UK

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

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

The first pipe in England

Our flight from Denver to London was uneventful.  With exception to departing 90 minutes late and also arriving later than expected, we made our way out to the English Countryside in Kent.  We managed about 2 hours of sleep in the last 36, but doing remarkably well.  It’s time for dinner.

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I carried my pipe pouch which was custom made by the Northwest Gentlemen and available in his Etsy shop.  The pipe is my Savinelli Roma 673 and the lighter is the Kiribi Mikazuki.  The blend I carried with me for dinner was Lane Limited 1-Q.  This was a very enjoyable pipe and a great end to our first day in England.

Tomorrow we’re having a Sunday roast at a nearby famous pub and most likely I’ll enjoy a pipe after lunch.  But for now, it’s time for lights out as my wife and I are both exhausted from the trip.

Until next time…

Happy Piping!

Jerry

July 13, 2019 by Pipe Smoking 0