HAVANA DIARIES - the missing bits

[Ken Gargett]

rob and ernesto are well and send their best to all. macho wore his liberace shirt one too many times and was last seen stuffed in the back of a dodgy car on the malecon. des continues to sail thru life and i keep picking up the pieces.

another rob confession - apparently all the guys that went last year were given boxes of siglo vi´s on return. i was not told this but when i happened past the humidor a few weeks later, my good mate tells me he is doing a special on boxes of guess what for a few days and sells me mine but was kind enough toi knock a few percent off. serve him right if ernesto breaks his heart.

the biggest news for most members will be the new r & j short churchill, a robusto sized smoke well packaged. i´m a bit mixed on this one. no doubt the draw and construction were excellent but mine (only smoked one so far so a bit harsh to judge, will be rectifying that soon) was a little grubby upfront and quite hot. obviuosly they are very fresh. that said, it settled down quickly and was a nice smoke by the end. sopme attractive spice notes and a herbal touch. not sure if it strikes me as obviously r & j but i´d have thought it recovered enough to warrant around 86 to 88. when they settle, perhaps higher.

went to lunch yesterday with the guys and the secret police and some of her friends. i crashed after lunch but the place serving the best food in cuba at the moment is templete. then the opening at the national theatre. the lesser of the fienes brothers gave a reading from r & j. then a superb ballet (rob said it was the best he´d seen tho on questioning, it turned out to be the only one he´d seen) of the shakespearean tragedy, with a few twists. only embarrassing moment was ernesto waving to rob from the stage when he was supposed to be dancing.

then to the magnificent capitolo building for the reception, short churchills, brilliantly stunning models and dodgy food. a relatively early one.

there is truth to the rumour that rob has been seen smoking dominicans in havana.

[Taino]

I think I speak for many here: nothing from Rob surprise us anymore.

[Jimmy2]

He probably smoking the one's I gave him at the NYC dinner. :-D

[skid11]

Hi for all you guys at FOH that don't know me my name is Barbie and I'm 22 years old from Cuba............ I have to go now and get ready as I have a hot date with Mr Ken from Australia.