My Logitech wireless mouse, a gift about four years ago at an eye-watering £73, is showing signs of terminalism and I’m presently road-testing a replacement. The Logitech was rechargeable and had its own neat little charging bay; the newer one works on disposable batteries. “It is of course lighter,” said my excellent and local computer man. “If you can’t get on with it we’ll find you something heavier at half the price.”
After a week I hardly notice the difference in weight. Which is surprising since I’m very weight conscious when it comes to ball-points.
Yes I do still use a pen and I’m pretty choosy about the make. It’s got to be a Parker. The one on the left was bought decades ago and I have even bought refills for it. The one on the right was a freebie from an insurance company. Underneath – for the sharp-sighted – is a memo list of techno-blog subjects.
It’s not just the weight that matches the Parker so sweetly to my fingers. Length, thickness and the shape of the pointy end all play a part. Not that the Parker improves my writing. That remains terrible and I was punished repeatedly for it at school. It’s simply that I feel I can write better – in a literary sense – with the Parker. No doubt a delusion brought on by old age.
Fact is, the reverse is true. I feel mentally clumsy using one of those stalk-like give-aways. I wonder if Parker sponsors bloggers.
