Nostalgia smells like ice cream and cigarettes

I was so sad to read that this place might be closing, I spent many, happy, greedy hours in here as a child with my grandmother.  It was a treat when relatives came to visit that we have a 'minchi's' in the cafe on the way back from the beach. Or any other day out actually.  It was always full inside & out, I always spilled syrup on the table and there was always a full ashtray on most of the tables.  Smoking seemed synonymous with ice cream.

When I heard the reason this place was likely to close was due to custom dropping since the smoking ban came into force I laughed, it seemed ridiculous that smoking was ever aloud in a place I assumed aimed to attract children as customers.

However when I think back to my time spent there it seems virtually everyone my minds eye can see had a cigarette in their mouth, even now when I taste raspberry syrup I smell cigarettes.  This might seem like a case for supporting the smoking ban, but what I realize as a parent myself now is that it was actually a place for the adults to connect and the children be safe and occupied.  These places are few and few between these days that are not covered in bright yellow plastic and branding.  Perhaps we should allow adult to take responsibility for their own behavior and not treat them like children, even in ice cream parlors.