Want Peace on Earth? Smoke a Pipe. It's International Pipe Smoking Day Tomorrow!
Today was the day the Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club of Boston chose to celebrate International Pipe Smoking Day (which is officially tomorrow). I shared a post about these plans, including some videos, yesterday.
It turned out to be a long, satisfying day -
in all the best of ways. Sure, all we did was go out to lunch at the Tipsy Toboggan fireside pub, and then head over to the Old Firehouse smoke shop, where we spent several hours meeting new people and talking about our favorite pipes and tobaccos.
But it's days like this, and conversations like this, that bridge the boundaries between generations and knit a culture together. We need more smoke in this world, I say. And more conversation.
I'm so grateful that there are still a few places where people are allowed to smoke together, and talk.
This is our oldest member. He looks pretty good for someone who is turning 90 next month, doesn't he? And he had some great stories about his service in Germany just after World War Two.
This is Bob, one of the employees of the Old Firehouse Smoke Shop. He's a talented pipe carver in his own right, and a wealth of knowledge about pipe construction and pipe tobaccos. And would you just look at that selection of tobacco tins behind him!
They also have tobacco available in bulk, by the ounce - maybe even more jars than I've got at home!
Of course, they've got an extensive walk-in humidor as well. It's mostly stocked with boutique and unique hard-to-find cigars. I even picked up a couple of My Father Cigars that @gregm has been reviewing recently.
Here's our club president, about to present the charter certificate to the new president of the Fall River Chapter. The speech was kept short and sweet, so we could all get back to smoking and bullshitting. (And yes, that's a professional photographer behind the counter, here to document the proceedings.)
Just a bit more camaraderie. A couple seasoned newspaper journalists talking shop. It was fascinating for this blogger to hear stories about how news is made in the world of print. (Short version - there's a lot of outsourcing, but still no substitute for on-the-ground reportage.)
The official International Pipe Smoking Day is Tuesday, February 20.
That's tomorrow. For you blokes in Europe - it has already begun!
I will most definitely be lighting a pipe or three tomorrow to celebrate. Not that this is different from any other day. But tomorrow, I'll be doing it with an extra degree of solemnity and companionship with my pipe smoking brothers and sisters around the world. I sincerely hope you can find a moment of peace to light up and celebrate with me.
And your photo profile perfectly match with the camaraderie of this day!
If I keep reading these posts about pipes I'm going to end up buying some more tobacco and picking it up again. Back when I used to smoke my favorite blend was Samarra by GL Pease. I think it is a Virginia/Turkish blend. Grandpa Tiny's tobacco was Sugar Barrel and Carter Hall - they are both pretty plain. Maybe they lost something in translation from the 1960's.
I've only smoked a couple GL Pease blends but they were wonderful classics. I think I need to track some down.
I'm glad you're enjoying the posts. Smoke in peace brother!
Well happy Pipe smoking day to you @winstonalden. Enjoying reading this posts of yours about your club, it's like taking a sneak peak into boys band :) And also, if you ever come to Serbia, well here you can smoke as much you like, all of our clubs, restaurants etc are smoking free :)
Are you serious. People can just smoke anywhere? That sounds like paradise!
It is primarily a man's crowd at these gathering, but there are some female members. My wife doesn't smoke much anymore but she was the one who got me into the hobby in the first place.
Yes :) Well, not ''everywhere'', shopping malls, public state buildings is forbidden. But..restaurants, coffee bars, night bars, clubs...street..you can smoke as much you like :) So I do it with great pleasure..I am smoker but rolling tobacco. Even have my favorite Karelia cigarette tobacco with bit chocolate flavour.
It's so funny - just fifteen minutes after answering your comment yesterday, I met a Serbian girl, in a smoke shop! So I asked her if it was true you could smoke everywhere in your country, and she said, "Pretty much everywhere except for schools and kindergardens."
Serbs, migration people..you can find us everywhere :)))
You see, it's true, paradise for smokers :)
Also, one more in Europe I know is Prague,it has many places that allow smoking inside @winstonalden.
And they have great beers..
It's a pleasure to see some senior citizens of this beautiful tiny world smoking pipe together gossiping joking sharing some glorious moments at the very last stage of their life. I am glad to see that 90 years old grandpaa smoking pipe he is so cute if I haven't assumed wrong because their were two peoples on the frame
He's the one on the right in the first and second photos. When he turned 80, he went to the doctor and asked if he should stop smoking his pipe. The doctor said, "If it hasn't killed you yet, and you enjoy it - why would you?"
Happy International Pipe Smoking Day. I had never heard it. Thanks @winstonalden. I could know about the day by your blog.
Happy smoking day! Hope all your pipe dreams came true ;)