FOR sale: two England flags; will look better on a VW Polo or any German make of car.

Have you recovered from the World Cup yet? It raised some interesting tweets this week. Comedian David Schneider twittered: "OK, so we've had 44 years of hurt since 1966. But think about the Normans. 944 years of hurt since their last victory." Carol Decker from the band T'Pau wrote: "Conspiracy theory? The Italians did side with Germany in the war. Did Capello miss-train our boys on purpose?"

We can now go to our much-loved pubs and talk about our other favourite subject — the weather! Brits discuss the climate almost five times a day, spending longer dissecting its ups and downs than they do on sport or work. That equates to six months of our lives just conversing about the weather.

It does mean we are able to take refreshments outdoors for a few weeks a year, if we're lucky. We tried to enjoy a meal al fresco the other day at a pub in Topsham and on another occasion at a pub in Bickleigh.

Unfortunately, at both we found ourselves table-hopping trying to find a seat upwind from the smokers.

Wouldn't it make more sense for the non-smokers, who enjoy the fresh air, to be able to benefit from a pint or a ploughman's in the great outdoors and have the smokers corralled in a confined space with their nicotine-filled air?

When will the powers-that-be introduce a smoke-free zone within 20 metres of eateries?

By the way, I am the worst kind of anti-smoker, a former 50- a-day man, who lost his father to lung cancer.

The majority of Brits are calling for a ban on smoking in cars when there are child passengers. A survey by the British Lung Foundation shows 86 per cent of parents would support it.

I hope you've had a great week. Stacy and I spent some of our time last weekend at Exeter Castle. We were there to watch living history unfold.

The only things smoking there were the muskets held by the actors taking part in the re-enactments around the grounds.

A great free event and I thought everyone looked authentic in their period outfits. Stacy just blended in. I really must buy her some up-to-date clothes...

Until next week, ciao!