A fellow blogger has a post each month that asks which is/are your chosen pen/pens to use for the new month ahead. In keeping the individual fountain pens alive once every week or 10 days, it is a nice exercise to sit in the gentle ambience of the dining room light and write with each one. Usually it becomes a uniform description of basic level for each pen. Rote and uninspiring. But I then find a pen and nib that performs, leaps out and inspires for considered current use. It never equates to lasting four weeks. But a few days to a week? Then yes. 

I went into the local town yesterday and sat having coffee and a baked potato in Marks and Spencer’s. Known here in the UK as Marks ‘n’ Sparks. I delved into the 12 pens and after brief considerations went for the cheapo plastic MS generic. Could have gone for the Montblanc in ‘show off’ fashion. But in all seriousness that is not in my nature or ethics of considerations. The pen that suits the cause is paramount. The writing was for various titled lists for planning the soon to be holiday break. Food, sundries, clothes considerations, etc. The MS nib is very tidy, fine, uses a cartridge for quick change if needed and can be used for tinier writing. So spit spot apt.

Back to fountain pen testing. What to write?

The usual is rote and lack of thought…as said. For example: 

‘This is the Creeks ‘n’ Creeks French pen and it has started straight away. Happy with this. The black ink is housed in an international cartridge bought from the online W H Smith stationers en masse…..etc’. Also? It can get quirky too. These ramblings below.

Please tap on the individual images to enlarge.

Sometimes it’s fun to write this other nonsense when keeping the pens alive. Sometimes that nonsense keeps myself alive too. This morning’s ramblings, as said, are these in the photographs. I won’t rewrite, or re-type them here. This form of a few random thoughts are straight from brain to paper with no care of how grammar or rhythms work out. Spontaneous, written to self quirky and sometimes a ‘hit between the eyes’ self insightful. Or better put insightful about ‘oneself’. But then many of my blogs are written in that way. Many a time I can re-read after posting blogs and go in again to change full lines, swap about and change individual words for better or worse ones. Stories from little sentences like this have evolved into bigger ideas and are already out there in Summer’s blog land. For example. I wrote a quirky thought an absolute age ago now:

‘Would I ever consider having a tattoo? Would I find that one essential life experience or existing imagery to turn into a tattoo image that has been waiting to belong in my life?’ 

Then I wrote the 5 ‘B’s’ blog. Bohemian, Beards, Body Art, Booze and Baccy. An overview of current Men’s Bohemian fashion style. Tattoos looked great on these guys. I considered. But….I journal ‘wrote’ out the processes of considerations of ‘for’ and ‘against’ afterwards. Much better than rashly booking an appointment with a local tattoo studio. So I still don’t have a tattoo…….maybe never will. 

Anyways. The writings of a few of the little ditty thoughts are here on the photographs.  

Written very, very early hours this morning whilst that strange ethereal twilight world exists. They may be extended blog happenings. Who knows?