Beer, cigarettes and social change

Beer sales in pubs are falling. Last year more than 1,400 pubs closed in the UK. Take home sales of beer, meanwhile, are increasing. The strength of beer is increasing too.

We used to put the world to rights in pubs. Now we do so on internet forums. Dinner parties are simply not the same. For a start, you are not on neutral territory, you're expected to behave yourself for the good of the host and then there's the smoking problem.

Last week I was having dinner in a pub with my wife and three others - all men. Conversation was flowing quite nicely during the main course but as soon as our plates were empty Gill and I were deserted by our companions as they went outside to smoke.

I never liked smoky clothing or smoke in my eyes but I do get on well with plenty of people who smoke. Now, however, as the law has excluded the smokers from public interiors, it is the non-smokers who are facing social exclusion.

Our social lives are changing and I'm not sure that all the change is for the better.