Iconic Churchill statue goes under the hammer

Iconic Churchill statue goes under the hammer

Do you every have one of those chilling moments when you see an item in the newspaper and it makes your heart stop for a moment? I'm being slightly over dramatic here but the picture of the famous Sir Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt statue "Allies" with text that said the famous statue was up for auction made me stop in my tracks. Bonhams will auction the famous statue in London tomorrow and it is expected to reach a price around £200,000.

Four years ago when I set too to create the Cuban Cigar Walk London I wanted a suitable starting point and after many hours researching Mayfair and St James's and planning a suitable route I decided that the junction of old and new Bond street and the iconic statue at this junction was the ideal meeting point.

More recently I have created the London Cigar Guide App which also includes the Cigar Walk and the statue is a key land mark for cigar lovers and tourists alike. It has a polished look due to the number of tourists who sit between the great men to have their pictures taken and is a major Bond Street land mark.

The statue in Bond street was unveiled on 2nd May 1995 by Her Royal Highness the Princess Margaret Countess of Snowdon and it commemorates 50 Years of Peace after the Second World War.

The British nation loved Churchill and as a man who is reputed to have smoked up to 200,000 cigars in his 90 year life you will not be surprised to find that he features frequently in both the cigar walk and the London Cigar Guide App which features many of his London homes.

The thought that I was going to have to re-record the whole of the first stage of the walk and find a new meeting point was not good news.  Only when I called the Auction house directly did I discover that the statue remains in place in Bond Street and the version that is up for auction is one of seven impressions taken. 

Churchill was a great leader and is fondly remembered on both sides of the Atlantic. His energy and oratory kept Britain motivated through the war and his relationship with Roosevelt was very special and i for one am delighted that this great statue is staying where it belongs in Bond street.

Laurence Holofcener, the sculptor was born in Baltimore Maryland and has exhibited all over the US and UK. He is know for his statues of famous people including Lawrence Olivier at the Chichester Festival Theatre.

Opening of another wonderful new smoking spot in London -The Terrace Garden, at the Langham, London

I was lucky to be invited to attend the opening evening of  what could well be one of my favourite London summer haunts. 

The compact and surprisingly peaceful Terrace Garden at the Langham in Portland place. The hotel is right opposite the BBC and a very short walk from Oxford Circus and the hustle and bustle of Regents street and Oxford street.

This great old Hotel is coming to the end of a major refurbishment and one of the final pieces in the jigsaw is the stunning flower lined terrace at basement level. As you head out to the terrace you will pass the compact Champagne bar and cocktail bar on the left.

Either inside or out this is going to be a great place to relax and take the weight off your feet after a prolonged shopping trip in the west end or after walking the Cuban Cigar Walk London.

It will also become one of London's favourite spots for a fine Cuban cigar and to top it all it's the ideal  destination for all major sporting events. Thinking about it I may well just move in!

Outside on the Terrace there are  rattan tables and chairs which nestle under huge umbrellas to shade you from the sun or possible a light English summer shower. 

The whole area is surrounded by greenery; shrubs, trees and planters giving it an almost colonial feel and a great place to take time over a cigar from the well stocked humidor.

Inside and the Champagne bar is replete with an excellent selection of Laurent Perrier Champagne. It also serves a wide range of cocktails and that cooling and moreish staple of every British summer event;  a jug of Pimms.

To top all of that it has large comfortable leather chesterfield chairs and settees surrounding a large plasma screen television which will show major sporting events while you make yourself comfortable.

I can’t think of a more civilised spot to watch the World Cup and they serve a fantastic meze platter which will keep you happy until full time.

The Hotel and cigar team have done some research to bring you a recommended quick half time cigar and something more substantial to smoke with a glass champagne to celebrate that all important victory. 

The sales team at Hunter & Frankau (the UK's importer of Cuban Cigars) have recently undertaken a rigorous few days of champagne and cigar tasting in order to provide us champagne and cigar lovers with the perfect match.

