I still like to write with a pencil but it has to be not too sharp and not too blunt. I was thinking about the desk I learned to write at in school. It was a double desk, with a pop up bench. If you wanted something from inside the desk, you had to get the person who shared the desk to also lift the lid, as the lids were also double and joined. The space under the lid was quite deep, but I don't remember having many things to put inside the space. We didn't put bags in them as these were hung on a peg with our coats. The two inkwells had a sliding brass cover and I think the whole thing had iron legs, painted black. Viv.
