My journey in music has had the humble pencil as a constant companion. Partly due to necessity - you have to take your pencil to orchestra and choir (or you’re in trouble!), but mostly because I simply love scribbling with a pencil! Music and scribbling with a pencil have been inextricably intertwined since I was about six years old. Just holding a pencil in my hand makes me think better and it’s so relaxing to scribble notes and hear the scratchy sound as the notes form on the page. A new pack of pencils opens up a vista of memories, as I realise just how happy a pack of pencils makes me. They say it’s good to celebrate the small things in life, but in this case such a small thing has rather a big place in my life.