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".

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

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

Mediatheque

No I had no idea what it was either!

But it’s worth finding out and it’s a great place to spend a rainy autumn morning or afternoon.
Mediatheque is an unique collection of film and video archive which you watch in your own little booth with a set of headphones on and it’s located at the BFI Southbank, you may know it as the NFT, beneath Waterloo Bridge.


So when you have finished your trip on the London Eye, with the wonderful Cities in Sound
Flightseeing commentary, or when you have completed our Bankside Audio Guide it’s a great spot to rest weary feet.

And as you know, here at Sound Advice we like nothing more than a free deal when we have completed our Audio Tour of London and this wonderful resource is completely free.
We took the kids and they sat spell bound by an old black and white episode of Dr Who, complete with Daleks, while we watched old news reel film.


Follow this link for a complete list of all the films available from an 1896 film of Blackfriars Bridge to WH Auden’s wonderfully evocative Night Mail via a 1967 documentary about swinging London.


So something for all the family there I think.

Evensong at Westminster Abbey - Arrive early and get the best seats

15.45 and Westminster Abbey’s main West entrance was closed. Guided on through Dean’s yard by my audio walk I found the entry to the cloister, I discovered that the main entrance would reopen at 16.30 offering free entry for sung evensong.

Helpful Vergers pointed the way as a queue forms by large blue gates to the left of the nave. Early, and close to the front of the queue, at exactly 16.30 I was shown to my seat, actually in the choir stalls, an honour extended to the first 100 visitors.

With 30 minutes before evensong, there was time for contemplation and the chance to study the magnificent carving and gilding on the stalls. Evensong began at 17.00 prompt, the choir surrounded us, lifting my spirit in song and allowing the imagination to wander to Coronation day, viewed from the best seat in town.

Look out for the marked seats in the back row for Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada, for a real special experience.

Check out the Westminster Web Site and click on the “What’s on” feature on the Abbey Web site for Evensong times: http://www.westminster-abbey.org/events/

Sound Advice – added treasures to enhance your walking pleasure courtesy of: www.citiesinsound.com