Author Archives: Rob Ellard

Eighty five percent of the universe is missing. It’s unknown and invisible – it’s dark matter. It’s there though, it has to be; the brilliantly named Fritz Zwicky said so. Not to be confused with the comedy of Doug Stanhope as that’s clearly visible.

Some people like to get hot and bothered about politics while others find religious matters cause moist collars and clenched knuckles. There are folks getting vexed over batteries, diketones and cloud chasers but none of them seem to considering the most important issues.

I’m torn. Like a xenophobe who adores our national dish of curry and imported lager, I have conflicting feelings. Part of me would like to proselytise the benefits of vaping and encourage everyone to vape in the style that suits them best – but that doesn’t sit well with my feelings over the growing number of subohm atomisers flooding the market.

I’m getting excited. Not like a small child at Christmas or a married man with children and on a birthday promise, no, but excited none the less. By the time this goes live on the site I’ll be on the M1 heading to the Ye Olde Salutation in Nottingham.

A simple question is posed here: to what extent does harm reduction work; will people not simply displace a set of behaviours with something else of equal abhorrence to Public Health officials?

Harm reduction advocates argue that vaping is an essential tool in reducing harm for those who wish to use nicotine. Those lying behind the opposition to ecigs would prefer a blunter tool that, given the opportunity, would be an outright ban.

It is something that doesn’t feature much on the “Come holiday in Wales” websites or associated literature. In fact, it’s distinctly possible that many proud Welsh people are blissfully unaware of it, but Wales lays claim to being the powerhouse of the Victorian leech farming capital of Europe.

I was once told there were two personality types: those who do and those who don’t. This was clearly meant to be some kind of motivational lecture on behalf of frustrated teachers throughout the school, to inspire me on to greater things. It failed; I remained a disillusioned teacher.

Inertia – a reluctance to alter a given course of direction. Massive objects require more than a hanky being flapped to get them to change direction. An artic lorry needs a heavy prod to shift its trajectory. So why have my unused but comparatively lightweight mods been so hard to shift from the desk?

If social media is anything to go by, this year’s Vapefest will be swamped with people experiencing it for the first time. Consequently, feel free to avail yourself of some insights and recommendations.