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My First Estate Pipe Project

It’s funny how the pipe smoking hobby can evolve.  As I’ve said before, my return to pipe smoking was primarily down to watching a British television series from ITV called Maigret.  Maigret stars Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) as a French detective.  The character smokes a pipe and while watching this series it gave me a flashback from over 30 years back when I used to smoke a pipe during my Civil War re-enacting days.  But to be perfectly honest, I really had no idea that a year later I would own more than one pipe, have a collection of over a dozen different tobaccos, actively write/blog and record video content for my YouTube channel and actively Tweet and post content to Instagram.

It’s George’s Fault

Yes, it’s George Bruno’s fault.  The very first pipe smoking YouTube content creator I watched was George Bruno.  George was instrumental in teaching me the fine art of pipe smoking.  I learned how to pack my bowl, how to light my pipe (false light, then true light), how and when to tamp etc. etc.  George introduced me to what is now my favorite pipe.  The Savinelli Roma 673 KS.  This was the first quality pipe I purchased and truly is my favorite pipe.  (Message to my wife, remember…I want to be buried with this pipe).

Anyway, George recorded a video titled “What makes a tobacco pipe happy?” where he spoke about the joy he gets from collecting estate pipes.  He went on to explain that “we’re the steward of our pipes, we only own them while we’re alive” and that our pipes will easily outlive us.  Later in the video, George explained the happiness he feels when he sees an old caked up pipe bowl and how that pipe was used to comfort someone through the birth of children, death of parents, firing from a job, acquisition of new job, earning of college degree, the wedding of his daughter, birth of first grandson etc.

The Search

After watching George’s above mentioned video, I decided I would begin the search for a few estate pipes to add to my collection.   My wife and I actually love visiting antique stores and we have several really nice ones near our house.  A few weeks back, we hit the road to visit our favorites.  At the first, I found a couple of really rough old pipes.  Unfortunately, they were priced as if they had been fully restored and it was clear these had not.  As for brands, these were so poorly cared for that I couldn’t even make out a brand or model.  Nothing.  Plus the price tag didn’t reflect any of this information either.

While visiting the second (and larger of the two) antique stores, I found one stall that was nothing but estate pipes.  There were some really neat looking pipes and some reasonably priced.  Unfortunately, the store was about to close and I haven’t had a chance to return.

eBay?

I’ve purchased (and sold) a lot of stuff on eBay over the years.  While I’ve heard all the horror stories, I tend to do my research and will only purchase from sellers who are top rated and I do take the time to review their feedback ratings.  I decided I would search through eBay to see what I could find.  After all, I’m sure at any given time…one can find hundreds, if not thousands of pipes for sell on eBay.  So I typed in “Estate Pipes” in the eBay search and narrowed my search down to the listings which were ending soon.   I had many to choose from.

My Criteria

I had made the decision ahead of time that for my first estate pipe purchase, I wanted it to be an easy restoration project.  While I’m a woodworker hobbyist and feel confident I could refinish the briar portion of a pipe, I don’t know much about working with plastics.  So I was hoping I could find something with a descent looking stem.  In other words, no chips and preferably minor to no tooth chatter.  Oh…I also wanted to keep my budget as low as possible.

I found a Kaywoodie model 51 Standard, with original box and a pamphlet that was ending in just a few hours.  From the description and photographs this appeared to meet all my criteria and then some.  I plopped down my bid and managed to hold high bid until just a few minutes before the auction ended.  As the timer reached the final few seconds I entered my final max bid of $21.00 and ended up winning the auction with a winning bid of $20.50.  With shipping, I managed to acquire my very first estate pipe for under $30.00.  I was happy.  Now the wait for the package to arrive….

The Kaywoodie 51 Standard

And here’s my first estate pipe purchase complete with box and the brochure.  From what I found online (Pipedia), the Kaywoodie 51 is a medium billiard with a short stem.  These were produced between 1932 – 1966.  I would have to think mine is from the later years and that’s OK with me.  My birth year is 1966, so having a pipe that is as old as I am is pretty neat.

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As  hopefully the images show, the stem is in good shape.  Just a bath and some cleaning/polishing is all I believe will need to be done.  I’m pretty sure a non-clencher pipe smoker must have owned this pipe of the bowl and give it a salt bath.  I’m undecided as what to do (if anything at all) to the rim.  Yes there are some nicks, dings and scratches.  But I may choose to leave these for character.

