Thanks, Heather. But what are you saving them for?? That’s what I started thinking. So I changed my way of being and now use everything. In fact, I now like to use things up and get rid!

There has been some mention of dip pens over on the Facebook post but I think these were a bit before my time. I don’t remember them anyway. And the ink balling was most certainly not acceptable at my school either. I can imagine the teachers were horrified at that olive oil trick too – what a task to clear up after that!

You saying that about biros making your handwriting worse makes me realise why we started off on fountain pens first. Presumably they were meant to cement our handwriting into something elegant and then we could progress to a biro, and were meant to keep up the standard.

I hadn’t thought of this from the teachers point of view at all but imagine all those little horrors armed with mini ink jets!! I like your mention of calligraphy, Ken. When I’ve seen art sets for doing this I think they have plain nibs that you dip. It does stop, as you say, the flow from being too generous. I think it helps if you have paper specifically for fountain pens too. Mine does spread a little on some that I write on now, like my diary.

I sympathise with you on the dinner service too. I have one in my cupboard, as I’m sure many people do, and I rarely use it! Mostly because it’s a faff to get too but mostly because we gravitate towards our everyday one and it’s only if we have unusually high numbers of people (and lets face it that hasn’t happened at all in 2020!) that I get it out. I shall endeavour to use it more often though I think.

Thanks so much for reading and leaving such a lovely and detailed comment, Ken, much appreciated.

The first Biro we ever saw was a stubby thing like a .303 cartridge that cost the equivalent of £10 in today’s money. We were all amazed and entranced by it and couldnt make out how it worked. Then came the Biro Minor which was only a quarter of the price and disposable which was an unheard-of idea! Although we got hold of them, teachers would not let us use them because they skid around so easily that our writing suffered dreadfully, and the early ones kept making little blobs because the ink wasnt a gel.

When I became a teacher I wished that all the children did use ballpoints, as the greatest danger was turning one’s back on children, when they would pull the lever on their fountain pens and squirt ink on the teacher’s trousers, which he wouldnt know about till he got home.

I keep my old Parker fountain pen , with an ink supply, but hardly dare use it as the ink flow is very generous. – when I think of doing a bit of high-style calligraphy I revert to dipping and use a simple wooden pen from about 1950 with various nibs.

I take your point about keeping for best. Our wedding present was a very grand looking dinner service, but it had a lot of gold on, and so my wife wouldn’t use it more than once a year, and once we got a dishwasher, not at all! How silly we were in retrospect.

As do I, Lydia, so I’m not sure what was behind the thinking way back then. I could almost understand it if it was brought in for sixth form, at least then you have more control over your faculties, as it were. Thanks for stopping by and commenting 😀

You’ve convinced me, Wendy, I shall get recording

Yes, I did think I should submit my battered old typewriter to The Repair Shop. It has a nice family associated story, too, which they’d like. I can definitely recommend the programme, so do try and give it a go if you can. We’ve become quite addicted to it and having recorded loads of them for weeks before we actually sat down to watch them, we’ve a good supply to amuse us when there’s nothing else on TV we like. But if you do watch, keep the tissues handy – some of the stories and the reactions of the owners when they get their restored item back can tug at the heart strings!

Well you would have been a rule breaker at my school, Wendy. I do have one of my old books up in the attic somewhere (I think!) but it would take a lot of digging to find it. Maybe one day, when I have a clear out (she says laughing, because that’s not going to happen any time soon). I really fancy watching The Repair Shop but haven’t got round to it yet. I don’t watch half the stuff I record already. It is amazing what people put on YouTube. I managed to convert all our old videos into digital this summer by searching on there.

Maybe you should offer your heirloom typewriter to The Repair Shop, that sounds like a challenge for them. 🙂

Thanks! It’s definitely time to get out that pen, (nice gift from a company!) and use it all the time. The only thing I’d say is that it can bleed into some paper, but I just put up with that. I’m thinking of changing to a different colour ink to jazz things up a bit but I’m being indecisive on colour at the moment. It sounds like you have a nice new outfit waiting for you in the autumn too – winner! 😀