Ottawa Pen Posse

[Halden]

Yesterday was the second meeting of the Ottawa Pen Posse (OPP). Roughly 6 Fountain Pen Network members gathered at Planet Coffee armed with pens, paper and ink to show off. I had a great time and got to chat passionately about ink without being looked at like I had a growth on my face. One member was kind enough to give me a Hero 266, which he billed as the world's cheapest fountain pen, it is a nice pen and I am even happier with the sample of Heart of Darkness that he filled it with.

 

This meetup was a great way for us to try different pens and inks, share tips on purchasing and commiserate with fellow pen addicts. I cannot wait for the next meeting.

[smartson]

Very nice.

 

Good to know fellow Canadian FPN meets in Ottawa. Very nice gesture of gift giving too.

 

Any picture taken?

[drgoretex]

Makes me wish I still lived in Ottawa

 

Ken

[Halden]

Very nice.

 

Good to know fellow Canadian FPN meets in Ottawa. Very nice gesture of gift giving too.

 

Any picture taken?

 

 

They took a pic at the first meet but we seem to have forgotten this time.

[savingbirds]

do you have a group meeting place, or is it random every time. I've heard of OPP, but never actually found out any more information about them

[Scrawler]

Hi savingbirds, we were originally meeting every last Sunday of the month at Planet Coffee, but it is difficult to get a table, which makes showing and trying pens difficult. I had a hard time filling a pen from a bottle for a couple people. So as a result we have changed our venue. We will be meeting in the cafeteria of RA center on the first Sunday of April. There are plenty of tables there and it is possible to get refreshments, but I suspect their coffee may not meet with my approval.

[Scrawler]

Very nice.

 

Good to know fellow Canadian FPN meets in Ottawa. Very nice gesture of gift giving too.

 

Any picture taken?

 

 

They took a pic at the first meet but we seem to have forgotten this time.

Not so much forgot, but it was cramped and awkward without a table.

[Scrawler]

I have added the next meeting of Ottawa Pen Posse on second Sunday of April at Ottawa Civil Service Recreation Association Cafeteria on Riverside Drive at Noon to calendar. I need to make sure this is still OK, because I need to let Mike and Howard know. Mike has just returned from Amsterdam, where he went to Akkermans and got a couple interesting and unusual pens. He says he will bring a few of his more interesting pens to show. I plan to bring some older Canadian pens. If anyone needs syringes, ink, cartridges or pens please let me know. Also I see that not everyone is in here, so maybe you can contact each other.

Edited March 19, 2011 by Scrawler

[Halden]

Thanks for adding our meets to the Calendar Scrawler.

 

@savingbirds, you are more than welcome to join us, as are any other FPN members that maybe in the area. The more the merrier.

[Gerry]

There are two Ottawa Groups. One, you've heard about is the OPP. The other, the OFPS - Ottawa Fountain Pen Society has a more formal makeup, and meets the last Tuesday in the month at the Vanier KofC hall. There's an informal dinner at a local restaurant before, and the meeting proper starts at 7:30...

 

Anyone able to make it is welcome to attend either or both.

 

Gerry

Hi Folks,

 

My apologies, I am a little late in sending out the March 29 meeting reminder and logistics. Thanks to our two daughters' projects and travels, March Break had me helping frame the basement walls for one and dog-sitting for the other! A busy eleven days!

 

I attach the agenda for our meeting on March 29; Fernan has picked the Coconut Lagoon for dinner before the meeting. The restaurant is located at 853 St. Laurent Blvd; it got a good review in the Citizen a couple of years ago and we enjoyed our dinner when we were there in April 2009. I hope you will join us there at 6pm on Tuesday.

 

I sent a note to the President of the Calligraphy Society a couple of weeks ago, but I've not as yet heard back from her. Rick Draffin will join us for the meeting unless his work schedule intervenes. There may or may not be others from the CSO.

 

Please let me know by no later than noon on Tuesday March 29 whether or not you plan to dine at the Coconut Lagoon. I've made an interim reservation but need to finalize the number next Tuesday.

 

I look forward to seeing you all on March 29

^th

.

 

Cheers,

 

George

 

Here's the Agenda

 

Ottawa Fountain Pen Society

 

Tuesday March 29, 2011

 

 

 

The History of Writing

 

Dinner

(Optional)

–

6:00pm

,

Coconut Lagoon

, 853 St. Laurent Blvd.

613-742-4444

 

 

AGENDA

- March 29 – 7:30pm, KofC Hall

, 260 McArthur Ave. (Vanier).

 

 

1.

Introductions and Welcome

 

2. Meeting Plan – Review Agenda

3.

Members' Show and Tell

 

Show a pen or tell a story

 

4.

OFPS Business

 

a.

Review Minutes; February 2011 Meeting - Boris

b.

OFPS – Financial Report and "Dues are Due" – Bernie Gagnon

c.

Website – update – Chris Manning

d.

Meeting Plan – Winter and Spring 2011

e.

Library Display – May at Ruth E. Dickinson Library – Michael Ball

f.

LA Pen Show – Brief Report

 

5.

The History of Writing

- Fernan Carrière

 

6.

Next Meetings

 

a.

April 26 – Focus on Pen Tune-Ups – Simple Sacs and Adjusting Nibs – Tony and George

b.

May 31 – New Inks – suited to Vintage (D. Spring); Workshop – Parker Vacs – Tony

c.

June 29 – Swap Meet – David Spring to outline parameters. Dinner (TBA)

 

7.