I will clean the cake out of the bowl and give it a salt bath.  I’m undecided as what to do (if anything at all) to the rim.  Yes there are some nicks, dings and scratches.  But I may choose to leave these for character.

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The exterior of the bowl is really not bad at all.  Depending on what I decide to do with the rim, I’m really not sure it needs to be re-stained.  Just buffed with some wax and I think it will shine up nicely.

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To be Continued…

I’ll certainly provide an update on this project as I get started and throughout the process.  I’ve been watching a ton of videos on pipe restoration and feel pretty confident with what I’ve learned to tackle this project.  Regardless of the outcome, with this pipe being my first estate pipe purchase, it will be a keeper.

Thank you for reading and please don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, Instagram and visit my YouTube channel.  I’m really enjoying my participation in the YTPC (YouTube Pipe Community).

Until next time…

Happy Piping!

Jerry

August 21, 2019 by Pipe Smoking 0

Lane Limited 1-Q

As with all my reviews, the opinions expressed are 100% my own and your mileage may vary.  The tobacco being reviewed has been purchase by myself and I’ve personally smoked several bowls, in various pipes before writing this review.  I’ve also linked the TobaccoReviews.com review for your cross reference.

lane_1q_thumb

Pipes Used: Briar, Cob
Age When Smoked: New
Purchased From: TobaccoPipes.com

Strength – Mild
Taste – Mild
Flavoring – Mild
Room Note – Very Pleasant
Tin Note – Vanilla and Caramel
Rating – ****
Cellared – Yes

My Review

My first experience with Lane Limited 1-Q was from my local tobacconist which I had visited when I decided to pickup the pipe smoking hobby again.   The older gentlemen behind the counter greeted me friendly when I walked through the door and asked how he could help me.  I explained that while I wasn’t brand new to pipe smoking, it had been over 20 years and I was looking for a good quality pipe tobacco.  I explained I would like a vanilla aromatic and something mild.

He told me I had come to the right place and motioned with a hand gesture to follow him to the far end of the counter.  He grabbed a large Mason jar, unscrewed the lid and handed it to me.  He called it by another name (as is often the case with Lane 1-Q) and told me that he guaranteed I would like this blend.  He weighed out an ounce and placed it in a Ziploc bag and handed it to me.  He told me if I liked it to come back for more.

I drove home and within a few minutes I had packed my Savinelli Roma briar pipe with this new tobacco and began smoking.  Immediately I fell in love with this blend.  The very next day I returned to my local tobacconist.  I don’t think the door had even closed behind me, when the same older gentleman saw me and reached for that large mason jar and shouted out “How many ounces can I sell you”?

Unfortunately, a few months ago my local tobacconist closed his business.  I was aware he was going to be closing and a few weeks before, I asked him where I could get the tobacco I loved so much.  Thankfully he shared the secret and told me what I loved so much (as is the case with so many other pipe smokers) is Lane Limited 1-Q.

From all that I’ve heard, Lane Limited 1-Q is one of the best selling tobacco blends on the market and as was the case with my tobacconist, is often the house blend at many Brick & Mortar shops across the country.  1-Q has become my absolute favorite pipe tobacco which I now order both in bulk and in tins.  It’s the only tobacco I consider to be an all-day smoke for me.  I also believe Lane 1-Q is a perfect starter tobacco for anyone considering pipe smoking.

TobaccoReviews.com

https://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/630/lane-limited-1-q

Thank you for taking the time to read this review.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on this particular blend.  Please leave a comment below.

Until next time…

Happy Smoking!

Jerry

August 16, 2019 by Pipe Smoking 0

Sutliff Crumble Kake English #1

As with all my reviews, the opinions expressed are 100% my own and your mileage may vary.  The tobacco being reviewed has been purchase by myself and I’ve personally smoked several bowls, in various pipes before writing this review.  I’ve also linked the TobaccoReviews.com review for your cross reference.

