Fighting the Law in style

I'd never thought I'd see the day when Alexandria, Virginia would have a city-wide smoking ban, but sure enough, the city council voted (amidst a shit-storm of local protest, mostly by bar owners) to make all restaurants "smoke free" come this time next year.

The countdown was lot nearer for those in England, but one guy had a creative solution:

For pub-goers who enjoy a cigarette with their drink, next week's ban will make England a very different place. So one landlord has claims to have found a loophole to fight the new law - by declaring his pub to be part of a different country. The Wellington Arms in Southampton is set to transform itself from a public house into the official embassy for a tiny Caribbean island.

If it is successful, the pub would be classified as "foreign soil", allowing smokers a haven from the smoking laws covering the rest of the UK. In theory it would then also be allowed to serve cheaper drinks because the pub would be exempt from VAT.

Earlier this month, the pub was named as the official consulate in Britain for the island of Redonda, which lies 35 miles south west of Antigua in the Caribbean. Landlord Bob Beech is now making plans to upgrade the pub to an embassy to allow drinkers to continue smoking in his pub.

If successful it would become the only pub in Britain where smokers can light up after July 1.

Road trip? Or ocean trip? Seems like fun, and since it would be the only smoking bar in the UK, it would probably be the most packed constantly. Unfortunately, there is one small drawback:

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "In accordance with the Vienna Convention the establishment of diplomatic relations between states, and permanent diplomatic missions, takes place by mutual consent.

"However, Redonda is the territory of Antigua and Barbuda and is therefore not entitled to have an embassy or a high commission."

You can't fight city hall. Until you become Emperor!



via QuizLaw