July 26, 2014

Zestful Zutphen 2014

Panoramic view of Zutphen

This year the road to the annual Zutphen-meeting was a bit bumpy. Willem Schimmel, the tobacconist where the meeting is always held, was full of ideas and enthusiasm but a lot of Dutch/Belgian pipe smokers forum-members said they could not come. It turned out that the original date was the day after Fortarock and for quite a few of them a meeting after a day of metal and beer was just too much. So Willem set a new date with the help of Mark and about 30 folks responded. Still not as much as last year but enough pipe-smokers to make a cosy, smoke-filled day.

Left in the back: Freek and myself

Unfortunately one of the forum-members who could not make it was my dear friend Ed. Which meant that we all had to do without his pleasant company but also meant that I could not drive along with him. So I was forced to take the train, not a long trip, only 22 minutes. From earlier blogposts you could know that I believe the Dutch railways are pretty sh*tty. To my utter amazement I arrived without any delays precisely on time! When I stepped out of the train-wagon onto the platform I almost immediately heard an unfamiliar voice behind me: “You must be Arno!” I turned around and saw a rather big, middle aged man who turned out to be forum-member Freark (real name: Freek). “I hope you know how to walk to Schimmel because I really have no clue..” he said. Of course I knew the way, it was not my first time in Zutphen. So while chatting we strolled through the streets to our mutual destination.

Overview of Willem’s smoking room

When we arrived at Schimmel we clearly were not the first. As with every meeting I attended so far the first minutes mainly consisted of shaking hands. Luckily in the smoking lounge on the first floor there was a chair free to sit on. I filled up my Dunhill cherrywood shape pipe with some Rattray’s Hall O’ the Wynd, a full flavoured excellent Virginia with just a pinch of perique. Paul sat beside me and I told him about my clumsiness with the Dunhill I was smoking. From the first moment I bought it at the Lohmar show the stem was difficult to screw off. I already applied some graphite from a pencil on the tenon but one fateful day the stem just would not come off. While silently cursing I grabbed a towel and a pipe wrench (a fitting name) and wrapped the towel around the stem to keep it from harm. Then I carefully screwed off the mouthpiece and just as it got loose I slipped and made a deep scratch just beside the towel on the vulnerable ebonite.. Argh! A couple of months earlier forum-member Arjen had fixed the mouthpiece of a GBD prince for me so I mailed him with some pictures of the scratch and the question if he could repair it. Of course he could! After a short while I had it back in pristine condition! Then I saw Klaas entering the already smoky room together with his lovely wife Yvonne. She “sacrificed” herself so Klaas could be with us, the darling, and brought a huge camera with her which she aimed at us again and again.

Freek and Jos

Opposite me sat Wilfred with a big beard. Normally he is cleanly shaven in summertime and has facial hair in the winter. However he decided at the beginning of spring to just let it grow with a great result for which I envy him a bit. My beard is almost non-existent.. But I had something for him. Before my trip to the Semois-region this year he asked if I could bring a pack of Didot’s Langue de Chien so of course I bought it for him. As an extra “thank you” he gave me an old tin of no longer available De Graaff’s Seamen’s Club, (extra) matured dark Virginia which I often use in my home-mixtures. And there was more generosity! Jos approached me with the tale that he had been at a market in Amsterdam, where he lives, and had to think about me. He saw a stand which sold little signs for in the house like “kitchen” and asked the vendor if he also had a “smoking area” sign. Unfortunately he was out of stock, otherwise Jos would have bought it for me. Last week I received an e-mail from him saying that he was able to buy the sign, he is going to give it to me at the next big meeting in Heukelum. Nice! Then to find out where to hang the sign, I don’t think Ellen will appreciate it when I put it on the front door..

Inside the basement of the Stadsbrouwerij

As an extra activity Willem had organized a tasting at the local Grand Café/brewery in Zutphen; Stadsbrouwerij Cambrinus. Just a short walk from the store across the public square. Upon entering the Grand Café we were led below to the basement and greeted by the friendly master-brewer. We all sat down at tables with at each place 6 little glasses upon a placemat with numbers. One of the first things he told us was that the basement we sat in was 800 years old! Wow! And the nice thing is, in that time it was already a brewery so the walls must have been soaked with the fumes of alcohol. No smoking fumes sadly, it was not allowed.. Damn laws.. Anyway, the stories of the master-brewer were so good and vividly told that I totally forgot about my pipes. The tasting of beers went from the lighter beers to the dark and heavy ones, similar to Paul’s whisky tasting I once attended. And with each new beer the master-brewer told a story about its origins, very interesting. Paul himself did not want most of the beers, he still had to drive, so the content of a lot of his glasses disappeared in the bellies of Johnny (the Undertaker) and myself. I am no beer-expert but all beers were decent (I am spoiled by all the great Belgian beers I guess..) with a couple that were really nice. The glasses were small but afterwards I could really notice the alcohol coursing through my veins..

Stanley’s son Arthur

During the tasting a forum-member joined us that I had not seen for a while. The man with the most difficult nickname of all, Gypscoprotheres. Try to say that 10 times in a row. His real name is Stanley and he is an utmost friendly, good bloke. Reason for his long absence was the fact that he and his stunning Brazilian wife had become parents of a son called Arthur. To celebrate that Stanley had ordered a General MacArthur corncob pipe with the date of birth engraved. He took a picture of Arthur together with the pipe and posted it on the forum, but I could not help myself doing a tiny bit of photoshop to include the iconic glasses and cap.

Robin

Back at the store our youngest member, Robin, proudly showed off his new Zippo. It had a pin-up lady from the 1940’s on it which is something he obviously loves. When he opened the lid I saw it was an ordinary Zippo insert, not a pipe Zippo insert with a round hole in it. I know that one can freely exchange a regular one for a pipe one so I asked Willem, who just passed by, if he had a new pipe insert. He mentioned Robin to follow him and later I saw to my delight that the pin-up Zippo now had a pipe insert. And that was not the only luck Robin had. Downstairs he came to me with a tin of Capstan he just bought and asked if it was MacBaren made or Orlik made. After a good look I came to the conclusion that it was Orlik made, the lucky bastard!

At the Chinese restaurant. I am already eating..

Just after 6 o’clock Rudi came into the smoking room and said it was enough for today, we had to leave. So we thanked Willem and his friendly ladies for the great day and went outside. A small group was left and we all were hungry. Mark knew a nearby Chinese restaurant with a buffet option which sounded great to my ears. Once inside we all sat down and drinks were ordered but before they arrived I already went to the buffet and started eating while the others looked a bit strange at me. Well, when I am hungry I don’t like to wait and a buffet is a buffet, just go and get it. I am not really a conventional type. After dinner we all said goodbye to each other and together with Wilfred I walked back to the station which made waiting for the next train more enjoyable. On the way home the clouds broke open with loads of rain so I looked wet as a drowning rat when I finally stood dripping before Ellen. Luckily all day it had been dry so I was not complaining!

The Zutphen meeting 2014 group

I hope I am not forgetting someone but I would to thank Willem (and his ladies) and Mark for organising the meeting, Martin and Freek for the samples and the rest of the group for the nice conversations and excellent day! All pictures you see were made by Yvonne, Klaas, Stanley and Janneman.

