The 27. Day

B. arrived yesterday from Vancouver to stay with us for a few days. He doesn't smoke, which is good. And he has other good qualities, too, of course! But for the purposes of this blog this is a very important fact. He is the first house guest we have since S. quit smoking.

I went to greet B. at the airport. I just thought it is better to arrive this way, especially if you are not so familiar with this huge city. He was very glad to see me at the airport.

As our way back included changing tubes at Green park station I asked if he would mind if we got something done first, before going home. He had a heavy bag, but he didn't mind.

I knew about a cigar shop just ten minutes walk from Green park station. This shop, close to Piccadilly, was probably frequented by tourists, was a mixture where you can buy cigarettes, cigars and pipes and all else involved. Two shop assistant girls tried to help me, but did not seem to know much about cigars and they probably never smoked a cigar before. I am sure they had received some sort of training about cigars and tried to be helpful but it did not show much. And I am a non-smoker and likewise have very little knowledge about tobacco products, I did not think my case was in good hands. But they did recommend a shop just a few blocks down the road.

Now, this was the type of shop you imagine when you want to go to a good old-fashioned cigar shop. The smell of cigar in the air, a cigar stub in an astray on the table closest to the entrance door. When you walk in, you see it. I told the very helpful and nice shop assistant straight away: "I don't know anything about cigars". He patiently informed me of the options, recommended some and answered all y stupid questions. He said the receipt would include the name of the cigar, because I knew I wouldn't be able to remember it. What he did was in his very shy and clumsy way ripped off the price from the receipt, held it up to show me, then dropped it into the bag containing the cigar. A nice touch.

So this was the first thing B. did in London this time was visit a cigar shop. He didn't mind at all.

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Today was the first time in almost a month that S. spent so many hours at home, on his own. We left the flat around 11 am and S. met us in Shoreditch around 9:30 pm. Together we had some mediocre wine, though the place called itself a "Wine Bar", yeah right. And some fondue made from Emmental, Gruyere and Gorgonzola cheese with bread, potato and salad. It was all nice, but apart from the fondue itself a bit plain for the price. And service charge was included, which I hate, especially as service was not the best. Oh, well, what can you do.

Anyways, S. spent his time 3D modelling and playing every hour with the new helicopter which arrived on Friday. And he was fine.

All day.