The pen is mightier than the keyboard and printer. For several years I’ve been the proud owner of a special edition Waterman Fountain Pen which I use to sign letters, and when I want to write something carefully, neatly and personally. It was a gift from the congregation at Crown Terrace Aberdeen. Who knows, maybe my handwritten letters will one day be rare enough to become collectors items – or maybe not.

My birthday this year coincided with family commitments that meant my birthday present from Sheila had to wait till we were both free to go to the pen shop again – this time for a Waterman ballpoint to match the Fountain. We had to both be free ‘cos I had to be there to choose, and Sheila had to be there to pay! Said pen is the one shown above. It has weight, balance, deep coloured lacquer and writes with a smoothness that makes me embarrassed about how scrawly my handwriting has become after years of keyboard tapping – actually, I don’t so much tap the keyboard as practice martial arts on it with two index fingers which move with lightning speed and variable accuracy.

I’m off to play with my pen – coloured deep lacquer green, and on the day the Irish won by 19 -18!