Adjourn

 

 

[Black Rose]

Mike has just returned from Amsterdam, where he went to Akkermans and got a couple interesting and unusual pens. He says he will bring a few of his more interesting pens to show.

Did he pick up any of the ink from Akkermans?

[Scrawler]

Mike has just returned from Amsterdam, where he went to Akkermans and got a couple interesting and unusual pens. He says he will bring a few of his more interesting pens to show.

Did he pick up any of the ink from Akkermans?

He did not. It transpired that the ink is only sold from Akkermans in Den Hague. They separated their business some years ago. I do however have a couple bottle, of Violet and Orange.

[Black Rose]

Mike has just returned from Amsterdam, where he went to Akkermans and got a couple interesting and unusual pens. He says he will bring a few of his more interesting pens to show.

Did he pick up any of the ink from Akkermans?

He did not. It transpired that the ink is only sold from Akkermans in Den Hague. They separated their business some years ago. I do however have a couple bottle, of Violet and Orange.

Would you mind bringing one along? We just want to see the bottle in person.

[Scrawler]

Mike has just returned from Amsterdam, where he went to Akkermans and got a couple interesting and unusual pens. He says he will bring a few of his more interesting pens to show.

Did he pick up any of the ink from Akkermans?

He did not. It transpired that the ink is only sold from Akkermans in Den Hague. They separated their business some years ago. I do however have a couple bottle, of Violet and Orange.

Would you mind bringing one along? We just want to see the bottle in person.

I will be happy to bring a couple bottles to show you. The bottles are desk decorations.

[EdBurke]

Greetings

 

When I read this first post I was thrilled as the Ottawa I grew up in has about 20,000 people and my niece and nephew, along with my sister and her friends meet at Planet Coffee. Then I realized that everyone was talking about the great city of Ottawa and not a slow paced northern Illinois river city, I then check with my sister and she told me that Planet Coffee is and has been for 5 or 6 years, Planet Java. I had such great hope of going north to my home town and finding some people to meet for purposes of talking about fountain pens.

 

Oh well, I should have known better and recognized that it must be Ottawa, Canada because I bought my first modern fountain pen in Toronto when the Organization of American Historians there in April 1999. The pen is a very nice Waterman. I will always remember the date because the next morning I read three Canadian newspapers about the Columbine School shootings. It was fascinating to read these accounts and editorials, then three days later to come home to a full set of US papers in Illinois.

 

Maybe there are or will be a pen posse in Ottawa, Illinois.

Best wishes to you and your Ottawa Pen Posse.

 

EdBurke

 

 

[Halden]

Today I attended my 2nd (the Posses 3rd) Ottawa Pen Posse meeting and it was another great opportunity to get together with other pen enthusiasts nuts and talk shop. The highlight for me was working my way through Gerrys box of ink and expanding my ink journal.

 

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5026/5607768965_3a44385af9.jpg

samples by haldenjohnson, on Flickr

 

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5188/5607769519_c680c5d3da.jpg

samples by haldenjohnson, on Flickr

 

There was plenty of sharing going around as I had a Piccadilly Journal to give away as well as a bottle of Diamine Amber. Scrawler gave me a couple of Hero 266 and not to be out done his friend Mike gave 2Hearts a Montblanc 146. Now before everyone rushes to Ottawa for the Posse meeting next month Mike does not regularly give out Montblanc's and he and 2Hearts know each other from outside the posse.

 

There was a great variety of inks and pens at the table but I believe that Scrawler's giant bottles of Akkerman Oranje Boven and Simplisties Violet stole the show. The bottles are enormous and quite stylish. A quick writing test proved that the ink in the bottles backs up the promises made by the bottle. What a great ink!

 

I had brought a camera to this meeting but as I turned it on the batteries died, fortunately 2Hearts had a camera and we got the waiter to snap this group picture.

 

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5304/5608133006_67738a8df2.jpg

Ottawa Pen Posse- April 10 by haldenjohnson, on Flickr

 

 

 

in the photo:

 

Halden -- Gerry

Scrawler -- Blackrose

2hearts -- Maharet

Edited April 11, 2011 by Halden

[Scrawler]

Gerry, thanks for fixing up my Estie. It is great. Halden, that broad stubbed Lamy is a really nice pen. I have a confession, I hate the appearance of Lamy Safari pens, but after trying your stub and Maharet's pink one I do have a new appreciation for their writing performance and understand why they are popular. I now have too many pens inked to have a serious try with the amber ink, so I will have to write a few letters, then I am going to select a correspondent who is particularly advanced in age and I shall sear their eyeballs with it. I have never before seen a plastic bag with so many beautiful Mont Blanc and Delta pens in as Mike had. Those miniature Delta Dolce Vita's are very pretty, but I think they are too small for my hands. That gold and red Mont Blanc, I do not know what it is called, is just about the prettiest pen I have ever seen. It is so heavy for such a compact pen. 2hearts, congrats on that 1981 MB 146, you are one person who I know will really appreciate a pen like that.

[ethernautrix]

Hooray for Pen Posses! Thanks for taking pictures and sharing the pen nerdery!

 

 

[Maja]

Glad to hear that the OPP is thriving!

 

And thanks, Gerry, for the info on the OFPS; I wasn't sure if you were still meeting up regularly (the website hasn't been updated for a while), so I'm glad to hear that it's still around

[Black Rose]

I've added the May 8th meeting to the calendar.