blogs - 2020 - september 2 burgess park 4 jack, josh and ... · blog archive pitman’s new era...

Images & Text © Beryl L Pratt www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand-reading.org.uk

2020 September p1 A of 11Blog Archive Pitman’s New Era Shorthand


2020 September p1 B of 11Blog Archive Pitman’s New Era Shorthand

2 Burgess Park

4 Jack, Josh And Uncle Bill

8 Warning Signs

10 Foes To Friends

PDF Date: 2 February 2021

Images & Text © Beryl L Pratt

https://www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk

https://www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand-reading.org.uk

https://long-live-pitmans-shorthand.blogspot.com

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Blogs - 2020 - September

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Burgess Park

We are back in park visiting mode, anddoing our best to get around before thesummer weather finally fades away. Awintry day is no barrier to our outings, aslong as the sun is shining and the sky hasthe maximum amount of blue, but evenbetter to do it whilst it is still warm, thetrees are green, the plants are colourfuland the fresh air is mild rather than bracing.A week ago we went to Burgess Park insouth London. This is another patch ofgreen which we had overlooked, as it didnot at first sight* seem to be of greatinterest. I always look at the satellite imageof the map to see if there is anornamental* garden, as something to aimfor. We travelled to London Bridge and then

took a bus through Southwark* andWalworth. Bussing through traffic congestedsuburbs is made tolerable only by beingupstairs on a double decker bus, so that wecan look down on the suburban scenery,searching for items of interest to note forthe future, or passing judgement on theless attractive parts of the cityscape.

* Omission phrase "at firs(t) sight"

* "ornamental" Using Ray, in order to jointhe following hook and strokes easily

* "Southwark" The W in the spelling issilent

Burgess Park

The park is a long thin one on the map but,as we entered, it was very open andspacious. In the centre is a lake, with awalkway over it. The water surface wascovered in a bloom of green algae, and asthe water birds swam through it, they leftswirling dark trails which soon closed over.Notices warned of the health hazards ofcoming into contact with the pond water.The swirling shapes looked just like the gasclouds of planet Jupiter, although all inshades of green. The surface patterns,although fascinating, only added to the

feeling that this water was unhealthy for itsinhabitants, as well as being unappealing tolook at. However we did see severalanglers in their various fishing locations, sopresumably the fish are surviving. When wereached the far end, we saw several swirlsappearing from nowhere and then someback fins just breaking the surface. The fishmust have been* about a foot long or more,going by the size of the disturbance.

* Omission phrase "mus(t have) been"





Burgess Park

As we rounded the lake we saw severallittle groups of miniature concrete housesculptures dotted around in the grass atthe sides. These were to commemoratethose who lost their lives in the SecondWorld War, when their houses, which werelocated here before the park was created,were bombed and destroyed. In the middlearea, construction work was in progress,laying the drainage ditches for the newsports pitches. We went on to the south

side where there is a lower level path whichwas once the Surrey Grand Canal. Wefound the Bridge To Nowhere, whichcrossed the canal, although closed atpresent awaiting refurbishment. We willlook forward* to walking over it in future,going from one nowhere to anothernowhere, or perhaps both sides will bepromoted to special “somewheres” by then.

* Omission phrase "look fo(r)ward"

Burgess Park

At the west end of the park we came acrossChumleigh Almshouses with theirornamental* gardens, a very pleasant*surprise. Despite the hot weather we havehad and the lateness of the season, all theplants were in healthy bloom and lookinggood. With the buildings and the treesaround, they seem to have escaped beingcooked in the August heatwave. Thesecluded shady gardens wrap around thebuildings, and are divided into differentsections which makes a relatively small ornarrow space much more* interesting. Wesaw a pair of wrought iron gates with amap of the world on, with a padlock in thecentre. This just about sums up the state ofthe world over the past half a year,

securely locked and patiently* waiting forthe signal to open up again. We will bereturning to the park to find otherinteresting bits of history and odd cornersthat we may have missed first time. Bythen the pitches will be completed and tidy,and, even better, the lake will hopefullyclear itself of the algae once the colderweather arrives. (689 words)

* "ornamental" Using Ray, in order to jointhe following hook and strokes easily

* "pleasant" "pleasing" Helpful to insert thevowel, as these are similar

* Omission phrase "much m(ore)"





Jack, Josh And Uncle Bill

Each paragraph is 100 words

Brothers Jack and Josh have had a greattime learning shorthand over the summermonths, fitting it in with their collegeassignments*. They have found out thatUncle Bill knows some shorthand as wellalthough he is very rusty. What better wayfor everyone to help themselves and eachother than to correspond in shorthand,

guaranteeing that the subject matter is ofthe highest interest, being the activities offamily members. It doesn’t practise highspeed but is a good way to practise smoothcorrect writing and revise the vowel signs,which are needed more when writing forsomeone else.

