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September-October 2018

The Shard

Old Photos

Basic Phrases 3

Basic Phrases 4

The Shard (7 September 2018)

I enjoy visiting high places with a view. There are several areas of London on high ground, such as Highgate, Crystal Palace Park and Alexandra* Palace. Several years ago we went up to the topmost tower of St Paul’s* Cathedral which gave wonderful views over the city. A few years after that, we made our first visit to the Sky Garden in the Fenchurch Street building which gave magnificent views over the whole city and, being free, although ticketed, we went back several times at different times of the day. Each time we were there, we looked over to the gleaming Shard immediately opposite on the south bank of the river, with our eyes level with the middle of it.

* "Alexandra" The name "Alexander" would have a doubled N stroke

* "St Paul's" Names with "St/Saint" are generally treated as one word for convenience, therefore on the line

Looking east to Canary Wharf

This year our desire to visit The Shard was realised, when friends gave us the wonderful surprise gift of tickets for the top level viewing experience known as The View From The Shard. We could* choose our day and time within the next year and we spent all summer waiting for a fine clear day immediately after some rain, to ensure the air was free of dust and haze. The entire summer has been a non-stop heatwave and drought, so the wait lasted three months. At last the weather forecast showed heavy storms and showers on a Thursday, followed by a bright, sunny, clear Friday. We booked immediately for a mid-morning entry.

* "We could" Not phrased, to prevent misreading as "we can"

Looking west

Before we go up the building, there are a few facts and figures* that will introduce this remarkable building. Its former names were Shard of Glass, Shard London Bridge or London Bridge Tower and its shape was inspired by the many church spires and the former ships’ sails of London. It is located immediately next to London Bridge railway station and its address is 32 London Bridge Street, Southwark*. Its height is 309.7 metres (1,016 feet), comprising* 95 storeys of which 72 are habitable floors. It is the tallest building in the UK and in the  European Union, the 5th tallest in Europe and the 96th* tallest in the world. It can be seen from 40 miles away in any direction, which also means you can view the city and countryside within a 40 mile radius, on a perfect clear day. Construction began in March 2009 and finished in March 2012. It was inaugurated on 5 July 2012 by the Prime Minister* of Qatar, and practical completion was achieved in November 2012.

* Omission phrases "fac(t)s (and) figures"  "Pri(me) Minister"  "in (the) world"

* "Southwark" The longhand W is silent = "suthark"

* "comprising" This word is not followed by "of". You can say "comprising 95 storeys" or "consisting of 95 storeys".

* "96th" You cannot use a disjoined Ith stroke for this, as that means "thousand" or sometimes "thousandths", therefore it has to all be written in full

The Shard has 11,000 glass panels covering an area of 56,000 square metres (602,799 square feet) which is about the area of about 8 football pitches. It has 306 flights of stairs and 44 lifts (elevators) including dedicated lifts for fire fighters. The lifts travel at 6 metres per second. Approximately 95% of the building materials and 20% of the steelwork is from recycled sources. The construction used up most of the rubble from the demolished Southwark Towers that it replaced. It has a skin of triple-glazing with integrated* sun screens. The tower cost about 430 million pounds to build.

* "integrated" It is the halved T stroke that is on the line

We woz there

The Shard has a floor area of 110,000 square metres (1.2 million square feet or 11 hectares or 27 acres) comprising* 27 floors of offices, 3 floors of restaurants and 19 floors of hotel accommodation. There are also 10* luxury apartments which are still empty and unsold at present, with a price tag of 50 million pounds each. I have no wish to live in the city centre, despite the amazing* outlook over the cityscape, so I am not going to buy any of those, as you might have guessed. The viewing decks are on levels 68, 69 and 72, the topmost one being open to the air at 244 metres (804 feet). The levels above house a power station and radiators.

* "10" Always insert the vowel in this and the outline for "18", as otherwise they are identical

* "comprising" See note para 3

* "amazing" "amusing" Always insert the second vowel

Level 68

We knew none of that as we arrived at the building, we just knew we were going to have a great time in this beautiful giant crystal building. As we went through the revolving doors, we saw long queues at the ticket counters but we were able to bypass those as we had booked online. We went straight through the barriers, scanners and bag check. The journey upwards was by two separate lifts, each with fully mirrored sides and a ceiling made of a large screen showing the views from the top at various times of day and night. This was our first piece of entertainment, a taster of what was to come. I gave up trying* to follow the level indicator as the numbers were increasing so fast.