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June 7, 2014

Semois expedition 2014

The group of the first Semois expedition in 2011

At the Wuustwezel meeting this year I talked to Jan about him organizing another Semois expedition. The last one had been in 2011 and was my introduction to the unique Belgian leaf, the breathtaking landscape of the Ardennes and the excellent beers of our Southern neighbours. I had such a blast then that I wanted to repeat that experience. So somewhere in the first part of this year a date was picked: 24 May. We would meet again before the castle in Boullion and then make a trip past the remaining Semois producers.

Our holiday-house in Corbion

Back in 2011 Shaun drove together with me and I stayed the evening and night at his place so of course I asked if he wanted to join me again. Unfortunately (for me) he was in the process of moving into a bigger apartment with his charming girlfriend so he could not make it. I wished him all the best and started to think about other options. Perhaps a bed & breakfast? Or a simple hotel room? Hmm.. I knew that from The Netherlands two other forum members would join the group: Rob and Teunis. Perhaps it would be fun (and cheaper) if we together could rent a holiday-house somewhere in the Semois region and stay for the weekend. So I sent a message to the both of them and luckily they loved the idea. After a short search I stumbled upon a few suitable holiday-homes for a decent price. In the end I choose one in Corbion (after the approval of Rob and Teunis) where Vincent Manil and J.P. Couvert reside.

Friday 23 May: At 3 p.m. the holiday-house would be available and it was a 4 hour drive from my home (without traffic-jams). So to be on the safe side I decided I would drive away from home at about 10 a.m. I woke up pretty early that morning and packed my belongings under which 2 corncobs for the Semois tobacco of course. It was nice driving weather so I programmed the TomTom and began the journey. The first part went smooth until I came in the vicinity of Maastricht. For some stupid reason you have to pass some traffic lights instead of speeding over the highway to the Belgian border. The result was a big traffic-jam which took me about half an hour before I could press the gas pedal properly again. TomTom is not the smartest device so once in Belgium in stead of sending me over the ring-way near Liège I was directed right through the city. Beautiful to see, don’t get me wrong, but driving there was pretty sh*tty because of all the busy traffic. Once I hit the highway again a real sense of vacation washed over me. This because the landscape became more sloping. In The Netherlands almost everything is flat so when a Dutchman sees hills and slopes, *bam*, instant holiday-feeling. The rest of the journey was smooth sailing under a sunny sky until I arrived exactly on time in Corbion at the vacation-house. There I paid the remaining sum at the owner, got the key and was left alone. I unpacked my belongings, sat outside, lit up a pipe, started reading in Tolkien’s Silmarillion and waited for the other guys to arrive.

Baguette, some Ardennes sausage inside and fries on top

After almost an hour I heard a car and yes, it was Rob (Teunis would come by motorcycle). We shook hands and chatted away until Teunis arrived some time later. The holiday-house had 2 sleeping rooms, one with a 2-person bed and one with 2 bunk-beds. Because Rob was the oldest of us he could sleep in the 2-person bed and Teunis and I would sleep in the bunk-beds. While Teunis unpacked his stuff Rob and I decided to do some shopping. Fortunately there was a supermarket in the village at which we bought Belgian beer and already some things for breakfast, fresh bread we would get the next morning. We then picked up Teunis and drove to Boullion to have dinner. After walking a bit through the town-centre we managed to find some kind of luxury snackbar. With the food I guess I made a good choice (no idea what I was ordering, the menu was in French..). This because I ended up with an open cut baguette which had some Ardennes sausage inside and fries on top! Yummie! Back at the holiday-house in the evening it was becoming too soon too chilly outside so after a couple of beers we moved inside where Teunis more or less managed to get a fire going. We did not know if we were allowed to smoke inside but on the kitchen table stood a small ashtray. For us a sign that the pipe-God granted us permission to puff on our pipes indoors. Besides, the smell of the hearth would mask all odours. Needless to say it was a great evening with lots of great beers and great discussions. Pretty intoxicated we hit our beds late at night.

The group at the café terrace in Boullion

Saturday 24 May: Semois D-day had finally come! Without a major hangover we all awoke surprisingly fresh. After a shower Rob and I went once again to the supermarket which had fresh bread and croissants. Back at the holiday-house Teunis had set the table inside (it was too cold outside) so Rob could begin with the baking of some ham and eggs. Nothing better than a sturdy breakfast if you have a long day ahead. At the end of the morning we drove to the castle of Boullion where at a nearby café the other members of the expedition waited for us: Jan, Geoff, Tommy, Joyce, Hans and Herwig and his wife. We warmly greeted them and because the weather cleared up a bit of sun drove away the outside chill. Beers and snacks were ordered and after some cosy conversations we decided to go on our way. First stop was our holiday-house where some group members wanted to grab a quick bite. I made use of the opportunity to step into my own car. This because I like driving on curvy roads in the hills. It is a male thing I guess. Next stop: Vincent Manil.

The attractive daughter of Manil in the store

When we entered the store with the group we were soon nervously greeted by Vincent’s daughter. I had seen her in 2011 but it was obvious to the eye she underwent some pleasant to look at changes. She tried to speak some Dutch but because her Dutch is as good as my French she soon fell back on her native language. At least we were all able to buy some tobaccos and bouchons de la Semois. The daughter then asked if we were willing to go downstairs to Vincent’s workrooms and the museum. Some group members had already seen that in 2011 and decided to wait outside.

Vincent glueing on the labels

Below we met Vincent himself who was working furiously to get a big order ready for The States. For you Americans who do not know this yet, since the beginning of this year Vincent’s Semois is available at The Pipe Guys and in a short time also at SmokingPipes.com & PipesAndCigars.com. Despite Vincent being busy he generously took the time for us and encouraged us to fill up a pipe with the tobacco laying around. Vincent is a man with passion for his profession and in rapid French (Arrgh! My French is so bad!) he explained the process of making his Semois. For those of you who want to know more about this, please read my Sunny Semois blog-post. Because of the increased demand Vincent tried to speed up the process but to no avail. Three days is the minimum he needs for a big batch. He also bought some “new” machines (building year 1920!) to help him with the packing of the tobacco. But he still has to manually glue the labels on each and every package..

Jan and Vincent looking at ancient Belgian

Jan and Vincent looking at an ancient Belgian tobacco-tax book

In the museum we were left alone for a while so we could watch a video about the Semois-making process. After that Vincent came back and like the teacher he once was sat before us to tell us about his craft and answer questions. Suddenly he went to the other room to fetch something. He returned with some old Belgian government tobacco-tax books dating back to 1900, impressive! After a good look at the also impressive museum (Vincent has collected some rare stuff throughout the years) we said goodbye. Unfortunately the shop of J.P. Couvert was closed. It is only open on Monday and Wednesday because the dear man does most of his business online. So we went on our way to Bohan to Joseph Martin.

The store of Joseph Martin

After a magnificent ride over curvy roads with stunning far-sights and lush forests we arrived at the place where the store of Joseph Martin is located. And I must say, the location of the beautiful stone building is jaw-dropping. Just over the Semois river with amazing views on the green hills. I just wanted to sit down, fill up my pipe and do nothing for the rest. But that was not what we came for. We entered the shop where Mr. Martin was a bit surprised to see such a large group. I especially came for his “Langue de Chien” (tongue of the dog) variety. The name comes from the size of the leaf used, it is as large as, yes, the tongue of a dog. These leaves are a bit younger and thus smaller than the regular ones. This makes that the blend tastes softer, sweeter and has less nicotine. I asked if I was allowed to take pictures inside of the man himself and his blends but unfortunately he wanted none of it. Where Manil has a very open and outspoken personality Martin is a bit shy. Lucky for me Joyce, the charming girlfriend of Tommy, just clicked away with her camera without asking. However, Mr. Martin was kind enough to give us all a real Semois cigar which tasted exactly like the pipe-tobacco.

