Real writers do it longhand

Aliya and I have several things in common, including brown hair and eyes (the irises, not the whites, obviously), fairly average heights for our respective genders, both being parents of young daughters and the fact we're at odds with the world due to our sinistral persuasions. Perhaps most importantly, we both write long hand. Only difference is, Aliya has a nice auntie who sends her notebooks every Christmas.

I spent much of this week traipsing the West End looking for a conveniently-sized writing book of modest quality and feel, with well-spaced lines. Not much to ask? My last nice writing book was a present, and once you've tasted quality, it's hard to go back to spiral bound office notebooks.

Stationers were useless, as was the internet. John Lewis, Waterstones and House of Fraser were all extremely disappointing. In the end I got a nice Moleskin pad from Selfridges. There was a scarily priced concession for a company called something like Allins of London. I picked up an awkwardly shelved navy blue number there without a price tag visible. It was £89. And the Moleskin I ended up with (just over sixteen quid) is a nicer colour with better-spaced lines.

If anyone can recommend somewhere other than Selfridges for future buys, I'm all ears. And no, PC World doesn't cut it. Not even if there's a soulless Staples next door.