wine | whisky | food | smoking a pipe

Dreaming about a Pipe get together

Dreams – Where do they come from and what doe they mean? Dreams…?!  Dreams can sometimes be very funny, but also very embarrassing.  They say dreams reflects what is in your sub consciousness, protecting us from negative thoughts1.  That I can often recognize.  Like me Dreaming about a Pipe get together recently. (more…)

We’ve been way to busy lately, but its time for a web site update. We’ve added some more products to our shopping pages.  Go and have a look.  Unfortunately we still have access to a limited brand of pipes and tobacco.  We hope to change that but the bureaucracy is quite something since “smoking” is being labeled as BAD and should be discouraged.  So more laws. more rules, and more red tape (oh,…

VR Response to Perfect Smoke

First of all, thank you to all who commented and joined in the discussion of the previous video.  This is therefore a VR Response to Perfect Smoke. Now, the idea of a “Perfect Smoke” (Satori smokes) comes from Fred Hanna’s book, which I’ve read a year ago.  Some of us might even argue there is no such thing, and like Sam Pfotenhauer said, means something different for different people.  But bare…

Handmade vs Factory made Pipes

Today I’m thinking about hand-made pipes versus factory-made pipes.  It started from a video where someone asked why Dunhill pipes are so sought after.  See the video here. (more…)

How to smoke a pipe for the visually impaired

Have you ever thought about how to explain to a visually impaired person how to smoke a pipe.  See the video here. You would think that it is fairly easy, or that it is not different than any other person.  Until you start and realise…. when we explain how to smoke a pipe, we assume they can see the amount of smoke emitting from your pipe or your mouth.  But visually impaired people don’t!  Its…

Balkan or English Blend

Balkan or English Blend? The confusion continues…  Balkan or English Blend?  (Video here in response to PipeLawyer). Many highly rated pipe smokers and blenders have given their opinion on the real difference between a Balkan blend and an English Blend.  And it doesn’t seem as if we have a definitive answer on this question.  One might even ask if we ever will have; or is it even necessary to…

Welcome to my first Pipe Review.  I’m venturing in a new direction in reviewing the pipes I have.  I’m starting with a new pipe I got from Charl Goussard – a beauty at a special price; so I thought it just proper to review it for the generosity of the discount.  YouTube here… I recently read an article from Fred Hanna’s book, The Perfect Smoke, where he discussed the difference between an…

Its that time of the year again.  Its almost a year since I’ve done my top 5 for the year so far – seeing that the year is not over yet. Of course I still stand by all my favourites listed on this page; but for the last 6 months, I’ve been enjoying these 5 tobaccos tremendously.  Some of them is new in the sense that I haven’t had an opportunity to try them out earlier.  Some are old favourites….…

Yes, after a year or so of restraint, PAD (pipe acquisition disorder) strikes again.   I recently bought 3 pipe brands which Iv’e heard and read a lot about, Chacom, Charatan and a local hand-made pipe from Goussard Pipes. They all smokes wonderful – now to decide which pipes must go as I’ve decided last year to stop “hoarding” and only keep the pipes that will fit in my pipe cabinet.   Check out…

The Lord’s Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer While enjoying a very relaxing time in the Kruger National Park, in a bird hide, I was pondering about the past prayer meetings we had about the Lord’s Prayer. We have a tradition in our Chrurch (DRC) to hold prayer meetings the 10 days between the ascension of Jesus Christ and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  This year, the theme was around the Lord’s Prayer and how this…

Again, I was blessed by Pipes & Kayaks with a wonderful Yabo.  I’m still en-thrilled with the generosity and kindness of the pipe community – to go to so much trouble to send a parcel to South Africa.  It is much appreciated and I will cherish these pipes and gifts. I received three brand new pipes – a Parker Knight 391 Zulu, a Savinelli One Zulu Rusticated and a Peterson Rusticated.  Together…

Yabo from Big Al

I can’t describe my happiness.  As if the previous Yabo which I received yesterday, was not am abundance of blessings, I received another Yabo today – from Big Al the Crusher.  See the YT Video here. Again I must voice my gratitude, not only for the gift but also for great guys from the pipe smoking community who goes through the hassle and cost of shipping internationally.  I’m truly grateful…

Review & Stoep Chat

It’s long weekend in South Africa due to a public holiday on Monday (worker’s day).  I’m lucky to have my two daughters and their boy friends here -enjoying a chili winter’s day on my stoep. I’ve introduced pipe smoking to one of my daughter’s boy friends and he enjoyed it thoroughly.  Apparently he was watching my videos… :-0 I asked him to help me with some of the reviews of my recent yabos,…

Yabo from Timothy Hartle

I’ve noticed the trend in the US of sending and receiving YABO’s (Yet Another Box Opening) and wished at some point that we South African Pipe Smoker’s could start something similar.  Of course, shipping internationally is expensive and there’s a level of uncertainty due to customs and local laws. Despite this, I have received one amazing parcel from Timothy Hartle, one of the subscribers to my…

Blending and Fred Hanna

I’m currently reading the book written by Fred Hanna, The Perfect Smoke . Very interesting book; I think one could call it a compilation of essays he wrote about pipe smoking and pursuing that perfect smoke.  (See the video here) The previous essay I read, Fred was telling about his blending journey. A journey full of mistakes and in his view, more failures than successes. However, he did manage…

Compliments for the season and may you all have a blessed 2016. I was asked to give my opinion on a good “cross-over” blend for a new-ish pipe smoker.  First of all, a “cross-over” is generally regarded as a tobacco which is milder in aromas to assist someone to cross over from an aromatic tobacco to the more defined, stronger in flavour, Balkan / English Blends. For some reason, most new pipe…