November '09

In this country, November is the traditional month for Bonfire Night (take care & protect your pets!). People often say (especially at election time) that Guy Fawkes had the right idea in planning to blow up Parliament. In my younger days, this was always on the 5th but tempus fugit & now the occasion is usually moved to the nearest Saturday, especially for public celebrations. Other changes include such things as an earlier appearance for sale of fireworks, Christmas & Easter items - all subjects for much debate.

An old proverb is that There’s no smoke without fire so I’ll include a few thoughts about smoking. I remember being the sole occupant of a railway compartment on a journey back to Norwich from an introductory short works course when I had pre-purchased a small packet of cigarettes. My dislike of the one I tried led me to say later that I gave up smoking when I left school! Although I cannot remember ever seeing my dad smoke, he favoured a pipe in his younger days. This was borne out in family conversations & photographs. At one time my mum smoked heavily, following the example of her mother, until the death of the latter from cancer. Mum stopped smoking abruptly but a replacement addiction to sweets caused a sudden weight gain until their intake was controlled.

On the subject of addicts, I recall seeing a small device in which cigarette papers & tobacco were placed, turned & sealed to ‘roll your own’ to save on the cost of the commercial product. The money saved by giving up is not available to the non-smoker! A colleague at my first job used to light up & smoke automatically when answering a phone call. A fellow inmate at the rehabilitation centre would go & smoke where he felt he would not be seen by the staff! In the interim period before the complete ban, the former NALGO branch treasurer passed over the books to me one lunch time in the room designated for smoking. What an aroma!

I hope to get to the Autumn Fair - see you there!

All the best.

“Please to remember the 5th of November.”                                  - Anon.

“Parliament is the longest running farce in the West End."

-  Cyrli Smith

“Cigarettes are killers that travel in packs.”                            - Unknown

“Much smoking kills live men and cures dead swine.”

- George Prentice

“Every form of addiction is bad.”                                                    - Carl Juno