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I sometimes feel like the only person that noticed the 8% increase in duty at the same time as the lowering of VAT to 15%. That made it essential for me to keep my prices the same. Of course, the government kept that duty increase as quiet as possible, so now we get it in the neck from customers when we try to put prices up in line with the increase in VAT. VAT is supposed to be a tax on consumers, not on businesses, but the way this has been handled you wouldn't think so.

Horse Dung! That is not low in calories. They claim it is "low in alcohol and calories at just 3.1% abv and 123 calories per 250ml bottle" - let's have a look at some other drinks on the market. Carling is 82 calories per 250ml. Even Stella is only 113. And Guinness is only 92 calories per 250ml. A 25 ml shot of most spirits comes in at about 60calories. Add slimline tonic or diet coke and you only add 1 calorie. Even adding regular coke only takes you to about 120 calories. Only when you get to RTD alcopops do you get the high numbers they must be comparing "Eve" with to claim that it is low in calories, although you'd still be better off with a diet lemon Breezer. I shall be contacting Carlsberg to see if they can substantiate their claim that this is a low calorie drink.

Unfortunately, I can't find out as the VOA website is currently not working. Typical!

Wetherspoons have such massive footfall and turnover that they can afford to adopt this sort of policy and not worry about it. It is the smaller operators, like myself, who would try to ensure that the person refused alcohol was not being bought it by others in the group. However, after I'd typed that paragraph, I reflecting on it, and I would estiamte that in 90% of cases where one person in a group does not have ID, and we have permitted them to have a soft drink, we have later found them drinking alcohol bought by others, so perhaps Wetherspoons have got a good labour-saving policy there. Incidentally, if a group in wedding clothes were all in my pub drinking soft drinks, I'd be keeping a very keen lookout for half bottles of vodka etc concealed in handbags.

Unfortunately some massive laws would have to be changed as well. In order for smoking to be re-introduced, we would no longer have to protect the health of our employees (and that includes ourselves), as secondary smoke is harmful to health. Contrary to popular belief, smoking has not been banned in pubs, but in public places. Before you get excited and say that a pub is not a public place becuase the customers are there at the invitation of the licensee, smoking has also been banned in workplaces, due to the legal requirement to protect the health of workers.