Notes, Pads, Books and Logs.

Most people who read a lot as a kid end up developing some sort of strange obsession with stationary; whether it's getting a new pencil case every year or stock piling highlighters. For me, notebooks are a vice- i still get them as Christmas presents, always take advantage of offers in Smiths and had about hundred diaries when i was a kid. I always try to get a notebooks when i go away, i've got a gorgeous craft paper pad from India that feels like papyrus (i'm too scared to write on it) and a thick sleeve book with removable inserts from Malaga that i use for quick notes.

Some i use for recipes, others for University, one was for my dissertation and a couple for job applications and internships. The biggest use for them is for travel; buy one in one place and write in it at the next. I have a pretty bad memory so i always write down all the places i've been too, the restaurant names, city names, excursions and dates. Without my notebooks i would be lost!

For this very reason i sometimes think i should have been raised hundreds of years ago, dipping ink and writing on scrolls. I stare longingly at the kids in Harry Potter who for some reason haven't quite found pens, paper and computers- and yet the dementors manage to destroy the Millennium Bridge in the Half Blood Prince. I've tried writing my notes on word, compiling recipes with internet bookmarks, 'Notes' for IPad, NotesTab for my mac and computer stickies, but it's just not the same. No matter how far technology reaches i'll still be keeping my notebooks and buying new ones every year :). You can't teach an old dog new tricks.