January 2007 - Three Inductees to the Brethren of the Briar

This afternoon, I had the honor and pleasure to present, on behalf of the Vancouver Pipe Club, 3 new Italian made pipes, 3 only 2 oz. packages of tobacco and 3 pipe tampers/nails to three seminarians at Westminster Abbey. There is a story behind these three young lads. One of the monks, Father Basil, is a pipe smoker of long standing and an Honorary Member of VPC. A couple of weeks ago, while on his way to his evening pipe, Father Basil was approached by the three seminarians who said that they would like to learn more about the fine art of pipe smoking. They each pulled out a drug store pipe and some tobacco. Suddenly there were four pipe smokers at the Abbey! Father Basil was both shocked and encouraged by this encounter. He explained the occurrence to the writer. Through the generosity of a benefactor and the VPC, these three young lads now each have a good pipe of their own and baccy to enjoy. The photo below shows, from left to right, Father Basil, David, John and Bryan.