I think that (contrary to a widely held belief) some Chinese bar-owners may actually have a sense of humour.
Since the recent appalling air quality finally cleared a little this afternoon, I went out for a slow lap-and-a-half of jogging around the lakes straight after I got back from work. And, as I was passing Jinding Qiao for the second time, one of the bars there was playing the golden oldie love song, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes. I'm not quite sure how old that is; probably '20s or '30s, I would guess (I think the version I heard today was by The Ink Spots, circa 1940).
Given the stupendous levels of pollution we've been suffering here this year, it was, as I say, strangely appropriate - one of those things that will raise a wry smile from me at almost any time.
NO, this was not enough to entice me in for a drink. I generally take no money with me when running, as a precaution against this kind of temptation.
5 comments:
Did I just see on the Beeb that Beijing is banning smoking in all public places as of today? Bars are excluded, from what I read.
Bars AND restaurants.
I'm not sure how many other "public places" that leaves. Whatever the allegedly prohibited areas are, they don't include anywhere open air or public loos or.....
Well, whatever is included won't be enforced very strictly. It's all window-dressing nonsense.
Well yes, I meant bars & restaurants, but I could not be bothered to type that. Also, given that in Alexandria every bar has to serve food, I tend to ignore the difference.
I assume public places will be such things as Museums, office buildings, stores etc, though I am nto sure if they are defining public as "public owned" or "place of public accomodation."
You know my opinion on this one. But according to Auntie Beeb, they are putting 100,000 existing employees onto enforcement. Obviously that isn't going to be full time, so I wonder if this will be used as a way of closing down businesses that are seen as undesirable in the run up to 1936.
Yes, that is all too horribly possible.
I think smoking has been banned in most shopping malls and office buildings for quite a while now - but people just do it surreptitiously in the loos.
Actually, I hear that they've retreated from the original plan of imposing a complete ban, and are now simply trying to insist on the creation of smoke-free areas in bars and restaurants.
I'm sure this will only be "enforced" to any degree at all in high-end places, which will probably just designate one or two of their smaller "VIP rooms" as non-smoking.
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