>>In 1970, when I enrolled in the grammar school, they still had the old benches, probably as old as the building itself (which would be 124 years at the time), which had inkwell holes carved. They were finally removed in 1972.
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>Our grammar school had them, from the days of dipping nibs, but we used teh fountain pens that our proud parents had bestowed on us. Later, of course we all just used biros (ballpoints).

Same here - got a new penkalo (after mr. Penkala, the inventor of the fountain pen), which was somehow more stylish and serious than the chemical (just the adjective, feminine gender, because "chemical pen" was very rarely heard - ballpoint). I kept using fountain pens for the next dozen years, specially when I was teaching, because there was a good eraser for those available at the time. Any error in the class book was easy to fix :).

>>BTW, "inkwell" is another word that amuses me endlessly. How do you get ink from a well - with a bucket on a chain, or is there some pump on top of it? :)
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>Who says a well has to be deep and full of water?

If you stare well into it, you may see a lot, even the error in your ways :).
>It amuses you endlessly?

Just an expression. Tried to describe my internal smile.

>BA: "My how the winter nights must just fly by in your house"