HRH Princess Sophie Countess of Wessex has recently taken over from the Queen as Patron of the Blind Veterans Association. To mark the occasion of her visit to open their new Llandudno centre, the Association decided they would present Sophie with a hand made pen, and Bill Mooney, a member of the Association who is both a veteran and almost totally blind, was asked to make it.

We were asked if we would help, and were happy to donate some Mistral pen kits for Bill to use. We also happened to know (goodness knows how) that Sophie is left handed, so in addition, we donated a Bock left handed nib to fit in her pen.

Bill made four Mistrals in total, one of which was presented to Sophie, and was also used to sign the official documents of the day. A second one was given to her to take home to Hubby, HRH Prince Edward, and the two others were auctioned by the association to raise funds for their work.

Bill Mooney is such a lovely man, who after serving in the forces, spent his remaining career as a professional woodturner until his deteriorating sight overcame him. Despite his poor eyesight, he remains though a talented pen maker, and many a young turner and pen maker has benefited from his experience, not to mention the Blind Veterans association, from which he both benefits, but also works tirelessly to help raise funds through his pen making.

Congratulations to Bill, both for the honour and for his remarkable work.