I bought these on impulse yesterday. Probably because I have given up fags. I think if I still smoked I would put Turkish un-tipped into the little one. They are fabricated from silver, amber and meerschaum - top quality at the turn of the 19th century.
I have a Turkish friend here and before his last trip home to Istanbul, I asked him to bring me back some real Turkish cigarettes - the oval ones - as an occasional treat for myself. Turkish tobacco is/was my favourite of all. It is fragrant and mild.
Last night he told me that not only have all the shops stopped stocking Turkish cigarettes, they have stopped stocking almost every other type of European tobacco as well. There are some very strange goings-on in Turkey right now.
I have not tried Burlington Arcade for Turkish cigarettes recently, but if they do stock them they will probably be about £20 for 20. Even B&H are £12 for 20 now.
I once un-boxed a large item sent from the Soviet Union, and at the very bottom of the wooden crate I found an intact Russian cigarette, obviously dropped by the Russian packer.
It was made of about one and a half inches of Balkan tobacco at the end of about five inches of hollow tube. The idea is that you squeeze the tube in two places to form a cross-shaped aperture which will catch any sparks before they reach your mouth. I did this, then lit it. It was every bit as good as Turkish - possibly better.
In those days I could go to our high-class tobacconist (Tranters) and buy real Soviet Russian cigarettes, so I did every time I wanted a treat.
The Lad has booked a holiday in Cuba with his girlfriend. They sell very good cigars there, at very reasonable prices...
For some bizarre reason, when I was at school we smoked gold-tipped, oval, Sobranie, cigs, but drank the cheapest, nastiest, British Sherry imaginable. No doubt we thought we were very sophisticated.
ReplyDeleteOr very penny wise.
DeleteI can sort of understand that. Well, in kids, anyway.
DeleteThe coloured Sobranies were considered the height of bad taste, even in my day and in my Secondary Modern upbringing and school. I think it was the gold tips we thought of as crass.
DeleteI thought you had stopped smoking!!! Half way houses are useless.
ReplyDeleteI have, Weave, but I am not religious about it.
DeleteI went to The Latymer Grammar School and the Sobranie Factory was nearby ..... we used to be able to pick up 'seconds' that had been thrown out !!! We tried to think of them as sophisticated seeing they were free !! They were more a woman's cigarette really . XXXX
ReplyDeleteFree cigarettes for kids? That's what I call a loss-leader.
DeleteI've given up smoking too. I take the piss out of Pauline who uses one of those ecigarettes. No willpower.
ReplyDeleteI don't need encouragement or piss-taking. I never wanted to give up nicotine so I haven't.
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