Il Papiro

There’s a stationery store located in Covent Garden called Il Papiro that I just love.  Their merchandise are the stuff that I collect.    I like their design.  They have a new product collection of handmade wallets, coin purses,  that have matching notebooks but they are quite expensive.  For the items that I find expensivo  I just look and touch, no buying.

(Photos taken on March 21, 2018)

I love buying notepads, stationery, envelopes that are made in Italy.
I think it was an influence from my Kuya Lito. When I was in high school, I always see him with cute stationery, envelopes, notebooks yung merong mga drawing. Siguro kasi nanliligaw. One time I got into trouble. I was in second year high school. Uso pa nun mga love letters. Boys discreetly give their crushes folded love letters. There was one time when I had two suitors waiting for my answer. Grabe sinusundan sundan ako sa school, pine pressure ako. Ano daw sagot ko.
Kung bakit naman ang tanong nila pagnanliligaw ay “may pag-asa ba ako?” My friend Sarry Callanta advised me to say “meron kayong pag-asa”. She has a point kasi pag-asa lang naman daw, hindi naman yes. Baka daw kasi magalit yung manliligaw kung sasabihin ko WALA!! I followed her advise.
I stole two pieces of stationery from my Kuya Lito’s things and wrote two response letters with the same wordings to the two suitors. “Ang tanong ko sa sagot mo ay may-pag-asa ka”. Naku po, yung palang stationery ay merong drawing drawing sa gilid-gilid na may wordings about love. Akala tuloy nung dalawang suitors ko ay love ko sila!!! The following day and days, the two guys were always smiling at me, weird, and yung isa nag-istambay pa sa tapat ng bahay namin the whole day for several days. I didn’t understand what was happening. Eh nerbyos na nerbyos pa ako kasi pag-natunugan ng mama at papa ko na merong mga lalaki na aali-aligid sa amin, sinturon ang aabutin ko. Na grounded na nga ako kasi hinalukay ng mama ko yung mga papel sa basurahan. Huli, nakita nya yung mga kinusot ko na scratch papers. Kung bakit naman one sentence lang ang isasagot ko, kailangan ko pang maggawa ng drafts. Ayun, sermon ang inabot ko. Grabe ang mama ko, nag sulat lang ako ng response sa mga suitors, ang akala mag-aasawa na ako.
When we were in school, both of them followed me around looking so happy. Nay ko po, yun pala they thought mag-boyfriend na kami, na sinagot ko silang dalawa. Dalawa pa. Eh sinagot ko nga pero ang sagot ko ay “may pag-asa ka”. I didn’t say YES magsyota na tayo”. Those were two different things. I never went out with any of those two boys. I never even stopped to have a two sentences conversation with them. Hindi ko sila type.
I just followed Sarry’s advice to give them hope, hope lang pala. Hope is free. Yes is not. That was a bad lesson for me. Even when I was already in college, even after 30 years, I still heard stories that the two guys were still bragging about me naging girlfriend daw nila. Nay ko. Kaya pala one time I joined in our batch Christmas carols singing, one of the guys suddenly placed his right hand on my left shoulder!!! Nagulat ako. Aba ang lakas ng loob. I stopped singing and before I could turn and give him a one two upper cut, buti na lang may classmate who was standing right beside me removed his hand fast. She knew. Baka hanggang ngayon hindi pa sya maka move on. Kailangan merong closure. (Eto na closure: Hello guys, sorry ha, I used my Kuya Lito’s stationery, meron palang mga drawing na puso-puso and love. Wala akong kinalaman kung ano man naka drawing dun sa stationery na yun, inumit ko lang sa attache case ng kuya Lito ko. Pasensya na kayo kung namis-interpret nyo yung “may pag-asa ka”. Dapat pala inilagay ko na lang deretsahan na walang kapag-a-pag-asa. Peace be with you”.

I never pass up the chance to buy a box or two because these are just so pretty. However the heat and humidity in Manila cause my stationery to turn yellowish or amagish (English for amag!) and smell luma.

The window shopper

I am a fan of the old fashioned wax envelope seal. I imagine how it was like during the era when people still cared to write handwritten notes sealed with laway.

Blue is my world

Il Papiro
Covent Garden
14 The Market, London WC2E 8RB, UK
Hours: Closes 8:30PM
Phone: +44 20 7836 6768