The Lost Pipe Shops of London (video)

[Kobold]

This was pretty interesting. I had no idea at the time but my wife and I passed the building where Astleys was located everyday when we were in England.

 

[crossroads]

I used to buy tobacco in Fribourg & Treyer, they still sold snuff in those white screw top tubs. I’ve also smoked Benson & Hedges Original Virginia Flake ‘OVF’ in those oblong cream coloured tins. That tobacco was sublime, by far the best Virginia I’ve smoked. I’m pretty sure that I bought it in a swanky B& H showroom on Piccadilly not the premises shown in the video.

 

[huckleberry]

A great post.



I recently witnessed this first hand with a group of younger pipe smokers that had fine pipes, tobacco and accessories. If I were to draw a parallel to cigar resurgence they were not smoking .50¢ “Dutch Masters” but $20 hand rolled Nicaraguan cigars. It was actually refreshing to see them really investing in the hobby with determination and class. Hopefully it truly is a new trend.

My local B&M store owner told me he is getting a lot of new Pipe smokers from the ranks of the Vap people. He told me the younger new pipe smokers said they felt like idiots walking around smoking "Square Boxes".

Makes sense to me...

 

[Searock Fan]

All this talk makes me wish for the old days. I swear I think the blends I bought 50 or so years ago were better than what I can get now.

 

[huckleberry]

All this talk makes me wish for the old days. I swear I think the blends I bought 50 or so years ago were better than what I can get now.

I agree with what you say about the Best tobacco being back in the day, but I also wonder how much my ability to taste has diminished as the years have passed....

 

[Terry Lennox]

I used to buy tobacco in Fribourg & Treyer, they still sold snuff in those white screw top tubs. I’ve also smoked Benson & Hedges Original Virginia Flake ‘OVF’ in those oblong cream coloured tins. That tobacco was sublime, by far the best Virginia I’ve smoked. I’m pretty sure that I bought it in a swanky B& H showroom on Piccadilly not the premises shown in the video.

GL Pease has written about B&H's Original Virginia Flake. I believe he opened an old tin on Instagram some years ago.

 

[Terry Lennox]

I really enjoyed this video below as well. A visit to White's of Southampton.