Ellee Seymour

I’ve written about the bravery of Trudy Lapinskis before. Well tomorrow tonight, those living in the East will be able to hear her courageous story on BBC1’s “Inside Out” programme at 7.30pm.

I spoke to Trudy this week and for the first time I have known her, she admitted to being in pain following a recent operation, yet she still hardly complains, despite the disfigurement caused by reflex sympathy dystrophy, believed to be the worst case of its kind in the country.

I’ve never heard her ask “why me?” Her sole aim is to raise awareness about her unusual condition so others do not suffer the same way. Her story deserves to be heard, she is an incredibly brave and selfless woman, an inspiration to us all.

Within two days of writing about Gordon Brown’s refusal to waive the airport tax for a visit by young children from Chernobyl, Blogpower’s finest philanthropist, Tom Paine, has kindly paid this money himself. He has paid £960 out of his own pocket - an extraordinary gesture of compassion and goodwill. I’m sure his namesake would be very proud of him.

This is what Moscow-based Tom said:

This is a worthy cause, we don’t need Gordon. We can do something ourselves. Here’s my proposal. I will reimburse the new airport taxes to the charity for 12 flights this year, if

(a) other readers of your site will match that donation for 12 tickets for next year, and

(b) you will finally put the Blogpower banner and Blogroll on your site. B^) You are our most famous member and we need the links!

Post the address and bank account details for the charity and let’s get to it.

Tom paid the money today. I certainly promise to add the Blogpower banner, I’m hoping Geoff will see to it when he returns from Dubai due to my limited skill in this area. Blogpower is a supportive blogging community which I am proud to be a member of, I have made some great cyber friends through it.

Let’s hope that we can do the same next year, as Tom suggests. I do admire a man of action, not empty words, someone who means what he says. Tom, I am overwhelmed by your instant response and generosity, I know it will mean a great deal to the charity which can now use its money to give the sick children an extra special visit. Three cheers for Tom….

I am attending a major debate on climate change at the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge tomorrow. I will be meeting David Buckland who runs the Cape Farewell project. He has spent the past seven years trying to capture public attention on climate change by leading expeditions to the sub-zero wild and beautiful Arctic on his 100-year old Dutch schooner ship.

There are still many sceptics on climate change, so what are your questions, what should I ask David and other illustrious speakers?

I am a non-smoker, but there was a time when I was a fag-ash Lil and would puff away on 20 or more Rothman’s a day, even the odd Gaulois, until my constant coughing and hacking forced me to quit.  I feel so much better for it too, but I have no objection if others choose to fritter away several hundreds of pounds a year on the weed.

However, their choice of smoking venues will be severely restricted after 1st July when a smoking ban  comes into force. It  covers virtually all enclosed public places including offices, factories, pubs and bars. 

To enforce the new law, our cash-strapped government is giving councils £29.5 million to train staff, taking them off their normal duties, training them how to give on-the-spot £50 fines to individuals and take court action against premises. How easy will it be in reality to enforce?

A government-funded course is expected to train 1,200 council officers in the next few months with more expected to follow later. They will be taught how to film and photograph people to gather evidence, they don’t even have to identify themselves. I can see this resulting in quite a few confrontational situations, to put it mildly.

In Nottingham, there will be about 30 officers patrolling the city, comprised of new staff and existing environmental health officers. But the council is also exploring the possibility of getting street wardens, who currently aid the local police force, to help ensure the ban is effectively enforced.

In Liverpool, there will be a core team of about 20 to 25 staff keeping an eye on public places, although in the first few days after the start of the ban the council is planning to do a mass patrol of the city with 200 staff.

I prefer to live in a cleaner environment, I prefer smoke-free zones. But why should our council staff become law enforcement officers? I imagine police have told the government they do not want to weed out those who flout this new law, they do not want to waste their time with it, and this was the only idea they could come up with.

Is the UK the first country in the world to train council staff to monitor the smoking ban? I’m surprised their union allowed it. Where will the smokers go - outside on the streets. And don’t office staff look awful huddled outside the front of their buildings desperately puffing away on their fag? 

I think this enforcement is far too heavy-handed, a total waste of money and valuable resources.   I’m sure that environmental staff would rather be working on recycling and waste diversion projects than being snoops.

What are your views about the smoking ban and its enforcement, and should it be extended throughout Europe too?