SEEING RED: Here's my message to smokers . . .

The smell of a cig is bad enough, not to mention the dangers one poses to our lungs.

But one thing which is driving me crackers are smokers who discard their used cigarettes by simply throwing them out of their car, van or lorry window.

In some cases it’s not so much throwing, but literally launching them into fresh air - before usually landing on my bonnet!

Now smoking is a bad enough habit as it is, but this is a double whammy for me - it’s impacting on our health and the environment and leaves me seeing red.

In the past week I have lost count the number of times I have seen a motorist discard a cigarette while travelling in front of me.

Perhaps it’s just me they don’t like?

I know there are worst things happening at sea at the moment but for me people who do this, and also drop their cigs in the street, can have no complaints if they’re hit where it hurts - in the their wallet or purse.

It’s simple. If they can afford to smoke they also have the pennies to splash out on an ashtray for their vehicle.

Apparently they’re available for as little as £1.99 on websites like eBay.

It’s not too much to ask to buy one, is it?

- The one thing which has been worse than the six months of bad weather we’ve experienced is people moaning about it.

Of course, now we’re set to enjoy something of a ‘mini-heatwave’ this week there’ll no doubt be some moaning it’s too hot!

It seems we’re not happy unless we have something to moan about when it comes to the weather.

n I’m not much of a Grand National fan but I am when the wife has a flutter on it and wins.

She has a canny knack of picking the winner and I guess it’s a good enough reason to keep her on for another year.

- Staying with family and I have highlighed before how I’m struggling to come to terms with Master B coming of age and growing up.

Since I last wrote about this he now towers over his grandmother, his voice has broken to Darth Vader levels and seems to enjoy spending as little time as possible with me and his mother - understandable, I guess.

On Saturday we cleared the dust off our passports and headed ‘oop north to the Yorkshire Dales.

After reaching our destination - Ribblehead Viaduct - Master B cheekily quipped ‘so you’ve brought me 135 miles to look at a big bridge?’.

His mood didn’t lighten when we arrived in Skipton and spent a couple of hours walking round the town.

It did however later in the evening when he beat me at FIFA on his XBox. Funny that, eh?

All along he was missing his expensive gadget like a love-sick teenager!

How dare I take him away from it for several hours.

I am naughty dad, aren’t I?