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February 2019

Bread Making

Creation

You And Us

Roof Gardens

Bread Making (14 February 2019)

I can remember very well the first time I made bread. I did not intend to make bread but my cookery effort did turn out something like that. I was about nine years old and one day I had the urge to make something in the kitchen. With my mum's permission*, I mixed up a bowlful of food using a bit of everything that was in the food cupboard. There was no plan, no list, no idea of what my mixing efforts would produce. I ended up with a sloppy mix that was duly cooked until it looked done, which means somewhat solidified and taking on a brownish colour. Clearly I must have* used rather more flour than any other ingredient as the result was surprisingly bread-like and edible, although maybe you should not really put too much effort into imagining a heavy sort of* bread with the texture of porridge, that tasted of egg, sugar and salt with hints of jam, lemon curd, cheese and tomato ketchup. It was a good job we did not have any tinned sardines in the cupboard!

* "permission" Always put one of the vowels in "promotion" which is identical in shape

* Omission phrase "I mus(t) have"

* "sort of" Reverses the normal reading order of halving and hooks, this is only done in phrases e.g. part of, instead of, later than

Another year, not too long after that, I did make some bread, this time on purpose. The urge was not to make just something, but to make bread, just like the real stuff, with its mysterious ingredients and the mystic mixing and baking plan, the type of bread that simply appears in the shops and then appears in our home. I wanted to find out if the miracle would work at home and whether we could create it ourselves. What an achievement that would be, to turn brown powder and water into scrumptious bread.

There was no quick action yeast at that time, so the live yeast mixture was very slow acting. It was given a start in floury sugary water. It was allowed to start bubbling and was then mixed in. There was just one problem. I had to leave the mixture for several hours to rise. I was not in the habit* of doing two things at once, so I tried everything to occupy myself and make the time go more quickly. I played in the garden, I swung on the swing and tried to forget the bread dough for a while. It was hard work and the time passed very slowly. Finally I had in my hands my own bread, rather heavy and hard, but recognisably bread as it had air pockets throughout the inside, the sine qua non of the master baker's skill.

* "habit" "hobby" Always put the first vowel in these, as they are similar in outline and meaning

I have over the years had bouts of bread making, sometimes getting back into the habit for a while, and sometimes just abandoning it as messy and time-consuming when there are lots* of other things to be done. But as I write, the dough is in the kitchen, rising at a reasonable rate due to the fast action yeast and the warmth of the room. The oven is on for the evening meal, after which the bread will go in. When cool it will be roughly sliced and most of it frozen*. One small batch will go in the food cupboard and by tomorrow it will be more evenly textured, after spending the night in food bags, when the moisture from the centre will work its way to the crust and soften it.

* "lots" "masses" Always put the first vowel in these, as they are similar in outline and meaning

* "frozen" "freezing" Always put the first vowel in these, as they are similar in outline and meaning

There are no more mysteries about how bread comes into existence. Dough not too dry, and not too wet and soft. Enough evenly-spaced bubbles to stop it being a brick. A good serrated knife to cut it cleanly. It was time-consuming, compared with snatching a slice of shop bread from the freezer. It was messy and dusty, and a job to clean up the sticky mixing bowls. However, until next summer's heatwave, I would say that* standing next to a glowing* oven, with a fresh buttered slice in hand is the most welcoming place in the house on a chilly winter's evening. (655 words)

* Omission phrase "I would s(ay) that"

* "glowing" Always put in the diphone, to ensure it is not misread as "golden"

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Creation (16 February 2019)

This is a shorthand version of the story of the seven days of Creation, when the Creator did not shun six days of work to produce His vision. It is proof that you can get a lot done in only six days, if you plan all the necessary work and have the appropriate* disposition and determination to carry out your chosen mission. You will make your preparations, then follow with precision your plan of operation, remembering to proceed in the correct order, to achieve your ambition. With the completion of your shorthand education, there will be emotions of elation, jubilation and congratulations, and a progression on to your vocation.

