I must confess to an unnatural passion for the purple, black and white 'W H Smith's own brand' pencils... a deep violet with a glowing white band, tipped with deep, sparkling, patent-leather looking black... I always bought the 2B or 4B, but once I strayed from the path with a 6B... so soft and deep... unforgetable.

I'm having to make do with Crayola sketching pencils at present... they have the same sort of depth and texture but the outsides are a dull grey with light grey tops.. just not the same as the rich and sensual royal purple pencils of my youth...

LTS