And since that time not one has passed my lips although looking back I may ultimately suffer like so many of my age from the perils of what has become known as passive smoking.
Do you remember when it was considered cool to smoke? Adverts told you that and people who smoked did seem cool, together and confident. It was usually all a front but we were enticed into the world of smoke because, ridiculously, we were told it made us fitter, healthier and even sexier!
Then there was the sponsorship of top sporting events by tobacco companies which always seemed incongruous. Motor racing, rugby, cricket and snooker were all involved and we just accepted it. Ironically as I write this there's an advert on television about helping people to quit smoking.
My mother smoked cigarettes and my father smoked a pipe after previously smoking cigarettes. I remember how many public places were dominated by smoke. You could smoke on the upstairs deck of buses, in pubs, in restaurants and many other places.
I remember coming home from the pub on so many occasions with my clothes stinking of smoke and my eyes smarting. This went on for years.
Worst of all was smoking in the office which was also allowed. I well remember an argument between two members of staff who sat next to each other. One didn't smoke and the other chain smoked. You can imagine what the argument was about and of course technically the chain smoker won because there were no constraints on the amount of smoking allowed and nobody could do anything to stop him.
Can you imagine that kind of thing happening today. Thankfully we have all cleaned up our act and today smoking indoors in public places is unthinkable.
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Over the weekend we lost a good un.
Our friend Ian Harrison died after a brave fight against cancer.
Ian was a one off - a man sharp of dress and full of enthusiasm. A family man who was a role model to so many young people over the years and a man who became part of the communities in which he lived - first in Hethersett and latterly in Wymondham.
For me Ian was always a role model despite the fact that there aren't many years between us. I often thought that I would love to be a sharp dresser like Ian and also have the enthusiasm he showed on the football field. Even when he was battling cancer he asked about my family and how I was. My last contact with Ian was him saying: "I think we've known each other long enough to have a man hug." That typified the man.
Just a few weeks ago Ian managed one of the teams in a memorial match for one of his former players Lee Thompson who was tragically killed two decades ago in a road accident. Ian was at that time suffering from cancer but still managed to stand on the touchline and shout directions to his team. The years just seemed to roll back. Ian admitted that he was struggling but never let it show. He was still posting on Social Media a few days before he died.
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Had a nice day out yesterday on an Easton's coach tour. We travelled from Norwich to Lavenham in Suffolk. Lavenham is an historic wool village. The actual population is around 2,000 but this is boosted by thousands of tourists to see the medieval buildings and magnificent church. It is many years since we were there and it seems more spread out than I remember but that's probably an illusion.
There was a film crew there and we established they were shooting a new film for Netflix entitled Cold Harbour Lane. The whole thing is shrouded in mystery at the present time so I can't even tell you what the basic plot line is. Whilst we were there we saw a lot of people standing around and not a lot of action.
From Lavenham we visited the Beth Chatto Gardens near Colchester. Attractive but relatively small, we struggled to fill three hours there but they are worth a visit. I hope you enjoy a few photos and I will publish more tomorrow with some biographical details of Beth Chatto.