Good evening All
A bowl of Samuel Gawith’s Squadron Leader in a Blakemar Briars. Seen this little chap on the way home from work. Hope she doesn’t get turned inside out by badgers she is heavily pregnant. It’s a hedgehog and closely related to our native haggis ?
Happy smokes
Ettrick puffer
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I've never come across one in the wild so I guess I'll just have to make do with this
Thanks! Yes, that's how I remember it, although not sure Mr. Walter was on duty when I was there. It was overwhelming and so glad I had the Pounds to buy my Author. I understand their pipes were made for them by Dunhill and others. You didn't find anything that was stamped Astley's with a pit or any flaw. The place was "old English", top quality, gentleman gentleman's shop of another era. On other visits I could only wish they were still fitting gentlemen with proper smoking implements.
He was there when I used to pop in but apart from a couple of their briars I only went in for their #99 Royal Tudor Full Latakia Blend.
I do remember their fantastic collection of carved meerschaum pipes on display and not for sale - not that I was in the market for such things preferring plain uncarved meerschaums to fancy.
I don't know the situation in The States regarding traditional tobacconists but the last time I checked in the UK nearly all the big names from Carnaby Street (
Inderwick's) to the Burlington Arcade (
Sullivan Powell and H. Simmons), from Burlington Gardens (
J. J. Fox) down Old Bond Street (
B&H) to Piccadilly (
Bewlay's), from Jermyn Street (
Charatan and Astleys) to The Haymarket (
Fribourg & Treyer) to Charing Cross Road (
G. Smith & Sons) all the shops I used to visit on Saturday have disappeared.
The pipe tobacco situation here in the UK is not great with even recently introduced blends discontinued after only a few years . . . with so many interesting blends talked about on this forum it makes me a teeny bit sad that I'll never get the chance to try any of them.