What?! Writing with Conway Stewart? Writing with Conway Stewart pen and a company of same name that was formed in 1905? This pen was or this style pen was believed to have been used by then British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill; and hence these pens are rightly named after him – The Winston collection. Thus, this pen I am writing with is “The Conway Stewart Winston”. It has that classic style and the feel of vintage model. Allow me to describe this pen:
The Conway Stewart Churchill Honey Noire has a lever fill that gives the vintage feel. This traditional method of filling fountains pens with ink was invented in 1908 and then developed by Conway Stewart who patented this design in 1924. The benefits of Lever Fill fountain pens are universally recognized as being quick to fill, and a lot less messy than some other filling mechanisms.
This Conway Stewart Lever Fill pen has been used in many films including Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when Sean Connery’s character Henry Jones Senior uses the lever-fill mechanism to squirt ink in the eye of a Nazi tank operator and the famous words are spoken “Henry, The Pen. Don’t you see? The pen is mightier than the sword!”.
Then there is the wonderful scene in the Kingsman: The Secret Service when a Conway Stewart lever fill was used to bring sweet justice to Michael Caine’s character, Arthur.
The Honey Noire marbled acrylic is an iconic Conway Stewart material, and the wide 9ct gold cap ring is stamped with English hallmarks as proof of its quality! This fountain pen is housed in an original Conway Stewart black leatherette presentation box which doubles as an elegant desk display, and comes with Certificate of Authenticity, Conway Stewart User Guide and a special anti-tarnish polishing cloth to keep the pen in sparkling condition.
Am I blessed? Can I do justice for this pen with my writing? Do I or my writings deserve a pen like this? All I am bothered is with writing, not the pen; and also enjoying the process of writing. The Pen with which I was writing is gifted by Mr. Uzair Ahmed Khan, Advocate. What I have done to deserve this esteemed honor God only knows. This is a very expensive gift Uzair! Uzair said “There cannot be a gift better for a writer than this pen”. I did not comment on that. At a later date, I reflected thus: A true lover does not look at the nose or the hips or the lips or the eyes of his beloved. A lover simply loves. Similarly, a writer is not bothered about which pen/ink or make or the cost of the pen. He is least bothered about it. All a writer knows is to write. That is all!
But I must immortalize this significant event in my life. I know that I do not deserve; for that matter even the greatest of the writers Shakespeare too does not deserve such a gift. I wish to assure advocate Uzair that I shall use this great writing instrument to record life as I witness it. I am not interested in earning name or fame through writing. In fact, I am not interested in earning anything at all. For a man who has nothing to lose, even aspiring to earn a name becomes a crime. The best is, to record the life as it unfolds. Mirror only reflects – good or bad – without any emotion. Similarly, I too will reflect life truthfully.
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional. What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”. Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
