Tag Archives: cigars

At the Cigar Shop – 50 Years later

Posted on 2018-10-12 by

I had gone to Huéscar for market day and I thought I might as well look for my favorite Spanish newspaper, El Pais. It might find it at the tobacco shop, I was told. As I entered the store, just … Continue reading →

Posted in Andalusia, Fiction, Films, Music, Photography, Spain, Travel, Video Blog | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

My house in Colombia

Posted on 2017-04-22 by

Bogotá is actually quite green for a large city, but I wanted only nature, without the city. So I rented a little house north of Colombia’s capital, which I reached on smaller and smaller roads, shared with a surprising number … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Colombia, Photography, Travel | Tagged , | 35 Comments

Random Thoughts (11)

Posted on 2017-04-13 by

Mohammad Mostafaei, the lawyer with whom I was arrested in Iran, has written a book. He says I am in it too, but I can’t read Norwegian, so I have to wait for a translation. Does anyone still remember José Echegaray … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Elections, France, Health, History, Human Rights, Iran, Language, Law, Mexico, Military, Politics, Sports, Statistics, Travel, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

10,000 boxes of cigars

Posted on 2017-03-18 by

When General Ulysses Grant was described by newspapers as smoking cigars during the Battle at Fort Donelson in Tennessee in 1862, admirers from around the country sent him more than 10,000 boxes of cigars for further use. He later said: I had … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, History, USA | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

The worst year for human health

Posted on 2016-10-21 by

1492 must have been the worst year for human health. Latin Americans got deadly diseases, alcohol and bacon. Europeans got diarrhea, chocolate and tobacco.

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A Humidor for the Poor

Posted on 2016-10-20 by

Among us connoisseurs: a fridge is just as good. I learnt this from the store in Cochabamba where I regularly bought cheap (probably because they weren’t quite authentic) Cohibas. They stored the box with cigars on top of the beer … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Health | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

250,000 cigars

Posted on 2015-09-06 by

In his book The Churchill Factor, Boris Johnson makes the apodictic claim that Winston Churchill smoked 250,000 cigars over his lifetime. This number looks too much like it has been pulled out of Mr Churchill’s famous hat. Let’s apply some … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Statistics, UK | Tagged , | 1 Comment