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Impatient Gardener
Hay Revision Part 1
Hay Revision Part 2
Hay Revision Part 3
Impatient Gardener (7 April
2014)
I recently started the task of reclaiming a piece of overgrown garden.
It had been beautifully landscaped and planted with choice specimens
many years ago, but the shrubs had been allowed to spread, lean and
ramble, larger plants had smothered the smaller ones, of which only tiny
scraps remained, and grass and invasive plants were everywhere. It
seemed necessary to strip it out entirely, but a compromise plan was
reached where the good clumps would remain and everything else would go.
Despite this perfectly reasonable plan, impatience to see it all tidy
and finished began to creep in. The large well-anchored* stumps and
romping weeds added their voices to the general air of intimidation. But
I am happy to say that* I have had such encounters before and I deafened
my ears to their assertions that they were staying* put and could not be
shifted without a mechanical digger, a flame-thrower or a crowd of
body-builder friends armed with axes and crowbars.
* "anchored" This is identical to the outline for "angered"
* Omission phrase "happy (to) s(ay) that"
* "staying" Not using a diphone, as the "I" sound is included in the
Dot Ing
Dandelion - invasive loveliness
I remembered my own little gardening adage, that has seen me through
many an arduous task without the necessity for unusual muscle-power,
namely that as long as I can snip and saw the plants faster than they
can grow, I will win every time - and over time. The doomed plants did
not like to hear this, but cheers of support from the good plants, about
to be released from their overcrowded existence, helped me to strengthen
my resolve with the spade and pruning saw. My other weapon is to imagine
that the ground was already clear, and ask myself whether I would put
these sorry-looking plants in if they were not already there. The answer
is always a definite no, they would not even be considered for a single
minute. This always resolves the question for me, and overcomes any
hesitation about ripping them out.
Instant daffs
If you have ever watched a film where the hero is despatching his
enemies in hand-to-hand fighting, you will notice that they appear in an
almost endless stream, from different directions, but most conveniently
one at a time, thanks to the script writers who ensure that he not only
wins but that he does not have to share his victory with lesser players
in the story. Spreading out the encounters is a good example to follow
in the gardening battles. My plan was to isolate a single job, a single
troublesome stump or clump, or one small area, and put every effort into
dealing decisively with it. This means that at the end of the day there
is something to show for the hard work, with a clear patch and the pile
of prunings mounting up in a corner. Thoughts of impatience are held
back once again and the next day starts with the encouraging view of
yesterday's victory over the chaos.
Instant flower
The benefit of having to do it in stages is that ideas change as the
scene clears, and plans for replanting are revised and improved. This
quote made me smile - "The best time to plant a tree is ten years ago" -
although with this current task, it is the weeds that have taken this
advice and have aggressively ensconced themselves in all the best spots
years ago. There is nothing better a gardener likes to do than to set
all the lovely plants in their new homes and look forward to seeing them
flourish, but there is also nothing worse than failing to prepare the
ground and seeing things come up from fragments that should have been
removed more thoroughly. From experience, I can now hear these little
pieces of plant material talking - "I am going to sit here under the
soil, and when you water and feed, I will use it to grow back up, and I
will send my biggest roots straight under that huge rock where you can't
dig them out!" This brave talk does not last long and the hapless
fragments soon join their fellows on the pile.
Instant wildlife
The worst is now out of the way and the more pleasant parts are next,
with the final mature result already being enjoyed in imagination. With
just a little more patience, these mental pictures will become reality,
and the overgrown mess will be just a memory. Any garden here will
revert to tangled oak woodland, if allowed to have its own way.
Expensive nursery plants can wear out their welcome, becoming woody and
leggy, and crowding out their neighbours, or sometimes just providing
too many places amongst their stems and roots for weeds to tuck
themselves into. Comparing before and after photos will be an occasional
indulgence but the most gratifying result is seeing what can be done
with a logical plan and simple, continuous, piecemeal progress, and not
with brute strength or expensive professional help and equipment.
I hope you are getting on well with your own cultivation endeavours,
planting tiny seeds in the shape of dots, dashes, circles and lines,
both straight and curved. They will grow up into miniature words, expand
into phrases and sentences, and eventually cover entire passages, all in
the shade of a giant blossoming Shorthand Tree. You have faithfully
watered them with your time and attention, and rigorously weeded out the
faulty, shaky and unreliable marks before they gain a foothold. Old bits
of stringy invasive longhand have been removed and maybe relocated
elsewhere for occasional decorative use. Fortunately you do not need to
wait for time and seasons to pass, as gardeners have to, before enjoying
the delicious fruits of success. The final agreeable, pleasant and
useful outcome will exactly match the effort that has been put in,
rather than the even passage of time since the venture was started.
