I have bought approximately one billion Parker Vector fountain pens over the years. How many can I find this morning when I need one for a photo? Precisely one. The one with a Batman logo on it, which is not what I need right now. I need something that has clean lines, is undeniably a fountain pen, and has a nice cylindrical barrel in a solid colour  without logos. That is why I want one of my Vectors, and not one of my Platinum Preppies, however pretty they might be.

Even the box with my calligraphy set is bereft of pen. There are the other nibs, there are the fancy colour cartridges, but of pen body there is no sign. I don’t think the spousal unit would have raided the box itself, but I may have foolishly left the pen on my desk unattended.

I may have to buy a new one. That’s a guaranteed method of ensuring the strays reappear.