Earlier this month I traveled to the Lake District to visit the Black Sail Lodge. Located 6 miles away from the nearest road, the Black Sail lodge is a youth hostel in season, but can be hired exclusively during the winter.
The trip was a hiking holiday, with walks scheduled each day we were there.
Recently the Dead Fox Cup 2019 took place at Club 101, a cannabis club located in a secret location on the South Coast of England. The event, now in its third year, attracted people from all over the UK and beyond to come together for a cannabis cup which has become a recognised name in UK cannabis culture.
There were three categories in this year's Dead Fox Cup - Indica & Sativa Flowers, Solvent Extract and Solventless Extract. Growers, breeders and extractors entered whatever they were most proud of, and judges marked each sample objectively based on appearance, smell, taste, effects and how clean the sample was, all without knowing anything but a sample number for each strain consumed.Cannabis is definitely not new as it has been recorded and written about for thousands of years. However, in 1937 the plant was made illegal by the United States government and the world followed suit. Since then, it has gone down hill with a very negative stigma. It wasn't until the mid 1990’s when medical marijuana was legalised in California that brought cannabis and its wealth of benefits into the spotlight again.
New consumers in today's market would have never imagined less than 10 years ago, marijuana was looked at by some as a heavy hardcore drug. Now in 2019, almost every legal recreational state has a dispensary on every corner. Some less than others but they are popping up quicker than ever. As much as this is good because competition brings out the best in us, some dispensaries might have different rules than others. For the most part, the rules work the same throughout.Last weekend I took a train up to Scotland for The Highland Flames 2019. Hosted by West End Smoking Accessories, a Glasgow-based gallery and headshop, this event brought glass artists from across the globe to Scotland for two days of blowing glass, giving demonstrations and working on collaborations.
Now in its second year, The Highland Flames is already an established event in the Scottish functional glass community, with this event attracting hundreds of people who collect functional glass art including rigs, bongs, pipes, pendants and more.Product Earth Expo, now in its 4th year, attracts people from all over the Hemp & Cannabis industry and across the UK, Europe and beyond with people exhibiting from as far away as the United States where many states already have legal access.
About the Expo
The expo this year was split into two arenas which were located in separate conjoined buildings, with one focused on hydroponic gardening and the other on the UK hemp, CBD and Cannabis Industry. There was a central courtyard in the middle of the event with many stalls outside in addition to those filling out the expo rooms.
The Emerald Cup was in attendance partnering with Product Earth to deliver some talks including one by legendary hash maker Frenchi Cannoli.
Also hosted at Product Earth this year was the sixth annual European Functional Flame Off, an event by Danish Headshop Smoking Gear, in which Glass Artists from across the world compete head to head for borosilicate glory.