* "assignments" Contraction, on the line


Dear Uncle Bill, How is Auntie Sheila? Wehope* you are both well. We are now ableto write our news to you in shorthand. Wewere surprised that you did shorthand inschool ages ago. To make sure you canread our shorthand, we are writing slowlywhich is good revision for us. We will makeup for it by doing some fast takes later on.By now we are finding it rather difficult togo slowly! We are keeping a notebook* ofour activities, so we can keep you and

Auntie Sheila informed. Best wishes*, Jackand Josh

* Omission phrase "we (h)ope"

* "notebook" Insert the first vowel, as thisis similar to "handbook"

* "Best wishes" Upward Ish in order to jointhe phrase






Dear Jack and Josh, Thanks for yourmessage. I did manage to read it all, but ittook some time, as it is a very long timeindeed since I did any of it. That was atschool long before your parents were born,and I only used it as an office boy for a fewyears. I am writing this from draft outlines

that Auntie Sheila has prepared, otherwiseit would take a week to write it out inshorthand that you could* recognise! It isgood to keep my memory in shape in mylater years. Uncle Bill

* "you could" Not phrased, so it does notlook like "you can"


Dear Uncle Bill, We were so pleased to seeyour message in shorthand. It is very neatand we see you have got out your old dippen from your schooldays. It is so differentfrom our efforts, but of course we can allread each other’s notes, which is the mainthing. We are going to print and keep the

shorthand images in a folder, so be carefulwhat you write in them! Then we can learnfrom the outlines at a later date. Do let usknow if we make any mistakes. Bestwishes* from Jack and Josh

* "Best wishes" Upward Ish in order to jointhe phrase


Dear Uncle Bill, Today we went to town to amuseum. After we had gone round, wenoticed a guide giving a rather loudpresentation on the history to a group ofvisitors. We instantly got out our mininotebooks* and took some of it down. Wesat in a corner so we were not obvious toeveryone. It was a really big challenge but

at least the speaker was going a lot moreslowly than normal talking, which washelpful. Despite many big gaps, we filled infor each other, not bad for our first attempt.Jack and Josh

* "notebooks" Insert the first vowel, as thisis similar to "handbooks"






Dear Uncle Bill, Jack and I had to travelaround on the trains today, on collegeassignments. We went separately with theaim of writing down all the automaticannouncements at the stations and on thetrains. We have swapped notebooks* andare now working on transcribing* them.Lots of phrases are identical, such as thewarnings, so that is a bit of a giveaway*and not really testing our shorthand thatmuch. But the placenames are a bigchallenge, because we went to different

areas. It’s great as it doesn’t take anyextra time to do. Love from Josh

* notebooks" Insert the first vowel, as thisis similar to "handbooks"

* "transcribing" Omits the second R, tostop it looking like "describing"

* "giveaway" In full, as using the shortform would not be clear


Dear Jack and Josh, Glad to hear of youractivities on the trains. I have done thesame with the television adverts*. I onlygot a few snatches of words here andthere*, and I had to use a pencil for that. Iwonder if you can read the scan of myscribbly* notes? Can you do the same andsend some to me, so I can have a go atreading your scribble? It would be quite anachievement for me to read that, but I dohave Auntie Sheila here in case of outlineemergencies! Love Uncle Bill

* "adverts" Normal outline, insert the firstvowel to ensure it is not misread as thecontraction "advertisements" which iswritten on the line

* Omission phrase "here (and) there"

* "scribbly" Insert the final vowel, so it isnot misread as "scribbled"






Dear Uncle Bill, Here are some of our notesof adverts*. We chose the food ones, asthey are more simple to find the outlinesfor. We had the brilliant idea of takingdown some dialogue from a cowboy movie,as we know you like them. We did it from avideo, so we could* fast forward* throughit to get the phrases fairly quickly. It wasabout the sheriff chasing the cattle rustlinggang and other outlaws making trouble intown. Thanks for your messages, we like

seeing real shorthand other than what’s inthe book. Love from Jack

* "adverts" Normal outline, insert the firstvowel to ensure it is not misread as thecontraction "advertisements" which iswritten on the line

