Purple Prose

[canadianbeth]

I do not collect antique fountain pens; in fact, I do not even own a fountain pen at all. However, I do use a purple ballpoint pen; have for some years now. It is a Pilot V5 Hi-Techpoint 0.5. It is my go-to pen for everything unless I have to write a rare cheque. I use my black V5 for that.

I cannot find it in the stores anymore; had to order the last ones online and notice that I am going to have to do so again soon.

 

[At home in NZ]

I am intrigued, as I used to use a Bic that was a similar colour to purple, they haven't been available for some while now. I now use a Jetstream SXR10 Black Medium and love the smooth way it writes.

You could consider refilling but it looks rather messy and complicated for me.

 

[Margery]

Years ago when I did use a fountain pen I used green ink. I thought that this made a statement! Now I use the first give-away ballpoint that comes to hand.

 

[canadianbeth]

Years ago when I did use a fountain pen I used green ink.

I also have a green V5 pen but rarely use it. I did use it a lot before I started using the purple one. Green was my favourite colour but purple has taken over.

 

[At home in NZ]

I also have a green V5 pen but rarely use it. I did use it a lot before I started using the purple one. Green was my favourite colour but purple has taken over.

Odd that, I'm similar. When I was very young I was influenced by my mum's choice of colour and it was always green. The first things I ever sewed and knitted for myself were green. Now when I'm shopping for clothes I cannot go past purple. Unfortunately it's not very often in fashion.

 

[Margery]

my mum's choice of colour and it was always green.

So was mine. I remember craving a red tartan pleated skirt but when my mother brought the material home is was a green tartan (Sinclair, I think). She knitted me a green pullover to match. She then made me a green overcoat.

 

[At home in NZ]

So was mine. I remember craving a red tartan pleated skirt but when my mother brought the material home is was a green tartan (Sinclair, I think). She knitted me a green pullover to match. She then made me a green overcoat.

I sympathise
I'm having a little laugh to myself here, remembering the clothing I wore as a child.
What's worse, I had younger brothers and mum knitted little jumpers and cardigans in green because in those days you never knew what gender the baby was.

 

[canadianbeth]

To the best of my knowledge, no one influenced my choice of green, unless it was my obsession with Ireland (and I do not understand that either). I definitely never wore anything in that colour since it does not suit me. I do remember my aunt jokingly saying "you and your green" so it goes back to my teen years at least.

 

[Bob Spiers]

I have a sad tale to tell about wearing Green and one that caused a deal of friction between my first wife and I at the time.

To understand things you should know my first wife lost her elder sister when she was knocked off her bike by a lorry and killed. She (the sister) was wearing a Green coat at the time, and my wife was cycling alongside. (All this happened before we met and married).

So roll on a few years and we now have a daughter aged about 2/3 and my parents came visiting to see their grandchild (they lived some 60 miles away) and stayed over a weekend when I was home from the RAF for the same weekend. I went back and on the Monday before returning home they presented my wife with a pretty 'green' dress for their granddaughter. My wife told my mother she would have no daughter of hers dressed in Green and apparently threw the bag with the dress into an under-stairs closet.

My parents returned home and I heard about the incident and was so angry at the treatment handed out to my mother -even though I knew the reasons for my wife's rejection of anything green - and insisted she apologise and made amends and explain why she acted as she did. It took some doing and sadly my mother never forgave my wife.

 

[Gillian]

I sympathise
I'm having a little laugh to myself here, remembering the clothing I wore as a child.
What's worse, I had younger brothers and mum knitted little jumpers and cardigans in green because in those days you never knew what gender the baby was.

You were lucky you had younger brothers. I only had older ones, and I inherited several unisex garments from them. At least they weren't green (the garments, that is).
Back to the purple ink: I think I remember having something called an indelible pencil that wrote in a kind of purple colour. I may remember wrong - it was a long time ago.

 

[At home in NZ]

an indelible pencil that wrote in a kind of purple colour. I may remember wrong - it was a long time ago.

You remember correctly. I had an indelible pencil, I can't remember when but I do remember them and thinking I was the bees knees because I owned one.

 

[Bob Spiers]

Back to the purple ink: I think I remember having something called an indelible pencil that wrote in a kind of purple colour. I may remember wrong - it was a long time ago.

That brings back memories Gillian. My father had an indelible pencil -little more than a stubble as I recall - but housed in a brass case with a slider which was used to hide the pencil or raise it for use. He used it when checking his Pools coupon as the scores were given out over the radio. From time to time he would lick the indelible end causing him to have a purple tongue. As I was quite young at the time this afforded me considerable amusement. Later when I was old enough to be inquisitive he had moved on to a biro which I recall came from Canada (but not party to how this came about). I was so taken with it I found one that year (shaped like a bullet) in my 'C' stocking. I was the envy of my classmates, but strictly not allowed to use it in class. A few years later they were commonplace.

 

[Gillian]

Later when I was old enough to be inquisitive he had moved on to a biro which I recall came from Canada (but not party to how this came about). I was so taken with it I found one that year (shaped like a bullet) in my 'C' stocking. I was the envy of my classmates, but strictly not allowed to use it in class. A few years later they were commonplace.

I also remember - equally vaguely - my first encounter with a biro, when my Dad (army) told me that one of his men had got a very special kind of pen in France that didn't need ink. I think I remember him calling it a biro, but he may have used a different word. As said, it's all a long time ago.

 

[peter]

strictly not allowed to use it in class

Because I was left-handed I was allowed to use biro when I was in junior school (in the 1950s). No such privileges at secondary school, where we each had an inkwell at the corner of the desk and blotting paper on the desk. Later on I was able to use biro - I'm not sure if that was because the rules changed or because I was older.

 

[Susan48]

Later on I was able to use biro - I'm not sure if that was because the rules changed or because I was older.

Biro was not allowed at the secondary school I went to - we had to use a fountain pen with an italic nib (italic nibs for left handed writers were different, I seem to remember). The most popular brand of fountain pen was Platignum, also Osmiroid. Anyone remember those? The ink we had to use was Quink permanent blue-black.

 

[Gillian]

We weren't allowed to use biros either, which may explain why my Dad tried to point out that if a biro was good enough for the army it ought to be good enough for my school. Just a guess. I certainly remember Quink permanent blue-black.

 

[peter]

we had to use a fountain pen

At least that was better than having to dip your pen in the inkwell every few words. The inkwells were at the far right-hand corner of the desk, so for a left-hander like me it was all too easy to smudge what I'd written.

 

[canadianbeth]

I had to Google biro as I was not quite sure just what that was - a ballpoint pen? We did not have them in school when I was there. I was also forced to use pen and ink in school, and since I am left-handed, tended to be quite messy and always had ink all over the side of my hand. I well remember being humiliated by the teacher about this; I was the only left-handed person in the class at the time. In fact, I do not remember ever seeing anyone else who was left-handed until I reached high school, and then only one other girl in my class. Now, when I play crib with other seniors at the community hall, there are at least three others as well. In high school, we were told to buy pens of a certain brand with cartridges of ink.

 

[Susan48]

I am left-handed

My husband's left-handed but neither our sons nor grandsons have inherited the trait - if indeed it's something that's inherited? My husband taught in a German school for a year in the late 1950's when German children were not allowed to write with their left hand, and they were surprised to see him writing on the blackboard using his left hand. One child asked if all English people were left-handed!

 

[peter]

My husband's left-handed but neither our sons nor grandsons have inherited the trait - if indeed it's something that's inherited?

I don't think there's any evidence that it is - I'm the only left-hander in my family.