On a trip a few years ago through the Scottish Highlands, I came across a little village with a sign in a shop window that said, ‘Typewriter Repair Shop’.  That was a nostalgic moment, taking me back to my teens, when one of my weekend jobs was typing out documents.

Some of you of a certain age may recall the clack of that old machine, and the satisfying zing of the carriage return lever as you swung it across after each line. Getting your speed up was complicated by the keys getting stuck together. The ribbon frequently needed changing and often dried out completely.

Back in pre-computer days, I wrote the crossword clues on a typewriter. How frustrating it was, looking back, to be unable to delete, cut and paste, and all the fancy moves we can make now on our laptops or desktop computers.

They had their advantages too though. As novelist Frederick Forsyth once said: “I have never had an accident where I have pressed a button and accidentally sent seven chapters into cyberspace, never to be seen again. And have you ever tried to hack into my typewriter? It is very secure”.

The history of typewriter invention is a long one. In 1575, Italian printmaker Francesco Rampazetto invented a machine to impress letters on paper. Since then, the typewriter has been reinvented at least 50 times as creators have striven to achieve the most practical design.

American Christopher Sholes came up with the universal keyboard layout known as QWERTY – after the first 6 keys on the top row. Before this, the keys were arranged in alphabetical order. I wonder if Sholes deliberately included all the letters of the word ‘typewriter’ on the top line?

You might think that the typewriter would be a rare sight nowadays except in museums. Yet the vintage typewriter, believe it or not, is going through a popularity surge. Maybe that little Scottish repair shop had wisely predicted this a few years ago. Let me know if you are a typewriter user, I’d love to know how many are out there.

Nostalgia is not enough for me to want to go back to using a typewriter but good luck to those who do!