Unlike fruits and flowers in the garden, you can keep the results
forever, as they will never fade, get lost, damaged, broken or
disappear, and, as long as cultivation and development continue, they
will grow bigger and better as time passes. However, regular weeding and
trimming to shape will be necessary to reach and maintain maximum
efficiency. Compared to the initial effort, this is a sedate and
pleasant job, definitely not a hardship if done regularly and willingly,
and well worth doing in order to* preserve what you have worked so hard
to achieve so far. (1049 words)
* Omission phrase "in ord(er to)"
Shorthand perfection in box hedging at Stockwood Park, Luton
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Hay Revision Part 1 (18 April 2014)
There is a slight difference between Straw and Hay
This three-part article revises stroke and dot Hay. Where there are
several ways to write a sound, I find that these require extra practice
on the variations to ensure a quick response during writing. Once you
know all the commonest Hay words, you need not stop to think of theory,
which indeed one should never have to do when writing shorthand. The Hay
methods are only used for the spoken sound and not where the longhand H
is silent, as in "honour, ghost, eight, rhyme" or where it modifies
another letter to produce a different sound, as in "this, photo, cheap,
shop, ohm". I have used a selection of the commoner words from the main
website Theory 12 Hay page, and you should refer to that page for
further examples. Practising in real sentences is of greater benefit
than constantly re-reading theory. You will need to know the outlines
instantly during writing, without reference to theory rules. It also
helps you get down a new outline quickly by basing it on one you already
know. I do hope that, after the event, you are looking up and practising
such hurried outlines so that the correct one is added to your memory
bank.
UPWARD HAY - We are very happy with the results and hope that the way
ahead is now clear. We think what happened is that he met the head
waiter at the hotel. The children were hopping over the heap of leaves
under the hedge on the heath. It was his habit to spend the weekend
indulging in his hobbies. Everything in the plans hangs on his
hypothesis being correct. Mr Hobbs has mended the hinge on the hatch.
The hyena was seen eating the honey. It was a huge problem when the
airplane was hijacked, which caused* havoc on its journey to Hawaii. The
hub of the wheel was very heavy. It was a hazy morning and turned out to
be the hottest day of the year. He made a hash of the job and he could
not hide the result or hush up his failure. The hotel staff put all my
shirts on hangers for me. The aircraft was kept in the big hangar* with
the heavy doors.
* "caused"
Special outline, see
www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/distinguishing-outlines-2-rule.htm
"cost caused"
* This is the dictionary outline, for the pronunciation "hang-gar". If
you don't wish to follow this pronunciation, then use the outline
"hanger" above. You cannot double the Ing, as that would be "hanker"
The story is about a hero who saves the community from the hairy monster
that was harassing the villagers. The book praised these acts of heroism
by Sir Harold. Harry was in a great hurry this morning. We saw a flock
of herons* on the horizon. They were flying towards their heronry. The
clouds formed a horizontal line across the sky. The meal was quite
horrid and we hurried through it as rapidly as possible. It was not
known how much food they had hoarded. The cowboys herded the cattle to
the other side of the ranch* to shelter from the hurricane. We were
horrified at the horrible treatment they received. In summer the
Victorian hearth was filled with flowers. Their favourites were hardy
perennials in happy bright colours.
* "herons" Insert vowels, as the outline is the same as "hunters"
* "ranch" Keep it clearly in first position, to prevent it looking like
"range" which has a similar meaning
We called our rabbit Mr Hopper for obvious reasons. The farmer* filled
the seed hopper before driving it through the field. The squirrels were
hibernating until the weather became hotter. A header is the top part of
a letter or report containing the title and other information. A header
also means the action of a footballer intercepting the ball with his
head. The book was written in Hebrew and in Hebraic writing. The
hydrogen cylinders were lifted up on the hydraulic jack and taken to the
hydroelectric installation. The farmer employed a hedger to repair his
boundary hedges. A hacker is someone who uses his skills on the computer
to gain information or control illegally. The hiker took a shortcut over
the field and met a huge heifer face to face* . He hovered over the nail
with the hammer to make sure it was in the right position.
* "farmer" See
https://www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/distinguishing-outlines-2-rule.htm
"former farmer"
* Omission phrase "face (to) face"
My friend Heather has a very good sense of humour. We hungered and
thirsted and we were very glad that someone had brought the food hamper.
