LETTERs

Council's smoke ban mistakes

The new smoking ban law that has just come into force in Wales states that to accommodate smokers you can have a shelter, but with only 50% or less of its sides open to the elements.

Will Pembrokeshire County Council's smoke-enforcement team fine its transport division for making no effort to stop people smoking in bus shelters with more than 50% of their sides covered?

Will smoke enforcers fine the transport division £250 for each offence of not providing signs telling people not to smoke in bus-stop shelters? Where people have smoked in these shelters, and council officers haven't stopped them, will they fine themselves £2,500 for each offence?

I have not seen one Pembrokeshire bus shelter displaying a no-smoking sign. In my travels through Carmarthen, the Rhondda and Blaenau Gwent, I only saw one bus stop with a no-smoking sign (in Ebbw Vale).

An enforcement team will be quick to fine a private business or individual if they break the law.

Under Labour, the Welsh Assembly has been so keen

to introduce the smoking ban that it has forgotten to tell provincial councils that they have a responsibility to ensure all sites are correctly enforced with signs.

Stephen Bale

High Street

Pembroke Dock

Pembrokeshire

A Christmas shift too far

The MA article dated 3 May, entitled "Spirit plans festive hours", stated that Punch is considering opening locals for longer on Christmas Day due to customer demand. This is untrue - there has been no communication with customers about this.

Punch is keen to open longer to try to recoup some smoking-ban losses. My customers' feedback is that it is unnecessary to open, as most of them will be at home with family (and their spouses would not be pleased if they disappeared).

Francis Patton was quoted as saying that the idea had been discussed during a meeting with community pub managers - this is also untrue. As a community pub manager, the communication to us was that Christmas Night opening was more than likely to happen, should be staffed by assistant managers (if you're lucky enough to have one) and that our comments for or against this proposal would be heard at a meeting that none of us could attend.

The way festivities fall this year, most managers will be working straight from the start of the break on Friday 21 December through to New Year's Day - 12 days.

Busy pub managers look forward to spending quality time with their families on Christmas Day. Is it not enough that we are making a start on preparations not long after Santa has been, having gone to bed late after clearing up in the wake of Christmas Eve frivolities?

Being able to give and receive gifts and eat a relaxing festive family meal on this Christian day is a right that should be protected before it falls into obscurity like many of our other traditions.

Spirit pub manager

Name and address withheld

Deal with real problem of thugs

I run a busy real-ale led pub and am in the middle of a very busy beer festival.

The festival programme includes details of the petition against blanket glass-bans, which one of my customers signed today.

I suspect that most customers have no idea about this problem.

The key to this petition working is not just getting licensees behind it, but informing our customers of what may come next.

We know from licensing and smoking that the Government won't listen to what they see as a bunch of moaning licensees. Support from customers is our only chance of success.

Thugs are the problem and glass is the symptom.

If thugs don't have a glass to smash in your face, they'll bash you with a stool.

What will the Government do then? Make all customers sit on bean-bags?

No, no, Mr Blair - don't take that as a suggestion!

John Ellis

Crown Inn,

Oakengates, Shropshire

MA Freehouse of the Year,

East & West Midlands