* "appropriate" Insert the diphone, and the first vowel in "proper" as these are similar in outline and meaning

Day 1: In the beginning* the Creator created the heavens and the earth, from his own imagination and of his own volition. The earth was in a condition of devastation and disorganisation*, a dark chaotic conglomeration with no cohesion. The Creator had a passionate intention for the reduction and termination of this confusion, and the expansion of ordered precision. On the first day He spoke His pronunciation for the initiation of this revitalisation. His realisation of this intention started with the creation of light. He saw that this clarification was good and so He made a separation* of it from the obscuration of darkness.

* Omission phrase "in the (be)ginn(ing)"

* "disorganisation" On the line, as the contraction "organisation" is on the line

* "separation" Insert the first vowel, to distinguish it from "suppression"

Day 2: On the second day the Creator put into operation His next action, consisting of the separation of the waters. The construction proceeded with the formation of a partition between the waters above and below. This partition was an innovation that He called "sky".

Day 3: On the third day, the Creator made a collection of the water under the sky into one place, and this division brought about the manifestation of dry land. The collection of water he called "seas". He saw that these were good. His next intention was the production of a variation of plants and trees that would come to a yearly fruition. Their seed would produce a further expansion and distribution of vegetation. This situation was to be the foundation of our future civilisation.

Day 4: On the fourth day the Creator set in motion the operation of the sun, moon and stars. The sun would emit radiation onto the earth, and the moon was for the reflection* of light for the night-time. Their operation to separate light and darkness was given direction by the rotation of the earth and the attraction of gravitation. The Creator saw that this was good. He also made the congregation of stars in their various locations in the heavens, with all their distinctions* in strength of illumination.

* "reflection" The less common word "refraction" should always have the vowel after the FL stroke, as these two are similar

* "distinctions" Omits the K sound

Day 5: On the fifth day the Creator provided animation to creatures great and small teeming in the sea, and also the invention of aviation with winged* birds flying in the skies. He gave them the additional command of increasing until the duplication and expansion* of all their variations filled the seas and covered the earth.

* "winged" Stroke Ing cannot be halved

* "expansion" Keep the P stroke shallow, and insert the vowel if necessary, so the outline does not look like "extension" which has a similar meaning

Day 6: On the sixth day the Creator made a proclamation that the land should begin production of living creatures of numerous kinds, livestock and wild animals that move on the ground. He saw that all this was good. Then the Creator made man, a representation, reproduction and imitation of his own image and likeness. He gave him life by the exhalation of his breath and inhalation into the man's nostrils. He made them male and female and gave them an instruction for procreation and multiplication of generations, to fill the earth and rule over it.

In His conversation with them, He gave them domination* of the fish, birds, livestock and wild animals, and every creature that was in locomotion on the earth. He gave them the vegetation for cultivation, for the production of nutrition. He gave instructions to the beasts of the earth to also eat the green plants for their nutrition. This completed the creation and organisation of the heavens and the earth, vast in composition, exceptional in formation and sophistication, and without limitation. The Creator’s final evaluation was that it was all very good.

* "domination" Insert the vowel after the N, and the diphone in "dominion" as they are similar in outline and meaning

Day 7: On the seventh day the Creator achieved the completion of His work and so He rested from His exertions. The Creator made a consecration of the seventh day and sanctioned* it to be set apart as holy, and as an expression and recognition of His own cessation of work. This is the explanation of our weekly vacation for recuperation and restoration from toil, and for contemplation, appreciation and celebration of the Creator’s wonderful work of creation. (753 words)

* "sanctioned" Omits the K sound. The Ing stroke cannot be halved.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1&version=NIV

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You And Us (23 February 2019)

Here are a few paragraphs that practise joining the "you" sign and using the circle for "us". Ordinary, common and straightforward phrases like these are going to do much more* for your speed improvement and skill than any amount of fancy phrases that are unlikely to occur with any great frequency. The time for working on unusual phrases is when you are actually employed in a particular field and have that jargon and terminology to deal with. The more mundane the phrase, the more useful it will be. Once they become familiar, you will find yourself writing them with no effort at all.

