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.
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.
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
