Gaz met me at Glasgow Airport and we went to his flat via the Braehead Shopping Centre so that I could get a new cell phone and some underwear from M & S given that the stopover was not originally planned. Now that I’ve had a chance to take stock and look at the photos I thought I’d share a few with you. Gaz has a hookah. Leastways that’s what I always thought it was called but I’ve since learned a number of other names. Gaz, for example, called it a shisha. He has been spending time in the Middle East recently and became fascinated by them. So I got a brief lesson. The tobacco smoked is called molasses because it is steeped in the substance. Gaz had ‘double apple molasses. The ritual is fascinating and we actually had a smoke (I should add that I used to smoke a pipe but haven’t smoked one for many years). The smoke passing through water is completely different to the ‘raw’ smoke from a pipe. It’s not something I would take up but it was an experience I can say I’m pleased to have had.