* Omission phrase "much mo(re)"

Thank you for your recent letter. I think you are getting on very well with this project and there has been good progress since I saw you last week*. I would be grateful if you could* send me a copy of the plans as soon as possible*. Will you be at the planning meeting next week*, as I have some more papers for you? Do you think you are likely to finish it all this month*? You may wish to come in to the office on Friday when we have our meeting, which you are welcome to join. They will, of course, let you speak on the project, as you are the person with the information.

* Omission phrases "last (w)eek" "as soon as poss(ible)" "ne(k)s(t w)eek" "this (mon)th"

* "if you could" Not phrasing the "could" as that might be misread as "if you can"

Our project manager will be phoning you to agree with you a date for the meeting. He intends to take you to the factory to give you an idea of the work necessary. Are you free next Thursday morning? I will let you know the exact time later on* and my secretary will give you all the paperwork. Mr Brown in the accounts department will be able to tell you what you need to know about the costings*. Would you please bring all the plans with you and inform my assistant when you will be arriving. You have clearly done a lot of work in a short space of time*, and we know that you have been* working on this project for many hours every day. If you have any more queries, you are welcome to come to the office, when you can talk to our engineers who will tell you exactly what you need to know.

* "later on" Reversing the normal reading order of doubling and N hook, in order to make a convenient phrase

* "coasting" Helpful to insert the vowel, as in a factory context it could be "castings"

* Omission phrase "short space (of) time"

* "we know that you have been" Too much for one phrase, keep it as two phrases

Thank you for sending your online message to us and signing up to our newsletter. If you change your details, please give us your new information so that our records are correct. Many of our customers say that they heard of us through friends and they tell us they are pleased with our service. You will be hearing from us with special offers and all the reasons to shop with us in our high street stores. Some have been asking us for a greater variety in the clothing department. Others have taken the time to give us suggestions for the sports department. You are always welcome to inform us of anything you would like to see in our stores, and in this way you can help us improve our service to you. You can depend upon us to give good service at reasonable prices. Thank you for shopping with us.

For our club outing next month*, our leader will be taking us to the seaside town of Sandy Bay. Tom will be driving us down in his ten seater* minibus. Mary will be booking some tables for us at the Fish Bar Restaurant. We hope that Tom can also take us to the country park which will be a good opportunity for us to either have a walk or sit in the rose garden. We do hope that you can come with us on the day. Please just fill in the form and send it back to us before the end of the week. After the event you can send us your pictures for the club noticeboard, so that others are encouraged to come with us next time*. (654 words)

* Omission phrases "ne(k)s(t mon)th" "ne(k)s(t) time"

* "seater" Ensure the circle is written on the R Hook side, as "ten seat" could also make sense

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Roof Gardens (26 February 2019)

Garden At 120

I have lived in London all of my life, firstly in Greenwich and later on in the suburbs to the south. The areas are all very green, with street trees and plentiful parks and open spaces. In earlier years it was quite rare for any of us to go into central London, but it did happen occasionally, if we were treated to a day out or a theatre* show. Just going up on the train was a novelty. Then I had the experience of the "big city" with its large old buildings, full of history and grand self-importance. Every street had a luxury hotel, institution, embassy or government building looming up over us, or large shops with top of the range expensive goods. My main impression though was of its greyness, other than adverts* and shop windows. Everywhere there were* big buildings of stone in all shades of grey, and the humbler buildings and railway structures of dirtied London yellow brick, now black. There were* a few trees here and there*, mostly plane trees that can withstand the pollution.

* "theatre" Note that "theatrical" retains the doubling for convenience

* "adverts" Helpful to insert the first vowel so it does not look like the contraction "advertisements"

* Omission phrases "there (w)ere" "here (and) there"

Greenwich Park

Nowadays I go into London regularly to see its sights. The most revealing trip I made was my first visit to the Sky Garden, a large 35th* floor open space given over to abundant plants and trees, and several cafés. It is not strictly a roof garden as there is a glass ceiling, although on the viewing balcony one can stand out in the open. My first visit was a hot sunny* day in summer, with a clear sky and far-reaching views all over London. I was mainly struck by how green London is. The white and grey mass of buildings is profusely dotted with green, with larger areas of green for the parks. London is not full of skyscrapers so the view out is expansive*, and one can see right to the horizon without much interruption. It all gets greener towards the suburbs, although I should say bluer, to be more accurate, as green becomes a greyish greeny-blue in the distance.

