Nothing in my blogging life is predictable. Some days I struggle to find some words and pictures. Other days several little stories knock on my brain anxious to be let in, cogitated and then set free into the blogsphere. Today the typewriter story won the day but the others will get their moment in the sun.

I have long wanted a manual typewriter to type titles and my name on watercolours. I was quite specific on my needs, a hard type that might also slightly emboss and fairly rudimental. By a happy coincidence I met a blogging typewriter fanatic at the blogging course in Spitalfields. Michelle Geffken writes Paper Blogging.

https://www.paperblogging.com/

She was generous with her time and knowledge and after reading her blog I felt ready to dip my toe into actually buying a small typewriter. Ebay furnished me with an Olympic Splendid 99.It arrived yesterday, it is very cute. But hidden in its original leather carrying case was a whole little adventure. The original owners Margery H Butterworth and W H Butterworth had typed their address on the Final Test and Inspection Report. My little typewriter was delivered to them in 1960 in Singapore. The power of Google can show me the house it was delivered to.

28 Chiltern Drive, Braddell Heights, Singapore 13

Googling Margery H Butterworth and W H Butterworth also dug out a little gem. It turns out that in 1965 they wrote a paper on Green Elephant Grass in Tropical Foraging.

Is it too bigger leap of my imagination to think that it would have been typed on my new acquisition in the early sixties. My efforts with this typewriter had better be equally interesting. For now I’ve just dusted it and cleared out some very dry tropical leaves!

First typing, and a question, does anyone know of a typewriter servicing engineer. Those I’ve found on line are very fully booked.

Have a fabulous Saturday, I may be spending some moments typing.

P. S I tried a quick sketch of baubles with added typing. With a little practice this is going to work.