Ale! Ale! The Gang’s All Smoking!
As Brits dash outside to light up in the wake of their new smoking ban, the determined smokers of Wellington Arms Pub in Southampton, England have devised a novel solution: They’re declaring the pub an embassy for the wee island of Radonda, somewhere in the Caribbean, which would exempt the pub from the smoking ban.
Bob Beech, noble knight of Radonda and landlord of the Wellington Arms Pub, said, “We are going to apply to turn the pub into an embassy as soon as possible. I have a legal team looking into the legalities at the moment.
“I think we would have a lot of regulars if we get it and there would be the benefit of no VAT on the drinks so there would be no tax on beer.”
Although there are at least nine claimants to the throne of Radonda, most subjects recognize King Robert the Bald, who also goes by the name of Robert Williamson. King Robert hails from Canada but prefers his square-mile realm, where he writes novels to augment the royal coffers.
As an embassy, the pub would be considered foreign soil and exempt from England’s smoking ban.
