it was so that i did indeed have some conflicting ideas for the title of this post. at various times i wrestled with a vaguely connected musical inspired one, such as the first cut is the deepest or even the final cut, look you see. further, although not as much as you might think, i did deliberate using the "silk" aspect of what i write. my imagination, however (or alas) could only stretch as far as "silk road", and by all accounts that carries somewhat different connotations on the internet.
oh, yes, to sort of get to some sort of point. recently, with thanks to the kindness of a good friend, i have been smoking some of them silk cut fags. well, silk cut cigarettes to use a term which is likely to be more appropriate and of an increased level of sense to our friends in America. no, it is not that i would have chosen these for myself. so far as i am aware this is the first time i have (knowingly) smoked them, although maybe at some point Spiros got me some as the idea of me smoking them, knowing how, who or even what they are associated with, may well have entertained him some.
for clarification on the title, well, no cigarette is more closely associated with the lifestyle of that there London (innit) than silk cut. not, at the least, now that JPS (in particular the sleek black boxed ones with the royal seal on them) are no more, quasi replaced as they are with the salty sea dog rough ways of the "players". undoubtedly i shall waffle on about this aspect a little later. rather than earlier.
how are they? as in, some sort of actual review? well, they are not so bad as i was expecting. for an item intended for the gentrified, sensitive elite of the south i was surprised to find that they were not all that light. my expectation, knowing what i do of the ways of the London (innit), was that they were likely to have no kick at all, and be equivalent to inhaling water or one of them "vape" things.
but, that said, the name "silk cut" remains a mystery. at least, dear reader, as in to how or why they are called so. it's not that the smoking experience is particularly "silky", and nor do they have any sort of harsh "cut" effect, as would be the case with the previously mentioned intended for salty sea dog types players. no, they are nowhere near as good as Marlboro, for nothing (for me) would ever be, but they are not as hopeless as i may have suspected. which could indeed, in light of how much time i spend there, well be symptomatic of me going full tilt cockney. hopefully not, but for the most part my journey in life has been with eyes open so i cannot complain.
quite late into the post, i appreciate, but there above is the usual advice, warning, disclaimer or what have you. yes, smoking is a very "bad" (or silly) thing to do. no good from a health perspective can come from it, so either don't start smoking or if you do presently smoke take some sort of measure, if you can, to quit or at least cut down considerably. indeed i do like that "over 70 substances" on the warning. did they get bored of counting?
my coming to try these silk cut (purple, apparently) was, as mentioned, down to the generosity of a very dear friend. she wished to get me some as a gift, which is always welcome if unnecessary. normally she would purchase Benson & Hedges, for personal reasons, but the tobacconist of choice (a bloke working in a corner shop or supermarket kiosk, at a guess) urged her to purchase these. so far in this journey i have yet to meet the cigarette i had any significant quarrel with, as it happens.
to the association these cigarettes (or the silk cut brand) have (or has) with the London lifestyle. much like the Apple iPhone is today, so too were silk cut cigarettes in the 70s and 80s. which is to say whilst functional, not really the best one could get, but priced and (in particular) marketed in such a way as to tap into the aspirational desires of many. the image and the price made one feel as though they were in some way part of an elite class of society they wished to be if not part of then accepted by.
probably, and most famously, it's the kind of social circle what (or that), say, Princess Margaret had. to be part of her gang it was not enough to be simply wealthy, or hold a position in society of any combination of wealth, influence or adulation. one had to live the part too, beyond merely describing things as je ne sais quoi and what have you. they tended to drink wines which were horrid, being mostly of a taste resembling vinegar with harsh tonic water and sugar added, but were of such price and provenance that they got celebrated. this is the lifestyle for which silk cut cigarettes were a thing.
such days are gone, of course, with successive governments here in the UK bewilderingly managing to convince the huddled masses that cigarettes are the root cause of all that is wrong in our world, every fault or flaw or thing what is not perfect. not being able to smoke inside no more means that people can no longer present themselves as a member of the elite by wearing the right tuxedo and producing a packet of silk cut from one of the pockets of it.
just how likely is it that i, moi, myself would buy more silk cut fags? not very. i mean if one of the more financially agreeable, independent cigarette distributors of the country offered to sell me some then yes, of course. but these are more the sort of thing what they have on offer. you never know, though. actually, you do. if it were so that i was off somewhere and felt some sense of needing to buy a pack of silk cut so as to impress people (or be accepted by them) then no, i would just get Marlboro.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment