Forthcoming events
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19 January - AGM
16 February - 3 grams |
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| The Pipe Club of Norfolk 1973 to 2010 Miscellany |
A Short History of the Club and its Activities  |
The PCN was featured on 'Have I Got News For You' - BBC1 - 2010-10-14. Full report of the show here
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Fifty prizes up for grabs followed by an excellent buffet. As usual, the Chairman and Secretary seemed to win more than their fair share. Newsletter report The Christmas draw took place with over 30 prizes up for grabs. As usual, the Secretary and the Chairman ran the draw and as usual the Secretary and the Chairman won the most prizes. Strange how this happens every year. An excellent seasonal buffet was provided by the Landlord, and everybody had a jolly good time. |
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We had the pleasure to welcome Teddy Wood and Terry Loudwell, two of our friends from the Morley Club, to our combined music quiz and cheese and pickles evening.
Reg won the quiz and then we stuffed ourselves senseless with a massive selection of cheeses obtained from Norwich market by John Eason. Oh, the indigestion! Newsletter report Due to the unavailability of the Secretary at the October meeting, the Music quiz was combined with the cheese and pickle evening. 18 vinyl tracks were played on a real gramophone, and the prize went to the person who guessed the most artistes. The Secretary had named this event the dead easy quiz, as most of the artists were deceased. With such wonderful artistes as John Hanson, Joseph Locke, Ruby Murray (I once danced with her) and Tex Ritter (do not forsake me oh my darling ...) one had to be of a certain age to stand a chance. Fortunately most of our members are of a certain age. We have to thank Mrs. Eason for supplying a wonderful selection of cheeses, and the members who brought along pickles, with a special mention for Frank's homemade pickled onions. We had two visitors, Ted and Terry, from Sheringham and the quiz was won by Reg Walker which is only fair after all, as it was his gramophone. |
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Congratulations to Tony who won this year's darts competition. Not bad for someone who only plays darts once a year.
Newsletter report Seven eager sportsmen shaped up at the oche for the annual event, organised with customary precision by KJ Coleman. Before the main event, John Eason gave the Vice Chairman a private grilling in the form of the intriguing Quiz he managed to avoid in October. Mutterings of 'alright, John Walker was a worthy winner...' Two hours of intense play saw Len Ellis make the only decent score of the night (140) and two pairings (Walker v Walker; Ellis v Larner) for the semi-finals. Then, the big event: Tony 'the Power' Larner against Reg 'the Thrower' Walker. Down to the doubles, and youth had its way... Tony the victor. The Chairman presented the...oh dear, no prizes again. Well, there is a recession on. But we all enjoyed the sandwiches provided by the thoughtful Landlord, presented with a sign saying 'Pipe Club of Norfolk: as seen on HIGNFY.' Oh, the fame... |
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A cold evening and a low turnout due to illness and lassitude. The planned music quiz had to be abandoned because the question setter and the bloke with the wind-up gramophone were both ill. So John Eason produced an excellent substitute general knowledge quiz won by John Walker.
