I’ve decided to embrace the whole plain packaging thing.
In Canterbury there is a wonderful old school tobacconist and confectioner. He sells snuff and chewin’ ‘baccy and all the old sweets you thought didn’t exist any more but do. He has jars from which he sells pipe tobacco, they are labelled with things like ‘Cherry Delight’, ‘Vanilla Smooth’ and ‘Rough Shag’ or stuff like that, it’s a great place and the sort of place that would make the mouths of the Righteous go into puckered cat’s arse mode in no time at all. He also calls his customers ‘Sir’, the youngsters get called ‘young man’, he has class.
Anyhow, I was passing today and decided to pop in, if only because he is one of the few reliable outlets for Brannigan’s roast beef and mustard crisps – to (mis)quote Ron Burgundy, if you don’t think they’re the best crisps ever, I WILL fight you. One of the reasons I popped in was because I’ve been taken with the concept of a cigarette case recently, and our classy old school tabac had a selection. Not one, a selection. God bless ‘em. So I invested £10 in this:
Nothing flash, just a plain chrome effect case, although I am thinking of having a pastiche of a health warning engraved on it, ‘Smoking Rules’ or something. Maybe, maybe not.
There is a point to this, a normal packet of fags receives no attention when sat on a table if out for the evening. This will, even non-smokers will pick it up, open it and inspect it. They’ll be looking at those smokes inside (Gauloises bleu for those who are interested, normally my puff of choice when I’ve been over the water) which they wouldn’t if they were in a normal packet, especially as such an accessory is a rarity in someone my age.
It adds a certain sophistication to the whole thing, but embraces completely the concept of plain packaging, well, I’m just doing as I’m told.
Smoking like a sir.
Very nice!
Very nice, I bought Herself an Edwardian silver one off ebay. Was so impressed that I bought another for me (a non smoker) to keep cards in.
Go for it! grind the faces of the smug little berks into the ordure of their own making.
p.s. I do speak as a non-smoker, but one who feels that the freedoms that we have long taken for granted in this country are not being eroded away – THEY ARE BEING QUARRIED AT AN INDUSTRIAL RATE!
I dislike smoking but if you’re going to do it, at least you’re doing it in style and demonstrating the old British characteristic of defying authority in the process.
Dear Mr Snowolf
Nothing like a plain gold, silver or brass cigarette case.
As a regular non-smoker (save for my three a year habit encouraged by the likes of Debs and that nice Mrs Milton), I applaud all gestures against the prohibitionists: Sunday 1 July is National Smoking Day – feel free to light up.
DP
XX Gauloises bleu XX
Kind of defeats the object of Gauloises, when they have filters fitted, doesn’t it?
Like buying Capstain fulls and smoking them through a sock.