There's good, there's bad and there's plain ugly!

Smoking bans kill businesses-FACT!  

  In a society where cutbacks are the order of the day you would think that charity shops would be welcoming gifts with great gratitude from all corners of society. But one particular charity doesn't it seems!
      The British Heart Foundation have laid the doormat down which openly states "we do NOT welcome smokers". Let's set the scene shall we folks, it's not too difficult to do in this instance. David Laing had been working at the in Barnsley for approximately eighteen months. He volunteered to help out there as his mother had suffered severe heart problems and eventually died from a heart condition three years ago-fair do's. David has not suddenly taken up smoking, indeed, he has been smoking a good few years as is his fundamental right of choice. He does not smoke in the rather large shop, for which no doubt the pay very little, if anything, to rent but takes himself off, outside, in God's free, ready polluted air to enjoy a cigarette. On this occasion however, an over zealous 'visiting area official from the charity' spotted him and admonished him for smoking, informing him that he put his cigarette out immediately. David, quite rightly, refused only to be told to go home and not come back again. David was (to quote) "shocked, angry & upset". No surprise there then really. When the local newshound contacted the , one Diane Locke promptly stated "In this situation, and in line with our policy on smoking, we asked a volunteer on a number of occasions not to smoke outside our store but he refused and we had no other option but to ask the volunteer to leave."
     Now let's analyse this statement a little shall we?
a)... "In this situation....." What situation would that be then 'Locke-illa the Hun' ? The situation, quite clearly, was that David Laing was OUTSIDE the premises, in polluted our already polluted 'fresh air' and on a public pavement. Now what part of either of 

 

those two facets do/did the actually own, therefore have control over? I rather think that neither would be the appropriate answer here-don't you?
b)... "in line with our policy on smoking" What line would that be then 'Lock-illa the Hun'? Is there a sign boldly displayed in the window of the store stating that the pavement outside the shop is strictly a No Smoking area? Is the shop on an extremely narrow street where a wisp of smoke might, by some ingenious method hitherto unknown to man, instantly kill some innocent passer by? Again, the answer to both these questions is an emphatic NO! The laws of England govern the pavement not the  and the pavement is at least sixteen feet wide and cannot therefore cause any inconvenience to anyone as there is even room for four Daniel Lamberts to waddle past the shop!

   

And where does it actually state 'your policy' on smoking? On the shop window, the shop door, on 'for sale' signs, on price tags, where 'Locke-illa' ?

c)... "we asked a volunteer on a number of occasions not to smoke outside our store but he refused..." 'Locke-illa', for those few but simple reasons above mentioned, the volunteer was fully entitled to refuse a request not to smoke outside the shop. It would not matter who ran the shop; ie, CRUK, SCOPE, Woolworths, Fortnun & Masons et al, the fact is that  your very officious, smoker hating, 'visiting area official from the charity' had absolutely no jurisdiction once setting foot outside the shop and on the pavement-end of! 

         "David took a break he stepped outside the shop and lit up a cigarette as he stood on the pavement" Note the words 'took a break', a break from what? A break from the charitable work he was doing, for no reward, for the highly ungrateful . David was a volunteer supporter of this organisation, he neither asked for nor received any remuneration for his charitable deeds yet he has been treated like a full time employee sacked for gross negligence/misconduct! Why? Last year, when David was beavering away, the shop actually WON the "Shop of the Year" Award as it raised £80,000 from instore sales. Not bad going for a shop that is heavily subsidised with rents & rates by the tax payer-smokers included! It is such such a prestigious award that no less than Peter Hollins (Chief Executive)

  

(34 Market St  Town Centre, Barnsley S70 1SL

01226 203281)

 descended  upon the Barnsley Shop to congratulate staff and volunteers and present the Barnsley Shop Manager, Joanna Smith, with the winning trophy. Retail Director, Mike Taylor said: “The Barnsley Shop has had an excellent year and thanks must go to its dedicated staff and volunteers. Now  then, in last years celebratory photo (Nov 2012) is that our very own David Laing with a paw on the trophy I ask? and did not Mike Taylor include ALL dedicated staff & volunteers in his praise? Did he bother to mention whether any of his magnificent Barnsley squad smoked or not? I don't believe he did for all that really matters is the fact that the 'freebie' shop in a prominent part of Barnsley town centre managed to grab approximately £1,600 per week from shoppers.