Newsletter report Disappointingly, Keith was suffering from Montezuma's revenge, and was unable to present his eagerly-anticipated Music Quiz. Further, the Vice Chairman managed to catch the same complaint by Internet Osmosis, so on a cold evening only the bravest souls turned in for an impromptu (and, by all accounts excellent) general knowledge quiz, presented by John 'Bamber' Eason. John Walker was especially pleased, as he won the contest and a bottle of wine to go with the glory. UK Federation of Pipe Clubs The website received a note from Brian Mills, who has taken over the presidency of this organisation from Tim Knight. He is assisted by Mark Dyer, as Vice President. Brian asked if we were able to confirm a contact in relation to his wish to re-establish the British Pipesmoking Championship, and John Walker so confirmed. We await developments. The Ramblings of Old Smokey Got up this morning and switched on the BBC News to see what was happening in the world and there was a reporter standing on the bank of a lake in Oxfordshire announcing that he had found some otter poo. Unfortunately the cameraman couldn't get near it but he promised that if we came back later there would be live pictures of the said poo. I quickly finished my breakfast and sure enough when they went back to the lake there they were, sensational pictures of otter poo. It is refreshing to know that my licence fee is not completely wasted. [The webmaster interjects: My TV licence tax money is not wasted - I don't have a TV and instead spend the money on beer and tobacco rather than on a diet of bilge.] The next news item was about the woman who famously put a cat in a wheelie bin, she was due in court today and could face a prison sentence. Personally I think she made a big mistake, surely she should have put it in the brown bin. I picked up the newspaper and one article told me it was good for you to drink beer three times a week where another article told me I shouldn't eat meat more than three times a week. I am confused, will this change my life? What do I do next? Any suggestions? (Boef au Batemans three times a week?) [The webmaster interjects: Stop eating all together and just drink beer. You know it makes sense.] In a further article a study by Glamorgan University has discovered that men start to become grumpy at the age of 52. "The Grumpy Old Men" meet on the third Wednesday of the month at The Nelson, Nelson Street. |
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David Nuttall, Conservative MP for Bury North and a supporter of the Save Our Pubs & Clubs campaign, explains why he has tabled a 10-Minute Rule Motion to amend the smoking ban. David will present his Bill after Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday 13th October. |
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John Walker won this year's clay competition with a time of 48 minutes. Tony Larner was a close second.
Newsletter report The Annual clay pipe smoking contest was held, smoking 3grs. of MacBaren's Roll Cake in various clays. First one out, at 25'40 and blaming the fact that his excessive length meant that he could not see what was happening at the business end, was Reg Walker... John Elvin was a non-runner. In a battle to the finish, the winner was John Walker 48'52 beating Tony 'Handkerchief' Larner 47'48. John was presented with a Dr.Plumb pipe and Tony with a tin of tobacco. |
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How the club managed to raise £100.75 from the sale of assorted junk is beyond me. I believe that auctioneer Keith has attended some hypnotism course or is a master of Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
Normally sane and sensible people found themselves saying "three pounds fifty" for some packets of Clan of indeterminate age and even more indeterminate condition. Newsletter report This was auction night, and in the absence of the vice chairman the gavel was taken up by K.J.Coleman, and what a splendid job he did. £98 was raised from a load of rubbish, although I must admit that I was pleased with my three purchases, two of which I sold on EBay for a small fortune, (world cruise here I come). I once went on a holiday of a lifetime... 'never again'. My best buy was a £2 hooded street jacket, I've been terrorising the neighbours for weeks. An entertaining meeting. (I once went on a pound-stretcher holiday...I sent a pound and they sent me off on a stretcher). |
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1945 Newsreel - Charatan factory |
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We are sad to hear that jazz drummer and bandleader, Jack Parnell has died. Jack was an extremely entertaining guest speaker at the 15th Norfolk Open Championship in 2006.
We send our condolences to his family. |
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Another enjoyable afternoon with our friends at the Morley Club, Sheringham.
Newsletter report Sunday 1 August 2010 brought a little rain in the early hours, but this did not deter Messrs Coleman, Larner, Walker, Walker and Woollard-Kingston from PCN, plus 19 members of Bowls Club... on the first day of the Sheringham Festival... into the incredibly friendly atmosphere of the Morley Club. The sun shone... and so did some of us, encouraged by the gently competitive local players (just as well that somebody knew the rules). Ted, Terry, the lovely Candy, who provided excellent bar and catering facilities, and all the other Bowlers, who combined to make this a most excellent event, once again. Many thanks to Tony Larner, who organised the day, and to everyone else. I brought along my son, Sam, and Tony set us against his brothers... fierce and friendly competition (we let them win our game: only fair). Drink, food, good company... in fact the whole day... as good as it gets. Looking forward to the 2011 event. Reg Walker |
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Len Ellis won this year's outdoor competition with Tony Larner second. The competition tobacco was Optimum - not a popular choice to say the least.
