J M Barrie would have approved

The Edinburgh Evening News reports that "A little girl got a shock when she went to see Peter Pan – the little boy who supposedly never grew up – at the Capital's Lyceum Theatre during the festive period.

"The three-year-old's mum took her outside during the interval while she had a cigarette. To avoid the wintry wind, they stepped round the side of the building into Cornwall Street, where the girl spotted Peter Pan, Wendy and Captain Hook – in full costume, hats and all – having their own fag break."

By coincidence, Eamonn Butler, director of the Adam Smith Institute, sent me a note the other week pointing out that this year is the 150th anniversary of the birth of J M Barrie (1860-1937). "I am sure the newspapers will be concentrating on Peter Pan," said Eamonn, "but of course he also wrote another book, a peon of praise to tobacco, My Lady Nicotine."

Chapters include 'Matrimony and smoking compared', 'My first cigar', 'The romance of a pipe cleaner', 'How heroes smoke', 'The perils of not smoking' and, finally, 'When my wife is asleep and all the house is still'.

Oddly, one edition of the book has My Lady Nicotine paired with a mystery novel that Barrie wrote in 1888. Title: Better Dead.

Comments

[ann]

J M Barrie was a real cool guy. Pity he's not around now to see the
'advancements' of the 21st century. Guess he'd write a self help book entitled "How to cope with the Aliens"!!