* "trying" Not using a triphone, as the I sound is included in the Dot Ing

 
London Bridge station, looking east

We exited the second lift on level 68. This level is completely enclosed and therefore wind and weatherproof. We found ourselves surrounded by glass walls and sky, with the city far below and the suburbs spread out as a giant living map, with very few other tall buildings to obscure the view. The people were tiny dots flowing along the paths like ants following their* trails, the cars were miniaturised toys and the trains were little white worms sliding along their allotted tracks in slow motion. The river was a ribbon of coffee coloured water, and its bends became more obvious as we followed it by eye to the high rises of Canary Wharf and beyond to Greenwich, just out of sight behind the Isle of Dogs. We could just about make out the supporting towers of the Dartford Crossing bridge.

* "following their" Doubling to represent "their"

 
Level 68 & 72

We then went up to Level 72, which is open to the air, although the glass is high and you have to look up to remind yourself of this fact and see where the air flow is coming from. During the summer the floor surface has been covered in artificial grass, making it the highest "park" in London. The views were of course not much different but the occasional breezes from above in a couple of places did emphasise the reality of our elevated position. You know that you are at the top when you run out of ceiling and there is only the spire and sections of open sky above you. The passing jet plane on its way to Heathrow Airport seemed not too much* higher than us, and a noisy police helicopter zoomed round the spire exactly level with us.

* "too much" It is quicker to write as a phrase, than to make a pen lift, but only where the M stroke joins easily. Likewise "so much, very much"

We spent two hours on the decks, walking round and finding landmarks, which as Londoners were all well-known to us. We could not* see our home area, as that was hidden behind high ground to the south east, but everything else was duly identified, zoomed in on and photos* taken. However, the most dramatic photos were those taken looking straight down the side of the building, at the corners where the glass façades do not quite meet, and you can see directly down to the ground, following the converging lines of the edges. As the building is topped by an open spire, this must be the* only building in London that does not have a roof.

* "We could not" This can be phrased, as "cannot" is entirely different. "We could" on its own would not be phrased, as that is too similar to "we can"

* "photos" Helpful to insert the last vowel, and the diphone in "videos" as they are similar in outline and meaning

* Omission phrase "mus(t) be the"

To me, this is the most attractive building in London. As all the sides are sloping inwards, it reflects the sky at all times*, which other glass sided buildings do not and it is therefore not in the least imposing or looming, in fact* it seems to quietly disappear at times depending on the light and weather conditions. Each time we go into London via London Bridge station, we can look up at The Shard and will not have to wonder what is up there, although there is now a new bucket list item of seeing it all at night. That is something that is best done in winter when darkness falls much earlier. I think our next opportunity to do that will be in the Sky Garden opposite, with the advantage that we can admire The Shard in its entirety and reflected in the water of the river Thames. (1303 words)

* "at all times" Halving to represent the T of "times"

* Omission phrase "in (f)act"

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Old Photos (16 September 2018)

Tops of wardrobes are wonderful places, you can keep stuff there without it getting in the way. But after a while the boxes do tend to settle down to almost permanent* residency. The promised sort-out becomes a distant memory and, as the boxes are no longer being tripped over on the floor, awaiting attention, their future repose seems quite safe from disturbance. On top of the bedroom wardrobes dust was settling like grey Christmas snow.

* "permanent" See www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/distinguishing-outlines-2-rule.htm "prominent permanent pre-eminent"

The summer has been long, warm and pleasant*, but autumn and winter are just around the corner and could arrive suddenly at any moment.  It was time to give the dust and boxes some attention, while the summery* breezes were still flowing around the house, and before we get into the damp misty autumn weather. Down they all came, ready for scrutiny, sorting and disposal. The clear view of the ceiling instead of* brown cardboard was too good to obscure again. The boxes of old tapes were thrown out, having long since been superseded by MP3 files and podcasts. The piles of very old photo albums could go, once the photos had been removed and reorganised* into the new albums also stored there, waiting to be filled.

