I am a lover of fountain pens and I’m not afraid to admit it.

I had dyslexia problems when I was a kid, most of which were sorted out through my teens, but my handwriting never really turned the corner. It looked horrible because my brain didn’t speak well to my hand & it still looks pretty average.

But for some reason, in the last 5 or so years I started to love stationery more and more. When we were on our honeymoon, Shona & I bought cheap fountain pens in a department store in Paris. I enjoyed writing with it, but it always seemed to get ink all over me. Then last Christmas I got given an Amazon voucher. I didn’t need any books desperately, so I found myself a fountain pen instead. Throw in some cool ink & I was smitten! It looks different to a normal pen, I have to think more carefully about what I am doing, and that means I usually end up writing neater!

I posted somewhere (I can’t find it, otherwise I’d link to it) an article that I read recently that said, rather than being an affectation, fountain pen writers are smart because the pens make you work harder, writer clearer, and research has shown that you are also more likely to think hard about what you are writing, and therefore it can aid creativity! It’s certainly been my experience! I also know that different colours make me feel happy, so I’ve been able to add just a little bit of flair to my writing. Periwinkle blue is my mainstay, carob red is for fun, and coffee been brown is a current favourite.

I know it’s not for everyone, and it is a little weird, but for someone whose work required a fair amount of creative output, a moleskine notebook & a couple of fountain pens puts my brain in a happy place!

A couple of weeks ago, whilst Phil, Kristin & the family were up, we had a chance to pop along to the zoo and catch up with Mama & Bop too (not to mention Gerard & Briar).

I guess I should just let the photos do the talking.