* "35th" You cannot just put an Ith stroke after the numerals, as that would mean "thousand". It has to be either written as longhand or all normal outlines.

* "sunny" Generally advisable to insert the vowels in "sun/snow sunny/snowy" although unlikely to be misread here

* "expansive" Keep the P stroke shallow so it does not look like "extensive" which is similar in outline and meaning

Sky Garden Fenchurch St

There is another roof garden in The Barbican, also in central London, a pyramid-shaped conservatory that was built to make use of the roof area and to hide the tall theatre tower in the centre. It is full of tropical plants, tall palms and other trees, and abundant greenery, all helpfully with their names displayed. There is a pond in the middle with koi, and in another corner a large shallow clear pond with small goldfish, a delightful place to sit and watch them swimming around.

Barbican

Last year we discovered another roof garden at the top of the Crossrail Building in east London. We had seen it many times en route to elsewhere, noticeable because of its unusual shape, but we had no idea there was a garden inside. The very lowest floor, deep underground, contains the railway station itself, and the other floors have restaurants and other facilities. The top floor is covered with a curving roof of triangular sections of glazing, but as there are lots* of open sections, I think it just about counts as a roof garden. When we were there, it had rained during the night and there were* large wet patches, and a few birds flying in and out.

* "lots" "masses" Always put the first vowel in these, as they are similar in outline and meaning

* Omission phrase "there (w)ere"

Crossrail

Yesterday we visited a new roof garden that only opened this year, and at last this truly* is a roof garden, entirely open to the elements. It is called The Garden At 120 and is the 15th* floor of a large building in Fenchurch Street. The stark angular framework of the pergola is new, clean, bare steel. All the bases of the struts have wisteria plants tied in, ready to grow up and cover it. These climbers can grow quite fast, with long new shoots breaking out everywhere, and so I am sure that the framework will be covered very quickly, especially as in this artificial soil environment, there will be no lack of nutrients. When it is covered in branches and leaves, the pergola will provide shade but not much shelter if it rains. Sometimes being under a tree can be worse, as the drips all congregate in certain areas, ready to go down one's neck, and even continuing to drip after the rain has stopped. But for a worker in a stuffy heated office, the luxury of getting wet in the open air and smelling the damp soil and plants might be a rather welcome break.

* "truly" "utterly" Insert the first vowel in these, as they are similar in outline and meaning

* "15th" You cannot just put an Ith stroke after the numerals, as that would mean "thousand". It has to be either written as longhand or all normal outlines.

Garden At 120
 

Although to the north side there are several tall buildings, to the south one can see the Thames, Tower Bridge and views off into the distance. When we were there it was very warm and sunny, but the horizon was quite hazy, as the sun was drying off the misty February morning, which actually started with frost on the cars and house tops. Looking down on the nearest roofs is not an attractive sight, although it was interesting to see all the little railways that house the window cleaning machines. I found it much more* enjoyable* to admire the garden itself, the plants, the little watercourse, and the views off into the distance through the glass screens round the perimeter. As usual, there are security staff wandering around so you know decorum will be maintained at all times.

* Omission phrase "much m(ore)"

* "enjoyable" Generally helpful to insert the triphone, so it is not misread as "knowledgeable"

Garden At 120

We discovered one last treat when we exited the lift into a covered foyer-cum-alley. The entire ceiling was covered in a large LED screen showing waving tree branches and leaves, and blue sky beyond. After a while I realised that it was not a live scene being relayed from elsewhere, when I remembered that our trees are not yet in leaf. What a lovely way to enliven* what is a quite dark area, and it could easily be missed by anyone hurrying out with their gaze ahead or down. This roof garden is a good place to escape the crowded feel of the street level scene and its traffic noise, and have just sky above and around one. I am really looking forward to visiting it again when the plants have grown more. (1015 wds)

* "enliven" Using the L Hook produces a very convenient outline, even though it crosses the two syllables

Garden At 120 foyer

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