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“He loved possessions, not masses of them, but a select few that he did not part with. They gave a man self-respect. Not ostentation but quality, and the love that cherished the quality. Possessions reminded him that he existed, and made him enjoy his existence. It was as simple as that. And wasn't that worth something?"#

– from "The Talented Mr. Ripley” by Patricia Highsmith#

Yesterday I picked up a A5 sized 2027 diary from Fortnum & Mason.11 For those who don’t know, Fortnum & Mason is a very high end department store in Piccadilly, London. It’s known for the blue colour used on most of its products (see photo of notebook below), its Christmas hampers which come in a wicker box, and for generally being a British shopping institution. And I have to say, that despite the high cost, it’s a lot better than the little Hatchards one I got. If only because it understands it’s a British institution and has British dates and information in it – not American like the Hatchards one!#

As someone who’s only really bought notebooks, not diaries before, I wish all notebooks had useful information and references at the start of it.#

Here’s the cover:#

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Apparently 2027 is going to be the year of the goat. In the front of the notebook they say there’s a goat on the cover as they have a copper still for making gin called `Amalthea’, which “shares its title with a mythical goat.” But I reckon it’s surely because it’s year of the goat. F&M has a decent amount of wealthy Chinese shoppers.22 The Chinese man in front of me had a trolley of goods. Do you know how rich you have to be to use a trolley at F&M?! For reference, the notebook I bought was £85. A pen I got was £38. It is all insanely pricey. So fill up a trolley it going to cost a fortune. So I’m sure “pandering” to that crowd is happy to see a goat on the cover.#

Here’s what the Fortnum & Mason one has:#

Important British dates#

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Food festivals and game seasons#

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So many I didn’t know about that I can’t wait to celebrate! Like pie week, British beef week, whisky day, sandwich week, biscuit day, picnic day, cream tea day, British food fortnight,33 Will need to look into this one. Not sure what it is exactly. vegan month,44 I think it’s a great idea, trying to be vegan for a month. And November is a great month. Just before Christmas, when meat can be back on the menu, boys. and stir up Sunday,55 Another one to look into..#

Time differences#

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I find it funny than everything in the list is cities. Aside from little Malta, where it just lists the country, rather than their capital city of Valletta. My girlfriends heritage is Maltese, so she’ll find that fun too.#

International dialling codes#

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A bit of a dated edition in 2027. But I almost like that.#

Metric information#

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Just generally useful.#

Wedding anniversaries#

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I didn’t realise that you’re meant to gift stuff like paper, cotton, leather and fruit in the early years. I just knew of golden, diamond and platinum. How cute.#

Wine vintage chart#

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Some of these pages show the type of clientele a F&M diary is for.66 Posh people. This is one for sure, along with the game season section.#

Year planner#

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I’m not really sure how this page is useful, as there’s very little room next to each date. Maybe you should utilise symbols? Such as to show that you’re on annual leave from work perhaps?#

The end of December 2026#

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I like how it includes the last two weeks of the previous year (2026). A lot of people will be getting this diary as a Christmas present, so it means they can start using it right away.#

You often see products with something like 20% EXTRA FREE on it. I always presumed it was a fairly new thing.#

But I'm watching an episode of Only Fools & Horses from 1989 and I noticed Del-Boy is drinking a can of Heineken that has it on it. So apparently it's a nearly 40 year old gimmick.#

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Now that I’m on the BulletJournal train (adapted slightly by me) I thought I’d give the Leuchtturm1917 x BulletJournal x Dreggriffel pen (that’s a lot of collabs) a go.#

Don’t know why I did. I’ve already found the perfect pen: uni-ball Jetstream 101. And this one cost £29! (the uni-ball costs £6 for 3!)#

It’s a pleasant enough looking pen, with decent weight. But doesn’t write as well as the uni-ball – and isn’t as comfortable.#

Oh well. Maybe I’ll keep it at my desk and use it when I plan my day.#

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AI slop had made it to magazine covers.#

I saw this Sherlock Holmes magazine in WHSmiths at Victoria Station.#

I’m sure it saved them £200-500 in paying a designer and the moneyfolk rubbed their hands together with glee.#

But I didn’t buy it because of its awful AI cover (I love Sherlock Holmes and would enjoy this magazine, I’m sure. And the contents looked decent enough). How many others have skipped it because of the AI art? You wonder if that money they saved was cancelled out by lost sales.#

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Just stumbled on an old Tumblr post with a photo of my EDC (every day carry) from the 7th of December 2013:#

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• Then: iPhone 5. Now: iPhone 15.#
• Then: Longines Legend Diver. Now: various watches, but I still have the Longines (though considering selling it)#
• Then: Tom Ford FT5178 glasses. Now: Still have these glasses, but I don't wear them. My prescription changed and I fancied a thinner pair. Currently wearing some Gucci frames.#
• Then: Hard Graft iPhone case. Now: I used this for years. But modern iPhones got too big for it. I now have a rubber case on my phone and a separate wallet. #
• Then: Fisher Space pen. Now: Still owned, but it's a bit small and uncomfortable to write with. My default now is the uni-ball Jetstream 101.#
• Then: Remove Before Flight keyring. Now: Still used! I purchased a pack of five of them and I'm currently on my third one I believe.#
• Then: Field Notes Expedition edition. Now: I still love Field Notes and have used them on and off down the years. In fact, I currently have two on my desk as I write this (see photo below).#
• Then: Dog tag. Now: still owned, but no longer in use. It was a bit cringey.#

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