He was happily reading an article all about the Hubble telescope. He
soon got into the habit of reading as he could only hobble after the
accident to his foot. The poor villagers were found huddling together in
their hovels. The bystanders heckled the speaker. In animals, the
hackles are the hairs or feathers on the back of the neck. The shoppers
often haggle with the market traders. I like to wear a big hat on a hot
day to provide shade against the heat. The competition for first place* was hotly contested. The volcano was positioned over a hotspot on the
earth's crust. That country is a hotspot for war and violence. The
height of the huts was about two metres. He was full of hate and always
made hateful remarks. We do not need the heating on during a heat wave.
The hunter* felt that the colour of the jacket would hinder his
activities.
* Omission phrase "for first p(l)ace"
* "hunter" Insert vowel, as the outline is the same as "heron"
Henry showed me the brown hen and all the other hens in the enclosure. I
shall hone my skills and hence remove every hindrance to my future
success. He was hunting for his hats but his brother gave no hint as to
where they were. Half of the staff went on the course which amounted to
about a hundred people. We have halved the time it takes to do the job.
In the field we saw many hives full of honey. The animal broke its hoof
in its haste to escape. The bank hosted a press conference to discuss
the facts of the heist. We hesitate* to recommend this hostel as it has
a history of hazardous conditions. The management were very hostile to
any suggestions for correcting these hazards. We enjoyed the hustle and
bustle of city life. Mr Hoskins planted the seeds in their husks, and
raised lots* of hazel trees for the woodland.
* "hesitate" Insert the vowel after the T, and the first vowel in
"hasted" (which has the opposite meaning) to provide a distinction
* "lots" and "masses" Always insert the vowel in these, as they are similar in
shape and meaning
It was a misty morning and there was a haze over the mountains. I got
out the hose to water the garden. The gardener sharpened his hoes in
order to* remove the weeds. A woodman is someone who hews wood which
means to cut down trees. I admired the hues and brilliant colours of the
flowers around the house. The housewife took a great interest in the
improvements in the housing conditions. Her husband worked at the
hospital during the week and at the hospice on Saturdays. The kettle
began to hiss with the steam. We called our pet snake Hissing Harry
because he always hissed when we passed his cage. (1098 words)
* Omission phrase "in ord(er to)"
Top of page
Hay Revision Part 2 (18 April 2014)
DOWNWARD HAY is used when standing alone and in derivatives, and also
before simple Kay and Gay, where it makes a better join. // The bird
flew high, the plane flew higher and the jet flew the highest. We were
highly impressed by Her Highness the Duchess. We travelled along the
highways and byways of the countryside, which was a great change from
our high-pressured jobs in the city. The red berry of the may tree or
hawthorn is called a haw. The fields of hay had been mown and were full
of haystacks. He wishes to be addressed as Mr Howe and not as "hey
you!". Hugh and his brothers were having a heyday playing in the park.
The hue of the flower was a dark blue. To hew wood means to cut it,
usually with an axe. The person doing the hewing is called a hewer. We
have taken on two hoers and they will be hoeing the garden all morning.
"Ha!* Found you!" he shouted gleefully. "Aha!* That's* the answer" I
cried.
* "Ha" "Aha" Both need their vowels, in order to distinguish
* "that’s" Always insert the vowels in outlines for apostrophied words,
which are written in full and do not use short forms
A carpenter uses a hacksaw but a hack is also a slang term for a
mediocre artist or reporter. The hackney carriage is an old-fashioned
vehicle, named after the type of horse that drew it. Hackneyed refers to
a term that has become overused in writing and speech. Mr Hawkins went
on a hike. He got his coat off the hook and met up with his friend Hugo
Higgins. The menu item of boiled haggis turned out to be a hoax. It
caused* quite a hiccup in the canteen staff's day. It had been quite a
hectic and cold day and the tired workers sat hugging their* coffee
mugs. A hexagon is a six-sided two-dimensional shape, and can be seen in
the cells of a beehive. We went round the garden as part of the Heritage
Horticulture* guided tour. There is a strict hierarchy amongst the
horticultural* staff. A person can be a heritor, and goods and
belongings are heritable items.