The store of C. Didot

The time had come to visit the last Semois producer of the day: C. Didot in the town of Rochehaut. The ride there, what can I say, I love the Semois region, so beautiful. When we arrived at the store I was a bit disappointed after having seen the nice buildings of Manil and Martin. It just looked like a standard souvenir shop which it basically is. One of the shop-windows displayed some smokers-wares and inside behind the cashiers-desk there were some shelves with tobacco. Here I also bought the Langue de Chien variety, the difference being that this one was produced by Didot. Mr. Didot I did not see, Ms. Didot did the selling. But according to Jan I did not miss much. Mr. Didot seems to be somewhat of a smile-less sourpuss..

Imagine smoking tobacco that grows here

Rochehaut is famous for its high viewing point on the town of Frahan below. So we walked there and despite the fact that I also saw it in 2011 the view is absolutely magical. You see a valley where the Semois river makes a loop with on its borders lush green fields where in past times the famous tobacco was grown. Now only an old drying shed remains.

The group at La Cabane

Besides the howling of the wind we could also hear our bellies growling, dinner time. We went to the same place as in 2011: La Cabane. Basically an oversized snackbar but that term would not do this business justice. You can also get food like steaks and meatballs. Which was precisely what I took, boulettes de la maison, meatballs of the house. The fries are also a thing which makes the place pretty unique. This because they are still fried in lard and not in some vegetable oil. Not so good for the body but oh so yummie!

Teunis trying to get the hearth started

After dinner we all said goodbye to each other and went our separate ways. Rob, Teunis and I went back to the holiday-house where more beer was waiting for us. And Semois tobacco! I was able to smoke some of the Joseph Martin Langue de Chien from Teunis and.. I personally liked it better than the more robust Manil Semois to be honest. Sweeter and softer indeed. A pleasure to smoke. The evening was once again great with lots of interesting conversations. And lots of alcohol of course. I like the personalities of both men. Rob is very witty and has a perfect feeling for timing his often funny and well-thought one-line remarks. Teunis is a well-balanced spiritual man with a lot of experience in life who loves to sit in a chair and play the role of shrink. Before we knew it, it was time to sleep.

Martin’s Langue de Chien, Didot’s Langue de Chien, Manil’s La Brumeuse and bouchons de Semois

Sunday 25 May: I was the first one to wake up and thus the first to hit the shower. The outside weather was (finally) very pleasant. A blue sky, sunshine and no cold winds. We had some leftover bread and camembert which I thankfully ate. When we all were downstairs we drank some much needed coffee after which Rob decided to head home. Lucky for me Teunis wanted to relax a while longer and said he would clean the dishes and bring back the key to the owner so I also could leave. Back on the road it saddened me to see the hills and sloping landscape slowly become flat again. A good reason (besides the tobaccos, beers and food) to go back sometime!

Thanks go out to Joyce, Tommy and Herwig for the permission to use their pictures!

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May 22, 2014

Lohmar pipe-show 2014

Last year when all the business with the forum tobaccos had been taken care off German master-blender Hans Wiedemann of HU Tobacco asked if I was coming to the next Lohmar Pfeifenmesse (Lohmar pipe-show). We then finally would be able to shake hands after the loads of mail-contact we had. Hans lives in the South of Germany which is far away from where I live in The Netherlands and according to him the Lohmar pipe-show was the closest to my home. I looked it up and indeed Hans was correct, it was a 230 km. ride for me. He also asked me if I could promote the pipe-show a bit on the Dutch/Belgian pipe-smokers forum, which I of course did. At first there was not much response so I decided to ask if fellow forum-member Robbie-San (real name Rob but there are more Robs in this story) was willing to go to Lohmar with me. We had met before at several meetings and I knew he was a good guy and pleasant company. In the end another forum-member, Smoking-Rob (behold, the other Rob), asked if he could join us. Of course, the more the merrier! Also a couple of other forum-members said they would come.

Villa Friedlinde

It was going to be the 9th edition of the Lohmar pipe-show organized by pipe-maker Volker Bier and his friend Jürgen Hofer. The location is the same every time: Villa Friedlinde in the heart of Lohmar. This year a large section of the surrounding park also was part of the show. To my delight I read in the announcements on a German forum that Volker closely works together with the local authorities who are proud to host the event. Even the site of Lohmar-town promotes the pipe-show. I mean, these days here in The Netherlands you won’t easily see towns supporting a smoking-event. In fact, we don’t have smoking-events any more..

Yess, the Force was with us!

After a few messages back and forth Robbie-San and I decided that he would drive to Germany. He has a car that runs on diesel and that is cheaper. We’re Dutch remember? But that meant I had to come to Brabant first because Robbie-San lives there. No problem, I work there every last half of the week and have an address where I can spend the night. Saturday 10 May at 08.30 sharp Robbie-San rang the doorbell. I grabbed my belongings including some cheese-sandwiches that I made for the road. I had to laugh when I stepped into the car because on the corner of the dashboard stood a miniature Yoda. So the Force was going to be with us! We drove to somewhere along the edge of the city of Nijmegen where Smoking-Rob was waiting for us. After the handshakes he presented a tin of MacBaren HH Old Dark Fired to Robbie-San as a thank-you for driving. For me he had a tin of vintage (1980’s) Capstan Medium Navy Cut that I traded with him for some Janneman Flake.

The Force let us down a bit, Stau! (traffic-jam)

On the way to Lohmar it seemed the Force let us down a bit. In The Netherlands it already was raining a bit but the roads in Germany were a gigantic water-ballet so we were forced to drive slowly. On top of that we encountered some “Stau”, which translates as “traffic jam”. Oh well, Robbie-San and me were enjoying the cheese-sandwiches and Smoking-Rob his pipe while we all chatted away. So a bit later than expected we arrived at the site in Lohmar. It was pretty busy with cars but we saw a place where we could park. Behind us stood another Dutch car and it turned out that it belonged to a fellow Dutchman, André. He already had been inside and was just going to put some new acquisitions in his vehicle when he spotted us

My “new” Dunhill shell cherrywood shape

“Arno, quickly come with me” he said “I have seen a gorgeous estate Dunhill!” So he literally dragged me through the masses in Villa Friedlinde to an outside tent in which a vendor had displayed numerous estate pipes. First my eye fell upon a good looking Dunhill shell prince but that was not the one André meant. “No no, here, this cherrywood shape, look at this one! See the blast and how crisp it still looks?” I could not argue with him and felt the Force was with me! Although it was not a patent-era Dunhill the pipe (birth-year 1976) was stunning and the price was ok. My godfather had given me some money for my birthday so I was able to buy it. Sadly I did not have enough cash to also buy the Dunhill prince, other things also had to be purchased.

