The signs are there, literally, extolling the benefits of taking a break now and then. Going hard at something to get it completed is all well and good, but when tiredness kicks in there’s a mistake soon to be looming. Every driver has seen the signs on the motorways or major holiday routes – park up and kick back for a bit. A vape company claims that they have evidence nonsmokers would like smoke breaks too.
Author Archives: Rob Ellard
You never know when a crisis will hit. Imagine the typical scene: it’s a sunny day, barely a cloud in the sky, and everybody is happy. It’s just another ordinary day in this land we like to call home. But what’s that? Over there, what’s that?
Do you remember when everything was Top of the Pops albums and Clackers? Maybe you only cast your mind back far enough to recall Nirvana coming from your sister’s room and the smell of oven chips? Or maybe you suffered a head trauma and don’t recollect Pogs or skateboards or Katie Hopkins? If you fall into the last category then you won’t be moaning about modern life and we are all jealous of you. You are a very lucky person.
When we were younger we had them. Maybe it was Batman? Maybe it was that bloke who used to hang around the park with a bag of sweets? Maybe it was Hans Hollen Nielsen, winner of 22 speedway world championships for Denmark? But we had them, we all had heroes. I don’t know about you, but I’m struggling to picture a scene where a six-year old has a photograph of Martin McKee or Simon Chapman on their wall.
Somewhere in central England, at this very moment in time, vapers are gathered together at Vapefest. It’s all about vaping and it’s a festival – us Brits love a festival. We all grow up with the option to attend festivals catering to rock, dance, alternative, world, electronic and who knows what genres of music. We love a festival.
There’s a whole host of reasons why the recent moves to limit bottle size and concentrations were a stupid thing, but we are the biggest one. Look around you, the next time you’re gathered with other vapers. Have a long hard stare. We aren’t stupid.
Do you remember 1979? Odds are that you don’t because you are either too young or, if old enough, your mind has slowly started to ebb. If you show someone my age a picture of a packet of tasty Tooty Frooties their eyes will light up and they’ll then be able to recall the great Mod revival of the time. It consisted of three songs, one of which was Time For Action by Secret Affair.
“The problem is,” they say, “that there’s not enough information out there – we simply don’t know…” and it is at this point you can cut them off. Rather than there being no research, there is so much of the stuff that it has become impossible to keep on top of it all.
Buses, revolutionary teaching techniques, a sale at a major retail chain – miss one and there’ll be another along in a short while. Didn’t manage to grab that socket set from Halfords when it was half-price? Don’t worry it’ll be on special offer again next week, such is the tedious predictability of life. Missed out on your chance to express your opinion by marking an X in a box? If you haven’t noticed it, there’s another election coming up. Hooray.
If we could be bothered to go out and buy a trophy so that we could award a trophy to public health stupidity, this week we would present it to Ireland’s Health and Information and Quality Authority (HIQA). Despite having produced a report to demonstrate the benefits of vaping, HIQA are demanding the Irish Minister of Health does not embrace vaping.
