Monday 27 July 2020

My Life in 10 Objects (#7)


Despite being a man of a certain age I'd like to think I can more than hold my own in this frighteningly fast moving digital age; although I am mildly disappointed that we have yet to see the jet-packs, monorails and Wimpey Bars on the moon we were promised as kids.

As digitalised as we all are entering the third decade of the 21st. century, it's become apparent - to me anyway - that even since lockdown how the pace of change has accelerated yet further still, hurling us headlong into a virtual contactless only way of going on; at a time in history, perversely, when most of us are craving more human interaction, not less.
"Hello!"

Thank God then for pen and paper. Even in 2020 I still write things down: diary (yes, I still keep a pocket diary); lists, notes to myself, doodling - all are all done with my humble pen.


And my pen of choice? A Bic four in one biro, of course. The immensely satisfying staccato clicking between the different colours is as pleasurable for the user as it is annoying for anyone else within ear shot. I've been using them for years and see no reason to change horses now. Parkers may come and Papermates may go, but give a me a Bic any day. With a vast choice  of barrel livery (as you can see I'm currently using a 'silver' one) and permutation of ink colours, what's not to like? 

I think one of the reasons I love this particular writing implement is that it's a throwback to when sales assistants in hardware shops would have them sticking out of their top pockets; when, despite a total lack of health & safety, the world was still a safer place. In every respect. The Bic four colour biro - today's object.
...

However, I've just seen the future: the Bic 3+1 with mechanical pencil. I want one! Tomorrow's (World) object!



6 comments:

  1. Crikey, I remember those 10 colour biros you used to get as kids but almost too fat for little fingers to hold. The Bic 4 in 1 is not something I've ever owned but like how you've coloured the first letter in each paragraph to complement the post. My favourite pen for exams when you often had to fill up to 16 pages of A4 in 3 hours was a black Staedtler stick. The worst was a yellow fine-nibbed bic as your writing looked spidery and untidy. A successful exam outcome for me, definitely depended on the choice of pen.

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    1. The Bic 4 in 1 will never let you down. Remind me to bring some to Edinburgh. Good use of the word crikey, btw.

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  2. Ooh yes, I remembmer those multi-colour biros too, big fat chunky things, I'd forgotten all about them until this post. (I also used to like holding several colouring pencils or felt tip pens in my grasp to draw multiple simultaneous lines and get weird criss-cross effects - shame you can't get all the pen nibs to work at the same time!) That is a lovely pen John and no wonder it's special to you. I hope the Bic 3+1 is on your Christmas/birthday list.

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    1. An old school friend of mine summed it up in one word when I tweeted about it this week: 'Flash', he said. However, I'll really know I've arrived when I land my 3+1. God, I really need to get out more.

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