Now and again you discover the perfect pen and carry it everywhere until one day you lose it. But nothing is so universally dependable, or comes so naturally to hand as a pencil. I often write with a pencil. It suits my tentative nature. It was the first tool I used to write or draw, and still suggests the close relationship between the two activities. I know I shall never outgrow pencils. The pencil whispers across the page and is never dogmatic. Rub your finger long enough on a soft-pencilled phrase and it will evaporate into a pale-grey cloud. In this way, pencil is close to watercolour painting.
From Wildwood by Roger Deakin.