Newsletter report Unofficial report on the Outdoor Competition held at The Nelson, Nelson Street. As our younger members may be unaware of the rationale behind this seemingly unlikely form of 'enjoyment' a little history may not be amiss. When, some years ago, anti-smoking legislation drove us outdoors, it was determined to enact a public demonstration of defiance to the intolerant bigots of the anti-smoking lobby and to antagonise as many non-smokers as possible. Entirely legitimate and worthy aims, you will agree. However, there are times when altruism and masochism collide and this event was one such. Initially, the portents were good. It was dry; such wind as there was caused minimal interference, and biting insects were largely absent. Even JH Eason's delicious flesh remained unchewed. But what of the seating arrangements? The rustic slatted benches provided were hideously uncomfortable. They are designed this way, of course, so that customers do not linger over their drink but are forced by discomfort to repair to the bar for refills. For us, competition rules precluded such relief, and we had to suffer the pile-inducing misery for the duration. Now we come to the fuel. I know the argument that if we all liked the same thing we would all smoke it, but this concoction, which I will not glorify by naming, failed, shall we say, to meet with universal approval. Indeed, one looked longingly at the dry weeds beside the path, confident that they would provide more satisfaction. And so this fun dragged on into the night until the more determined amongst us finally had the good grace to go out, releasing us from our torment. Now, I am not one to moan about things without suggesting remedies. Thus: 1)Seating. Clearly the proprietors should be compelled to provide cushions. Failing that, we should be able to obtain sufficient comfortable seats from the Shed. 2)Fuel. As this was not an isolated incident, would it be possible to offer the meeting prior to any contest a short list of suitable fuels upon which a vote could be taken (single transferrable vote, of course). So there we are. Something worthwhile for the next meeting to discuss. Grizzleguts It is worth adding that the happy winner of the contest was, surprise surprise, Len Ellis. Tony Larner was runner-up. And the Secretary put back three of his winning tickets in the raffle. The Landlord kindly provide plates of hot snacks for our delectation... .and the barman was at the same school, in 1960s Tooting, as the Vice Chairman, whose pints of Bombardier made the evening pass in blissful haze... THE OFFICIAL REPORT The fourth annual outdoor smoking contest took place in the beautiful gardens of the Nelson on a fine evening with a stiff breeze. Those who arrived early had chosen to sit between the wall and a tree in order to minimise the effect of the wind and therefore gain an advantage over the other competitors (two Walkers and one Eason, to name names). It had been left to the Secretary to chose the tobacco for the contest and his selection was Optimum, described by the manufacturer as 'a pleasant mild blend of flue cured Black Cavendish and Burley with a pleasant aroma and a distinctive aftertaste.' In fact, the aftertaste was so distinctive that I could still taste it two days later. The Chairman gave the signal and pipes were filled and lit, the first one out was John Eason after 20:05 followed closely by R.Walker and J.Walker, so their little plan failed "ah-ha". Len Ellis was the eventual winner with 51:00 Tony Larner was runner up and "guest" smoker Don Warman came third. The winner was presented with a Parker pipe, the Secretary ran the usual raffle and managed three winning tickets out of the four he purchased. Hot food was enjoyed to round off a good evening. EVENT CANCELLED According to a recent survey, tall people and fat people are more likely to be bitten by midges... I have therefore cancelled the forthcoming Pipe Club outing to Scotland. |
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Ronnie Bobbin presented another of his excellent famous pipe smokers pictures quiz. John Eason was the surprise winner with Keith Garrard a close second.
