The Stationery Cupboard -

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Lucy Mangan is joined by writers, collectors and children to explore our obsession with pens, paper and the paraphernalia of office life.

Lucy Mangan loves pens...and paper...and folders. In fact, from her first fountain pen to the latest leather notebook, Lucy has been thrilled by the smell and feel of fresh stationery. Of course, she's not alone - one of the most popular luxuries for Desert Island Discs castaways is pen and paper. In The Stationery Cupboard, we meet fellow devotees of the paraphernalia of school and office life. Lucy goes back to her South London junior school to talk to children about pencil cases. She meets writers to discuss the merits of the 1920s typewriter, a sleek laptop, and a pile of lined A5 notebooks. The psychologist Linda Blair explores our attachment to particular designs, and members of the Writing Equipment Society explain why happiness is a collection of two thousand fountain pens.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.