* "caused" See
https://www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/distinguishing-outlines-2-rule.htm
"cost caused"
* "hugging their" Doubling to represent "their"
* "horticulture/al" Both of these can have full outline or optional
contraction, both are given here as examples
MEDIAL HAY - The stroke is used in the direction that gives the best
outline. // Cohabit* means to live together in the same dwelling. There
was mayhem at the Limehouse Theatre when Mr Abraham presented his comedy
act. Annihilate means to annul, utterly destroy or defeat. The outline
retains the Hay stroke as some people do still pronounce the sound,
instead of annihilating it. The invading army suffered total
annihilation. Anhydrous means waterless or with the water removed. The
man used a billhook to prune the trees in the hedge. I had to look up
Lahore on the map to see where it was. A lahar is a wet landslide from a
volcano.
* "cohabit" The circle of all these medial downward Hays is written
clockwise, as it would be if standing alone
I could* see the lighthouse very clearly from the farmhouse window. The
table was made of polished mahogany. His coat was made of mohair and his
shoes of cowhide, but their prices were now sky-high. He presented a
coherent and cohesive argument in favour of the proposals. The other
person was however incoherent due to excessive drinking. Mr Mayhew has
just returned from a visit to Omaha. When you have the know-how you do
not have to do the job just anyhow. He said he would nohow and in no way
be willing to take on another assignment.
* "Could" is generally not phrased, to avoid being misread as "can",
similarly know/note, may/might. "Could not" can be phrased, as it is
different from "cannot" and "can't"
He has not been behaving very well at all. He must learn to behave* properly* or his behaviour will cause him to fall behind with his school
work. He may end up beholding the face of the magistrate who will uphold
the rule of law and not withhold punishment due. It would be a good idea
if we withheld permission so that this unwise activity does not gain a
foothold. To abhor means to greatly dislike or detest. We abhorred his
behaviour, as it was causing too much upheaval and in fact*
was
prohibited by law. The heavy drinker went into rehab which is short for
rehabilitation, that is to say* learning new habits* and behaviours. An
adhesive is something that adheres or sticks to another substance. He
wrote a book on prehistory including the lives of the prehistoric
animals. Dehydration means depriving of or removing water from, and in
people can lead to serious health issues. Some foods can be dehydrated
to lengthen their storage time. We have just returned from our visit to
Idaho in the United States of America*.
* "to behave" Based on the short form phrase "to be"
* "properly" Insert the first
vowel, and the diphone in "appropriate", as these are similar in outline
and meaning
* Omission phrases "in (f)act" "that is (to) say" "U(nited)
S(tate)s (of Ameri)ca"
* "habits" Insert the first vowel
in this and in "hobbies" as they are similar in outline and meaning
We had to rehang the doors in the old house, mend the overhanging
gutters and overhaul the heating system. He said that he had overhauled
it last year, so we did not need to be overhauling it again. We
overheard about the unhopeful alliance between the two parties. His
behaviour became unhinged during the overheated discussion. You can
preheat the meal but try not to overheat it. There are some foods that
you should never reheat due to the possibility of increased amounts of
bacteria. It is not a good idea to rehash or rehearse the problems. He
attended the rehearsals at the clubhouse. We overheard that part of the
warehouse was to be used as a gatehouse. They overheard that they were
soon to be rehoused nearby and that the houses no longer had outhouses
in the garden. My warning went unheeded and so the unhygienic conditions
were not corrected.
The large circle can sometimes do duty for two small circles rather than
two S sounds. This is taking a small liberty with the general phonetic
basis in order to* secure a clear and easy outline. // This old nag is
never going to be a racehorse. I like to dry my clothes on a
clotheshorse in the sun outside to make them fresher. These parcels must
be sent post-haste to the customer, which means as quickly and hastily
as possible. The heap of dust and the dusty rubbish were thrown on the
dust-heap* at the end of the garden. A doss-house is a rough place where
someone might sleep for the night and the verb describing this is to
doss. (999 words)
* Omission phrase "in ord(er to)"
* "dust-heap" Omits the T
Top of page
Hay Revision Part 3 (18 April 2014)
TICK HAY is a shortening of Downward Hay and is always pronounced first.
It is used before Em, Upward Ell and Ar, which can be remembered by the
word "HoMeLieR". // Ham is a meat product but the word also means an
unskilled actor or one who overacts*.
A hammock was strung between the
trees which were situated on a small hummock, or mound*, in the field. He
paid homage to the man for saving the boy's pet hamster which had
escaped from his home. The hem of the garment was too short and the
person who hemmed it cut off too much material. A humble person is
someone who has a great deal of humility. Humility is related to the
word humus and comes from the Latin for ground. This country has a very
humid climate and the humidity is just too much for me. The victim died
from a haemorrhage and the case turned into one of homicide.
* "overacts" Compare this with "overcomes" which has the K underneath.