Robbie-San looking at some pipes in the busy tent

Before going back inside we went to the farthest tent where Hans Wiedemann should be. Should, yes, he was just taking a smoke outside the narrowness of the tent. We politely waited until he got back and in the meanwhile admired his tobacco-range on the table. He had three new blends: Red Sparkle, White Dog and an unique blend, Fayyum Kake. The first cake to come from German soil as far as I know. Hans has invested in a tobacco press at his home and this is the first creation to come from it. He had a bar of the blend laying on the table so I decided to slice off a piece and put it in my new Meindert prince. I looked around and decided to walk around the tent. I noticed it was BUSY, people stood shoulder to shoulder but no pushing or things like that. Everybody was really polite. I admired several pipes and snapped pictures of them and their makers. Germany is a big country but it still surprises me how many pipe-makers it has. And also female pipe-makers! Behind one of the tables sat a shy looking short haired woman: Maike from Maike pipes. When I asked if I could pick up and admire a couple of her pipes she even shrank back more behind her table. No need because what she makes is beautiful. To my delight, when I came back later, I saw that she had sold some of her pipes.

Peace man! Thank you brother! (Robbie-San and Hans)

When Hans came back we were finally able to shake hands. It was a real pleasure to talk to him in person after all our mutual correspondence. Unfortunately it was busy so we we had to keep the conversation short. I also wanted to buy a couple of tobaccos including his excellent Sunset flake. When I pulled my wallet he asked a lower price for the tins, “because it is you”. Well, thanks Hans! “Come back later when it is more quiet, we talk more then” he said. Check! So Robbie-San, Smoking-Rob and myself walked back towards the villa. Just behind the villa was a tent which included a beer-stand from a local brewery. We were all feeling like having a nice cold German beer so we asked the voluptuous woman behind the bar what our choices were. Dark beer and bright beer was the answer. The two Robs took the bright beer and I the dark one ( I love dark beer). De-licious! We had to laugh with the friendly lady because for some reason she thought we were from England and spoke German so well. Robbie-San played his English gentleman role perfectly.

The metal-rod system of Gigliucci

After the beer we went inside the villa and almost immediately bumped into fellow forum-member Robert Jan who was anxious to see the displayed wares. Loads of pipe-makers were lined up beside each other and we shuffled from table to table admiring the handicrafts. We stopped at the table of a man who made the shanks of a lot of his pipes very thin. That is not possible I thought, the shank would be very delicate and prone to breakage. It turned out that the carver, Andrea Gigliucci from Italy, made a system with an metal rod inside the shank to give it strength. I saw a pot-shaped pipe of him which with a little tweaking would make a formidable prince. In English with a thick Italian accent he told me that he had never tried to make a prince-shaped pipe. I hope I can give him the order someday!

Holger Gunia pipe

We also passed the table of a pipe-maker who seemed to have specialized himself in the making of short stubby pipes: Holger Gunia. I immediately had to think of another fellow forum member, Huub, who has a vast collection of this type of pipe. I myself am not a fan of these shapes but I surely could appreciate the handicraft and especially the rustication of some pipes which almost seemed to sparkle, very strange but very nicely done. Inside the villa there also was a kitchen which served food and beverages for little money. We all were a bit hungry so decided to go for some typical German food, Bockwurst, which tasted delicious. A must-try when you visit Germany.

The bracelet Robbie-San bought

Outside in one of tents there was a table on which all kinds of leather goods were for sale. All 100% handmade in Germany and unique. Robbie-San saw a stunning bracelet which he had to have. Very un-Dutchlike he did not haggle when he heard the price. “I know all the handicraft in the bracelet is worth the money” he said. I wanted to buy something for my girlfriend Ellen so I opted for a dark blue bracelet. You know, I believe that a man has to keep his woman content. If I come home with an expensive (in her eyes) pipe her mood will be much better when she is given a nice present.

The German gentlemen

Robbie-San and I wanted to drink something hot (all the rain did not exactly make us feel any warmer) so I got a coffee and he a cup of tea. We sat down at a large table where some Germans already had taken place. I looked at the pipes of one the men, nothing special, but then saw a tobacco I did not know yet, Exclusiv Royal. I asked if I may have a look and the tin was given to me. I looked at it and smelled it, yummie! A granulated cut, interesting. Robbie-San was given permission to fill a pipe with the blend so I pulled out a tin of McClelland Pebblecut and asked if the German gentlemen knew it. They had never seen an American tobacco before and happily filled up a sample bag with it. I wonder what they thought of it when they eventually smoked it.

Fltr: Smoking-Rob, myself, Hans and Robbie-San

After the hot beverages we went back to Hans because Robbie-San had to get some tobacco samples for another forum member. Smoking-Rob was sitting outside the tent and talking to Rainer, the “little finger” (helper) of Hans. Inside Robbie-San could fill up his sample-bags the blends of Hans while I further talked to the master-blender. I asked him if he had any new projects and he told me he was, amongst other things, working on an oriental-heavy mixture. Interesting! I hope I get a sample of it before it comes out. He also complimented me with this blog and was a bit shocked at how much viewers I had so far, about 90.000. Hell, I am also shocked at how many people read my humble writings. Hans then got momentarily busy with a client who ended up with a gigantic bag full of tobacco tins. He told me that he only buys tobacco once a year, at the Lohmar pipe-show and all blends of HU Tobacco. Impressive! To my utter delight I also saw a tin of Brullende Leeuw in his bag. The forum tobaccos were selling well, Hans told me. When Smoking-Rob once again joined us we did make a group picture with Hans. Smile! And after that it was time to go home. We comprehensively thanked Hans for the time he took for us and walked to the car.

At the restaurant in Kleve

On the way home we decided that we would have dinner in Kleve, near the Dutch border. Unfortunately before we got there Robbie-San was flashed by a speed-trap camera, I hope for him that the fine is not too high.. When we arrived in Kleve it was raining cats and dogs. We got out of the car, went looking for a place to eat, could not find one, got soaking wet and went back inside the vehicle. We drove to another part of the centre and passed a decent looking restaurant. There we all opted for another typical German (ok, typical Austrian..) dish, a Wiener Schnitzel. When, after a looong wait, the waiter finally brought the plates my Schnitzel was clearly smaller than the others to the amusement of the Robs. What, did I get less because of my fat looking head?? Hmzzzgrumble.. After dinner we drove back through the beautiful region of Nijmegen where I was born and said goodbye to Smoking-Rob. Robbie-San then dropped me at my sleeping address in Brabant, we shook hands and we thanked each other for the wonderful day. Once home I kissed Ellen, said I got her a beautiful, handmade and expensive present and gave the bracelet before pulling out the Dunhill. She shook her head while smiling at me.

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March 23, 2014

Pleasures of life in Belgium 2014

Group picture

Saturday 15 March it was time for the 2nd (for the first one, see here) annual Dutch/Belgian Pipe Smokers Forum meeting in Wuustwezel, Belgium. For weeks the forum had been buzzing with anticipation because it was going to be the biggest meeting yet. About 70 people were coming to the farm in the outskirts of the tiny town! Reason for this is, I think, because Wuustwezel is in Belgium but near the Dutch border. So it is very accessible for forum-members from both countries.

Johnny, not really looking like The Undertaker huh?

The day of the meeting I awoke early and after a shower and breakfast I started to pack, I had a long list of things to do.. My girlfriend Ellen had to laugh, she thought I behaved like I was going on a field trip. Well, it surely felt a bit that way. Around 10.15 the bell rang, it was Ed who was going to pick me up. After a cup of coffee we drove to Deventer Central Station where we were, once again, going to pick up Mark. For a change his train was on time, he was already waiting for us. We had one more member to pick up: Johnny (nickname: The Undertaker, after my favourite WWE wrestler). He had conveniently parked his car at a big parking place near the highway so with almost no delay he joined us and we could continue the journey to Belgium.