Pipes Used: Briar, Cob
Age When Smoked: New
Purchased From: TobaccoPipes.com

Strength – Medium
Taste – Medium
Flavoring – None detected
Room Note – Pleasant to Tolerable
Tin Note – Smoky, Earthy
Rating – ****
Cellared – Not yet

More Details

While I was out of the country on vacation, I had heard about the Sutliff Virtual Pipe Club (VPC).  Actually the very day I heard about it was the very last day one could sign up to be included in the July offering.  Actually I even believed I had missed the boat on July as just after signing up, I received an email from Sutliff stating that registration had closed on the first meeting and I would need to wait until October.  But much to my surprise, on the 29th of July I received another email from Sutliff stating it was “Last Call” to take advantage of the July offer.  So lucky me!

The way the Sutliff VPC works is really simple.  You sign up on their website to enter the pipe club.  It’s 100% free to join.  A few times a year (perhaps quarterly?) the virtual meeting is held and members will receive an email regarding how to take advantage of the discounted selected tobacco.  The sell and distribution of the tobacco is handled through TobaccoPipes.com which has been my “go to” online tobacco retailer of choice for some time.  You simply place your order for the VPC tobacco (in July it was Sutliff Crumble Kake English #1) and enter a coupon code which is provided in an email from Sutliff.  This dropped the price of the 1.5 ounce tin to $3.00 plus s/h.  As I had other tobacco items I needed, I was able to combine to maximize my overall savings.

My Review

I want to make clear that while I smoked many pipes 25-30 years ago, I never really bothered to educate myself on the true art of pipe smoking.  Back then, I was more concerned with whether the pipe I was using was authentic to the period (US Civil War) and would smoke whatever tobacco I could get at the time.  You can read more about my return to pipe smoking here.

Anyway, I’ve been wanting to broaden my experience of various blends of tobacco since returning to pipe smoking.  For over a year now I’ve been absolutely happy with a couple of different aromatics (including Lane 1-Q) which is in my tobacco rotation.  But I know there is so much out there and while I know there’s no way I can sample it all, having an opportunity to try something new in this fashion was certainly worth the gamble.  Of course, I’m looking forward to receiving my first Tin Society package (hopefully this week) as that will help introduce me to new blends on a monthly basis.  Anyway, let me get on with this review….

This was my first English blend since returning to pipe smoking.  The tin of Sutliff Crumble Kake English #1 arrived in the mail on Thursday, 1 August.  I couldn’t wait to get home, open the tin and smoke my first bowl.  Upon cracking the seal of the tin and giving it the nose test, I was taken back to 30 years ago when I smoked non-aromatics.  My nose detected a smoky, earthy smell and after more than a minute or so my wife asked me if I planned to smoke it or just smell the inside of the tin.  I explained to her that this was the first non-aromatic tobacco I’ve had under my nose in over 30 years and I wanted to cherish the moment.  But likewise I was also anxious to pack my pipe and smoke it.

Likewise, this was also the first crumble cake style tobacco I’ve experienced.  Ever!  I broke off a section of the cake and began to break it up on my leather tobacco mat.  Right out of the tin the moisture level was similar to other tobaccos I have in my rotation.  The tobacco packed well in my pipe and with the charring light out of the way, I proceeded with the true light while giving my pipe some good, strong puffs.  The smoke was thick and hung in the air much different from other blends I frequently smoke.

To my taste buds, the flavors I was getting mostly matched the tin note with a smoky, earthy, woody taste.  I immediately noticed the difference between this and several of the aromatics in my regular rotation.  Of course this is a good thing and what this is all about.  I did have to perform a few relights but this may have been more to do with my slower cadence and my desire to truly take this moment in.

A really interesting thing occurred about half way through the first bowl.  I began tasting a bit of a spicy flavor which I had never experienced before.  Even after smoking a few more bowls over the next couple of days, this spicy flavor doesn’t seem to be noticeable until about half way through the bowl.   But this is a blend which is enjoyable all the way down to the last burning ember.

My overall impression of Sutliff Crumble Kake English #1 is very positive.  I scored it four out of four stars and for now, this will go into my rotation and be my main English style tobacco.  The nicotine hit was only slightly more than I’ve experienced before but wore off quickly.  While I wouldn’t consider this an all day smoke (for my personal tastes), it is something I’ll return to again and soon.

TobaccoReviews.com

https://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/11717/sutliff-tobacco-company-crumble-kake-english-1

Thank you for taking the time to read this review.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on this particular tobacco.  Please leave me a comment below.

