Smoke-Free Pubs in England may Stink Worse than Before

by Neil Woodburn on

With the recent legislation prohibiting smoking in pubs in England, your favorite British pub will no longer smell like smoke. The problem, however, is that it might smell a whole lot worse.

Shortly after a similar smoke-free law went into effect in California nearly ten years ago, I visited my favorite neighborhood bar in Venice Beach excited that I would no longer be accosted by wafts of stinky cigarette smoke. The moment I walked in, however, I was overwhelmed by a far worse smell: cat piss. Apparently the two cats who lived in the bar regularly did their duty their as well. All the cigarette smoke had masked their little secret over the years.

I had never imagined a bar might smell worse after cigarettes were banned but this often the case. Usually it’s not cats, though. Bodies sweat, people throw up, food goes bad, carpets grow moldy–a lot can turn foul in a bar or nightclub.

With this in mind, one company is trying to capitalize on the new funky smell of smoke-free bars in England. According to a recent Reuters article, Ambius is a company that normally produces and sells scents to casinos and hotels. The company is now targeting pubs in England with promises of making their watering holes smell as wholesome as crisp apples or rose petals.

Nice! It sure beats cat piss, if you ask me!

(Photo: Wsogmm on Flickr)

Harry Ramsden’s: The Largest Fish and Chips Place in the World

by Jamie Rhein on

Harry Ramsden’s is to fish and chips in the U.K. like Bob Evans is to breakfast in the United States. Started with just one building in Guiseley, West Yorkshire, England, it’s grown into a chain of 170 (maybe more?), including one restaurant at Walt Disney Resorts in Florida.

Harry Ramsden’s claim to fame is that it has the largest fish and chips place in the world according to Guiness World Records. If you want to eat fish with 250 other people head to Guiseley, West Yorkshire, England. This is where the first fish and chips place opened in 1928. The original building is still on-site. If you go, check to see if the Harry Ramsden Challenge is still offered. This is a deal that if you finish all the fish in chips of a very large order, you get a free dessert and a certificate.

Like the Bob Evans franchise that includes packaged food in supermarkets in the U.S., Harry Ramsden’s is starting to market their own food. You can buy mushy peas in a can, for example, and take some home with you. Here’s a run-down about eating at Harry Ramsden from a very happy customer. This Flickr photo by Specky Four Eyes features mushy pea. This is a take-out version of the restaurant’s offerings.

Look Out, Britain: Rogue Ducks are Headed Your Way

by Justin Glow on

Back in January of 1992, a cargo ship carrying plastic bath toys ran into rough seas in the Pacific Ocean. As the ship rolled with the storm, three 40-foot-long containers fell over the side, setting 30,000 of the colorful, plastic animals free to travel the world’s ocean currents. (See our previous coverage of the incident here.)

Since that storm in ’92, American researcher Curtis Ebbesmeyer has been tracking these “Friendly Floatees,” and he expects to see thousands of them make landfall on the shores of Britain soon. This is quite remarkable, considering it’s been over 15 years since they were first dumped into the ocean. In that time, they’ve “crossed the Arctic Ocean frozen into pack ice, bobbed the length of Greenland and been carried down the eastern seaboard of the United States,” according to the Times Online.

If you happen to locate one of these sun-bleached world travelers, the American distributer of the rubber toys, The First Years Inc., is offering a $100 reward per duck. However, if you’re lucky enough to run across one, your reward may be larger if sold to a private buyer as “the ducks have become collector’s items, changing hands for £500.”

Bill Bryson Takes on Rubbish

by Kelly Amabile on

The Times Online published a lengthy piece about Bill Bryson’s crusade against fly-tipping (what the Brits call littering) now that he is officially the new president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). The longtime UK resident has decided to do his part to raise awareness about rubbish issues in his adopted homeland, although he didn’t exactly set out to take on this position.

Bryson’s still under contract to write two more travel books, but that won’t stop him from rising to the challenge that seemed unavoidable after he asked his readers to email him if they were concerned about litter. He got about 1,000 responses and made a conscious decision to get involved with CPRE as a result. Does this mean future travel writing from Mr. Bryson will be green and litter-free? We shall have to wait and see…

As he explains in the interview: “I’m not doing this because I’m American and think I can tell you how to run your country,” he says. “I’m doing this because I’m a long-term resident and I’ve seen all this happening over a very long time. I would rather not be doing this at all; I’d much rather be at home gardening.”

Stonehenge Solstice Celebrations

by Willy Volk on

Broadly speaking, summer solstice — the longest day of the year, in the northern hemisphere, at least — is a time to celebrate the arrival of warm weather; the impending harvest; and — for some — the birds and the bees. Perhaps more than any other place on earth, summer solstice is associated with Stonehenge and Druids.

I don’t know if the all people who celebrate summer solstice at Stonehenge today are Druids — they look a lot the hippies I went to college with — but their celebrations look like fun. Generally speaking, they feature a lot of dancing and singing and didgeridoo’ing and jumping around. There’s some standing around, too, waiting for the sun to rise. It looks something like this:
But it also looks somewhat more peaceful, serene — and even mystical. Here’s a two-part series showing the celebrations. This is probably more what I had in mind when I think “summer solstice” and “Stonehenge.” Part I:
Part II:
Thee guys are definitely NOT Druids — or hippies:

This happens, too — but I don’t know why the revelers need to be naked:
If you put the right kind of music on, the celebration seems more mystical:

I’m not sure how “mystical” the event is, though:
In the end, a lot of people show up — including King Arthur!