With me I brought a bag of empty Belgian beer bottles so I could return them at a liquor store for their deposit. In Belgium alcohol is much cheaper then in The Netherlands (as is tobacco) and since my supply of Belgium beers was running dangerously low a visit to the local liquor store in Wuustwezel was mandatory. We were a bit early thanks to the lead foot of Ed so I had all the time to explore the immense store. Yes, immense! I have never seen a liquor store that big! Alcohol Valhalla! Whoohoo! After a bit of looking around we came to the section of the Belgian beers. In my head I had a list of them which included brands like St. Bernardus, Corsendonk, Chimay, Ciney, I’m getting thirsty now, Rochefort, Barbãr Bok, Kasteel Rouge and Julius. Happy as a child I filled my cart with bottles and went to the pay desk. €53 for the vast amount of beer I had put together was NOT much! In the Netherlands I surely would have paid around €100.. So that fact made this cheap Dutchman very happy.

A lesson we learned from last year was that we had to have lunch before the meeting. Since Belgium is also famous for its fries (no not the skinny French fries but a somewhat thicker version) we decided to go to a snack-bar alongside the road. It was around 1 o’clock so we were the only customers. Most of us ordered fries and an extra snack, mine was a croquette. The friendly lady behind the desk asked if I wanted Belgian mayonnaise with my fries or Dutch. Hmm.. Belgian mayonnaise is sour and Dutch is sweet. I am bit ashamed to say this but I choose the Dutch mayonnaise. Usually when I am in a different country I adapt to the food that is being eaten there. But I really do not like sour mayonnaise.. Sorry!

Shaun, Jan and Willem

After we had filled our bellies it was finally time to go to the meeting. At the farm lots of cars were parked and when we did go inside the crowd already was large. First went to the table where Shaun and Jan were sitting. They were collecting the cash for the rent of the farm and the sausage rolls which would come in later. A new member, Willem (nickname: Meester W.), also stood at the table. We shook hands and I made a mental note to look him up later. Unfortunately he went away early, he had some other things to do so I never got the chance to really speak to him.

Arjen and a forum corncob

I wanted to place my bag with smoking gear and tobaccos somewhere so I could fill a pipe when I was stopped by Arjen (nickname: Bananabox-Ninja). In the months before the meeting he had arranged Missouri Meerschaum corncobs with the forum logo for forum-members. I had ordered a Country Gentleman together with some some black Danish bits which he gave to me. I tend to gnaw a bit on my mouthpieces so some spare bits were very welcome. But I also had something for him. Due to a sharp eye-tooth there was a hole in the mouthpiece of one of my GBD princes. Arjen learned a method from Steve from Reborn Pipes where you fill up holes like that with some kind of glue. I hope it works! (EDIT 15 May 2014: Arjen has done an incredible job with the mouthpiece and it looks like new!)

Dre and Jorg

When I had put my bag away I finally could light up a pipe and talk to some people. I had some things for them and other people had things for me. Jorg tapped me on my shoulder, he had a generous sample of Davidoff Flake Medallions for me. I had never tried it but after having recently smoked a couple of bowls of it, it now is on my wanted list. Thanks Jorg! When I saw forum administrator Nick (nickname: Massis) we shook hands. He had a bouchon de Semois and asked if I still had those. No, I gave away my last one to Kevin, the owner of PipesMagazine.com. So he graciously gave me a bouchon. When I turned around Carro asked what I was holding. I answered it was a bouchon de Semois and explained how one should smoke it. Of course I gave it to him and got a pint of Vlaamse Leeuw beer in return. Then I bumped into Dre (nickname: Annie69) and he had a sealed tin of vintage De Graaff perique for me! A gift from a friend of him and fellow forum member Ignoro, who could not attend the meeting. So thanks Ignoro!

Paul and me

Near the sliding door at the corner of the room Paul had set up a small table with all kinds of whiskeys for everyone to sample. Very nice but I decided not to taste any of the “water of life”. That could not have turned out well for me in combination with the heavy Belgium beers. Once in a while Paul orders at Dan Tobacco in Germany and people of the forum can add their wishes to his list. So that way I ordered a tin of Skipper’s Flake through him only to discover that he bought a tin of Skipper Special Navy Cut Mellow Mixture instead. Whoops! Luckily I did not have to pay for that tin and on top of that, as a surprise, he gave me a tin of… Skipper’s Flake! Thank you Paul!

Klaas (on the left)

In the distance I spotted Klaas (nickname: Upper Ten), I still had his forum-tobaccos. “Keep them until the Wuustwezel meeting, that saves me the postal costs.” He said. “I have enough tobaccos in my treasure chamber to go by”. Which is true, he really has a tobacco treasure chamber. For years Klaas invested in his tobacco collection by buying brands like Upper Ten (hence his nickname), De Graaff (the famous house-blends of the De Graaff store in The Hague) and Balkan Sobranie. The first time I smoked that legendary blend it was from a pouch which he gave me. Klaas has a fondness for latakia so I had a sample of GL pease Gaslight for him. It has a kind of cigar-like heaviness which could be just Klaas his cup of tea. I also gave him a sample of Heinrichs Curly Block. At my visit to Heinrichs I bought a tin of Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls for him because he wanted an impression of the taste of current production Escudo. He did not like it very much, in his memory the old Cope Escudo version was way better. Unfortunately he did not stock up on that one.. But according to lots of German pipe-smokers the Curly Block is similar to the Cope Escudo. So I am curious what Klaas thinks of this tobacco.

Geoff

At the meeting there were lots of new members who had never attended such an event. Geoff was one of them. He approached me and said he was a fan of this blog, how nice! Normally I am having a hard with speaking to people I do not know, but with pipe-smokers you always have something to talk about: pipe-smoking! Duh! He said he had an avatar of a smoking monkey but that did not shone a light in my brain. It was not until later, back home, that I saw him on the forum. Ahh!! The smoking monkey avatar! It was nice talking to you Geoff! Another new member, Rinus, asked me if I was the one who knew a lot of tobaccos. Well.. I do not know a lot, but I do know something. Rinus discovered he had a fondness for latakia. He was missing something in the blends he bought and found out that was the dark leaf. So I made a list for him with mixtures containing latakia that are available in The Netherlands. I hope he finds something he likes.

Dwayne and Martin

Then I had something special. I approached Martin and asked if he could help opening a 90-year old tin of Capstan Navy Flake. Well, he is an old Dutch marine man so if someone could do that job, it was him. I grabbed my camera and just at the moment Martin pierced through the foil of the knife-cutter tin my battery died.. Arghh!! Luckily Martin was able to make some pictures with his smartphone. But those will be for a another blog-post. Astoundingly the condition of the tobacco inside the tin was perfect! I had brought a mason jar with me and quickly transferred the contents. In the mean time Dwayne had joined Martin and me. He his an American pipe-maker who now lives in The Netherlands and was also amazed about the vintage Capstan. Needless to say both could fill up their pipes with this old treasure.

Tommy and his girlfriend Joyce

When ordering a beer at he bar I saw Tommy. We had e-mailed a couple of times before because one of his hobbies is to sing and write lyrics for songs. Only, he can’t make the music that would go with those so he asked on the forum if someone could help him with that. I have made music for years so I definitely was interested. When singing Tommy has a warm, baritone voice that resembles the one of Dutch artist Ramses Shaffy. What followed was an animated conversation about our passion for music. When I have the time I will definitely try to make some music to match the lyrics.

