Quiet & Smoky New Year’s Eve

It was a very chaotic New Year’s Eve this time around, surprisingly so. Normally M and I have a quiet New Year’s Eve with pyjamas on, a good jazz stream on, and some nice alcohol and smokes. The plan was the same this time around. Planned menu was a simple pasta, gin and tonic (thanks to a good gin gifted by a good friend), and a good cigar. All good and simple. Till I got addicted to following Kirby Allison videos.

His videos popped up when I was checking out some data on cigars, but it soon took me down a rabbit hole of dressing up. He has made some really good videos on dressing like Bertie Wooster. For an Anglophile like me this was a motherlode of good content.

Coming back to the NYE, I wanted to dress up for the night, despite no plans to leave home. M gave in to me and everything was set. Till it wasn’t. A couple of hours before midnight we found we seemed to have misplaced an important key. Now we were upturning the entire home trying to find it. Total chaos. The good news was we found the key between two file folders; the bad news – we had hardly 10 mins to midnight.

So now it was a race to midnight, three piece suit on, pasta served, G&T idea dropped and instead a ready pina colada mix with Absolut picked up, and the cigar lighted just in time for midnight –

“HAPPY NEW YEAR” to all.

This was the most sweaty new year I had without any dancing preceding the ball drop. The rest of night/morning was peaceful. The pina colada mix was ok. Music was fabulous. Cigar was alright – good but not great. It was an LB1 by Rocky Patel. I am not sure if it had anything to do with the fact that I was all worked up before smoking, rather than the more sedate environment I am in when I sit to enjoy a cigar. Or it could be the fact that I had the Decade by Rocky Patel some weeks ago and that is a FABULOUS cigar. So my expectations might have been a tad too high.

I do find that for key days like Christmas, Diwali or New Year’s having a quiet party at home is much more fun than going out and struggling with traffic, crowds, and overpaid services. Do you feel the same?

Speaking of Kirby Allison here are the links to some of his videos that I enjoyed:

• You Tube Profile page for Kirby Allison – https://www.youtube.com/@kirbyallison
• Two bespoke suits made by superstar tailors John Kent & Terry Haste – Double Bespoke Commission with London Tailors Kent & Haste
• This one gave me strong Wooster vibes – From Suit To Shoot – Series
• A quick look at a gentleman’s club – Touring One Of London’s Oldest Clubs | Walking Tour With Simon Cundey
• I love all of the videos of Kirby with Edward or Eddie Sahakian – some times it works as a back ground ASMR – Inside London’s Best Cigar Lounge | With Eddie Sahakian | Kirby Allison
• Loved this series on Cowboy Boots created by Lee Miller for Kirby – Cowboy Boot Fitting | Texas Traditions Handmade Boots | Lee Miller
• This was a fun round table – again with my favourite Edward in it – A Special Evening With Cigar Legends | Davidoff of London & The Foulkes

Good riddance to 2022

There were so many hopes for 2022, considering it was coming after two years of Covid, with a possibility of Covid having been defeated. Alas, it has been a wretched year for most, and especially for me. Though there have indeed been a lot of things to be thankful for at the personal level overall it has been a testing year both personal and professional.

My state of mind can be gauged by the fact that I have recorded having read less than 10 books this year, and my podcast listening has been minimal too. Hence good riddance to 2022, thanks for the little good done, but happy to see it go.

I have promised myself that I will write a post a day, get back into some routines, and try and take control if that is ever possible. And to shake it all up starting it on New Year’s Eve rather than on the 1st 🙂

Here’s wishing everyone a Very Happy New Year. May your year be successful, peaceful, healthy, and possibly wealthy too 🙂

Electronic Tabla

Just chanced upon this video and love the sound of this electronic tabla. Looks like it’s quite tactile too. I particularly love that the sound is not tinny but more full as expected from a tabla. I guess feels richer in tone.

Trial with Bharadwaj

Hello just checking who to write a post in WP

To thine own self be true

Write a story about a kid from Karnataka and his youth

I will survive – alt Funk cover

– by ScaryPockets feat Mario Jose

Late night, winding down my work for the day, I chanced upon this beauty on Youtube. I do love covers, almost as much as I love originals, especially when done really well. Most of them shine by exaggerating or taking further the original. Or taking it into new avenues.

This cover was interesting as it was more understated than the original. There is no argument about Gloria Gaynor’s version which is a true tour de force. But this one is a wonderful and worthy rendition. A funk version as advertised no the tin, but with a lot of soul in the funk. Real smooth without missing any of the feelings of the original.

Loved it! Well worth a listen.