Forgive me, O Great Typosphere...

... for I might have sinned.


My love story with the Smith Corona PWP is detailed in the letter (typed on funky teddy bear paper from the charity shop).

I know that most typospherians eschew electronic machines, so I hope you can find it in your hearts to absolve me.  

I'll be back to manual typewriters very soon - have no fear.

Here's the Smith Corona 'Super'...

...it's blending in with my desk rather well, and the lighting is terrible, so you might not be able to spot it.

The typewriter is matt finish with green 'go faster stripes' towards the platten, in what I would consider a nod to the Art Deco era (though I might very well be wrong).

As you can see, tabs may be set and cleared from the keyboard. The keyboard itself is unusual in that it doesn't have a '1' key, but does have a '0' - most of the others in my collection either have both or, more commonly, neither.

The desk it is sat on is a gun-metal grey one, with a black lino top.  The Lino gives it a firm, non-slip slightly cushioned surface.  It is excellent for typing upon.  It is beyond excellent for writing upon with a fountain pen!

I've been using the typewriter over the last few days, ever since I bought it from Richard W, for various pieces of paperwork.  For instance, it is ideal for using with my diary - which is of the Filofax type, so pages can easily be removed, the information or appointment typed up, and then the page returned.  Everything looks neat and tidy.  

My diary, it has to be said, does not reflect the rest of my house.

Don't meet strange men in the car parks of derelict pubs...

... is, oddly, something I don't think my Mother ever said to me.  Which is why I found myself in just such a place yesterday moving - well, let's just call them 'items' for now - from the boot of one car into the boot of another.

She needn't have worried:  it turned out I was there to meet a lovely young chap called Richard to buy two typewriters, and all went well.

Both machines are incredibly nice, and there's an example of the typeface of the Smith Corona 'Super' alongside.  That one has turned out to be my favourite, although it was the Hermes that I was most interested in initially - it is in a very unusual British Racing Green.  It has all the precision engineering that you would expect from a Swiss-made object.

There'll be photos of them both on here over the next few days - just as soon as I get the mountain of paperwork sorted on my desk... I want to make a good impression with the photos, after all.

Richard clearly knew his stuff, and had taken great care over the typewriters to clean and service them - both work like a dream.  He was also very pleasant to chat to - it turns out we follow a lot of the same blogs and YouTube channels.  We had an enjoyable conversation, which I wish had been longer and involved a cup of tea, but you can't have everything.

In fact, it was that conversation yesterday which has prompted me to breathe some life into this blog, and to commit to posting much more frequently than once in five years!

I'm not saying every encounter with a stranger in a dodgy car park on the edge of city you're unfamiliar with will come to good, but this one certainly did.

Friendship is the medicine of life

This Oliver Four Bank is a cherished part of my collection*.

The note explains a little bit more of the story... and my sorry excuse for not blogging.

Incidentally, in the intervening time between posts I completely forgot how to use my scanner and had to relearn.  It seems you can teach an old dog new tricks after all, even if you have re-teach him after a few months.

*I'm sorry that it isn't the clearest photo.

A prophetic word from the 1980s...

I've had this cartoon since the mid 1980s.  It was in a Sunday supplement in a newspaper, and I cut it out because I liked the message.  I used to keep it in a college folder with my computer notes, and came across it again recently.

See if it strikes a chord with you - especially you Underwood devotees...

I think that I might get it framed!

The photo of the Good Companion...

... and the chutney pan.  I've tried some.  It's an acquired taste.  

It might get better when it has stood in a darkened cupboard for a while, or if it is the only food available after an apocalypse.  Something like that.  Definitely and acquired taste.

My new companion is a Good Companion...

...and a lovely one too - with some little issues, but not too many.  It is a number 7, and only cost me £3.

You can read the story on the right.  But I warn you, if the ribbon problems annoy you half as much reading it as it did when I was typing it, you might end up wishing you hadn't started it.

I do especially like the unusual keys - my Royal Diana does have the dead key for the accent, but none of the others in my collection have them.

Whilst tinkering with it, sadly, the chutney burnt slightly on the stove.  I've still bottled it, and will tell people that it is supposed to taste like that... small price to play for getting the ribbon to work properly.

I'll upload a photo of it later, when my camera is to hand.