Franz shows his British pipes

After dinner, which existed once again of the delicious Belgian sausage rolls, I sat down. My feet were hurting from standing and walking around. I already talked to so many people. I joined a group who was talking about buying tobacco abroad, which I frequently do. The big man next to me said if he could get all the tobaccos he wanted in The Netherlands he would buy them there. An honest opinion. I detected a strange accent in his soft voice and asked if had lived abroad for a period of time. Franz (that is his name, nickname: Dinck) told me he was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but already lived for quite some time in The Netherlands. While talking my eye suddenly went to his pipe-bag. With a smile he took a couple of pipes out of it. All of them were made in England. It appeared we both had a passion for English pipes. Only, I (try to) collect Dunhills, he collected everything but Dunhill. He pulled out a Sasieni prince which made me drool. Immediately I, quasi joking, asked for how much I could buy it from him. Of course it was not for sale. Damnit! I hope it brings him great smoking pleasure.

Jan is waiting to let us all out

Too fast the hours crawled away, when you are having fun time always goes (too) fast. Hora ruit tempus fluit! So the time came to say goodbye. We thanked Jan, his wife Sas and Dirk and Miep who had stood behind the bar the whole day. The journey back went swiftly and before I knew it I stood before Ellen, who had fallen asleep on the couch and slowly woke up. “How was your day?” “It was wonderful darling.”

Overview of the place

Big thanks to Ed for driving, to Johnny and Mark for the conversations in the car, to Jan and Sas for the organisation and everyone I talked to! I can’t remember who took which photo so all pictures from the meeting were made by Klaas, Janneman, Dirk, Mark, Rik and myself.

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November 9, 2013

Hospitable Heukelum 2013

Brewery ‘t Kuipertje

Like I told in my Zestful Zutphen post the Dutch/Belgian Pipe Smokers Forum currently roughly has two big annual meetings. Well, three with the meeting in Wuustwezel, Belgium. But the “mother” of all our meetings is the one in a town in the Dutch province of Gelderland called Heukelum. Well, this is not entirely true.. First Martin organized the meetings in his nearby home-town of Leerdam on the upper floor of a restaurant housed in an old train-station building. Unfortunately after 2 cosy meetings the owners did not want us there any more plus the group got too big. So Martin had to look out for another location which he luckily found in brewery “‘t Kuipertje“.

Henk Kuiper © K.H. van der Linde

In 1987 brewery ‘t Kuipertje first started when Frits Kuiper, after a reorganisation at his day-job, could work for half days only. The first beer was brewed on February first 1988. Frits, an amateur-brewer, soon decided to completely leave his (half) day-job and go full-time with the brewing. After being an apprentice at several breweries he made his own brewing-installation and started his business under the name “Gelderse Bierbrouwerij ‘t Kuipertje”. In 1990 he moved into the former coach-house of an old stone-factory at the border of Heukelum where the brewery is still located today. At January 1th 2002 Frits left the brewery, his son Henk took over business.

The big nightmare of the Dutch railways: leaves on the tracks..

The big nightmare of the Dutch railways: leaves on the rail-tracks..

So on October 27th at the end of the morning Ed arrived to pick me up. Also in the car was Maurice, the more the merrier! Together we drove to the train station of Deventer to pick up another forum-member, Mark. But after some waiting there was no sign of our big friend. Suddenly I got a text message from Mark, the train which he was supposed to be on was delayed.. Grumble, bloody Dutch railways.. If you are ever in The Netherlands, do not go by train unless you don’t mind delays. In wintertime there is snow, in autumn there are leaves on the rail-tracks, in summer maintenance is going on.. Grrrr.. Anyway, Ed, Maurice and I had enough to talk about and before we knew it Mark arrived, his train finally had come.

Rob from Brabant © K.H. van der Linde

Because of the delay we were a bit late in Heukelum. Normally we are amongst the first ones to arrive so you can greet everyone more easy as they come in. Now we immediately were immersed in a cloud of friendly pipe-smokers who all wanted to say hello. While shaking hands I first began with some “business”. When I visited the big Heinrichs store I bought a tin of Heinrichs Golden Sliced and Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls for forum-member Klaas. He was curious about the famous Escudo and Deluxe Navy Rolls come very close in taste to that one. And he also had something for me. The week before the meeting he and his wife went to Prague where he bought some Stanislaw (made by Samuel Gawith) tobaccos. This were the ones I saw at the Inter Tabac fair at the Samuel Gawith stand! Wonderful! Apparently they are only obtainable in the Czech Republic. After we exchanged tins I tapped Rob on his shoulder. I had a bag of rare Penzance for him. Really a treat because Rob loves to smoke latakia blends. Well, you can’t go wrong with Penzance then! When I turned around I saw another Rob (many folks called “Rob” on the forum). He lives in a place near the town I grew up in the province of Brabant and has that typical joviality and accent of most people there. Rob has a passion for Ireland and I happen to have some authentic Irish Murray plugs (Erinmore Plug, Warrior Plug) which were gathering dust in my tobacco-closet. “Aah!! Fantastic! What do you want for them?” he asked. “Absolutely nothing, smoke them with much pleasure” I answered. I always like to see tobaccos I don’t smoke get a good home. Last but not least I walked over to like-minded Robbin. We both love old English blends and prince-shaped pipes. I had an opened tin of the German version of Presbyterian for him which he was curious about. I also presented him a sample bag of a nameless mixture I once made which I knew he liked.

La Trappe bockbeer

Then I finally could relax a little bit and order a beer. I asked Henk, who also was the bartender, if he had a dark beer, for which I have a fondness. He offered me his self brewed Bokbier which is a special kind of dark beer that in The Netherlands is brewed only in autumn and often has a bit of a dark sweet caramel taste. After I gulped down the tasty liquid my nerves went down a bit. Nerves because I had to introduce the brand new forum tobaccos!

Get that hand out of the pocket boy! © K.H. van der Linde

For those of you who read this blog regularly, last year and this year I have been busy organizing 3 specially made tobaccos for the forum-members. This because this year the Dutch/Belgian Pipe Smokers Forum exist 5 years. If you read the last comment on that post you can see my “quest” continued because master-blender Hans Wiedemann from HU Tobacco took me under his wings. What happened after that is a story in itself which I shall tell in a future blogpost. I introduced the three tobaccos, told what my inspirations were, said what the tobaccos roughly were made of and encouraged everyone to try some. Of course I brought sample tins. After my speech Paul walked towards me and presented a gift to me from the forum members for all my work on the forum tobaccos: a bottle of peated whisky! Yummie! And not just a regular bottle, no, a very special one! A 23 years old Jura ‘Signatory’! So to all the forum-members who contributed to this great gift, a big thank you!!! And because this was the 5th meeting organised by Martin he also got a well deserved bottle of whisky.

The meat gets grilled © K.H. van der Linde

It is always remarkable how fast time goes when you are having a good time. You chat with someone for a bit, walk around, somebody starts talking to you, you go outside for a fresh nose while continue having conversations etc. So many nice folks and so little time.. In the mean time Henk had ignited the 2 BBQ’s and soon the coals were hot enough to begin with dinner. Like always the provided meat was of excellent quality. We could choose from beef, bacon, cutlets, hamburgers, meat skewers, all kinds of sauces, baguettes and salads. Aahh.. Grilled meat, tasty beer, a good pipe-smoke and great people. What more can a man wish for?

