Hi,
Slow day so thought I'd catch up with the boards. Many thanks for the wedding congratulations from Robert, ShugPug, AzJon, Fermata, Lady Onogaro, and matteob. Really appreciated it.
Chinese New Year in Shanghai is not what it once was. There has been a ban on any fireworks for the last few years, so it's a lot quieter. There's some good light displays in the touristy places. It has also been bitterly cold, but that was expected.
The wedding went well. My better half was stunning in her Qipao (Cheongsam), leaving me totally in the shade, as she should. The party was fun and raucous. Far too much food and drink, as you may expect. I made a speech that was surprisingly well received, and was enthusiastically endorsed as hitting all the right notes by the senior ranking guest , especially the parts about the importance of family. There is a kind of formality to being accepted into a Chinese family that is less noticeable in the West these days.
What about pens? Apart from stumbling across pre-packed Hero pens and ink for schoolkids (see these packs in most supermarkets), and the occasional display of some Chinese brands in gift shops, the best place to find stuff is in the well-known Fuzhou road.
As other visitors have noted, non Chinese brands run at twice the price or more, so I wasn't going to be buying. However, it was a great opportunity to try pens that I have no chance of seeing in NZ. So, I've had a play with a Pilot Justus and the one with the sutra over urushi. Not impressed much really. Handled a Pelikan 600, very nice. Modern Parkers left me feeling meh. Platinum 3776 (chartres/burgogne) felt small, fragile and cheap. All the Sailor pens were just too tiny too. A Platinum Izumo was exquisite. Looked at several, loved the style and feel of the urushi, but the section was just not right for me.
So I turned my attention to inks and paper. Of the first there was Pilot, Herbin, Pelikan, Parker, and Sailor all at high prices. And there were local brands, Hero, Picasso, Starry and Online, but nothing appealed.
There are a lot of local paper brands, though short of buying them all there was no way to tell if any were FP friendly. Being not wealthy I couldn't do that. In the end I found some Midori pads, letter sized and 50 sheets for USD $4, so I grabbed a bunch of those.
It's been a great trip, though obviously pens weren't the focus, but I assumed that you all would be more interested in that aspect.
Later,
Dave
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