Hip! hip! hooray! Winter ends officially this very night. The clocks go forward one hour, which means that we gain an extra hour of light at night. That's not the best bit, though (hey, we pay by losing an hour's sleep). No, the best bit is that tomorrow, Scotland joins the ranks of the civilised nations that have implemented a smoking ban in all enclosed public spaces and workplaces. No more smoking in pubs, clubs, restaurants, cafes, bus stops, etc... smoking is even banned in beer gardens! No equivocation up here in the enlightened part of the United Kingdom. No pussyfooting about like the lawmakers down south in London who got themselves into all sorts of contortions trying to include exceptions to the ban - like allowing smoking in pubs that don't sell food, or in beer gardens... Now our smokers will have to go to England if they want to light up in an enclosed public space, while our pubs and restaurants are now open to those of us who don't want to have to breath in the carcinogenic pollution. And yes, I used to be a smoker - but then I saw sense.