     Featured in the local paper, David has commented himself, and rather a telling comment it is too!

 Posted by David laing I Sat 23rd Feb 2013 at 10:34am

This was the 1st time that I had been told not to smoke outside the shop plus there were other volunteers there it's because I spoke up!

     Yes folks, a smoker dared to stand up for himself and his (and others) right to smoke in an open space. He was not wearing any form of uniform whatsoever, not even a little  badge to signify that he was part of a team so he could have been  absolutely anyone at all, standing outside a shop, in Market Street, in Barnsley, smoking a cigerette. Whoever the officious little twerp was, that took it upon himself to try and bully David into 'docking' his cigarette, needs to be publicly flogged for he has done the organisation no favours whatsoever with this outlandish, discrinatory treatment of a willing volunteer. In fact I doubt that the Barnsley shop will win the same award this year for anyone with an iota of common decency would avoid the place like the plague, now knowing how uncharitable they actually are!

     You can register your utter disgust here. 

or simply write to: Diane Locke, Deputy Chief Executive, British Heartless Foundation,

Greater London House, 180 Hampstead Road, London NW1 7AW 

(I have sent her a postal copy of this blog-just to cheer her up!)
 
(Diane Locke-illa the Hun)

   I don't smoke, as you know, but if that had happened here I would sit, or walk up and down the pavement, outside the all day long with a cigarette in hand.. I would beg them to come out and tell me to move for I would be doing absolutely nothing illegal.

     Look how 'Locke-illa the Hun' begs for support from the public not so long ago:-

British Heart Foundation - Urgent appeal for shop stock

www.bhf.org.uk/default.aspx?page=10245

Jul 21, 2009 – British Heart Foundation appeals for local support and donations following fire damage in Edinburgh. Diane Locke, Deputy Chief Executive for ...

British Heart Foundation shops launch biggest-ever appeal for stock ...

www.thirdsector.co.uk/news/937552/

Sep 10, 2009 – Diane Locke, chief executive of the charity's shops division, said: "Stock is the lifeblood of our shops. This is the biggest campaign BHF Shops ...

BHF Shops win Most Profitable Charity Retail Operation award | UK ...

www.fundraising.co.uk/node/183985

Jul 19, 2012 – BHF Shops have achieved a rise in profits during 2011 to 2012 of £5 million to £31 million. BHF Deputy Retail Director, Diane Locke, said: "The ...

BHF Shops' stock appeal exceeds target‎ - 12 Oct 2009
BHF says men are rubbish at recycling‎ - 17 Mar 2008

More results from fundraising.co.uk »

     But it seemas that  this organisation not only unsympathetic toward smokers, it seems that injured pensioners also get the cold shoulder! Should you really be going out of your way to help such uncharitable organisations?
     By law all electrical goods must be tested & certificated before being resold, but it seems that one Ipswich lady who paid a ridiculous £140.00 + £20.00 delivery charge (she might as well have brought a brand new cooker) from the Ipswich shop found this law totally ignored as two of the electric 'plate' hobs didn't work and nor did half the grill department! OK, it was recovered by the shop but the cable connection to the socket was simply severed and left dangling down the wall.
     And finally, from Diane Locke's own mouth :

 Diane Locke, deputy chief executive for BHF Shops, said: "The gift of time is an incredibly generous way to support us. By joining the team of shop volunteers, you really can help make a difference."

Call 0844 4125000 for details of your local BHF shops.

For  a deputy  chief executive of a charitable organisation I think the woman is a most uncharitable soul and obviously has no time for people that do not share her views. Therefore it is blatantly obvious that the British Heart Foundation do NOT need the valuable assistance of smokers, either in donations for resale or actual physical time donated. The BHF have become an ugly organisation indeed!
All smokers, please, please, from this day forth -ignore this sign.

Which one?

       (We don't do smokers/smoking!)                                                           (The true US !)