The results of their labours reveal that for a short break between sets or at half time the perfect cigar is a tubed H.Upmann Junior which you can just get through during half time if you put your mind to it. It combines beautifully with Laurent Perrier NV Champagne.

Assuming your team or favourite achieves a famous victory and you are heading out to the terrace for a celebration and with a little more time the recommended combinations are a Romeo y Julieta short Churchill with Laurent Perrier Rose champagne or a Cohiba Siglo VI with Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle champagne.    

To celebrate the opening of The Terrace Garden The Langham, are giving you the chance to win an evening on The Terrace but you will need to be quick as the competition closes on Friday 18th June. 

A great home for your Cigars in London - The Ultimate Humidors - Part Two

While I tramp the streets of London in search of cigars and stories and likely locations to include in my Audio Guides I frequently make extra ordinary discoveries. I recently visited the Tom Tom shop in London where four of the Hunters and Frankau / Linley limited edition humidors are currently on display. They looked great in the pictures but they look totally stunning in the flesh. 

They are due to move on soon and I will try to keep track of them and let you know where they are but I thought you might like to see some pictures. To see part 1 of this Blog item and more details on these amazing humidors follow this LINK

Alfred Dunhill's little devil - The Tweenie Devil

The Cuban Cigar Walk London visits four of the finest retailers of Cigars in London including the new home of Alfred Dunhill at Bourdon House.

Built between 1723 and 1725 Bourdon House is the former home of the Duke of Westminster, the Grade 2 listed Bourdon House is an oasis of Luxury and calm in the hustle and bustle of London’s Mayfair.
If the weather is fine there is a court yard where you can have a coffee and enjoy your cigars purchased from the wonderful humidor in the basement.

On the wall of Alfred Dunhill’s stylish London home, outside the exclusive Alfred’s Club you will see a polished brass plaque bearing a strange looking mystical figure. This is the Tweenie Devil, a sign of Alfred’s devilish sense of humour.

In 1893 the young Alfred Dunhill took over control of his fathers business making all of the accessories that the carriage owning Gentleman of the time required.

But although he was only 21 years old, Alfred quickly realised that the invention of the motor car posed a serious threat to business.


He changed the name of the business to Dunhill Motorities and started to produce a wide range of luggage, waterproof coats, in fact all of the accessories required to make the motor car luxurious and exclusive.

On the boot of Alfred’s own car was the Tweenie Devil, a grinning figure thumbing it’s nose at all those left in it’s wake.


Today it is possible to get a pair of Tweenie Devil cuff links from Alfred Dunhill stores. I have a pair and they never fail to start a conversation.

To hear a sample of the Cuban Cigar Walk London go to The Cities in Sound Web Site.

Partagas Culebras – the twisted cigar

I was recently given a Patagas Culebras which is the wonderful twisted three cigars in one.

On Friday I was in London visiting the cigar stores featured on the Cuban Cigar Walk London and I spent some time at Davidoff where Armando, who is in the UK on a break from his usual job as a roller at the Partagas factory in Havana.



I spoke to Armando and Edward Sahakian about the Culebras and got some really interesting details.



I asked Armando about rolling the Culebras and he told me that in order to achieve the twist it was necessary to roll the very loosely and also with very moist tobacco.



Edward told me that he had been told the history of the Culebras by one of the old Cigar importers.

The rollers are apparently allowed to smoke any number of cigars while they are rolling but are only allowed to take 3 cigars home every evening.


In order to discourage them from selling them the three cigars were twisted together.


However as they were for their own consumption the rollers made sure they always used the very best tobacco.

I told Edward and Armando that I intended to smoke mine with a couple of my friends who love cigars. Remember said Edward "that you are smoking the tobacco not the shape".

Newly released Trinidad Robusto T

Just a quick note this evening, while I was at Davidoff in London today I saw the new Trinidad Robusto T cigars which were released today.

Just look at that lovely little piggy tail there!