* "we could" Not phrased, so it does notlook like "we can"

* Omission phrase "fas(t) fo(r)ward"


Dear Auntie Sheila, We have been having awonderful time reading Uncle Bill’smessages in shorthand. We would like tobuy Uncle a modern shorthand pen for hisbirthday, do you think that would be a goodidea? We would include some good qualityink and pads as well, as we noticed the dip

pen was sputtering on the rough paper. Letus know and we will order them straightaway. We can’t wait to see his face whenwe bring them over, and we think it maycause more stir than your chocolatecovered birthday cake! Jack and Josh (900words)





Warning Signs

Like most of the people in this country, Iam holding firmly onto summer and doingmy best to ignore the warning signs that itmay be about to slip away. As I write, thesun is shining after a bright but overcastmorning. The weather is warm and mild, allthe windows are open and there is no cosyjumper draped over my shoulders. I wouldlike it to stay that way for as long aspossible*. This year we have had manyperiods of hot weather, but afterintermittent weeks of refreshing rain, thedry brown patches on the lawn have goneand it is once again* a vibrant green. Butthere are warning signs. There are leavesand hawthorn berries littering the path

alongside the fishpond, and even a fewcollecting on the waterlily leaves. One ortwo conkers and acorns fell around usduring our woodland walk, with loads morebeing crunched underfoot. I have beencollecting plant seeds and have now cometo the end of that, another warning signthat the plants have done everything theycan to look lovely and to provide the meansof growing them again next year. I am notconcerned by a few misty mornings, and aslong as the spider webs are dry and notdripping with overnight dew, summer is stillhere.

* Omission phrases "as long as poss(ible)"wu(n)s again"

Warning Signs

The sun is no longer shining at five thirty inthe morning, so I have no excuse to get upat that hour any more, although in winteran early start is still preferable to limitingmy “daytime” to the hours of daylight. Thatprogression of time is so slow that itdoesn’t really count as a warning at all, andit is more the greyness of the cloudyweather that deprives us of daylight aswinter gets nearer. A different warning signof the passing of summer was something Iwas rather pleased about. My favourite*shoe shop had a sale of summer sandals,which have to be* shifted to make way forthe winter stock. I happily obliged by

helping them clear a few inches of the rack,and was delighted that at the till a furtherreduction appeared on the prices. A fewshops further down, I was not so delightedto see the first few Christmas cards for salelow down in a shop window and I ambracing myself for the onslaught ofChristmas fripperies that appear everearlier.

* "favourite" Note that "favoured" uses theanticlockwise VR stroke

* Omission phrase "which have (to) be"





Warning Signs

Out on the trains recently I noticed someother warning signs, regarding not seasonsbut safety. At some stations there is alarger than average gap between the trainand the platform*, either widthways or inheight, and always warned against by theregular automatic announcements. Inoticed several stations had acquired lotsof new large and clear Mind The Gap signsspaced out along the side walls and railings,in addition to the* existing painted floorsigns along the platform* edges. Someplatforms* have the floor versionalternating both ways around, for thosegetting on and those getting off, and theydo get trodden and faded. The wall signsare better. All this just added to themultitude of signs to help me survive,

going into ever greater detail of what I wasto mind, do, remember, not do, etc. Maybehaving too many advice or warning signsjust stops people reading them, as there isan overwhelming* choice, especially as theimportant ones are competing with theadvertisements which can safely be ignored.There is a lot of reading material to keep usall occupied whilst waiting for the train toarrive.

* "platform " Optional contraction

* Omission phrase "in addition (to) the"

* "overwhelming" Vowel and Dot Hayshown, but not really necessary to insert,as the outline is a distinctive one