Group-picture of the 2013 Heukelum meeting © AJ Verstraten

After dinner we sat down for a couple of more drinks and conversations and too soon it became time to go. We said our goodbyes to the remaining people, picked up a bottle of the specially brewed 2013 forum beer and went to the car. Once home I thanked Ed for the ride, said farewell to Maurice (we already brought Mark home) and went inside the house. I kissed my girlfriend Ellen, put away my bag full of tobaccos and went to bed where I had some nice smoke-filled dreams.

Here are some more pictures because they tell more than a lot of words!

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June 9, 2013

Zestful Zutphen 2013

Zutphen

With the Dutch/Belgian Pipe Smokers Forum we currently roughly have two big annual meetings. One of those always is held in the city of Zutphen at the beginning of June. Zutphen is very old, it received city-rights between 1191 and 1196, which makes it one of the oldest cities in the country. With my love for history I very much like to look at all the old buildings and wander around there. And smoke a pipe of course.

The store of Willem Schimmel years ago

The place to stay for the Zutphen-meeting is always the store of tobacconist Willem Schimmel. Willem is a very friendly, although a bit chaotic, host who knows the fine trade of being a salesman. He has just has that gut-feeling, is able to tune in on his customers and make them feel very welcome. A rare talent these days. In 1972 at the early age of 21 Willem started his business in the building in the Sprongstraat where he is still located today. Since 1919 a tobacconist is housed there. Originally the business was founded by the Jewish family Gies. Later Bennie Smolders took over and like I said, Willem himself began in 1972.

The store of Willem Schimmel today

Since the sixties his father had a cigar store in Doetinchem. When Willem came back from military service he initially did not really know what he wanted. But with a lot of support from his parents and the three Smolders brothers he then started the business in Zutphen as a 21-year-old rookie. Willem had it not easy in those early years. Of course he was still young and a stranger in Zutphen, so he really had to prove himself. It was always all about hard work and making long hours. His parents had put their savings in the business and he got 25 guilders pocket money and 15 guilders petrol money, he had to do it with that. His father was a true entrepreneur. At that time Willem had some candy standing on the counter, but if he took one for himself it was expected of him that he would put sixty cents in the cash register. His father would say that he had to sell a few packs of cigarettes for that money.

Willem and his two colleagues © K.H. van der Linde

Willem now runs the business with help of two faithful colleagues. After all these years he is still not tired of his profession. He even can call himself now “Maître Pipier”, a prestigious French title in pipe smoking. “What you do, you have to do with passion and I have that for this kind of business.” Willem says. “You have to, because otherwise you can’t properly advise your clients. You have to love the product and possess the desired knowledge.”

The smoking lounge on the first floor

That degree of specialization, combined with the authentic look of the store probably made that Willem managed to survive. In the early eighties there was a renovation which was followed by a restoration in 2000. There it was tried to do justice to the old building (which dates back to 1724!) in the Sprongstraat and give it an authentic look as much as possible. Willem: “People are coming in here who do not even smoke, but simply want to see how it looks. We have quite a special historic building with an interior design to match that.” Upon entering you see a large wooden counter and high shelves with cigars, cigarettes and pipe-tobacco tins and pouches in all shapes and sizes. Furthermore, in the back of the store is a real climate-room for the storage of cigars. On the first floor is a smoking lounge where customers can sit and smoke and where activities are organised such as workshops and lectures.

The whole group in Zutphen © AJ Verstraten

So last Sunday it was once again time for the annual Dutch/Belgian Pipe Smokers Forum meeting at Willem’s store. Actually it just was a Dutch occasion since no folks from our neighbour country to the South came over. A pity but understandable since it is quite a long drive from the Belgium border to Zutphen. At half past eight in the morning my good friend Ed rang the doorbell to pick me up. We had to be early at the store because I had all the name-badges. Usually we have a bunch of regulars who visit a lot of the meetings (like myself) and know each other but there also always are some newbies. Then it is very handy to see the forum-names and real names on those badges.

Jos in his pipe-smoking coat © K.H. van der Linde

When Ed and I arrived Willem was not even there, his colleagues were preparing the store for the meeting. Besides the folks from the forum, some people from German pipe-brand Vauen, Dutch tobacco-importer Pronk and a German gentleman with pipes and tobacco also were going to be present. Nonetheless we immediately got some hot coffee and cake. Shortly after nine o’clock Willem walked in, shook hands with us and asked how we were doing. We sat down and I lit up my first pipe, some Sweet Vanilla Honeydew to begin the day with. When I took the first puffs Mark (Deadl0ck) entered the store. Together with Willem he had organised the day. While chatting away it suddenly seemed that the grim-reaper had appeared! It turned out to be Jos in his pipe-smoking coat. At the back of it he had glued a large metal sign of his favourite tobacco brand: Troost. For me he brought a mouse-mat with the Hell’s Pipe Smokers design that I made for some forum shirts a while ago and a couple of home-made peanut-butter pots from the Hartog bakery. Yummie!

Monique and Carro © K.H. van der Linde

After a while more and more forum-folks trickled in and the store got filled up with people. Hands were shaken, pipes were drawn and soon the smoking-lounge saw blue of all the smoke. I approached meeting-newbie Carro (Calinero) because he had a book for me. He is a big bald headed man with tattoos and skull jewellery. Carro lives nearby the store which had that book so I asked him if he could buy it for me a week for the meeting. No problem of course. I decided to give him some extra money for his troubles but he stubbornly refused. Such a nice guy! And from Martin I got the tobacco that was the reason to buy the book. But more about this sometime in another post..

On the “Fluisterboot” © K.H. van der Linde

Somewhat after eleven it was time for us to go the harbour where we were going aboard on two “Fluisterboten” (Whispering-boats), arranged by Willem. These boats are navigated through the canals of Zutphen by volunteers while they point out landmarks and buildings and tell all kinds of stories and facts about the city. We were really in luck with the weather, not too hot, not too cold so it was an enjoyable and educational trip. Once in a while we heard the other boat because Jos then blew loud on his brass ship-horn. So if you ever visit Zutphen with a couple of people, go on a “Fluisterboot” and soak up the history, culture and nature of the city.

Huub welcomes other forum-members at the store © AJ Verstraten

When we came back at Willem’s store all kinds of sandwiches and drinks were waiting for us. Who was also waiting was forum-member Huub, he arrived just to late for the boats. I wanted to meet him for a long time because he is such a walking encyclopaedia of pipes and tobaccos. He was amazed at how many younger people were present at the meeting. “In my time you were seen as old when you put a pipe in your mouth” he said. “Well, we don’t care!” said someone else smiling.

Ed says it’s ok! © K.H. van der Linde

The rest of the afternoon I spent talking to lots of people. And smoking of course. As always you never get to speak all the folks presents but that really does not matter much. There will be other meetings. Who I did talk to was Rob, he showed me an exquisite gold-banded Dunhill billiard and wanted to know from which year it came. And since I am somewhat of a Dunhill-snob I could tell him that. Also present was a guy who brought some (home-blended) whiskies for us to try. A lot of pipe-smokers love whisky. I heard that the man was interested in trying a latakia-blend because he was curious if it resembled the taste of peaty whiskies. He had almost no smoking experience but brought a pipe with him so I fetched my tin of Penzance and filled up his bowl with it. He lit the pipe and I honestly expected the guy to start coughing and seeing green. To my surprise he actually liked the tobacco, he found it very smooth and recognized the peaty flavour. He kept his pipe pretty well lit and began enjoying it even more when the Virginias and orientals kicked in.

