 |
| My bestie, Oz on left. Me with pipe. September 1970 |
So says Joseph Morris in “The church of pipe smoking”.
PS: the photo above was at an anti-Vietnam war protest in Canberra, Australia. It was front page Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times. The first and last time we were famous!
And… this is us 56 years later, at the Spanish MoviDa, in Melbourne a few weeks ago:
 |
| No smoking … |
Like so many remnants of our culture, pipe smoking is threatened. There could have been no show this year had the Toolmaker’s Son banned smoking in beer gardens. As it is, the generational smoking ban means the influx of younger people will cease. But my experience at the show has been a good one. Young hipsters, maybe, but sincerely trying to discover the hobbies of their antecedents. Older eccentrics, definitely, but most kind and charming. Talented craftsmen, making something only sought after by a few, facing ever-rising costs. I may call it a religion with tongue very firmly in cheek (avoiding the pipe stem), but think of these people brought together in common cause, with ever-more young people desperately seeking a connection to previous generations. There’s no lanyardism, weathervane politics, or prizes for Islamists at the UK Pipe Show.
