Philip and mother-in-law of Queen Elizabeth II, who founded a nursing order of Greek Orthodox nuns in 1949, smoked Woodbines. Prince Philip's biographer Gyles Brandreth wrote of Princess Alice during her time at Buckingham Palace, "They say you could always tell when she was coming along the corridor because of the whiff of Woodbines in the air. The idea of the Duke of Edinburgh’s mum, dressed as a nun, sucking on her Woodbine… it’s wonderful!" Legendary North East England comedian Bobby Thompson always smoked Woodbines on stage and also mentioned them frequently in his act. John Lennon was originally fond of smoking Woodbines while he was a student and into the early 1960s, before switching to smoking the French-made Gauloises Bleues. After switching, Lennon mocked the use of Woodbines during a documentary film that chronicled The Beatles' first visit to America. Jennifer Paterson, celebrity chef of the Two Fat Ladies, was known to smoke Woodbines and is seen doing so in several episodes of the show. Van Morrison, a Northern Irish singer-songwriter, mentions buying Woodbines in the song "Cleaning Windows" ("Bought five Woodbines at the shop on the corner // And went straight back to work") as a pictorial description of the main character of the song, who is a simple working man. Flogging Molly, an Irish-American Celtic punk band, mentions smoking Woodbines in their song "Factory Girls". The song is about an old woman, and has the line, "Choking on Woodbine // cigarettes just kill time." In the Adrian Mole series of novels and related TV series, old aged pensioner character Bert Baxter had often smoked Woodbines as depicted. In the 1992 film Howards End, Leonard Bast (Samuel West) references the brand while telling the Schlegel sisters (Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter) about his all-night walk through the forest. He describes how tired and hungry he was by dawn: “I didn't know when you're walking, you want breakfast, lunch and tea during the night as well. And all I had was a packet of Woodbines." His working-class position and accent indicate the brand may be a cheap favourite. Some late 19th to early 20th century steamships sported as many as five long and thin smokestacks (sometimes including a dummy one), notably the Russian cruiser Askold, earning them the nickname "packet of woodbines" among sailors. See also Tobacco smoking References Imperial Brands brands