Sarah arrives as a newly elected Honorary Fellow to sign the register for the Royal Society of Literature investiture ceremony at the Battersea Arts Centre, in June 2022
…. and meets Molly Rosenberg, its Director ….
…. and is given George Eliot’s pen with which to sign the register ….
…. comments that it is very delicate, she must have had several ….
…. after sticking it into the ink, Sarah remembers being ink monitor at school in 1950s ….
…. a filthy job for which necessitated wearing rubber aprons ….
…. but this pen’s knib writes beautifully and requires Sarah’s very best signature ….
…. ”are you sure this is George Eliot’s pen?” ….
…. ”but the handle is made of ivory” ….
…. Molly comments about the poor elephants ….
…. Sarah cheerfully persuades her not to burden the past with contemporary objections ….
…. and both agree that ivory from 1880 is not a reason to disagree ….
…. Sarah feels sobby handling the pen of the greatest English novelist ….
…. but all is completed…what a lovely experience!