Ink Of Ages

Preparation for Christmas in the Flum household is full of ritual.

For me it begins with picking over every raisin, sultana and currant I have carefully weighed out. I could omit this task but the risk of a disagreeable surprise of crunched seed in the middle of a delicious mouthful of cake is one I refuse to take.

Then there is the painstaking peeling of chestnuts for the turkey stuffing. I could use dried, vacuum-packed or tinned pre-prepared chestnuts but the texture just isn't the same. They must be simmered in milk until just soft, before the other ingredients are added and the whole frozen anent the laborious stuffing of the bird on Christmas Eve.

Today's ritual is the Cleaning Of The Fountain Pen in preparation for writing the Christmas cards and letters; rinsing out the old ink to fill with fresh, to ensure an uninterrupted flow of words to delight our absent family and friends. Of course I could utilize any number of alternatives available for the process and perhaps I ought to be using the pen more frequently than these few days in the year.

Here I have my three Parker pens (see in large for detail); a Parker 17 Lady, with a hooded nib, (a gift from a brother in the 1960's); a Sterling Silver Cicelé, (my wedding present from Mr Flum), and a matt black Classic, (I bought myself as it is a lighter weight). The nibs are slightly different and they all have different filling mechanisms so have taken all morning to flush out but are now thoroughly clean and ready for action.

Which is more than can be said for my fingers...