Until next time…

Happy Piping!

Jerry

August 9, 2019 by Pipe Smoking 0

Ole Shenandoah Summer Berry Brandy

As with all my reviews, the opinions expressed are 100% my own and your mileage may vary.  The tobacco being reviewed has been purchase by myself and I’ve personally smoked several bowls, in various pipes before writing this review.  I’ve also linked the TobaccoReviews.com review for your cross reference.

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Pipes Used: Briar, Cob
Age When Smoked: New
Purchased From: TobaccoPipes.com

Strength – Mild
Taste – Mild
Flavoring – Medium
Room Note – Very Pleasant
Tin Note – A Berry Melody
Rating – ****
Cellared – Yes

My Review

I first learned about Ole Shenandoah Summer Berry Brandy (formerly known as Ole Shenandoah Appalachian Berry) a few weeks ago.  At the time, it wasn’t available at any of the online tobacconists I purchase from but I was recently notified it was back in stock, so I placed my order for a single tin along with a few additional items.

While my preference is typically a vanilla aromatic, I’ve been looking for a quality alternative and one that would go well with a glass of wine.  In addition, I also wanted something to classify as seasonal and well…”Summer Berry Brandy” does tick all the boxes.

Upon receiving the tin of tobacco, I grabbed the first coin I could find to pop the seal and twist open the lid.  I gave it the nose test and was greeted with a nice aroma of berries.  I couldn’t pick out a specific berry smell, but rather what I’ll refer to as a “Berry Melody” which I think is certainly the intended result.  I immediately transferred the tobacco into a clean Mason jar and proceeded to the deck for my first smoke of the day.

As some heavily aromatic blends have been a wet, sticky mess right out of the tin this was not the case with Ole Shenandoah Summer Berry Brandy.  I pinched out a few grams from the jar and placed it on my leather tobacco mat.  I soon realized it was pretty much ready to smoke right out of the tin and would require no drying time.

After packing my pipe with the Shenandoah Summer Berry Brandy tobacco, I performed the charring light followed by a light tamping then the true light.  I had no problems keeping the pipe lit and it was a pleasant smoke all the way to the end.  Over the next few days, I enjoyed Shenandoah Summer Berry Brandy in both my briar and cob variety of pipes and enjoyed each and every puff.

The strength and taste of the tobacco was mild and the overall taste of the berries was subtle.  Even after I had finished smoking the first bowl, I could faintly smell the berries but didn’t have the after-taste left in my mouth.  According to my wife, the room note is one of the nicest of my collection of tobaccos.

In my opinion, this is a “Berry” Good Tobacco and has certainly earned a place in my summer season rotation of tobaccos.  If you care to read through and compare the reviews for this tobacco on TobaccoReviews.com, a link has been provided below.

TobaccoReviews.com

https://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/10751/ole-shenandoah-summer-brandy-berry-appalachian-berry

Thank you for taking the time to read this review.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on this particular tobacco.  Please leave me a comment below.

Until next time…

Happy Smoking!

Jerry

July 31, 2019 by Pipe Smoking 0

A Guide to My Tobacco Reviews

When I began planning out my blog site, one of the things I wanted to include was a tobacco review section.  By no means will this ever be an extensive, exclusive review of every tobacco available and by no means is this designed to become a replacement for other tobacco review sites such as TobaccoReviews.com.  This is simply just one individuals review of the tobacco I’ve smoked.  If anything, these reviews will by my own personal database of my favorites, least favorites and the what & why which makes them so.  However, if others can benefit from my trials and tribulations….then that’s OK too!

Each review will include the following “fine print” which simply states:

As with all my reviews, the opinions expressed are 100% my own and your mileage may vary.  The tobacco being reviewed has been purchase by myself and I’ve personally smoked several bowls, in various pipes before writing this review.  I’ve also linked the TobaccoReviews.com review for your cross reference.

I will also identify the following items including pipes used, age etc.  At the present time, I only own briar and cob style pipes.  I do plan to add a few clay pipes to my collection and one day a Meerschaum.