* "pleasant" "pleasing" Helpful to insert the first vowel, as these are similar in outline and meaning

* "summery" Note that "summary" has full stroke Ray

* "instead of" The F/V hook can be used after halving only in a phrases, similarly "part of"

* "reorganised" No diphone after the Ray, as the O sound is deemed to be included in the contraction

A flick through some of the albums promised hours of interesting time travel, perusing past events. The photos were from the 1970’s and 80’s, and the plastic and acetate pages were becoming warped and yellowed, but that had not* affected the photos themselves. I had numbered all the backs of the photos, so it was easy to get them into groups and in sequence. It was a film camera, no digitals as we have* now, and a roll* of 36 frames would probably have taken all summer to use up, although on holiday I might get through two or three* during the week. It was quite nerve-wracking taking a finished roll out of the camera, as you had to wind it back and ensure the raw unprocessed film had entirely gone into the cylinder, to prevent exposure and ruination of any photos at that end. After the winding lever went slack as the end detached from the spool at the other side, I always gave it lots* of extra turns just to be safe. Then it was a two-week wait while the local establishment sent them off for processing.

* "had not" You could use halving and N hook, but that would require vowels inserting as well, to differentiate from "do not", so writing it separately is much quicker

* "as we have" Sway Circle for "as we" in phrases

* "roll" Insert the vowel, so it is not misread as "reel" which would also make sense

* Omission phrase "two (or) three"

* "lots" "masses" Insert the vowel, as these are similar in outline and meaning

As well as reminiscing over the childhood antics of younger relatives, who have mostly passed their half century by now, I was somewhat more intrigued by pictures of myself. I kept seeing clothes that I had forgotten about, old favourites that were worn regularly until they wore out or something new took their place. In the seventies I had flared skirts in flowery patterns with a frill around the bottom hem, quite fashionable then for my age-group. Most alarming, though, was the realisation that the person I was looking at in the photo, a younger me in her twenties, was someone entirely different, a person I used to know, with a different mind set and different thoughts. I had inside knowledge on how she felt and lived, the plans, hopes and concerns that filled life during those years. She knew nothing of my present life, home and long-term friends who did not exist in her world. There was no way she could have guessed at any of it.

When I came to the album containing pictures of when we moved into our present house, the person became much more* familiar. Surprisingly at that time I had no urge to record the state of the house but there were* plenty documenting the progress of reclaiming the overgrown garden, entirely full of weeds*, wild saplings, brambles and nettles. Without any prior experience, we set about clearing it over the winter and replanting the following spring. Within a year it was looking like a miniature park, with a fresh newly turfed lawn surrounded by tidy beds of shrubs and flowers. It would be several more years before the fish pond appeared, and all those plantings had been replaced by others, culminating in the present collection of fruit trees and low maintenance shrubs.

* Omission phrases "much m(ore)" "there (w)ere"

* "weeds" Insert the vowel, to differentiate from "woods" which might also make sense

My photos nowadays will need no such dusting off and sorting. They are all digital and on the computer, in dated* folders, and named to identify the locations, people and events. They take up no physical room at all, and the only slight issue is their over-abundance, a result of the ease with which one can take photos of everything, with no cost of film or processing or printing. They do take up time in going through them at intervals, but overall I think we have it much better now, as every day out and destination can be reviewed at any time, and further visits planned in order to* see it all again. (803 words)

* "dated" Insert the vowel, to differentiate from "edited" which would also make sense here

* Omission phrase "in ord(er to)"

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Basic Phrases 3 (27 September 2018)

These are a mixture of very simple phrases and a few omission ones. Line length sentences are the most useful way of drilling the material, repeating one sentence down the page. Prepare a pad with the shorthand sentence at the top of each page, and keep it with you for practising at odd moments, thus* increasing your study time and bringing your goals nearer. You can do this with any shorthand material available, as it does not matter if it is just a part of a sentence. Sometimes a whole page of repetition is a bit too much* and the brain and hand tire about halfway* down. In that case, leave the page and start another, and then come back to the former page later on to finish it.

* "thus" A short form

* "too much" It is quicker to write this as a phrase with the M stroke, rather than separately

* "halfway" On its own "half" has an F Hook

I know that you are going to have a wonderful time at the park.

I know how much* this is going to cost and it is not cheap at all.

We know that it is time to get on with reading the study book and notes.

I shall be waiting for you at the railway station tomorrow morning at eleven.

We shall be ready to come and see you when we have done the work.

I do think you should be at the office when Mr Smith comes in tomorrow.

We do have to write to our customers at the end of the year.

They do many things for us and they always do a very good job.

