I can't figure out why fountain pens are so shocking.
First of all, they're not hard to use. You don't have to dip in the ink, write in any particular direction, anything. They pretty much write like a ball-point. The biggest difference is that you have to be a bit more careful taking care of it and not tossing it around. That and they're far superior writing instruments—they're just better and more pleasant.
Second, it shouldn't be that big of a deal to write with a fountain pen in Europe (though the UK might be as ball-point centric as the US). Generally, fountain pens are still really big there (see comment on superior writing), so I'm a bit confused about why it's so shocking.
Anyway, this is all a fancy way of suggesting that everyone should try fountain pens. They rock.
You rock too! And you have an impressively high tolerance for scary-bad red wine.
I wonder if there is any super-fast drying ink for lefty fountain pen users?
Alice
I LOVE fountain pens! Every time I use them though, people look at me like I'm someone out of an old movie. The only real downside is that you constantly have to buy ink, and they leak sometimes. :)