Newsletter report In the absence of the chairman and vice chairman (on Bloomsday duties in London) the Secretary was left to preside over the meeting, and what a well run meeting it was. It was the welcome return of Ronnie Bobbin with his quiz pictures of famous pipe smokers, or to be more accurate, pictures of famous people with pipes. These included Top Gear's James May, Elvis Presley, Stafford Cripps, Harry H Corbett, the sailor off the advert for Skegness (bracing) and Barak Obama's father. In a grandstand finish John Eason was declared the winner on 39 points with Keith Garrard the runner up with 38. To a great fanfare of vuvuzelas John was presented with a tin of tobacco. Sandwiches were enjoyed. followed by the usual raffle. |
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History was made this evening in the 4 grams competition when the record of 97.01 mins set by Len Ellis on 1983-02-16 was broken by David Woollard-Kingston with an astonishing time of 113 mins. With his pipe still going, David retired so we could all go home. The tobacco apparently continued to burn for about another 15 minutes. We shall have to start earlier next year! Newsletter report In the annual 4 gram competition (this was the amount smoked in PCN contests before international rules were adopted) Robert McConnell's Oriental mixture was smoked in pipes of the contestants' choice. John Elvin maintained his sparkling run of form and was gone after 5:30. At the hour mark, six smokers still remained in the running. When the old warhorse Len Ellis departed after 1:22:55 David Woollard-Kingston was left on his own and he kept smoking until he declared himself out after 1:53:00. Rumour has it that he was still alight at breakfast the next day. David was presented with a pipe for his efforts. |
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John Betts won the annual cigar competition with a remarkable length of 3.3 inches.
Newsletter report Imagine if you can a dozen grown men sitting in a circle lighting cigars and then seeing how long they can keep their ash. Hardly an Olympic sport or come to that a spectator one, but as they say "little things...". Various poses were exhibited including laying back in ones chair with your end in the air until your hat drops off, innuendos filled the air, "who's got the longest length?" etc. Keith Coleman with his brand new all singing and all dancing measuring instrument acted as judge, leaping around the room like an Olympic gymnast. Several members beat the 3 inch barrier with the eventual winner being John Betts with 3.3 inches, John was presented with a fine Havana cigar and a "certificate of length" to take home and show his wife. |
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If true, this means that the smoking ban is invalid. |
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John Eason won the St Patrick's Day quiz - no surprise there!
Newsletter report New membership cards were distributed: our thanks to John Betts for producing these. The main event of the evening was a tobacco sampling. Three tobaccos were on offer: Orlik Bullseye, Erinmore Balkan Mixture and Larsen's No.30. While these were being sampled the Secretary had devised a St. Patrick's night quiz. There was a picture round of 12 famous Patricks or Pats, and 15 questions about all things Irish. The winner with a score of 18.5 was John Eason. A raffle and sandwiches rounded the night off. Subsequently one of our more inventive members (the webmaster) came up with the suggestion that the winner of a PCN quiz should be encouraged to set the next one. 'The only way we'll stop Eason winning' were his exact words... The Ramblings of Old Smokey Fenland district council is to investigate allegations against John West, the Mayor of March, that he smoked a cigarette 30 centimetres from two fellow council members. They were outside at the time, tidying up the gardens around March railway station. Mr West said "I never realised that people walked round with tape measures, and I am not going to apologise for being a smoker." It could cost up to £5,000 to investigate this horrendous crime. A Turkish television station has been fined for broadcasting unacceptable scenes during a Tintin cartoon. The channel was fined 50,000 Turkish lira (£21,000) for a scene in Tintin against the Chicago Mafia that showed American gangsters smoking. This must be bad news for Tintin's companion , Captain Haddock , who smokes a pipe. With the General Election looming that nice Mr. Darling tried to entice the votes of the pipe smoking population by only putting 22p on a tin of pipe tobacco. Very generous. So Nanny's latest idea is to stop people smoking in their cars. If this is policed as well as the mobile phone law, then smokers have little to worry about. |
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Pipeline magazine ran from 1969 to 1978. It was published by the Pipe Club of Great Britain, 17-19 John Adam Street, London.
