Where have they all gone?
I went down to the village yesterday to sit in the sun and enjoy a coffee.
The strange thing is that I’m not really a coffee drinker despite having a reputation of making an excellent cuppa at home. But a coffee in the village is a wee break from the house and a chance to catch up on local gossip. And Penny loves the place too and is usually bombarded with treats!
There are two general purpose / tobacconists in the village and I tend to think of them as the big one and the small one. To spread my largesse I tend to buy my baccy in the small one and the bulk of cigarettes in the big one.
I had already been in the small one [which is also the Post Office] to draw down Herself’s pension. The bloke behind the counter was very concerned about me – he had been away for a couple of weeks and had returned to find they were out of pipe tobacco. He was most concerned for my welfare and had ordered in a large supply especially for me. Apparently I am his only customer for pipe baccy.
Anyhows I was having my coffee when I was joined by Jack, the owner of the big shop. The subject of pipe smoking came up in the course of random conversation. I didn’t mention that I usually buy my stash in his rival’s emporium but he must have guessed by now. He mentioned that his sales of pipe tobacco were very small. He does a fine trade in cigarettes so there’s no loss on him, but he started naming the people in the area who smoke a pipe. Four or five names! And that included myself.
So that begs the question that no one seems to be able to answer – what happened to the popularity of the pipe? We are becoming as rare as an honest politician. There was a time when pipes were common. Two of our previous politicians were famous for their pipes – Jack Lynch and Neil Blaney. Now it is an extreme rarity to see anyone enjoying a puff. I honestly cannot recall the last time I saw a pipe.
Is it that pipes are too much trouble? Is the cigarette is just too convenient?
?
I see it as the march of time. Things just change and few notice, probably because it is such a slow process.
Think about the 20's 30's 40's. Newsreels of meetings, strikes, men leaving factories, street scenes generally and almost every head had a hat of some type. And there were many types.
And every body had a jacket, a waistcoat, a cardigan, a shirt (and a tie) and a vest (usually with sleeves and buttons to the neck) all worn at the SAME TIME. They also wrapped up really warm in the winter. Nowadays men of all ages wear adult baby clothes in silly colours and scimpy materials.
What will the future hold? You're welcome to it.
That's very true about clothing fashion. Mind you, jackets, cardigans, ties and the like are still common enough. I have a selection of flat caps that are given an airing when it's pissing rain.
I don't see smoking as falling into quite the same category. There was a perception one time that cigars were associated with wealth, pipes were for the older men and cigarettes were for The Common Man [I once got berated by a stranger for being "too young for a pipe"! I asked him why and he didn't have an answer].
My theory is that the cigarette is just too convenient and people don't seem to have the time any more for the simple pleasures.
I have never managed to get the tongue bite under control.
Welcome Betty! To be honest, it's so long since I started on the pipe [50 years or so] that I don't remember my initial experiences.
I do remember two things – the smoke was hot and I kept sucking horrible goo into my mouth. I solved them at the time by using a filtered Ronson pipe [now sadly no longer available] which cooled the smoke and also trapped any liquid. There are still filtering pipes available such as the Falcon.
As much as I love my pipe I only smoke it when at home. I don't live in a city, everything is a drive from my place, it's pretty hard to pack and light my pipe while doing 100km/h on roads full of potholes. It's a convenience thing.
"it's pretty hard to pack and light my pipe while doing 100km/h on roads full of potholes" Nonsense. It just takes practice.
Unfortunately, especially during inclement weather, the smoking Apartheid isn't really conducive to pipe smoking, which I see as more of an endurance event, as opposed to the relatively quick sprint of a prefab snout. The same with vaping.
That's why I think pipe smokers have suffered more than other tobacco aficionados, in that a rushed 5 minute salvo under a smoking shelter is in no way a substitute for a leisurely but pensive half hour indoors.
Having said that, if it hadn't been for the smoking Apartheid, I might not have got around to purchasing a pipe in the first place. I was fairly ambivalent towards smoking until war was declared on me and I suddenly found myself creating an ever expanding tobacco/nicotine portfolio.
But that's unintended consequences for you.
The smoking pogrom is full of unintended consequences. Ironically there was a time when they taxed pipe tobacco at a lower rate as it wasn't seen as so dangerous. I find it strange though that I have never seen a pipe outside the coffee shop which is a very relaxing spot. Lots of cigarettes but never a pipe.
Cigarettes seem much more convenient to today's younger generations – and by younger, I mean one generation below me and earlier – therefore @50 and younger.
Having been brought up (or dragged up, or left to find their own way) in eras when instant gratification is the zeitgeist, they have never learned how much a pleasure can be increased by the anticipation felt during a short period of preparation. It's sad, really.