* "how much" It is quicker to write this as a phrase with the M stroke, rather than separately

I had a lot of letters to answer at the office yesterday.

I thank you for your letter which has all the information that is needed.

We thank you very much* for coming to see us at the office yesterday afternoon*.

I think you are going to like the new offices when you come in next month*.

I think I will be able to do the exam and get a good pass mark in this subject.

We think you will be surprised at how much* work we have done on this project.

They think the price is too high and have asked for it to be changed.

I thought you were coming to the house so I stayed in all day.

* "very much" "how much" It is quicker to write this as a phrase with the M stroke, rather than separately

* Omission phrases "yesterday af(ter)noon" "ne(k)s(t) month"

We thought you might wish to see this letter* from our accountant Mr Brown.

I can say that Mr Black is a good employee who can work fast.

I can see you next Monday but I cannot do either Tuesday or Wednesday.

I can see that you have brought all the relevant papers and samples to the meeting.

We can send the information when Mr Green returns next week*.

Please come to the office next Monday if you can.

Please email me if you cannot come within the next week*.

I cannot finish writing the minutes of the meeting until I have the information.

* "this letter" Downward L in order to join the phrase

* Omission phrase "ne(k)s(t w)eek"

You cannot print those reports until he has read through the pages and made corrections.

I know that he cannot do the job to our satisfaction because he is not sufficiently qualified.

She told us that she cannot travel that distance to work every day.

We cannot agree to these terms  and so we will have to talk about it again.

They cannot come to an agreement over the dispute that has arisen.

He can sort out the letters for me but he cannot answer them.

She can do every type of office work but she cannot work on Fridays.

She may wish to come for an interview and she can discuss it with you.

She will be available all of next week* to see the customers on the shop floor.

Can you find out the information for me* from the secretary of the manager’s office?***

Can we go to the meeting today and can we have a copy of the minutes?

Could you please send all those emails* and also reply to today’s ones as well?

Could you take this parcel to the post office* and also get some stamps?

Could we take on another person in the central accounts office?

If he can, he will be coming in to the office every morning this week*.

He may wish to leave early on Friday to catch his train to the north.

* Omission phrases "ne(k)s(t) week" "pos(t) office" "this (w)eek"

* "for me" Insert the vowel in phrases containing "me" or "him" to differentiate

*** These sentences are a polite way of giving an order, rather than asking a question.

* "emails" Advisable to insert the vowel, as this is similar to "mails"

She may have to leave that work until later on in the month.

She was saying that she had to take several days off last month*.

She will be sorry to leave the office but the new job is a very good one.

I will be at home* all day today and you will be able to ring me later on.

He will be arriving on the early train and he will be bringing the papers with him.

She will be doing all of our accounts work and so she will be very busy.

Let me know if you are coming to the meeting that we are having Monday next*.

I think you will be very satisfied with the report and all the new information. (830 words)

* Omission phrases "las(t) month" "at (h)ome" "Monday ne(k)st"

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Basic Phrases 4 (29 September 2018)

I hope you are practising these sentences down your notepad page. Just a few repetitions here and there* add up to bump up your available study time. See how many neatly written lines you can manage before the kettle boils in the morning, before the computer download finishes or before your bus or train arrives at its destination. Maybe you can aim to complete a certain number of* practice pages each day. A little competition with yourself is a pleasant* incentive to get a move on, but remembering to keep it neat and readable, and, most importantly*, writing from your memory of the sentence. You should read the sample shorthand sentence in order to* remember it and know how to write the outlines, and then repeat it down the page, saying it out loud, and not looking at the sample shorthand or the line above or the longhand text* as you write.

* Omission phrases "here (and) there"  "mos(t) importantly"  "in ord(er to)"

* "number of" Always insert the vowel in the outline for "brief" as it is the same and could also make sense at times

* "pleasant" "pleasing" Helpful to insert the first vowel, as these are similar in outline and meaning

* "text" Never use proximity for the outline "context", always insert the Con Dot, as these two are similar in meaning

I know that they will be interested in this new product on the market.

They will be attending the meeting and they will be asking lots* of questions*.

We will* be out of the office all next week* because of the conference.

We will be checking our emails* this morning so that there is no delay.

We will have to take some of our work with us to the conference.

We will, I think, have to reconsider our delivery arrangements for these goods.

Will you be taking your assistant with you to the conference in order to* take notes?

Are you packed and ready, and are you going to travel by train?