Here are a few pieces scanned from it. Image intensive! |
| February : Annual Briar 3 grams |
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A freezing evening saw Tony Larner win the annual 3 grams briar competition, which is the most prestigious PCN competition on the calendar, for the second year running. Well done, Tony! Chairman Len was runner-up. Newsletter report Winter draws on, another freezing cold night for us hardy (or mad) pipe club members. For the annual Briar smoking competition 3grs. of Peterson's Connoisseur's Choice was smoked in pipes of the contestants' choice. John Elvin was in fine form again going out after 2:50; the legendary Len Ellis finished second in 56:30 and for the second year running Tony Larner was the victor with a time of 57:30. Tony was presented with a pipe and Len received a tin of pipe tobacco. A raffle was run in which John Eason bagged the mystery prize and for a change the Secretary won a prize. |
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Today is the last day of Churchills tobacconist bricks and mortar shop.
But do not despair! Keith is still operating and has a new website at churchillsofnorwich.com All the pipe club members wish Keith well for the future. |
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The club continues to thrive in spite of difficulties caused by the smoking ban and is on a sound financial footing.
We are pleased to welcome David Woollard-Kingston as a new member. The following officials were elected: Chairman: Len Ellis Vice Chairman: Reg Walker Secretary / Treasurer: Keith Garrard Auditor: Keith Coleman Newsletter report The Annual General Meeting was opened by the chairman at 8pm. There were no apologies for absence. In his brief speech, the Chairman mentioned the sad passing of our President, Shaun Struthers. He also thanked the management and staff of The Nelson for making us so welcome. The Secretary/Treasurer produced a balance sheet for the year which was accepted. The following officers were elected: Chairman Len Ellis, Secretary/Treasurer Keith Garrard, Vice Chairman Reg Walker and Auditor Keith Coleman. The AGM was closed at 8.23pm. Is this a new record? It was nice to welcome a new member, David Woollard-Kingston. A general natter ensued, and sandwiches were enjoyed. The Ramblings of Old Smokey I see that Twiggy is now the same age as me, just in time for her winter fuel allowance. Oh how I remember the Sixties, with those shapely legs and a mini skirt, and Twiggy didn't look too bad either. So they have all finished for another year: 'The X Factor' (well done, Joe, you could be the next Elvis, but probably not). 'Strictly Dance A Bit' and 'I'm A Celebrity Nobody's Ever Heard Of.' Ant and Dec have made it into Who's Who: shouldn't that be Which is Which? Another Christmas has come and gone but not without Santa getting a bashing from Elf and safety. Apparently Santa promotes obesity, drink driving (that tot of Sherry before guiding his Reindeer) and road safety problems, as he appears to wear no seatbelt on his sleigh. I quote: 'Given Santa's universal appeal, he needs only to affect health by 0.1% to damage millions of lives.' Whilst on the subject of seatbelts, children's cartoon Peppa Pig is the latest to face trouble as the pigs appear not to be wearing any. These will now be drawn into the cartoon. So next time you see a family of pigs driving down the road have a look to see if they are wearing their seatbelts. The Tale of a Ton It's a slow day in a little east Norfolk town; the sun is beating down and the streets are deserted. Times are rough, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit. On this particular day a rich tourist from down south is driving through town. He stops at the hotel and lays £100 on the desk saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one in which to spend the night. As soon as the man walks upstairs, the hotelier grabs the £100 and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher. The butcher takes the £100 and runs down the road to pay his debt to the pig farmer. The pig farmer takes the £100 and heads to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel. The guy at the Farmer's Co-op takes the £100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer her "services" on credit. The hooker rushes off to the hotel and pays off her room bill with the hotel owner. The hotel proprietor then places the £100 back on the counter so the rich traveller will not suspect anything. At that moment the traveller comes down the stairs, picks up the £100 states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town. No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However the whole town is now out of debt and now looks to the future with a lot more optimism. And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is how the British Government is conducting business today. |
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Interesting Pathé newsreel of Pangbourne Pipe Club in 1940.
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| commercial adverts |
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