Yummy!

I haven't smoked one yet but James Suckling likes them:
Cigar Aficionado

Sir Winston Churchill's cigar part of War Time bunker exhibition

The Cuban Cigar Walk London naturally has many references to the life and cigars of Sir Winston Churchill  as on our Audio guide we visit two of the Cigar stores (Robert Lewis and Alfred Dunhill) which supplied Sir Winston during his long life.

The Cuban Cigar Walk London finishes at the Churchill Museum Cabinet War Rooms just next to Downing street and a new exhibition revealing the day to day workings of life inside Sir Winston Churchill's secret World War II headquarters is being opened to the public this week.





Marking the 70th anniversary of the start of the conflict, the exhibition will showcase the stories of the people who worked alongside Churchill in the secret bunker.

For those of you who are keen Cigar smokers interested in the specific cigar that Sir Winston smoked you can see an example of one of his cigars in the museum.

It's partly smoked and well chewed but it's a contact with the great man himself.



Whether you can get to the exhibition or not I strongly recommend that you buy a copy of the book "Churchill's Cigar" by Stephen McGinty.

Stephen was kind enough to read extracts of his wonderful book for inclusion in the Cuban Cigar Walk London and it's a authorative and beautifully written book.

For more details see :

BBC News Article
Churchill Museum Cabinet War Rooms Web site.

The Ultimate Humidor? (Part 1)

If you like good Cuban Cigars then you need somewhere to keep them and while working on a group version of my Audio Guide the Cuban Cigar Walk London I recently met Simon Chase of Hunters and Frankau who told me about the new Humidors which Hunters had commissioned from Linley the famous bespoke furniture company which is run by the Queen’s nephew.

The Cuban Cigar Walk London passes very close to the Linley store in Mayfair and you can be sure that we will be making a detour on group walks to ensure that we get to see these wonderful pieces of design.

Of the three designs, the reproduction of the El Laguito factory in Havana, the home of the world famous Cohiba cigars is the most stunning.
Only one of these humidors will be made and it will be available filled with a fabulous selection of Cigars all carefully selected by Hunters and Frankau.

Slightly more accessible to mere mortals are the two other designs in this exclusive range. The Skyline Humidor is the second in the collection and five of these will be produced. This humidor contains 50 cigars and features the panoramic skyline of London in marquetry detailing around the box.


Finally The third humidor in the collection marks the bicentenary of the Cuban Revolution. Only fifty of the Cuban Flag humidors will be available and each one is numbered.

The box features marquetry inlay depicting the Cuban national flag in ripple sycamore, satin walnut and Santos rosewood encased within walnut lippings.

The box is distinguished by an undulating ‘ripple’ effect on the surface which evokes a flag fluttering in the wind.

For full details and to place your orders go to the Hunters and Frankau web site:
Hunters and Frankau Humidors

H Upmann Magnum 48 Limited Edition

I had a wonderful afternoon yesterday and I sat with Edward Sahakian at Davidoff in London . It was the first day of the release of the 2009 limited edition Cuban Cigars and I sat with him and smoked one of the new H Upmann Magnum 48 Limited Edition 2009.


It’s a great cigar, not to strong, which is ideal for me. It is made with tobacco which as been aged for a minimum of 2 years. Edward had smoked one the day before and he says they will age very well.

We will be heading back to Davidoff on the Cuban Cigar Walk London on the 19th September for a group walk which will be followed by a Herf.

http://www.citiesinsound.com/shopWebSite/php/showProducts.php?plu=13

Make the most of the smoke

Quite simply, it was one of the most pleasant and informative afternoons I’ve had in London”
Mark Hedges, Editor – Country Life, May 2009


I recently spent a sunny afternoon doing the Cuban Cigar Walk London with the editor of Country Life and you can read his article on the Country Life web site:

http://www.countrylife.co.uk/blogs/article/341534/Country-mouse-on-a-pleasant-tour-of-London.html