Smoking as a Fine Art by A. A. Milne

[Chasing Embers]

Milne's view of a pipe smoker as performing this activity as naturally and matter of factly as breathing runs counter to a large percentage of this forum's posted content

Not at all. Easier than RYO, and less messy than many tobacco products. Just fill, light, and smoke.

 

[Zamora]

Not at all. Easier than RYO, and less messy than many tobacco products. Just fill, light, and smoke.

At first I was so nervous about stuff like packing and avoiding tongue bite, but honestly I've found packing to be quite intuitive and had tongue bite worse than a mild itch for a minute. I find cigars to be much more fussy. If you mess up backing you can just fix that with a pipe tool, but if you mess up cutting a cigar you probably can't fix that. I've never gotten nicotine sickness from pipes either, but I've had some pretty bad cases from cigars. Then of course there's the issue of storage

 

[Chasing Embers]

If you mess up packing you can just fix that with a pipe tool

If no pipe tool is available, you can always just smack the open chamber against your palm to loosen the pack.

 

[Zamora]

If no pipe tool is available, you can always just smack the open chamber against your palm to loosen the pack.

Yep, easy to improvise

 

[Singularis]

Such interesting observations about pipe smoking in his time! Though I fall somewhere in the middle, I'm likely slightly closer to those trendy lads ogling over their white spots than I am to A.A. Milne's smoking philosophy. I love my pipes (mostly affordable estates) and I love the gently aged tobaccos smoked in them -- hardly ever smoking the same blend two days in a row. It's a hobby more than a habit for sure.

 

[Doctor Chopper]

I always like Winnie the Pooh, and wasn't quite sure why. Now I know.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Fred_Scott]

Elric, your post is a delightful throwback and a reminder of the timeless nature of our hobby. The mention of A.A. Milne's encounter with tobacco at such a young age and his progression to pipes at Cambridge really highlights the personal journey many of us take with tobacco. It's fascinating how the choice of pipe and tobacco can become almost as much a part of one's identity as the academic disciplines one chooses to pursue. As for the pipes being 'compulsory,' it seems some traditions never fade, do they? I wonder if Milne's 'shilling briar' parallels what many consider the perfect 'starter' pipe today.

 

[coys]

Well that was a fun read. I’m sure he would enjoy seeing the price of those pipes bearing the white spots today, and all our attitudes about fancy tobaccos and storing them up in closets for times that may or may not ever come.

I think folks like Milne, Tolkien, Lewis etc seem to have been those who had one or two things they liked and just kept with them.

Probably saw no need to turn it into a hobby, as we do, rather just enjoyed the smoking.