Hello fellow pipe smokers,
The sun has set here in Manila. It’s a pleasant 82 degrees, with a light drizzle falling under a black sky. You can feel the thick, humid air sticking to your skin in a clammy embrace. On my 21st-floor balcony, I’m overwhelmed by the city’s soundscape: a cacophony of car horns, the high-pitched screech of tires, a jarring off-key karaoke singer, the angry hisses of stray cats fighting a turf war, a low hum of chattering crowds, punctuated by the distant wail of sirens.
And yet, this is where I find peace. Leaning back in a cushioned chair, with a lantern on a round table beside me, smoking a bowl of Nightcap in my beloved Stanwell pipe. The rich, smoky scent of Latakia, reminiscent of a cozy campfire, hangs heavy in the air, intensified by the warm, flickering candlelight glow from my lantern.
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I've loved pipe smoking since my early twenties, back when I still lived in Sweden. Now, almost 20 years later, I still carry on with a daily bowl on the other side of the world.
I don’t know any pipe smokers where I live – perhaps that’s because it’s damn near impossible to actually find any pipe tobacco to smoke in this country. Luckily, the one shop I know of imports great products, albeit in small quantities.
Here's my modest pipe collection:
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And this is my favorite, a Stanwell H.C. Anderson that I imported from Denmark a few years ago:
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Here's what it looked like when it was new:
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It came with two stems, so you can make it a churchwarden when the mood strikes. I really miss how it looked when it was brand new, and I wonder how I can restore it. I want to get the beautiful rim color back, and the silver detail is now... well, not resembling silver.
Any advice on restoration would be greatly appreciated!
Here are a few of my favorite pipe tobaccos:
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That's all from me, folks.
Feel free to drop a line here, I'd be happy to make new pipe friends. If, by any microscopic chance, there's someone here who happens to be living in the Philippines, it would be great to smoke a bowl together sometime.
Best wishes,
Makulit
