I have decided I want to start writing letters to friends – I have a few foreign friends who I used to write to as a child, we are going to start writing to each other again.

Seeing as my hand writing is awful, can anyone recommend a cheap and cheerful typewriter, I wouldn’t know where to start.

No, Microshit office won’t do – I want something that will improve my attention span and spelling.

Surely Olivetti for the win.

And make sure you use decent paper!

I write letters (by hand). Love the idea!

Great idea!

I saw one in a charity shop the other day. Was tempted but didn’t know if I’d be buying a lemon. In similar news, I’m beginning to tire of mobile phones, specifically people expecting you to be instantly contactable all the time, and getting annoyed when you don’t pick-up. Seems to be a growing theme in my life. Debating of getting rid and just having my landline on silent with an answer machine set up which I can check periodically. I may keep a mobile in the car (switched off) like old people do, for emergencies…

Awesome, I will have a google now! I’m just hoping this isn’t a gradual slide into hipsterism and actually enjoying life 😆

Next it will be fat bikes and fixies, **** I’ve got the beard already.

I saw one in a charity shop the other day. Was tempted but didn’t know if I’d be buying a lemon. In similar news, I’m beginning to tire of mobile phones, specifically people expecting you to be instantly contactable all the time, and getting annoyed when you don’t pick-up. Seems to be a growing theme in my life.

Yes, I’m tired of this as well – but tired of people I can’t be bothered with always texting me. In reality though I have a few disparate friends spread around the world who I wish I could see every day, I will still text them but the letters are to show and give more care.

I want a house in Oxford near to the river, I want it to be full of books, I want my doctorate and most of all I want to write letters to my friends.

I saw one in a charity shop the other day. Was tempted but didn’t know if I’d be buying a lemon. In similar news, I’m beginning to tire of mobile phones, specifically people expecting you to be instantly contactable all the time, and getting annoyed when you don’t pick-up. Seems to be a growing theme in my life. Debating of getting rid and just having my landline on silent with an answer machine set up which I can check periodically. I may keep a mobile in the car (switched off) like old people do, for emergencies…

Surely all you have to do is set up an answerphone message saying you’re unable to be contacted during certain hours, and put the phone on silent with the buzzer off?
It’s very rare I get calls on mine, and it has to be locked away while at work for security reasons anyway, but I’m going to set up a new answerphone message telling any callers to contact me only during certain hours.
That might discourage spam callers trying to sell me solar panels, PPI claims, etc., which seem to be the only calls I get.

Approves. The good thing about writing by hand/typewriter is that you needed to think first, you can’t just shove anything down and edit it later.I suspect it takes less time as well as its ready to spend to long farting around fixing things on a wp

Surely all you have to do is set up an answerphone message saying you’re unable to be contacted during certain hours, and put the phone on silent with the buzzer off?
It’s very rare I get calls on mine, and it has to be locked away while at work for security reasons anyway, but I’m going to set up a new answerphone message telling any callers to contact me only during certain hours.
That might discourage spam callers trying to sell me solar panels, PPI claims, etc., which seem to be the only calls I get.

Just turn the answerphone off. I did a couple of years ago and don’t miss it.

Damn you STW. I’m now trawling eBay….

I’ve never really used a typewriter – I’m that awkward age between them dying out in the workplace and computers becoming the norm.

Whatabout out a nice new pen?

‘ve never really used a typewriter – I’m that awkward age between them dying out in the workplace and computers becoming the norm.

I’ve never used one before – way to young.

Whatabout out a nice new pen?

My hand writing really is atrocious, I guess I could practice but I think it’s something wrong with the way my brains wired.

Type writers are a pain in the arse, forever jamming, ribbon coming off or splitting because the mechanism fails to pull it through.(yes I am that old)

Oh, for purity get a mechanical not electric one, it’ll drive you up the wall mind

Sounds fun! It’s still a better alternative to my hand writing.

You can really express yourself with a typewriter…

Surely for the stw niche win you should forgoe the typewriter and use block printing on hand woven fabric? 😉

As others have said above I dont follow the mentality of answering texts or phone calls if I’m doing something, I detest spam joke texts from folk who cc’d them to everyone in their address book….how are you meant to reply to such a trite text?……lol?, sod that I’ll just block your number. If I’m reading a book or listening to music then the phone gets switched to silent(not vibrate), my life isn’t so important that I fear missing such an important call and if it is that important then the message will get to me eventually.

Never done Facebook or owt like that, I’m perfectly ok with being antisocial when I choose to be.

Bah…humbug…….I’m looking forward to being old enough to shake my fist at kids whilst telling them to be quiet.

just find something that you can sell easily when you revert back to the modern world or something that looks good sat on a table.

As with most things it’s not the technology that is the issue it’s the people

TBH I’m as comfortable with older media as well as new – I work in telecoms (mobile specifically), but happily use a fountain pen (I have several) every day.

My father recently dug out his old mechanical typewriter from the loft and bought a new ribbon for it – great fun to use.

There is a typewriter app (oh, the irony…) for iPad available – Hanx Writer or something.

I got an Olympia Traveller deluxe a couple of years ago to show my daughter
how they work and for a bit of fun – it was/is a big hit .
Writing poems , lines of text you can cut out + red or black.

Its a decent enough model , they have a nice hard cover and take up very little space , ribbons easily available, of course there are lots of sweet websites dedicated to typewriters, I think I paid £25 delivered from eb@y .

All I can advise is not to get a full size desktop one – massive heavy and possibly worn – they got used a lot – portables – got bought and stashed away almost unused – so whilst not as heavy duty – a decent one will very likely be as new.

edit – here is a review of it:
http://www.petervis.com/electronics%20guides/Olympia%20Traveller%20de%20Luxe%20S/Olympia%20Traveller%20de%20Luxe%20S.html

http://games.usvsth3m.com/shine-o-matic/

Tom if you can wait a couple of days i mught have something to interest you!

IBM Selectric – best of the bunch until word processors came along.

Mark Twain was an early adopter of typewriters because they’re better than writing longhand. Douglas Adams was an early adopter of word processors because they’re better than typewriters. At the end of the day, they’re tools. Perhaps they’ll help you write better letters, perhaps not.

Or perhaps they’ll get you tagged as a Russian spy.