You may have spotted that things have been quiet on the blog for a while: just two posts in May. Well, good news: the drought will soon be over. My mailbox is eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new Earth notebook from Dingbats, as well as the new Karas Reaktor pens and the Stilform Kosmos.

Other than that, I’ve been enjoying a break from the recent influx of the new, and instead using what I have. That’s meant a break in France with a good book and the Speedie:

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As well as some rather nice beer and quality time with my Hobonichi and a few treasured pens (that’s right, I went on holiday with just four fountain pens):

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Apparently travelling light doesn’t mean leaving the journal at home. As usual, sterling service was given by the Nock Sinclair. Also note in shot the BaughbLabs pen (gasp! A rollerball!), which is delightfully simple and served me well until my daughter dropped it tip-first on the floor. New refill needed, but much cheaper than a new nib for the Montblanc would be!

A quick shout-out to Millican bags… after many, many hours of research I settled on a Nick 13-litre messenger bag as my new out-and-about bag. It’s proven to be just the right size and with a decent assortment of pockets. See, I buy more than just pens.

Even when in the UK I haven’t quite managed to kick the pen habit completely. A visit to my old uni town of Oxford gave me the opportunity to spend far, far too long in the lovely Scriptum, tucked away on Turl Street, marvelling not only at the pen cabinet (Laban, Conklin, Visconti, Kaweco):

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…but also the acres upon acres of paper and magnifying glasses and other desirable knick-knacks, including a stuffed badger (!). The staff were wonderfully friendly and chatty. I walked out with, oddly enough, a handful of handmade marbles.

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And no visit to Oxford would be complete without a visit to the Pitt Rivers museum, where a rather different kind of writing instrument is on show:

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So, you’re all up to date. Sometimes it’s a good thing to step away from the keyboard, sit down in the sun and write, or get out into the city or nature for a while. Hope you’re all enjoying your summers, too.