Ravenor Bullen
New in Town
- Messages
- 15
- Location
- Surabaya, Java
Motoring and pipes can go well together. Both give pleasure.
Of course I do not speak of driving through necessity; those hasty trips to the office each morning or the quick trip to the greengrocer's in search of something for dinner. I am referring to leisurely motoring through the countryside.
Many years ago Dunhill brought out a motorist's pipe - the bowl was raised on the far side to prevent the wind interfering with the slow burn of the tobacco. I do not know why they discontinued this pipe.
These days, modern saloon motor cars with their fixed windscreens, do not suffer so much from wind problems. There may be a draft from the side windows, but the partial winding up of the windows should deal with this.
It should be said that motor car air-cooling devices do not go well with pipe smoke. They usually have filters which will get impregnated with smoke and give off a very unpleasant odour next time they are started up. Pipes need fresh air and it much better to smoke your pipe in a motor car with the windows at least partially open. Should the weather be cold, the motor car's heating system is much more robust and I have never encountered problems with stale smoke.
One consideration when you plan to smoke your pipe in the motor car is to have everything you need at hand. It is no good looking for your matches or tamper when proceeding at a pace. It may indeed be hazardous.
I prefer to keep my pipe, tobacco and matches in front of me and my motor car has a most convenient glove compartment in front of the steering wheel. Here I keep everything I need. I can, with some ease open the compartment and fetch my pipe things without taking my eyes off the road.
Should your motor car not have such a well-positioned compartment or ledge, then I would recommend the front passenger's seat. Of course, with a front passenger you will need to place them elsewhere, although it has to be said that your passenger - rear or front - can then dispense what you need. I usually ask passengers to sit in the back so that I can keep the front seat for such things, should I be driving a motor car without a glove compartment.
Although I personally prefer a box of safety matches to light my pipe, a pipe lighter which can be used with one hand is better suited to the driver.
It is very easy to tamp one's pipe as one drives along with the index finger. I prefer this to fiddling about with a tool.
Once the pipe is finished, I tap it out gently into the front ashtray, or even leave the ash intact, placing the pipe back in the compartment. A friend of mine has a small wooden box, open at the top, in which he places his finished pipe. It is just a bit longer and higher than an average pipe and wherever the box is placed (on the passenger's seat, or even on the floor), the pipe is safe and cannot rattle about, spill its ash or get lost or damaged.
My friend also fills up one or more bowls in readiness for setting off on a drive - the more bowls the longer the trip. It is not easy correctly filling a pipe whilst one is driving along.
As a flake man, I find that this form of tobacco burns more slowly and should there be some air currents, is better suited to the draught. Of course, one of those little metal lids could be fitted to the bowl if this is a serious problem.
There is something very enjoyable about smoking a pipe when motoring: it aids concentration, makes a solitary drive more enjoyable and seem shorter and it provides sustenance when one can't stop for refreshment.
Of course I do not speak of driving through necessity; those hasty trips to the office each morning or the quick trip to the greengrocer's in search of something for dinner. I am referring to leisurely motoring through the countryside.
Many years ago Dunhill brought out a motorist's pipe - the bowl was raised on the far side to prevent the wind interfering with the slow burn of the tobacco. I do not know why they discontinued this pipe.
These days, modern saloon motor cars with their fixed windscreens, do not suffer so much from wind problems. There may be a draft from the side windows, but the partial winding up of the windows should deal with this.
It should be said that motor car air-cooling devices do not go well with pipe smoke. They usually have filters which will get impregnated with smoke and give off a very unpleasant odour next time they are started up. Pipes need fresh air and it much better to smoke your pipe in a motor car with the windows at least partially open. Should the weather be cold, the motor car's heating system is much more robust and I have never encountered problems with stale smoke.
One consideration when you plan to smoke your pipe in the motor car is to have everything you need at hand. It is no good looking for your matches or tamper when proceeding at a pace. It may indeed be hazardous.
I prefer to keep my pipe, tobacco and matches in front of me and my motor car has a most convenient glove compartment in front of the steering wheel. Here I keep everything I need. I can, with some ease open the compartment and fetch my pipe things without taking my eyes off the road.
Should your motor car not have such a well-positioned compartment or ledge, then I would recommend the front passenger's seat. Of course, with a front passenger you will need to place them elsewhere, although it has to be said that your passenger - rear or front - can then dispense what you need. I usually ask passengers to sit in the back so that I can keep the front seat for such things, should I be driving a motor car without a glove compartment.
Although I personally prefer a box of safety matches to light my pipe, a pipe lighter which can be used with one hand is better suited to the driver.
It is very easy to tamp one's pipe as one drives along with the index finger. I prefer this to fiddling about with a tool.
Once the pipe is finished, I tap it out gently into the front ashtray, or even leave the ash intact, placing the pipe back in the compartment. A friend of mine has a small wooden box, open at the top, in which he places his finished pipe. It is just a bit longer and higher than an average pipe and wherever the box is placed (on the passenger's seat, or even on the floor), the pipe is safe and cannot rattle about, spill its ash or get lost or damaged.
My friend also fills up one or more bowls in readiness for setting off on a drive - the more bowls the longer the trip. It is not easy correctly filling a pipe whilst one is driving along.
As a flake man, I find that this form of tobacco burns more slowly and should there be some air currents, is better suited to the draught. Of course, one of those little metal lids could be fitted to the bowl if this is a serious problem.
There is something very enjoyable about smoking a pipe when motoring: it aids concentration, makes a solitary drive more enjoyable and seem shorter and it provides sustenance when one can't stop for refreshment.
