My New Plug Pipe

I've had a busy weekend, some of which involved cleaning up some pipes I've had waiting around for some time now - most of this was done in the evenings once the outside work was done for the day. Well, by lunchtime today I'd caught up with everything and decided it was the perfect time to sit down in the sun for a couple of hours and try one of my newly cleaned up treasures.
So, I made a giant mug of tea, selected the pipe, decided on the tobacco and headed for the garden. The pipe I chose was a rather nice old Meer I recently acquired, but did not hold out much hope for as a smoker (the draw was quite tight, not something I'm overly enamoured with as a rule) - but, I figured that, if it didn't work out, I had time to select another and try again.
The tobacco of choice was Murray's Warrior Plug, a bit of a favourite, as it is a reliable smoke for any occasion. I sliced a few flakes, prepped 'em, loaded the pipe and set in for the long haul, or, as I expected, the quick sprint, before changing for another....
I lit up, sat back, sipped tea, let the sun change all my fat cells to vitamin D, sipped more tea, sipped smoke.........sublime smoke. Warrior had never tasted this good, sweet, tangy, smooth, full bodied, cool, and tantalising. I sipped more tea, sat further back into the chair, admired my Meer, queried all my preconceptions about a pipes draw, and drifted off into sunny heaven for an hour and a half. A few relights, the odd tamp, and bit of a stir near the end, and then fine ash (first time in a long time). I heaved a very contented sigh. Looked at my pipe, a new, firm friend - my new Plug Pipe, for Warrior and Yaughtsman.
It has a deep conical chamber, a gorgeous orific bit, and the perfect draw - feels good in the hand and is easy on the eye - and, being Meer, it's ready to go again as soon as I finish the bowl. It really does not get any better than this - it's the little things, the small pleasures, when they all come together to form that moment of perfection, that make life just dandy.
The pipe:

Michael, no rack, just pipes scattered around on book shelfs, and other places. Definitely no figural collection as such, as I'm not really a fan of them - most are just gaudy or too 'busy' to my eyes. However, very rarely one grabs my attention, like this one - the age, the stem, the quality of the carving, the subject, the need for a good waxing!! I have two meer figurals - the rest are plain. I also have a couple of briar figurals, but they are the exception - again, the subject, quality of carving do it for me. Usually, I'm a plain, unadorned, kinda pipe fella ;-)
As for tobacco and pipe combo, that's easy. I only have two tins open at any time - one english, and one not English. The pipe is chosen, and then whichever tin - sometimes, it's the tin, then the pipe. I don't really have pipes for blends per se, it all depends on mood - I'll smoke most anything in whatever is to hand. When I feel serious, I'll match pipe to tobacco - as in this case. Make sense?
Delro, thanks for the comment, I appreciate it
HunterTRW, thanks - I think this one will serve me well, indeed. I'm delighted it worked out, because as nice as it is, it would be a shame to leave it to gather dust.
Also, you have a sharp eye, but it's not the same as the one in my avatar - The avatar pipe is a calabash, early 1900's, with really exceptional carving - I've never come across anything like it before or since. The pipe above caught my eye because it was so similar - but, sadly, the carving is nowhere near as good, and, it's not a calabash (which is not really an issue). I think I just like these really old pipes .

Missed the edit window.
Michael, I just remembered, I actually have three other meer figurals! Apologies for misleading you. However, they are all late 19th century, early 20th century jobbies, with wooden stems. Big pipes, very deep bowls, and quite gorgeous to my eyes.
Hmmm! Maybe I should put 'em on a rack and choose the pipe based on the face, as you suggest ;-)

Josh, the tea depends on the mood, and, to a lesser degree, the tobacco.
In this instance, as it was a stout, solid blend, it was good old Indian black tea - no sugar, or milk. For softer blends I like green tea, and for a really gentle Virginia a White (Silver Needle) tea does the job admirably.
Sometimes, it's just coffee, no matter what the tobacco - there are days when nothing else will do - strong, black and unsweetened ;-)