There comes a point in mid-December when eBay sales tail off. Buyers abroad stop bidding because they don’t want their pens caught up in the Christmas mail madness. That seems to have happened now, so I can heave a sigh of relief and put my feet up for a month. Not quite, actually. I’ll have a batch of pens to upload to the website later this week, and I’ll continue to buy and repair throughout the festive period.

Last week I had two pens with serious undisclosed faults. Today’s only Monday and already I’ve received a Duofold Senior with a crack in the cap. My assistant is very displeased.