Boisdale - the place to see and be seen
Friday, November 16, 2007 
Tickets are being snapped up for our party, on Tuesday November 27, to celebrate the publication of Scared To Death: From BSE to Global Warming by Christopher Booker and Richard North (see HERE). Boisdale, venue for the event, features in this week's Spectator. The magazine reports that:
After a depressing four months in which smokers, in the words of Sallyann, have been made to feel ‘like third-class citizens’, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. The fightback against New Labour’s particularly noxious brand of killjoy illiberalism is being led by the charismatic figure of Ranald Macdonald, elder son of the 24th Captain of Clanranald ...
Macdonald prefers to use the phrase ‘bully state’ to describe the sort of country Britain has become: ‘nanny state sounds too middle-class’. ‘We’ve certainly become a lot less tolerant than we were 30 years ago. I’m afraid there are a lot more unhappy people out there who seem to derive pleasure in telling people what not to do.’
The article also draws attention to Boisdale's new smoker-friendly roof terrace, built at a cost of £40,000. A colleague reports that since it opened two weeks ago he has practically been living there. "They've done us smokers proud," he tells me.
A similar eulogy appeared in the Daily Mail this week:
"Outcast smokers have a new haven at Boisdale in Belgravia - a well-heated, softly-lit roof terrace with cane armchairs and swaying palm trees. Owner Ranald Macdonald (above left) says he aims to create a balmy Caribbean atmosphere, which for the duration of the winter is assisted by eight overhead heaters and Macdonald tartan blankets."
Boisdale, it seems, is the place to see and be seen. You can read the full Spectator article HERE.
Events
Reader Comments (1)
Well done him, but what a pity it is a solution that lots of other establishments can't afford. Also, many don't have such convenient outside areas to utilise.
I hope the gent has some success but one fact is for certain, we'd have greater success with a common strategy where everyone works together and pools more resources rather than there being so many separate and individualistic attempts to fight the smoking ban.
However, that does mean a commonly worked out strategy, Simon, and not one dominated by Forest!