Warning SignsThose signs always make me think ofshorthand, and for us this really shouldread Avoid The Gaps In The First Place.They just should not be there. If a gap hasbeen left, the best thing to do is write themissing word in the margin, even if furtherdown, when there is the slightest chance todo so. Real life* shorthand writing* at workprovides such chances, but learners don’treally get them, as our teachers have thetask of making sure we are always beingencouraged, cajoled, pushed (or is itdragged along?) at an ever faster rate, inorder to* improve our performance. Theyare absolutely right, as the tendency is togive in to gravity and slow right down,unless there is something to keep us “ontrack” and making the efforts. Attempting

high speed is very exhausting, and has tobe done over and over again*, butafterwards there is the exhilaration ofknowing you got it all or most of it, likecoming out of the dentist in high spiritsbecause it is all over. But with shorthand itis all going to happen again quite soon, andvery regularly. The only way to be free ofthat constant battle is to get capability upto and beyond the average talking speedfor your eventual use of the skill. This iseasy to say but, like the station notices, itmay need a string of signs that say “KeepGoing, Do Not Stop Here.” (854 words)* Omission phrases "rea(l) life"

"short(hand) writing" "in ord(er to" "over(and) over again" The second "over" isreversed in order to make a good join.





Foes To Friends

I have never had a foe in life, which is arather quaint word for enemy, adversary oropponent. Boisterous kids getting up tomischief at infants school seemed like foes,so I kept away from them. At a young ageit might have been the dentist, but theywere really my helpers to prevent worsetrouble. Maybe the school exams were thefoe, but they were conquered, as long as Idid all the homework and revising. I didn’tmind shorthand foes, though, as they wereeasily captured and turned into friends. Thefoes are the outlines that you don’t know

and the ones you sort of know andrecognise but not well enough to recallquickly or correctly in a fraction of a second.They cannot be run away from or ignored,as they will return with equal vigour andfrustration in the next dictation. They comeback like pesky flies to torment your effortsat getting a full note. The friends are theopposite, happy little easy ones like be, it,do, me, for, is, was, take, get. Those occurall the time, which is why they become soeasy so soon.

Foes To Friends

You can read advice all day long on thenecessity to keep on practising to improve,but to be effective a targeted method isneeded. They are not quite commonenough to find their own way into thefriends category as quickly as desired, sowhat is needed is an artificial method ofmaking them common. This is, totallyunsurprisingly*, the good old indispensablepersonalised drill notebook that we all knowand love. First of all*, the offenders mustbe captured as they occur, so you knowwhich ones to deal with, and this needs tobe a constant effort at all times*. With youraction ready drill pad to hand, you have afoe munching device that regularly reduces

their numbers, by depriving them of theirnovelty, newness, awkwardness orunfamiliarity. They come out the other sideas familiar, known, ordinary, instantlyrecognisable and easily recalled. If not,then they go round again until they doconform to requirements.

* "unsurprisingly" Short forms andcontractions with "-un" added retain theirposition

* Omission phrase "first (of) all"

* "at all times" Halving to represent the Tof "time"





Foes To Friends

Re-reading the bits of theory relevant toyour list of captives* will not do the jobefficiently, the actual outlines must bepicked out of those pages and drilled. Thelittle rascals must be* gathered together, afew at a time* to keep things manageable,and put into some easy short sentences sothat it all flows more naturally and keepsthe mind interested and not wandering.Each sentence is then drilled down theentire page. Repeating the same drill overseveral days is helpful, to ensure they areproperly* learned, filling in part of the pageand completing it another day. By the timeyou have written a sentence several times,

you will not be looking at the line above,and can say the words quietly to yourselfas you write. This marries sound andoutline, and banishes the intrusivelonghand from the scene.

* "captives" Written thus, and not with T+VHook, in order to accommodate derivativese.g. "captivate"

* Omission phrase "at (a) time"

* "properly" Always insert the first vowel,and the diphone in "appropriately" as theseare similar in outline and meaning.

Foes To Friends

Spare a very brief thought for the poor oldlonghand, not welcome at the shorthandparty, but relegated to the slow jobs ofreading the shorthand book lessons, fillingin the exam application form, jobapplication form and job acceptance letter,or writing to friends to tell them of yoursuccess with your new hobby* that isturning out to be so useful in other areas.All this is thanks to the uninterestinglooking pile of used up drill books, awaitingtheir turn in the shredder, and, just asimportant, another pile of new notebooks in

process of being prepared with the nextbatch of outline recruits for their amazing*and rapid transformation* from baddies tobuddies, from foes to friends. (621 words)

* "hobby" "habit" Always insert the firstvowel, as these are similar in outline andmeaning

* "amazing" "amusing" Always insert thesecond vowel, and in all derivatives

* "transformation" Optional contraction

blogs - 2020 - september 2 burgess park 4 jack, josh and ... · blog archive pitman’s new era...

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