Faber Castell Loom (Matt Gunmetal)

22 Thursday Nov 2018

Posted by in Pens

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

, , ,

To most in the UK, Faber Castell produce art supplies, the fact they also produce pens (and are possibly the oldest surviving pen manufacturer) passes the average person by as few high street stores stock their fountain pens.  Even then they are often over looked as the Ambitions and eMotions tend to be the only options and price wise start in the mid £60s, where as those few shops selling them will also have Parkers, Cross and Lamy pens starting around the £15-20 mark and many of their models for less than the cheapest Ambition.
Continue reading →

Lamy Imporium

08 Thursday Nov 2018

Posted by in Pens

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

, , ,

Lamy is in an odd position.  Despite bringing in a different industrial designer for each pen model they release, and the emphasis on following the Bauhaus design principals, to most people they are know for two pens.  The low end stalwart of the school/first fountain pen market, the Safari (covering also the Al-Star and Vista variants), and the design icon, the 2000, considered by many outside of our hobby, a high end pen and a one time purchase.  Also not helping is the wide array of models below the ‘2k’.  The similar CP1, Logo, LineA, and ST, along with the Accent, Aion, Studio, and Scala, can make people forget that Lamy also produce higher products, chief of which is the Imporium.
Continue reading →

Back in the UK

23 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Travel

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

,

This might surprise people considering how often I’ve done it.  I don’t actually like long distance flying.  It’s not a fear thing or cabin fever.  It’s not other passengers who’ve hit the booze too hard (as almost happened on my trip out) or screeming babies (as happened on my flight back).  It’s the fact I just can’t sleep on planes, which can make me grumpy, and this flight was just typical.  I did try to sleep, even spent an hour trying to relax to soft music (Brian Eno’s Music for Airports 1), but all that happened was I got a sore shoulder and felt even more tired.  Still aside from the lack of sleep and the crying/screaming kid (who quietened down after about half an hour then only became a nightmare over short periods towards the end) it was a pretty uneventful trip.  Still could have been worse.  Was sitting next to a girl who works for DFID.  She’d come from Vietnam (though with a 2 day stop over in HK on the way back, not the way there) and was heading back to her present base, Sierra Leone via Heathrow.. Continue reading →

From Causeway Bay to Soho and Beyond, a tale of food, walking, photography, and tequila

21 Monday Apr 2014

Posted by in Travel

≈ Leave a comment

Simple plan to day. Meet up with Pak.  Go for lunch.  Go for a wander,  Have evening food.  Hit a pet bar.

We met up at exit D1 of the Causeway Bay MTR station, the nearest to the Noon Day Gun.  We wandered over there with 20 minutes to spare and waited.  The blast was, well lets just say I was not expecting it to be that loud.  Post being let in to the area and taking photos we wandered on to lunch.  I had been tipped off about a place round the corner, King’s Cuisine, which has really good reviews.  It comes across as an expensive place, sitting in a big plush shopping centre in an expensive area.  The dim sum were good – worth the trip, maybe not the best around, but worth the visit.  The biggest surprise was that the bill was about a third less than expected ! Continue reading →