Suggestion box.

It's good to talk.

I'm getting an extra SIM card to go in a spare phone, so that we can put a contact number on the blog and any future website. It might make any future flyers a bit more accessible than they are currently.

Make a proper website.

Upgrading from the blog to a real website with it's own domain name will look a bit more "permanent". Until then, I will get round to putting a few more photographs on the blog...it does look a bit dull at the moment!

Is a weekend better?

I originally thought that a mid-week evening might be easier for people who already had family commitments at the weekend. Would you prefer a Saturday afternoon (for example) so you can have an excuse to avoid a family commitment?

Is a name change in order?

Does "Edinburgh" in the name deter folk from outside Edinburgh? Would Scottish Pipe Club be more appropriate? I'll admit that EPC was the first name that came into my head...if I lived in Glasgow we'd probably be the GPC!

Can we come to you?

Following on from the above item. If you can't get to The Cuddie Brae easily, do you have a favourite local venue that we can use? There's bound to be plenty of pipe-friendly places in The Borders, Fife or Glasgow for starters. Personally, I've got no problem travelling and appreciate that Myles makes a pretty long round trip to each meeting.

Everything that has gone out so far has specified the current time and venue, so having an overlap period might be a good compromise initially. Keep the second Thursday of the month at The Cuddie Brae with a weekend meeting scheduled for the last weekend of the month and have a "road trip" one Saturday or Sunday every two months?

As this is the first Ppe Club I've ever started (in fact it's the only organisation, of any description, that I've started), I'm still learning as I go along...so any other suggestions would be gratefully received.

February's meetings...a post mortem!

February has been a very quiet month.

The regular meeting on the 10th, despite the presence of The Scotsman's photographer, was disappointing. However, I hope that as the evenings start to get a bit lighter and warmer, the numbers might start to creep upwards.

Conversely, whilst Sunday's meeting (to mark IPSD) was still quiet (just Myles and myself) we had a pleasant couple of hours of enjoyable smoking. Additionally, Myles made a couple of good suggestions as to how we might attract extra numbers. I'll post some thoughts in the next entry.

Many thanks to Myles for the clay Churchwarden...it's displayed nicely alongside my other pipes. My wife said it looks very "Gandalf" (is that even a real adjective?). I might try a little Best Brown #2 Flake in it next weekend.

We've made the paper!

After sending out a raft of emails to various papers, trying to promote both EPC and IPSD, we've finally hit the presses!

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/features/Celebrating-International-Pipe-Day-Up.6718434.jp

Carey's Pipe & Tobacco Shop

Carey's Pipe & Tobacco Shop Have got a great new website, with a very useful feature "The Knowledge" a map showing the location of pipe related events and places.

Two meetings for February.

There will be two meetings in February: The first at 7pm on Thursday 10th will be our regular evening meeting. The second will be from 2.30pm on Sunday 20th to coincide with International Pipe Smoking Day. Both will be held at The Cuddie Brae as usual.

Feel free to come to either (or both), as they are open to all.

If the Sunday afternoon turns out to be a more popular option, I am open to changing the day/time of the regular monthly meetings...all feedback and suggestions are welcome, as I want to make EPC as accessible as possible.

Corn Cobs.

I finally got around to trying my first corn cob pipe last night...and was pleasantly surprised!

It was a Missouri Meerschaum Diplomat, with a bent stem, filled with St Bruno Ready Rubbed (a blend I'm very familiar with). I picked the St Bruno as I thought it was a good idea to try something I already knew, so that I'd be able to discern what difference, if any, the cob made.

I left the supplied Medico 6mm paper filter in and enjoyed a very nice, cool, dry smoke! The Diplomat is finished with Plaster of Paris, for a smooth bowl and whilst it's about the same weight as my two small Petersons, at 46g, it felt a bit heavier when clenching. This might be due to the stem having only a slight bend, relative to it's length.

Up until now, I've not bothered with a cob...having been able to pick up quite a few good quality "estate" briar pipes for not much more...but now I can see why they are so frequently recommended as "starter" pipes.

I was so impressed that I'm going to get a few more, along with some spare stems, so that if anyone at a meeting wants to try a new blend, they've got a neutral platform to try it in.

January meeting.

Last night's meeting, whilst again being small, was a good one!

Apologies were received from John, Alan and Graeme. There have been quite a few more enquiries so, with fingers crossed, numbers should creep up soon.

The weather stayed reasonably kind...dry and fairly mild, although the easterly wind was getting a bit chilly by the end of the night.

It was nice to put a face to a name when Myles arrived. We very quickly covered the table with a large selection of pipes and tobacco. Myles admired my new Peterson 303 Standard System whilst I was very envious of his new Vauen Churchwarden (see above), a very elegant pipe that looks perfect for flakes! I think I need to get myself one.

I'm currently enjoying some of the generous sample, of Samuel Gawith's Kendal Cream Flake, that Myles gave me. The 1792 Flake might need to be saved for a small bowl after a meal! Hopefully, Myles will enjoy the Peter Stokkebye's Luxury Bullseye Flake as much as I do...I know he liked the Peterson's 2009 Special Reserve he tried last night.

As the side door of The Cuddie Brae was apparently "out of order", we were left in peace as all the cigarette smokers were just huddling at the front door in the cold, whilst we enjoyed the benefit of the heaters at the end of the building.