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Pipe Club of Norfolk |
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| British Pipesmoking Championship 2007 |
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Let us hope it will not be the last.
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Garry Weston(Madgarry) writes:
Hi guys ive just got home from running this year Uk national pipe smoking championships and final one due to upcoming smoking ban, this years show was dedicated to Balraj Singh a JHPCB member who sadley died recently and with sales of his estate pipes and the raffle we raised £1750 to donate to charity with more to come from pipes left to go onto Ebay.
Myself and the treasurer got to the venue at 0915Am and proceded to set the venue up and were quickly joined by eager competitors and traders who got there early. Trade stands this year were supplied by John Hollingsworth Tobacconists, Bill Ashton Taylor(Ashton pipes), Ian Walker(Northern Briars), Mustafa(Maximus) Imp meers, Colin Leeson(Invicta Briars) and Jan from Jan pipes in the Czech republic, they had some great stuff on display and many people felt like kids in a sweet shop, including our own RonB who purchased 3 Ashtons to my knowledge(Deep pockets Ron).
Up until 12 oclock it was setting up tables,chairs, time keeping aperatus, laying out of the pipe and tobacco and goody bags, while all around us the amassed throng chatted,smoked and consumed lunch and beer .
Finaly my fellow setter uperers had chance for lunch and a pint and pipe, then straight into regestration and people finding their seats, then the countdown while people loaded there pipes and then the off as matches struck and clouds of smoke decended into the air like the aftermath of a bombing mission, this is when it starts getting serious as the competative edge takes over.
This years pipe was a Northern Briars hand made rusticated Bulldog (I have a spare for trade if anyones interested) and the tobacco was P Stockebby Optimum.
The clubs reprisented this year were, The Pipe club of London, JHPCB, The Norfolk pipe club, The South west Pipe club, The Halifax pipe club, The Northern briars club(Ex Stafford pipe club), and Smokers Forums. Every one made it past the dreaded 10 min mark. The event went on for a while before people started dropping out at about the 35 to 45 min mark and the final winner with a time of 1H 17m 18s was Tim Knight from JHPCB(Well done Tim).
The winning club was JHPCB who posted a combined time off 3h 33m 34s, second was pipe club of Norfolk 3h 04m 10s, 3rd was Pipe club of London 2h 30m 56s, Smokers forums gave a respectable time of 2h 7m 46s(Well done guys).
All competitors recd a goody bag at the end, all in all a good day was had by all and it was real nice to put faces to some of my fellow smokers forum member, RonB, Caskwith, Jim Mcphail and Marty Gould and of course Maximus whome I met last year... Ide like to offer my thanks to all in the trade and fellow SF members who donated all of the multitude of prizes we had and helped make the event so good for all concerned.
Ide like to finish off by saying that this is the last such UK event(I wish it wasnt) and if by any chance a way around the ban can be found so another can be held, I wish all the best to whomever takes over the organisation and running of it as ime standing down from my role as main organiser..
Thanks to all who paticipated today its been a pleasure and honour to run this show for you and great fun participating in competition with you, I hope you all enjoyed it as much as me, signing off from my ramblings Garry Weston(Madgarry)
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| Placings |
| Old Silhillians Club, Knowle, West Midlands |
| 10 June 2007 |
| Optimum |
| Briars by Northern Briars |
| 1 | Tim Knight JHPCB |
77:18 |
| 2 | Reg Stevens JHPCB | 73:38 |
| 3 | Reg Walker |
70:27 |
| 5 | Len Ellis |
61:00 |
| 8 | Tony Larner |
52:43 |
| 13 | Richard Adamek |
50:24 |
| 15 | John Walker |
49:01 |
| 20 | Keith Garrard |
45:44 |
| 34 | Jon Betts |
28:43 |
| 36 | Keith Coleman | 27:33 |
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| Some Smokers Forums members |
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| Reg Walker looks aghast |
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| SF's Pipe Dude near the end |
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| Fireclown and madgarry |
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| Mustapha from IMP Pipes |
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| Reg and Len near the end |
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| Jon gets a prize |
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| As does Keith Coleman |
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| And Keith Garrard |
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| Richard Adamek wins |
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| Tony Larner looks like the cat who has got the cream |
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| Len wins |
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| Reg Walker is rightly proud |
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| Champion Tim looks amazed |
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| Ian Walker, Northern Briars |
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| ronb from SF |
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This last ever British Pipe Smoking Championships is dedicated to a smoker, who sadly is no longer with us. A few weeks ago he died suddenly of a heart attack leaving a big gap in that pantheon of pipe men we all refer to as ‘real characters’. Blind from an early age, severely diabetic, on frequent dialysis, and deaf as a post when his turn to buy the round. He wanted two things from life- to be treated as just one of the chaps without special dispensation for his ailments, and a good smoke of fine pipe tobacco. He was a founding member of our own club and as one of its strongest supporters very rarely missed meetings despite the elements or distance he had to travel. He had a mischievous sense of humour based mainly on his keenly honed skill of feigning miserliness. Many a time he reduced the most mild mannered of men to exasperation, by trying get a discount or claim he had no money on him. Then as they took the bait he broke into a grin and chortled like a schoolboy prankster.
He was a highly regarded competition smoker at club, national, and international levels. A consummate competitor, once lit up and running he would quietly muse while nursing his briar for hours. He won several of our own competitions in fine style. Our club took both British and Norwich titles thanks to his personal times. He smoked for Britain in European and World championships numerous times, giving good account of himself. His wry humour and desire to be in the thick of things will never be forgotten by those who competed with him abroad. His deep knowledge and bargaining skills will remain a dent in the profit margins of pipe traders throughout the globe for years to come. It is those unique individuals like him that give the world of pipes and their smokers real character. As puritanical politicians and their health police try to make us all equally miserable in their brave new world, they should realise that it is those true ‘one offs’ like him who have really so enriched our lives.
Profits of this last ever pipe smoking championships are going towards funding the retraining of his faithful guide dog ‘Ruby’. So please make it happy event in remembrance of a fellow ‘Brother of the Briar’. He was smokey at competition, tight of wallet, thirsty in company, and most important of all he was one of ours. We dedicate this our last ever British Pipe Smoking Championships to a true pipe man- Balraj Singh JHPCB!
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