Pipes Used: Briar, Cob
Age When Smoked:
Purchased From:

Strength – Mild (Mild, Medium, Strong)
Taste – Mild (Mild, Medium, Strong)
Flavoring – Medium (Mild, Medium, Strong)
Room Note –
Tin Note –
Rating – **** (1-4 Star rating)
Cellared – Yes (Typically an indication that I liked it so much, I’ve added a few tins to my cellar)

Finally, I’ll include additional details and opinions of the tobacco and will provide the link to the specific tobacco on the TobaccoReviews.com website.

Again, this is in no way an attempt to become the go-to tobacco review site.  It’s just an extension of my own pipe tobacco smoking hobby and blogging effort.  That’s all…

And with that said…

Happy Smoking!

Jerry

July 31, 2019 by Pipe Smoking 0

The Long Way Home

The route map on the Boeing 747-400 tells me we’re cruising at 36,000 with a ground speed of just over 550 mph and we have just 979 miles or 2 hours to go until we land in Denver.  My body thinks its about 10:30 PM (London Time) and the laptop clock (which I never changed) is showing 3:30 PM.  It’s been a smooth flight which is pretty much unlike anything about this two week vacation.  I managed to sleep about an hour or so, but having the ability to lay completely flat is such an advantage and one I truly appreciate.  My wife and I began flying business class several years ago.  Trust me, once you fly business…there’s no going back.  Anyway…

My mind is bouncing between the memories of the past two weeks (not all bad) and a package awaiting my arrival home of some new tobacco I ordered a few days ago.  More about the tobacco in a few minutes.  Once on the ground in Denver, we’ll need to make our way through security/customs (which I’m sure will be discussed later in this article) then out to the car where I’ll need to try to remember how to drive again.  It’s been two weeks.  Yikes!  Then finally make the drive home which is about 25 miles.  In Denver, everything is far from the airport.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

There are many things about this trip which I can break down into the three categories of one of my favorite Clint Eastwood films.  Just something about those Spaghetti Westerns of the 1960’s.  But I digress…

If you’ve been reading my blog entries from the past two weeks then you have a pretty good idea of just how everything unfolded or unraveled as my wife might say.  It started off all peaches and cream, then quickly developed into something really bad which turned really ugly.  As I mentioned in previous blog updates, I’ll save you from all the gory details..but my wife either developed food poisoning or caught some other bug which caused her to be nauseated and experience diarrhea which lasted a few days.  This then turned into cold/flu symptoms complete with sore throat, nasal issues and then a nasty, deep cough which she is still suffering from.  I’m sure once we’re back home and have all our modern conveniences, this too shall pass.

Greenland isn’t Green

By the way, I believe this marks my 12th transatlantic crossing by airplane and the first time I’ve been able to see Greenland.  Either our flight path was further south or the clouds were too think.  The image below is from 36,000 feet and shows the country of Greenland to be pretty snow covered with just a portion of the shoreline not covered in snow.

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TSA/USA Customs

Please don’t get me wrong, if you cut me…I bleed Red, White and Blue!  I’m about as patriotic as they come.  I’m extremely proud to be American, but we don’t always do the right things and we don’t always have the best processes.  Case in point is our re-entry process.  Two weeks ago I was able to breeze through Customs at Heathrow Airport.  I walked up to a scanning machine, scan my passport and was allowed entry without having to speak to anyone.  In other words, no one asked me where I was going, how long I was planning on staying and no one asked me the nature of my visit.  By the way, I also didn’t need to fill out a landing card.

Before arriving into Denver on a British Airways Boeing 747, I was handed a landing card and of course told by the flight attendant that the US requires all passengers to fill out this card.  It always baffles me why an American born citizen, with an American issued passport needs to fill out a landing card.  My passport should be the only thing I need to show.  Of course, being the law abiding citizen that I am…I fill out the card anyway.  Upon landing, we’re directed through Customs where I’m practically interviewed interrogated by a US Border agent regarding the what, where, when, why of my visit to Europe.  Again, I’m not suggesting I’m in any way above the law.  But I would think a simple scan of my US Passport would be adequate enough to determine if there was any valid reason to question me further.  Oh well….

New Tobacco, New Coffee…Ahh the joys of Sunday!

As I mentioned at the top of this article, I had wanted to try Ole Shenandoah Summer Berry Brandy for some time now.  However, it’s been out of stock at my favorite online tobacconist for several weeks.  I received an email last week that it was once again back in stock, so I ordered a tin and it arrived on Saturday via my friendly mailman.

