(”joined up writing” was actually the phrase used) again in pencil, and then graduated to pen and ink. As in, dip

pens, inkwell in the desk. (to this day, the smell of ink takes me right back to Class 13, Mrs Lewis’ room). Once

we’d learned to manage dip pens, you were allowed to bring a fountain pen (preferably Osmiroid(tm) or

Parker(tm)). Took me ages to get around to that, so went around for nearly 2y with full-time blue-black stains on

the thumb and first two fingers of my right hand. We were not allowed to use Biros(tm) (ball point pens) under

any circumstances, and indeed, in the early 60s they were pretty poor quality. In Canada I went through 15c

ballpoints pretty fast, like everyone else, and my handwriting was horrible. Annoyed at the pen-loss, I thought

to buy a slightly more expensive (about $2, I suspect) fountain pen, and maybe I’d keep it longer. It worked, and

the fountain pen slowed me down enough that my writing became much clearer (an unintended consequence). I really

like the feel of the words flowing out of the tip of a fountain pen, and my handwriting is actually quite good.