A script gone wrong

Sprained my back mildly since my last post. Trying too hard to increase physical activity and flexibility may have had something to do with it. (Thanks for the message, Penny :) Been ages since we spoke)

On the hobby front, it's been great, though. I've got three fountain pens this year, and it's just March! Keep 'em coming! One is a Blackbird in plain burgundy; a twist-filler (pic one). You open the blind cap and twist the knob to the right to empty and left to fill again. Repaired and polished it myself last week and it is doing a great job.

Picture two is a Kingswood pen. Kingswood was England's name for the US's Eversharp. So, the nib is Eversharp. In marbled red and black, the pen is a knock-out. A simple lever filler, it took me all of seven minutes to repair. Writes a rather fine line, but I'm pleased because almost every one who sees it looks twice and asks me about it.

Acquisition number three was a plain black Parker Victory -- England's Duofold. Nothing fancy, except that it has a mean nib and is a button filler. One reason I have this fondness for Parker Victory is that it was launched in 1945 (there are those that say it was 1941, but I believe in 1945, just for the romance of it). If you don't know why that is significant, you shouldn't be reading this blog. You shouldn't exist, even. Anyway, have repaired the pen and it's running fine.

Note: all those pictures were pre-repair photos taken by the sellers.

My writing has, sadly, been completely non-existent for the past 7-8 months. I have managed a few bylines, including a couple of book reviews, but nothing special. Now that I have these pens, there is an excuse to write.

Speaking of which, I always find myself writing better when I really put pen to paper (fountain pen). There is very little that I actually type, unless it is this blog or some story I am editing as part of my job. Is there anyone who actually types out their material rightaway?

Some days back, a friend of mine was bemoaning the fact that few people wrote in cursive these days. I chanced across some 1884-1889 copies of The Girls' Own Paper in dad's friend's attic. (google Girls' Own Paper for more info). In spite of the teeeeny print which gave me intermittent headaches and saw me incur my boss's wrath with appalling carelessness, I was delighted with the correspondents' column, where the editors actually advised the readers on their handwriting. "You lean too much on your pen", "Try to write with your back straight" and "You have an excellent hand" were some of the comments.

Last week, a colleague told me he didn't care about how awful his handwriting was -- the skill, he said, was not required anymore. I almost wept. Whatever happened to our world? I made the old arguments of how your handwriting defined you and his writing just told me he was chaotic, and that a beautiful handwriting wouldn't harm, hurt or hinder. But who listens? I used to collect postal history and have all these 1850 envelopes with Penny Blacks on them and the address written in most beautiful scripts.

As a six-year-old, I remember Miss Annie Rose writing, "Improve your handwriting" in my report card. I also remember hours and hours of copy-writing cursive script on holidays. My nephew is eight and they don't comment on his handwriting in school. In fact, it is seen as unimportant, because all you need to do is type.

I disagree. As a fountain pen collector and an aspiring writer, I see this as plain blasphemy. If and when I do have kids, I intend to see that their handwriting is as copperplate as can be (ok, I'm going to boast -- my handwriting is quite good). Computers, biros/ball point pens and a shoddy education system have ruined our children's writing. NOT IF I CAN HELP IT!

Do you have good handwriting? And, do you think it is an unnecessary skill?