tallest building. But there are many exceptional hotels to look around in Dubai, many of which are owned by the Jumeirah group. The Jumeirah Emirates Towers epitomises the Dubai skyline, with two tall pointed towers the focal point for one of the central regions. Its also houses two great bars! Vu's Bar on the 51st floor has one of the best views of the city and has been votes one of the best bars in the world, and Scarlett's Bar in the shopping centre is also a popular place during the week.

The hotel that normally grabs the attention though is the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab hotel, further down the coast. Amazing place, and somewhere I'll never be able to afford!

I only wish I had more time to explore, but it could be interesting to go back in 5 years time and see the difference the developments have made. Expats that have lived in Dubai for over 3 years will tell you how fast the city has changed. Dubai - development central. If you ever get the chance to go - don't turn down the opportunity!!

Dubai Information - see TimeOut

The Sony Bravia Advert - Funky and Fun!

View the Sony BRAVIA advert at the bottom of this blog post! The Sony BRAVIA advert that was aired in the new year is fantastic. Adverts normally bore me senseless, but you couldn't help but gawk at the TV screen when this advert came on.

If you haven't seen it, it was set amongst the rolling roads of San Francisco and Sony released thousands (250,000 to be exact) of bouncy balls down a steep, empty street. What a sight...

And it gets funnier. Releasing 250,000 bouncy balls down a street can be pretty destructive, so even the camera crew had to wear protective clothing to ensure they didn't get hurt! Imagine the insurance claim - 'Cause of Injury: impact by thousands of bouncy balls'. Nice.

There is even one frame in the Sony BRAVIA advert where they catch a frog jumping out of a drainpipe - nice touch. At first I honestly thought the advert was done through clever graphics, but the Sony BRAVIA team have released brief footage of how they filmed the advert - well worth a look!

Without doubt this is one of the best adverts around, but as usual, it's not just the images and footage that made this ad. The song 'Heartbeats' from Jose Gonzalez was the perfect complement to the advert and really made it superb.

It's been said before, but I'd like to see more adverts like this, more often. So a big round of applause to Sony BRAVIA for making adverts worth watching again!

UPDATED
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Thanks to the wonder of Google Video, the Sony BRAVIA advert can be seen here - so if you haven't seen it yet, have a peek!