Smokers' Garden

This is not strictly on thread

I am not particulary for or against smoking , live and let live , I believe .
However I was waiting to cross the road when a car pulled up in front of me . In it was a chap smoking with a child sitting right beside him .

Have these people never heard of 2nd hand smoke and the damage to young lungs .

quite really

There is a nice outside garden/smoking area in my local pub and true you do tend to meet some interesting chatty people, unfortunately if I chat to long, the old man, the non-smoker and grumpy with it, starts to complain about me being outside too long. I find with the groups of young women, who are always the shrieky types and very opinionated, they eventually leave and go hunting for more young male companionship.

I confess to being a regular not just at my local pub but also in its smokers' garden. I have noticed an interesting difference in the types of smokers. Individuals who pop out occasionally to indulge their habit tend to be sociable, even when there's more than one of them. I've had all sorts of conversations from mundane topics such as the weather to quite serious matters that are in the news. I even overheard myself being described by one smoker to his friend as I returned to my table inside the pub as a "lovely lass" presumably because I'd been able to give him some information about a professional body he could contact for some help he required. When a group of smokers sits outside for their entire visit – often clearly not because of the weather – they seem to commandeer the entire garden. In "my" pub, there is a regular gathering of young women who work together whom I have designated The Glee Club. They sit and bitch about other colleagues at the tops of their voices. If one of them is absent, she'll be the topic of criticism for that day. They even bitch about someone who is with them while she goes inside for the loo. A second group yesterday were having a loud discussion about they couldn't be bothered to get up early enough to put out their black rubbish sacks for collection. One of them was describing how she planned to put the last fortnight's sacks outside the house across the road and when they got to the detailed discussion of maggots, I had to stub my cigarette out and go inside. That one was definitely not a lovely lass.

It's not been planting weather. We need a bit of sunshine so that we can relax and not be extinguished. By the way, nicotinia is a great idea Notsogrand.

I have been away at a music festival over the weekend, it was great and plenty of smokers. I had to share a tent with my two sons and a DIL, who are all non smokers and kept having a go about my puffing, as I paid for the damn tent, I told them all to shut up. At least I didn't smoke in the tent. It is nice to come in here and have a puff, without being preached at. Still only three of us though. Are there any tobacco plants in the garden, they do have a lovely fragrance.

No wacky baccy, though toothfairy. This is a legal garden. Doesn't look like today will be busy in the garden and there's hardly room in the shed for one smoker. Must get that canopy sorted out.

I would love to join your smoking garden absentgrana I didn't have the nerve to 'come out' on the 'smoking ban thread' thought i was the only smoker on GNET!
As well as the flowers,should have a few weeds

How about nicotiana?

I'd like to join you from time to time if I may? I gave up my 30/40 a day on Christmas Day 2007, but still feel like a smoker in my head. Promise not to preach!

Good to see you fellow exiles from civilised society. I think we are probably more than happy to welcome non-smoking visitors, provided they don't tell us off. I was musing over the plants we should have in our garden – obviously an ash tree and possibly red hot pokers in case the matches run out. Anyone else got any ideas?

I am joining you in the garden. I packed in smoking a few months ago but have started again because of family stress.Smoking is the bigest saver of sanity that I know.Just going to have a puff now, have been missing my little white things!.

Is it ok if I pop in now and again, it will feel as though I am back at my Mums when my Mum, Dad and two sisters all smoked and I was the only non smoker, I would enjoy the chat.

Sorry for intruding, but on behalf of non-smokers everywhere I'd like to say thank you for your thoughtfulness in siting your garden where your smoking isn't going to affect anyone else. If at some stage in the future any of you do decide to try and give up smoking I'd love the opportunity to pop in now and again to encourage you - and if you decide to keep on, well I'd just like to pop in anyway and say a quick hello now and again.
Have a lovely evening ladies. Cheers.

As I've given up but still think about the dreaded weed, can I be a virtual smoker, as opposed to a virtuous ex smoker?

Obviously very few smokers on here!!! Looks like just you and me. So are we going to encourage each other to give up the filthy weed? I will bring the wine, as smoking and drinking go hand in hand and I love sitting outside in the garden. Well on visiting my children that is where I always end up. Being a good Mum I encouraged my three never to smoke, which they don't, but that means I am chucked outside when visiting.