Hand writing.

[Pat "5mph"]

My handwriting is horrendous, I blame the primary one teacher that smacked my left hand when I wanted to write with it.
Nowadays even letters that should go with parcels are emailed instead.

 

[slowmotion]

I used to use 0.35 mm drafting pens from the ages of 18 to 30 or so in the "Poncy Architect Italic" style. My handwriting was extremely legible if not entirely beautiful. Unfortunately, the ink for Pentel Ceranomatic drafting pens disappeared. The shift to fibre tipped pens sent my handwriting skills over a cliff. It declined still further with the arrival of email. Apart from letters of condolence, congratulations or special thanks, I just don't seem to write at length to anybody now. The lists I scribble to myself are quite hideous.

Some standards do exist. I refuse to pick up a Biro. They're hateful.

 

[Keith Oates]

My handwriting has always been very poor but as others have intimated by using keyboards it has gone from very poor to totally illegible. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[FrankCrank]

....very timely this post - just written out my Xmas cards this morning ready for dispatch. What a chore, but my dad had it worse as he was one of 12 children - still remember him locked away in the front room doing his cards and letters every Xmas - disturbing him was not a good idea!

At school we had one English teacher who did all that calligraphy stuff, writing out school certificates and whatnot. He was our form tutor for a year, and some of it must have rubbed off, most us in class had reasonable handwriting as I recall, if not full blown whirly style.

I do enjoy writing by hand, but as with most people it's a rare event these days. Quite like the idea of a proper fountain pen, so might treat myself to a Lamy Safari as mentioned. One thing - does anyone know if they dry/clog up if used seldomly - one reason I can't be bothered with ink-jet printers. The heat in this part of the world can be pretty harsh - those little tubes of superglue dry up even when unopened!
Could always leave the pen in the fridge I guess

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

Like most people, for 51 weeks of the year the only handwriting I ever do is in meetings at work as I try to jot down notes of what's being said. As I will be the sole reader it doesn't matter that I end up sacrificing legibility for speed. Until that one week in the year when I try to write my Christmas cards.

 

[LonesomeWanderer]

David Cameron is also a left hander. Not that i'm a fan or anything, i just noticed him writing with it on tv the other week.

He's just copying this guy:

 

[GrumpyGregry]

The nuns tried for three years to make me write right-handed.

These days solid brass Kaweco Sport fountain pen in my left hand, held, "normally". But I literally cannot do joined-up writing. At the age of 8 or 9 I rebelled against the tyranny of smudged copperplate and I've printed everything ever since. Was the butt of many a witty teacher's joke at secondary school as a result.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I feel sorry for students. They can do all their coursework on a computer and then suddenly have to sit in an exam and write an essay for 3 hours or whatever.

They'll likely be doing timed-tests at regular intervals pen-in-hand to practise.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

When I started school in Ireland I used to get a ruler across the knuckles from the nuns for writing with my left hand, which I still use today. That and other things fostered my life long hatred of nuns, a bunch of sexually repressed weirdos without a streak of human decency in them.

When I started school in England I had a very similar experience at the hands of French nuns. I'm afraid though, over time, that I've come to a startling different set of conclusions about them as a group. Maybe it is an Irish Catholic thing.

 

[tyred]

Sometimes notes that I take at work or whatever will end up practically illegible but generally I always take pride in my hand writing.

As a poet and short story writer I hand write the first draft of everything I write as I can never seem to feel creative sitting in front of the PC so I do tend to write a lot. I used to use Bic Biros or sometimes pencil but have gone back to fountain pens - Lamy Safari, a basic Parker or Chineses cheapy from ebay for a few quid that I bought to carry in case I lost it and it turns out to be lovely to write with so I use it most.