Smoking in the rain

CLONMEL -- It's that start of the autumn rainy season in Ireland and a reminder that money is often better spent on low-season Mediterranean locations than in Ireland. That's my preference, formed during 10 years of immersion in the Irish culture. Outside my favourite coffee shop (O Tuamas in Clonmel) the smokers huddle under awnings with hands clapsed around their cups of hot tea in the morning.

Inside the prices have gone up on most items so the proprietor can keep her margins while paying the Clonmel Corporation for the use of the cobbled pavement where she places chairs and tables. There's no smoking inside the premises since the No Smoking Ban descended on Ireland. I hadn't expected to pay for street furniture, litter outside of doorways, and increased rates to local authorities. I'm paying higher prices now (a gigantic fruit scone with bottomless coffee costs me €3.30 in O Tuamas) for morning coffee and for pub drinks since the smoking ban kicked off. In fact, the smoking ban has pushed up prices in most public venues in Ireland. That inflationary effect has gone unacknowledged by politicians and unnoticed by the mainstream press.

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