Mac Baren Vanilla Creme Flake

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

Cutting Grass on Vacation?

On Thursday, 18 July…we entered our 6th day of vacation and the 2nd day in Belgium.  We’re in Belgium to visit my wife’s family (father, sister and nieces/nephew etc.).  My father-in-law is in his 80’s and can’t take care of his yard any longer.  So I did what any good son-in-law would do and cut his grass.

I’ve been cutting grass since I was in my pre-teen years.  This was one of my teenage jobs which I maintained about 3-4 yards and cleaned some swimming pools between my jr. high and high school age years.  There’s really no telling how many miles of grass I’ve cut.  However, while I’ve cut grass using push mowers, self-propelled mowers, small garden tractors and even larger tractors for mowing grass/hay etc.  But this was the first time in my almost 53 years that I ever cut grass with an electric lawn mower.

After the grass chores were completed, my wife and I enjoyed a short walk to a nearby cafe for a coffee.  I enjoyed a pipe of some Mac Baren Vanilla Creme Flake while enjoying the cool weather.  Things are due to heat up later this week.  For my readers who are not familiar.  Most homes in Europe (including UK) don’t have air conditioning.  In all honesty, it’s really not needed as the number of days where the temps break the upper 80’s and 90’s are rare.  But when they do, it can be miserable.

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My father-in-law smokes Schippers brand pipe tobacco.  I tried a bowl and enjoyed it.  I really don’t know much about it.  I got a chocolate/nutty taste with it, but it burned well.  As my father-in-law can’t get out, I went down to the local newsagent and purchased him a half dozen packs.  So between what he had on hand, what I purchased along with the two tins of Lane 1-Q, he’s set for a few weeks of pipe smoking enjoyment.

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For the next few days we’re visiting family and friends in Belgium.  We depart for England via the Eurostar on Sunday and will head back to Tunbridge Wells.  While this vacation has not been everything we planned, we’re making the best of it every where we can.

Until next time…

Happy Piping!!!

Jerry

July 19, 2019 by Pipe Smoking 0

The Tobacconist That Is No More

Our “home away from home” is a little town in western Kent, England about 30 miles southeast of London called Royal Tunbridge Wells.  We’ve been vacationing here for more than a dozen years and I believe this is our 6th visit.  We typically spend 7-10 days here and usually on the way back from visiting family in Belgium.  This year we planned to spend a few days here before and after the Belgium visit.  Of course, we had a last minute changeup due to my wife’s sudden illness, but as I recently blogged…this too shall pass.  And the good news is, she is recovering and we still plan to travel to Belgium tomorrow via the Eurostar.

When we began planning our trip, I began researching any tobacconists in the area and was pleasantly surprised to learn there was a small tobacconist located in the Pantiles area of Tunbridge Wells.   For full transparency, the last time we visited this area I wasn’t smoking and didn’t realize they were in business.  In any event, I imagined walking into this shop, walking to the back counter and having a wonderful conversation with perhaps an older English gentlemen about his best selling aromatic blends.  While I have plenty of tobacco with me, I still planned to pickup a few ounces.

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Fast forward to the present day/time, my wife felt strong enough to walk down to the Pantiles for breakfast.  I enjoyed a Full English breakfast (because that’s what one does when visiting England) and on the way back to the cottage my wife needed a brief break on a nearby park bench.  Just opposite was the Pantiles News shop.  As it was open, she suggested I stop in and see what all was on offer.

Now let me backup just a bit.  Before leaving the US, I had researched this shop and this was the wording they used on their website:

“Additionally we are one of the last surviving tobacconists in the area, stocking a wide range of pipe and rolling tobacco, pipes and accessories.”

As one might can imagine, after reading that above statement, I imagined that older English gentlemen standing behind the counter which I discussed above.  Instead I found an older Chinese lady and when I asked about pipe tobacco, she offered me rolling papers.  Once again I asked about pipe tobacco and then she offered me a cigarette. I realized something was clearly wrong and promptly exited the store.

I proceeded to the park bench where my wife was resting and she said “That was quick!”, clearly she knew something wasn’t right as I would have needed more than 60 seconds in the store.  I explained what happened, we double-checked the address and to my disappointment the address was correct.  I went into the shop next door to inquire, and was told that the business had recently changed owners and they were no longer carrying any pipe tobacco.

Sad, Sad, Sad

I realize pipe/cigar smoking is often lumped into the same category as cigarette smoking and therefore is all just bad, bad, bad.  I also realize it might be difficult for a small tobacconist to still make a go in todays business atmosphere.  But I believe Royal Tunbridge Wells is just the type of small English town that needs a tobacconist.  I think this is an important reminder that WE ALL need to do our part to support our local tobacconist and their B&M establishments.  We should also (when available) support the local tobacconist where we travel.

Eurostar to Belgium

Tomorrow morning we’ll depart England (finally) for Antwerp, Belgium.   I’m looking forward to the visit with my father-in-law and hopefully sharing a few pipes with him.  As a gift, I have a few tins of Lane Limited 1-Q for him.  Most likely this will be a bit on the mild side for his taste, but he had never heard of it and he wanted to try it.  We’ll see what the outcome is.

And Earlier Today…

While the wife had a snooze (nap), I walked up to The Pantiles for a coffee.  I needed a little afternoon pick-me-up and she needed the rest.  The cottage we rent is less than a 1/4 mile walk away so I grabbed my “ready to go” pipe roll, a wordsearch book and my pack and off I went.   By the way, the pipe roll is from the Northwest Gentlemen.  I’ve provided a link to his Etsy shop if you are interested in ordering your own.  The version I have is American Bison/Buffalo hide and I absolutely love it.  I’ve received several compliments on it from individuals on this trip.  Anyway…

I must admit, we smokers don’t get the second class citizen treatment in England and Europe like we do in the US (especially parts of Colorado).  The Ragged Trousers has ashtrays on most of the outdoor tables and kindly welcomes smokers of all varieties.   I spent a half-hour enjoying my coffee, pipe and wordsearch puzzle.  I even received a compliment on the room note from my tobacco.

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And with that, I’ll wrap things up.  I going to head out to the courtyard for a glass of wine and a bowl of Mac Baren Vanilla Cream Flake in just a moment.

Until next time…

Happy Piping!

Jerry

July 16, 2019 by Pipe Smoking 0