Tuesday, September 08, 2026

IT'S IN YOUR PIPE AT THAT TIME

Nothing says prosperous admirable person quite as well as golf, so I'm not at all surprised that several of the old fellows with whom I have to come in contact, regrettably, at work play the game and are their calmest and most tolerable when watching other people play it.
The gravitas and well-considered opinions just roll off them at that point.

And naturally, America's captains of industry also play it.

I myself do not. It's a grave personal failing.


Years ago I did. Because at that time it was a splendid way of getting the hell away from my classmates and smoking my pipe in peace and quiet underneath an umbrella in the pouring rain, desultorily whacking at balls in the tall grass while plotting world domination, as reasonably intelligent teenage boys are want to do.

"Soon, babies, all of this will be mine!"

Golf also keeps a man trim and agile, healthy and limber.
It's good for the digestion and circulation.
The studly man's sport.
One of the things I particularly remember from tromping around the green, green undalations and mud puddles at the Eindhovensche Golf Club is Astley's pipe tobacco, which a doctor whose marriage to a nice bourgeois harridan was on the skids smoked. Damned good stuff. Showed that even though mistakes had been made, he did have some common sense left, and life could very well be enjoyed even though he was beyond the age at which one might acquire a mistress, and below the income level at which that becomes a realistic prospect.

Astley's No. 44 Dark Virginia Flake has deep yeasty notes and great depth, and a beguiling sweetness. It is both tangy and earthy. The No. 109 Medium Flake was a good solid all-day smoke for the VaPer afficionado, tempting and enticing, and is no longer made. Much of the line which was formerly part of the McConnell portfolio has, sadly disappeared, and while all of it would be excellent for smoking on golf courses in ghastly climates it is now hard to get.

Astley's No.2 Virginia Mixture, red and blonde Virginias with just a touch of Perique, is really excellent with a hot cup of tea, which will counter the eugenol spritz that gives it an almost Earl Grey character. Underneath this, it will taste grassy and slightly fruity.
Very suitable for blustery Autumn weather.



Actually, I hate golf. It's a stupid game.
Fit only for smarmy ponces.



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IT'S IN YOUR PIPE AT THAT TIME

Nothing says prosperous admirable person quite as well as golf, so I'm not at all surprised that several of the old fellows with whom I ...