* "lots" Always insert the vowel, as it is similar to "masses" in shape and meaning

* "questions" Optional contraction

* "We will... " Note that the full outline for "will" is used after "We", as there is no necessity or advantage in omitting the hook

* Omission phrases "ne(k)s(t) week"  "in ord(er to)"

* "emails" Always insert the first vowel, to ensure it is not misread for "mails"

I will let you know* what papers you need to take with you tomorrow.

He will let you have the figures for the report by Friday morning.

Have you finished that report and have you had time to print it out?

Have you been to our head office and have you met Mr Smith?

I have been wanting to speak to you on this very important matter for some time*.

You may have been told about this before but this report has the full facts.

They may have been present when the incident* occurred at the factory last week*.

They will have been told exactly what to do when things like this happen.

* "let you know/let you have" After L stroke the "you" sign can remain as normal, but in this phrase it is written on its side in order to join the following strokes. Compare "will you" in para 2, sentence 7.

* "for some time" Halving to represent the T of "time"

* "incident" Keep the N stroke well curved, as it could look like "accident"

* Omission phrase "last (w)eek"

It must be* wonderful to have such an interesting job on such good pay.

It must have been* very difficult for you to deal with those people on that day.

They must be informed of the new rules before starting the job.

You must be ready to start soon and you must bring all your tools with you.

She must be* really enjoying that new job that she started last week*.

I think that at the time he was not anywhere in the office building.

He could have come in to the office at any time so everyone stayed alert.

At the time you were* at the conference, we were working on the reports.

* Omission phrases "it mus(t) be" "it mus(t have) been" "she mus(t) be" "las(t w)eek"  "you (w)ere"

I have been working all the time* and have not been out of the building all morning.

Please get the reports finished as the manager could ask for them at any time.

You may come to the building at any time that is convenient for you.

The workers must not* at any time enter the factory building.

I have finished for the moment but more work could arrive at any time.

This is the new factory and these are the new machines that have been installed.

We think this is the best news that could have been told to us about the company.

Is this the best way* of doing the job and is this the only place that it can be done?

* Omission phrases "all (the) time"  "mus(t) not"  "bes(t) way"

I know that this is the right road to take and it will not take long to get there.

That is the first thing you should be doing to solve that problem with the computers.

I am not going to be able to finish this book before the end of the month.

You are not* going to enjoy that work unless you are interested.

He is not interested in accounts so he applied for a job on the shop floor.

She is not taking on any more orders at the present time.

She has not seen those people from the sales department for a very long time.

I was not* very happy with the information that I was getting from them.

* "you are not" Full strokes for this phrase, but hook and halving for "you will not". This keeps the two phrases looking quite different and therefore not misread.

* "I was not" The Zee is not hooked/halved for "not" as that would look like the apostrophied version of "isn't"

He was not* in the office when I called there last week* when I brought the parcels.

She was not* very happy with the condition of the goods when they arrived at the office.

I understand you were going to start work but you were not able to after all.

You were not informed of this change of circumstance in time to change your plans.

We were pleased to see him but we were not happy with what he said.

They were present at the meeting but they were not allowed to speak.

There are a lot of things to be done before the date of the next meeting.

There are not many people who can do that difficult job nowadays.

* "he was not" "she was not" The Zee is not hooked/halved for "not" as that would look like the apostrophied version of "isn't"

* Omission phrases "last (w)eek" "you (w)ere"

They are going round the factory this morning and then they are staying* for lunch.

They are not staying* for the afternoon and they are not coming back tomorrow.

There is a job available at the head office and there are very many applicants.

There is the question* of the pay and conditions, and there is no information on this.

I am pleased that* John got that job that he applied for last month.

He is very pleased that the* salary is quite high for a junior* clerk.

You will be pleased to know that Sally has been promoted* to senior assistant.

We are pleased to inform you that you have passed your shorthand exam. (971 words)

* "staying" Always insert the vowel in "staying, setting, sitting" as they are similar in outline and meaning. No diphone in "staying" as the I sound is included in the Dot Ing.

* "question" Optional contraction

* Omission phrases "I am please(d to) s(ay) that"  "very please(d) that the"

* "junior" Note the intervening diphone sign, shown here for information but not normally necessary to insert

* "promoted" Always insert the vowel after the M stroke, as in most cases it could be mistaken for "permitted", although unlikely in this sentence

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