Funnily enough, when I was in the grocery story very early this morning (I’m writing this portion of the blog article on Sunday, 28 July) I took a peek at the various cold brewed coffee selections available.  This was something I really hadn’t tried before vacation, but enjoyed a few cans in both Belgium and England.  Anyway…at my local grocery store here in Denver they have a wide selection of various cold brewed coffee products.  But this one (Boss Coffee) was the one that got selected.  Evidentially, Boss Coffee started out in Japan and eventually made its way to the US.  Anyway…I love the pipe smoking logo which happens to be none other than American writer and Nobel Prize laureate William Faulkner.

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By the way, I very much enjoyed BOTH the Ole Shenandoah Summer Berry Brandy and the Boss Coffee.  The theme for the rest of the day is to try to stay awake as long as possible so I will sleep tonight as tomorrow (Monday) is back to work for me and my wife.

That’s about all I can think of for now.  It’s late afternoon and I think I’ll go smoke another bowl of Ole Shenandoah.

Until next time…

Happy Piping!

Jerry

July 29, 2019 by Pipe Smoking 0

It’s Bloody Hot

On the eve of our last full day in England, the summer temperature is soaring.  The past few days we’ve experienced daytime high temperatures in the upper 80’s and today the forecasted high is expected to flirt with the century mark.  My wife and I are trying our best to keep a stiff upper lip (as one does in England), but it’s hot…No, it’s bloody hot!

We slept in this morning and by the time we got moving, the day was warm….too warm for a hot cup of coffee.  So I started with one of these.   I’m not sure who makes these, and I’ll be honest I’ve only started to enjoy the cold/iced coffee drinks on this trip, but it’s very good.

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For lunch, we headed up to one of our favorite little pubs called Mount Edgcumbe.  It’s a bit of an uphill hike from the Pantiles area of Tunbridge Wells, but well worth it.  We arrived about 30 minutes before they started serving lunch.  That was just enough time for a pipe and a glass of ice water.

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One simply can’t go to England without enjoying fish and chips.

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After a nice lunch, it was time for an iced coffee and another pipe.  Today I’m smoking Mac Baren Vanilla Cream Flake.  There’s just something about drinking coffee (hot or cold) and the enhanced flavors I get from the pipe.

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After lunch we did a little shopping (gotta love air conditioned stores) and a long the way I saw a familiar store and dropped in for a mocha Frappuccino.   I don’t always frequent Starbucks, but needs must and it hit the spot.

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As afternoon turned into evening, the sun was going down and so was the temperature.  A glass of wine and the last pipe of the evening went down well.

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The temperature topped out in Tunbridge Wells at 95 F.  Yes ladies and gentlemen, that is miserable.  While I know some parts of Texas would consider this a cold front, the majority of businesses and residences here do not have air conditioning as these types of heat waves are fairly uncommon.

Later in the evening the rain started falling and the temperature continued to fall into the 80’s, 70’s and finally into the 60’s.  Friday is our last full day in England and the temperature is forecast to be in the normal range.

As always, thank you for reading my blog.  Please share with your pipe smoking friends and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter.

Until next time….

Happy Piping!

Jerry

July 26, 2019 by Pipe Smoking 0

A Time for Reflection in England

I’m sitting in the English Countryside of Kent, in the little town of Royal Tunbridge Wells.  For my wife and I, this is heaven and by far our favorite little corner of the world.  We’ve been coming here for the past 14+ years.  We rent the same little cottage and while we stay busy seeing some of the nearby sights, we also use this time to reflect and recharge our batteries.  While we normally only travel to England every other year, we had made the journey last summer and decided to return again this year.  I’m sure glad we did….

The weather has been absolutely miserable during our stay, but we’ve made the best of it. We’ve enjoyed our day trips to new places and have revisited some of our favorites.  Each day we return to our cottage, take a minute to freshen up and then walk a short distance to an old 16th century pub and relax with a few glasses of wine and of course my pipe.

As I sip my pipe and sip my wine, I enjoy the reflection on those who may have set here in the 1500’s. Times in England were certainly much different than now.  After all, you had King Henry VIII working through his six different wives and of course the times were certainly turbulent to say the least.

