UKFoPC (update).

Brian Mills, President of the UK Federation of Pipe Clubs, has been in touch with further proposals for the British Championships. As these develop I will put an extra page on the blog dedicated to UKFoPC.

Additionally, Brian has put together ideas for other events for next year, including:

May (26th) Madrid, XXII Campionato de Espana.
June (date tbc). Barcelona Cup in Pipe Smoking.
July (Sun 15th). British Championships, Newark & Nottingham Showground.
October. World Championships, Seville.

If you are interested in any of these, let me know and I will give you Brian's contact details.

Please note the change of date for the British Championships.

British Championship of Pipe Smoking 2012

Brian Mills, President of UK Federation of Pipe Clubs, has been in touch with some more details.
Confirmed date is Sunday 15th July 2012, at the Newark Showground.

If you are interested, please get in touch and we can organise the logistics for getting Scottish pipe smokers represented at this event.

I will update as I get firmer details.

November meeting.

Apologies for the delay in posting, work has been pretty hectic recently.

November meeting was another quiet one; just John and myself. However, we had a nice sunny, relatively mild afternoon (at least until the sun went down).

I concentrated on my new Peterson's Kildare, with some St Bruno. John was smoking Mac Baren Navy Flake in his Parker billiard.

For the forthcoming December meeting, don't worry about the weather...we've got shelter and heating and tea and coffee (or something stronger) are available at the bar.

Help. Can you identify a mystery blend?

I've been asked by a reader of the blog (Jason, from Tasmania in Australia) for help identifying (and possibly sourcing) a blend called "Caledonia Medium".

It was the favourite blend of Jason's late Uncle for many years and he used to get it from Herbert Love in Queensferry Street (now closed unfortunately).

If anyone recognises the name and can suggest a possible replacement source, please let me know and I will let Jason know.

I'm guessing that if Caledonia Medium wasn't blended by Herbert Love themselves, it might have been a re-labelled bulk blend from one of the major suppliers. If this is the case, it might be available elsewhere under a different name.

Thanks in advance for any help.

UK Federation of Pipe Clubs.

We are now officially a member of the UK Federation of Pipe Clubs.

Brian Mills, the President, has been in touch and has suggested as a first step towards reviving the Federation (which had lapsed a bit since the smoking bans came in to force) a weekend event next summer, somewhere in central England.

As I get more information, I will pass it on.

Can't wait?

Next meeting is scheduled for Saturday 12th November, which feels ages away! If anyone fancies meeting for a pipe and a pint (or beverage of your choice) before then, on the weekend of the 5th/6th, feel free to get on touch.

October meeting.

The light, persistent drizzle didn't deter Myles and myself from a pleasant afternoon's pipe smoking!
We had a bit of a Mac Baren themed meeting: Myles tried the 7 Seas Cherry Blend and I tried some "Mixture, Scottish Blend"...both of us being very happy with the experience, although Myles prefers the slightly stronger flavours of Cherry Ambrosia. We also got through some St Bruno and Orlik's Bull's Eye.
We both showed off our latest pipes...my Peterson's Kildare and Myles' Freehand Missouri Meerschaum corn cob.