In March 2006, the reason there were tables outside pubs and cafes in Scotland was because non-smokers preferred to sit outside away from the pong of cigarettes. From April 2006, the reason turned inside out: there are more tables outside than ever before, for smokers to sit outside because they can’t smoke indoors.
I remember when people could smoke on buses. (Running for a bus in winter, the cold air kniving at my throat, and trying to breathe shallowly through my nose because if I breathed smoke through my mouth I would start coughing and not be able to stop.)
I remember when people could smoke only on the upper half of the bus, only when they sat at the back, only in bus shelters.
I remember when I would come home from a night out and my jersey would smell like bonfires from all the smoke.
It hasn’t been that way for over two years now: I don’t miss it at all, but I do, sometimes, think it weird.
I took this photo here. It’s available on Redbubble: Aye butt. Nae butt.
