August meeting (2).

I was hoping to post a live update but whilst The Cuddie Brae has wi-fi, it's a bit patchy outside :(

Four of us made it today: Colin, John and myself were happy to welcome a new face...Graham has been smoking a pipe for years but has only recently discovered how much wider the choice is nowadays.

John and I tried some of the Mac Baren 7 Seas Cherry Blend: very nice although it might have benefited from allowing it to dry a bit before smoking. It's a mild blend but has a very pleasant room note. Colin and Graham sampled the Mac Baren Navy Flake and both gave it a solid thumbs up! I thought they might as I already think it's a lovely smoke. I think there will be at least a couple of tins being bought in the near future.

I sold several raffle tickets for the Peterson's 314 but will carry the draw over until at least the next meeting, so please come and try your luck :)

We can come to you.

Despite the name, this club is open to anyone from outside Edinburgh as well!
If you know of a venue with a smoking area that's reasonably sheltered (personally, I'm not a big fan of smoking in the rain), please let me know.

Saturday 27/08/11?

I'd like to try another weekend meeting, so if you're free during the afternoon on Saturday 27th August, feel free to come along.

Thanks to Gawith Hoggarth & Co.

A very big thanks is due to Rob Young, the Managing Director of Gawith Hoggarth and Company.

The parcel containing the goodies arrived today: for members to sample at future meetings, we have a 50g tin of MacBaren's Navy Flake and a 40g pouch of Mac Baren's 7 Seas "Cherry Blend" (which is a new addition to their range). The next raffle prize, also included in the package, is a lovely Peterson's Smooth 314 Standard System (medium size bowl, with a P-lip)! :-) I'm a confirmed fan of Peterson's so I know the winner is going to have a lovely pipe that will last them many years. As before, tickets will be priced at £2 each with ALL funds raised going towards future tobacco purchases for the club. My initial thought is that we should sell at least 20 tickets before drawing the winner of the pipe (and yes you can buy as many as you want lol).

Additionally, Rob has also included some catalogues: their own and Mac Baren's tobacco ranges and the Peterson's catalogue of their blends and pipes (that's the Christmas "wish list" easy to fill this year). So we'll have plenty of inspiration for future blends to try.

‪Pipe Smoking on YouTube

‪dubinthedam's Channel‬‏ - YouTube

Until very recently, I've been a bit guilty of overlooking YouTube as a resource for pipe smokers. However, my new phone's features include a YouTube app so I've started exploring a bit more.

Myles recommended dubinthedam to me a while ago and now that I've made the connection between Firecured and his YouTube channel (thanks to Ira at Pipe Pulpit), I think I'll be checking out a lot more videos in the future.

Summertime :)

Eventually, here's a photo of The Cuddie Brae in sunshine.

You'll also notice that I've finally got around to changing the header photo...if you look closely, the smoking shelter is at the right hand end of the building.

Smoking area.

Here's the smoking area at The Cuddie Brae. As the front door gets more direct sunlight (particularly in the evening), we usually get the shelter to ourselves.

More raffle prizes! A.K.A. The fine art of blagging lol

A few weeks ago, I thought I'd take a chance and contacted Mac  Baren Tobacco to see if they would be willing to sponsor us with a tin or two...to use either as raffle prizes, or to be available for members to try a different blend.

This morning, I was very pleasantly surprised to receive a phone call from the Managing Director of Gawith, Hoggarth & Company (Mac Baren's UK distributor).

Not only are they very happy to provide some Mac Baren blends for us to sample...and some from other blenders, including themselves, in the future...but they are also sending a prize for the next raffle! I will post details and photos when it arrives*.

*I know what's coming, but I'm going to tease you! :)

Date change.

Due to a diary conflict, I can't make next Thursday's meeting. Would anyone be interested in meeting on the Friday evening (12th)?