Hitting the Beach

Next week, I'm allowed out again.

We are coming out of a mini-lockdown in Cyprus, and will be allowed to go for coffee, to hang out on the beach, to live a little. It's still a long way from normal, but I can't wait to go spend a few hours by the sea, just chilling or going out to browse some shops.

For the first time in a long time, I'm going to need a pocket notebook.

I'm taking Intergalactic by "Word." and a Tennessee Red by Musgrave.

Notebooks by Word.Notebooks are opinionated. Most of the lines have ruled paper, supplemented by bullets. They even have a key on the inside cover to give the user a bullet system. Equally, the bullets can be ignored and the book used for random notes. I do both - I like a good list, but have been known to write long streams of observation too. A pack of three for £10 is outstanding value for money.

Intergalactic has a striking cover and it reminds me that one day, the pandemic will be looked back at as "just another virus", a successor to Spanish flu and Russian flu before it. A few years in a universe that has been around for millennia. I don't for a second think the battle is yet won, but I'm confident than mankind is at least on the front foot now.

Word. paper will handle graphite, ball points and fine ink - anything more than that, you'll get some feathering and show-through. There's some tooth in the paper, which to me makes it perfect for graphite, and if I'm going to use graphite, then the Tennessee Red is the best choice there is right now. I love a natural pencil - and the variation in the Red is beautiful. It's the woodiest of a woody pencil. The smell is pretty special too.

We have the Tennessee Red in 12 packs, but if you can, splash for the wooden box of 24. It's a wonderful thing to have at your desk or on a shelf.