Jorg, Ed and a slightly intoxicated (?) Sander at the restaurant © K.H. van der Linde

About half past six it was time to go. We shook hands with Willem and his colleagues and thanked them for the wonderful day. Outside the store one part of the forum-folks said goodbye and the other part made their way to restaurant Oriental. I had been there one time before with Mark and Wilfred (Wowbagger). The restaurant has the best spare-ribs in Zutphen and surrounding area. You know, a nice marinade and properly grilled so the bones fall of the meat. Yum-mie! Several other forum members had heard of that visit so we ended up with 15 people there. Luckily Mark had made reservations.. After the meal we all said goodbye and together with Ed I went home full and satisfied.

So thanks to Willem Schimmel & crew and all the folks of the Dutch/Belgian Pipe Smokers Forum. I can’t wait until next year!!!

Here are some more pictures of Willem’s store and the meeting:

On the “Fluisterboot” © K.H. van der Linde

Beautiful nature on the “Fluisterboot” © K.H. van der Linde

Walking through Zutphen © K.H. van der Linde

Zutphen is very beautiful! © K.H. van der Linde

Inside Willem’s store

Rudi and the German gentleman

Inside Willem’s store

Our forum-photographer Klaas who made most of the pictures

February 25, 2013

Pleasures of life in Belgium 2013

Being an active member on the Dutch/Belgium pipe-smokers forum is fun. Up to a certain level you get to know a lot of like-minded people. But what is even more fun is meeting them in real life! Internet is fine but nothing can substitute actual human contact. So some people from the forum organize a meeting once in a while. And I really thank them for that because it is a LOT of work.

Jan (forum nickname "Paasei" which means "easter-egg". Noo idea where the name comes from ;)

Jan (forum nickname “Paasei” which means “easter-egg”. Nooo idea where the name comes from ;))

Last Saturday we had a meeting in the Belgium town of Wuustwezel. It was organized by forum member Jan (nickname “Paasei”, which translates as “easter-egg”) and his wife. They had been busy with it for months and on the day before the meeting… Jan’s father died.. Of course the man was devastated. He saw it coming but when it happened it still was very hard to cope with. Nonetheless he wanted the meeting to go on. So some of the participating members put their heads together and in no time all the tasks were divided. A great example of the camaraderie of the forum.

A few minutes before 10 AM Ed (forum nickname St Patrick) rang my doorbell. He was going to pick me up because he drives almost for free; a car from his business, very handy. I just made coffee (essential on an early morning) and we chatted away while I packed my stuff (read: pipes and tobacco).

Mark (Deadl0ck)

At 10.45 AM we picked up Mark (forum nickname Deadl0ck) at the train station of Deventer. He has no car and public transport all the way to Belgium was not an option. We had space left in the car so.. The more the merrier! Mark is a BIG guy and luckily he has got a heart to match that. Both Ed and me were very glad we took him with us.

Bellekeshoeve at Wuustwezel

After a 2 hour ride we arrived at Wuustwezel. The meeting was held at a farm in the outskirts of the town. There was a large room complete with beer-bar besides the building. Very nice! We opened the door and were overwhelmed by the warmth of both the room and the people. To my surprise Jan was present. He already had arranged a lot for the funeral and was glad he was able to make it. A welcome distraction for him and his wife.

I wanted to buy a beer but only after an hour of non-stop chatting I was able to do it. Talking about beer, we Dutch may be (in)famous for weed but the Belgium claim to fame are their more than excellent beers. Dutch beer, German beer, English beer, Irish beer etc. forget it. Belgium beer is THE best. And that was proven once again by the lovely ladies behind the beer-bar. I had a Vlaamse Leeuw (never had it before) and drank it for the rest of the day.

Jorg (Sidekickelvis)

It always amazes me how many different types of people come to a meeting. Not only old and young, rich and not so rich (like me hehehe), small and large but also real characters. A member new to meetings was Jorg (forum nickname Sidekickelvis). Hair straight to the back, curled moustache, vest with pocket watch and that combined with a jovial personality and a booming voice made it easy for me to remember him.

The generosity of forum members often knows no limits. I was chatting with Klaas (forum nickname Upper Ten), he is a pensioned man and smokes pipes for quite a while. He complimented me with this blog and said he learned so much from me. Out of gratitude for that he presented a vintage tin of De Graaff Abu Riha to me. I was flabbergasted! I smoked it once before and it is my favourite latakia flake (even better then Penzance). Unfortunately it is not made any more. I know that Klaas only has a few tins left of it so his gift meant a lot to me.

Paul (Winslow Collector) and Gaëtan (Jarnogab) comparing pipes

Also near the end of the meeting I walked over to Paul (forum nickname Winslow Collector). Besides a devoted aromatics smoker and free-thinker Paul is a whisky expert. He brought some (expensive!) bottles with him so everyone could try some. I already had a glass with dinner (more about that in a minute) but now he was gathering his belongings. There was half a bottle of 12 years old Springbank Cask Strength left. “Ah, that is something for you”, Paul said. “Slightly peaty, you’re going to like it. Here, take the bottle. I can’t use it for a whisky tasting any more”. “Ehm, take the bottle? Still half-full? You’re sure?” I asked. And he was sure. So nice of him!

Belgium sausage rolls

At 16.30 PM dinner was served. Jan had arranged for the local bakery to bring some kind of sausage rolls. Puff pastry with one or two tasty sausages inside. A real belly-filler, yummie! Fortunately I pre-ordered more than I could eat so I was able to take some of the food home for Ellen, my girlfriend. The next day at home we both enjoyed the Belgium sausage rolls again.

Pacco and Carl from the movie “Up”

Pipe smokers often have a good sense of humour. One of the Belgium members is Ghislain (wonderful name, forum nickname is Pacco). An enthusiastic small elderly man with big black glasses and one of the most tuneful accents I’ve ever heard. In the days after the meeting somebody said that he looked a lot like Carl from the movie “Up“. To illustrate that he put together a picture of Ghislain and Carl who indeed bear a striking resemblance.

Sander (Hagar666) and Sofie

Like all men most pipe smokers like women. And behind the beer-bar stood a pretty example of the female species called Sofie. I am a lover of Belgium women (love the accent, they can even arouse me by reading the phone-book out loud) but Sander (forum nickname Hagar666) took a special liking towards Sofie. Sander is well known for smoking out of a pink poker pipe. It is just his style. 50’s, 60’s, bright colours, flame tattoos and loud music. And also for a big part the style of Sofie. So with twinkling eyes and a big smile Sander flirted away with our beer-girl. He even got her to take a picture with him and her while she lurked on a pipe. Nice sight.

And so the hours flew away until it was time to go, hora ruit tempus fluit. I thanked everyone who was left and in special Jan. He stayed all day and was really tired. Respect! When I wanted to walk out the door I was called back by Robbin (forum nickname Robb). I totally forgot to take all of my pipes with me.. Whoops.. Maybe it was the beer.

Janneman staring at the snow

Ed and I decided to bring Mark home, in Zutphen, and to have one last drink in Mark’s favourite pub. A beer pub with the music I like (hard rock/metal) and… where you can smoke! Very rare in The Netherlands. So I will be back there pretty soon!
After the beer Ed brought me home through the snow. Snow that unfortunately prevented Janneman (the pater noster of the forum) from coming to the meeting. He only rides a motorcycle and with slippery snow that is not an option. But luckily for him and the other forum members there will be other meetings!