Our time is drawing to a close and soon we’ll make the long trek via British Airways aboard a majestic Queen of the Skies, Boeing 747-400 back to Colorado.  But I believe as I sit in my own courtyard sipping a glass of wine and sipping my pipe, I’ll easily be able to cast my thoughts back to this moment.

Thank you for reading and sharing in my own time of reflection.  After all, I believe this is what pipe smoking is all about.

Until next time…

Happy Piping!

Jerry

July 25, 2019 by Pipe Smoking 0

The Modern Efficiency Killer

I’ll be the first to admit that I do love my smartphone.  The primary need for me to own/use one is for work.  I need to be connected at all times of the day and just about anything I can do on my laptop, I can also do from my Samsung Android smartphone.  But there are plenty of times that I wish the darn things hadn’t been invented.   I also enjoy staying in touch with friends and family via Facebook and Twitter.

As my wife and I were exiting the Eurostar Lounge at the Brussels train station, we entered a large waiting area which was slowly moving towards the platform for our Eurostar train.  There were several hundred people in a small space and things were moving rather slow.  I wondered what could be the cause of this?  Could it be there’s another security checkpoint?  Ticket verification checkpoint?  Then I looked around and I saw it.  Literally everyone was in this zombie like mode of trying to read something, watch something or type something onto their phones.  The line was literally going no where.  More about this later…

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The Finer Things

As a pipe smoker, I enjoy slowing the world down to a snails pace.  If I happen to be reading, working a word search puzzle or just watching people…I use the art of pipe smoking to calm myself and to calm the world around me.  When I typically sit down to smoke my pipe, I’m not bothered by what time it is and I almost never ever have any place to be anytime soon.  In other words, if my pipe smoking session takes 30 minutes or turns into one hour or more, it’s 100% fine.  As my wife is a cigarette smoker, it’s taken her some time to get used to this concept.

A Time and Place

There’s a time and place to slow things down and likewise a time and place to be as efficient as possible.  The somewhat ironic thing about the behavior I witnessed in the Brussels train station does baffle me.  After all, at no time was anyone asked to switch off their phones.  There’s no safety demonstration and passengers are not restricted from using their phones at any point of the trip.  Phones (including data/text) ever worked under the English Channel.

Unfortunately, I witness this same behavior at my office, at the grocery store…just about everywhere.  The very devices which keep us connected and in some ways make our lives easier….are also distracting us and causing delays where they certainly don’t need to be.

Solution?

Unfortunately I don’t have all the answers and I don’t see this getting better anytime soon. I do my part by keeping my cell phone in my pocket when I’m in a busy environment.  What are your thoughts?  Please leave a comment below or Tweet me and let me know.

Until next time…

Happy Piping!

Jerry

July 23, 2019 by Pipe Smoking 0

Belgium–The Final Day

The day has arrived for us to travel back to England from Belgium.  We’re headed back the same way we came, via the Eurostar.  Earlier today I enjoyed my last cup of Belgian coffee, or what I thought was my last.  We left the hotel to go and have one last visit with my father-in-law before we left for Brussels.  Of course we had breakfast at the hotel which has served as our Belgian base since Wednesday.  They had an all-you-can-eat breakfast bar each morning and it was very nice. Here’s a picture of their fresh honey.  If it were any fresher we might have swarms of bees after us.

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Upon arriving at my father-in-laws house, it was time to smoke our pipes one last time for this visit.  You just never know when the last time on this earth will actually occur for any of us. He and I both savored the moment.  It was a good pipe.

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Once we arrived in Brussels and made our way to the Eurostar Lounge, it was time for another cup of coffee and one that would certainly be the last.  We should arrive in Ashford just before 5 PM and then we have an hour taxi ride back to Tunbridge Wells.  Leaving Belgium is always bittersweet, but England and especially Tunbridge Wells is truly our home away from home.  It will be good to be back home.  For now!

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We have less than one week remaining of our England/Belgium vacation.  We’ll depart London Heathrow for Denver on Saturday.  Then even more unfortunately, the wife and I will return back to work on Monday. But let’s not think about that for now…lots more time to enjoy my pipe and coffee in the English Countryside of Kent.

Until next time…

Happy Piping!

Jerry

July 21, 2019 by Pipe Smoking 0