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Over the past couple of weeks I've been mightily enjoying English blends, as they perfectly fit the current weather here in South-Eastern Ontario with the gloomy, dark, snow-laden skies. You can say I've pretty much re-kindled my love affair with the old Murray's era Dunhill blends (Nightcap, London Mixture), found some amazing vintage Orientals (Dunbar, Caledonian 466) and touched base with the long-neglected yet outstanding #10, #78 and #524 blends from Carol over at Pipeworks and Wilke.
Some months ago, I had received a mind-blowing YABO from another forum member, which contained among other goodies 50g of G.L. Pease's Westminster blend. I had it jarred up and almost forgotten about it due to the recent Dunhill-mania that had grabbed my attention. Until today. I had never tried Westminster ever before, since you can't find Pease tins here in Canada (a shame!!), and also had never heard anything about it except "great English", which is pretty much the standard thing you hear about all of Mr. Pease's myriads of blends.
So this morning I found the jar with Westminster and thought "hey let's try this one instead". After all, there was light flurries drifting in and out, and the morning air was heavy with fog - no better time for an English. Hence, I loaded up my 1967 Brigham 1-Dot Size 3 Dublin, sat back in my comfy chair outside, wrapped in a thick blue blanket, sat down with a steaming hot cup of Brazilian coffee and a good book, and prepared to put light to the bowl.
You've probably come across the impression "love at first sight"? The moment when you lay eyes on something or someone so outstandingly beautiful that the world skips a beat and everything else seizes to exist, and you know that your reality has forever changed...
... Well, I can now attest that there is such a thing as "love at first light", too. At that very moment, when the warm yellow flame gently caressed the top-layer of Westminster, and the tobacco took that first deep red glow, and the first wave of smoke hit my palate, everything else seized to exist. The world stopped, not only for a heartbeat, but for a good 45 minutes. I was under a spell, cast by Westminster, and it had taken me out of the blue. Only after I finished the smoke, did I realize that I was covered in snow, my coffee was frozen, and the book I had taken to read while smoking still lay untouched on the side-table. Like "Little Briar Rose" awaking after 100 years of sleep, I stunningly looked around and snapped back into the hear and now, asking myself what had just happened.
Wow! Thank you Mr. Pease. This is truly the *best* English I've ever had, and probably ever will have. How can "Penzance" be so hyped when something like Westminster exists? Why have I never before heard of Westminster? Time to stock up - I've found "my" English, and that in such an unexpected way!
Some months ago, I had received a mind-blowing YABO from another forum member, which contained among other goodies 50g of G.L. Pease's Westminster blend. I had it jarred up and almost forgotten about it due to the recent Dunhill-mania that had grabbed my attention. Until today. I had never tried Westminster ever before, since you can't find Pease tins here in Canada (a shame!!), and also had never heard anything about it except "great English", which is pretty much the standard thing you hear about all of Mr. Pease's myriads of blends.
So this morning I found the jar with Westminster and thought "hey let's try this one instead". After all, there was light flurries drifting in and out, and the morning air was heavy with fog - no better time for an English. Hence, I loaded up my 1967 Brigham 1-Dot Size 3 Dublin, sat back in my comfy chair outside, wrapped in a thick blue blanket, sat down with a steaming hot cup of Brazilian coffee and a good book, and prepared to put light to the bowl.
You've probably come across the impression "love at first sight"? The moment when you lay eyes on something or someone so outstandingly beautiful that the world skips a beat and everything else seizes to exist, and you know that your reality has forever changed...
... Well, I can now attest that there is such a thing as "love at first light", too. At that very moment, when the warm yellow flame gently caressed the top-layer of Westminster, and the tobacco took that first deep red glow, and the first wave of smoke hit my palate, everything else seized to exist. The world stopped, not only for a heartbeat, but for a good 45 minutes. I was under a spell, cast by Westminster, and it had taken me out of the blue. Only after I finished the smoke, did I realize that I was covered in snow, my coffee was frozen, and the book I had taken to read while smoking still lay untouched on the side-table. Like "Little Briar Rose" awaking after 100 years of sleep, I stunningly looked around and snapped back into the hear and now, asking myself what had just happened.
Wow! Thank you Mr. Pease. This is truly the *best* English I've ever had, and probably ever will have. How can "Penzance" be so hyped when something like Westminster exists? Why have I never before heard of Westminster? Time to stock up - I've found "my" English, and that in such an unexpected way!