* "mound" This is the same as the
outline for "mount", so if differentiation is needed, the only recourse
is to write it with all full strokes
They visited all the countries in the northern hemisphere and are now
turning their attention to the southern hemisphere. The human* race can
act in ways that are humane and also inhumane. Road humps were installed
to slow down the traffic. A raised area of ground in the landscape is
called a hummock, which is the same as a hillock or knoll. The police
captured quite a haul of illegal hempseed. The hemp plant fibres were
made into hempen ropes. Humbug means something that is deceptive or
worthless, and also means a mint flavoured boiled sugar sweet, often
made in brown and white stripes.
* "human" See
https://www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/distinguishing-outlines-2-rule.htm
"human humane" The outlines "inhuman" and "inhumane" rely on inserting a
vowel to distinguish them
The haulage company employed Hayley and Helen Halliday to cover for the
staff who were on holiday. The Old Hall was situated in a hollow on the
other side of the* hill. The workers had hauled large rocks from the
quarry in order to* build the hall which did little for their health. A
healthy diet will help you remain whole and healed. We are wholly* in
agreement with this proposal which will get us out of the hole in which
we find ourselves. The wholesale business* in this part of town has come
to a complete halt. The hull of the boat was damaged by the giant
hailstones that fell during the hailstorm*.
The holder of the post had
the staff under his heel, so unfortunately* he became the butt of some
hilarious jokes. The child howled when he hurt his heel as he ran up the
hill. We do hope it will soon heal and that he will be as whole, hale* and hearty* as before.
* Omission phrases "on the oth(er) side of the" "in ord(er to)"
* "wholly" Two L strokes are used for ease of reading
* "wholesale business" You could also intersect "Bs" for this word
* "hailstorm" Unusual use of Stee loop to gain a convenient outline
* "unfortunately" Optional
contraction
* "whole" and "hale" have same meaning, so both should have vowels signs
here
* "hearty" Special outline, to distinguish from "hardy" (Hay+Ray+Dee)
Were you here when we heard the news? I hear that they are going to hire
extra staff at the hair salon. The hearers could hardly believe their
ears. The mayor said, "I hereby open this Harvest Festival celebration."
Herbert lived on the other side of the* harbour, and grew and sold herbs
for a living. He played the harp in his spare time.* When they heard the
news their hearts were saddened. It was very hard for them to hear such
harsh news. His words were harsher* than ever. He spoke very harshly* to
them. They would prefer to hear that harmony had prevailed and no-one
had been hurt. The car driver sounded his horn which made a very high
and harsh sound. The player was not able to hurl the ball very far. The
rider was hurled from the horse. The speaker's throat was very hoarse
after giving the long speech and became hoarser during the afternoon.
* Omission phrase "on the oth(er) side of the"
* "spare time" Halving for the T of "time"
* "harshly" "Sher" is always down, "Shel" is always up
DOT HAY is only used medially and always before a stroke, never after.
It is used when the other methods are not convenient. The medial H sound
is lightly sounded and often omitted altogether and this means that you
can omit the dot in the same way as you do the vowel signs without
losing the readability of the outlines. // A letterhead is the paper a
company uses for their correspondence. The figurehead of the ship was
painted in black and gold. The bulkhead of the ship had been damaged in
the storm. He is a kind-hearted* man with a warm-hearted* wife and
light-hearted* children. We walked among the hills, uphill in the
morning and downhill in the afternoon. We travelled over all the
foothills in the area. A hog is an old word for pig, a hedgehog is
related to the shrew and porcupine, and a groundhog is a rodent related
to squirrels. A roadhog is someone who hogs the road and obstructs other
drivers.
* "-hearted" These outlines make it clear that the Hay Dot is the outer one
This household consists of six people, one of whom owns the freehold of
the property, with the remainder being leaseholders. The report
informed the shareholders of the results of the meeting. A porthole is
a circular window on the side of a ship. The armhole of the coat was too
small to be comfortable. The manhole cover was missing and posed a great
danger to pedestrians. The potholes in the road were being repaired by
the council workmen. The people in this neighbourhood earn their
livelihood at the local factory. The likelihood is that some falsehoods
have been put forward as facts. On reaching adulthood the brothers had
to leave the neighbourhood to find work.
A hobbyhorse* is a toy for pretend riding games and also means a
favourite* or pet project. The rocking-horse was a valuable antique. Drayhorses were used to pull heavy carts. The museum showed examples of
prehistoric fishhooks and boat-hooks. The duke's shield had a greyhound
and a sparrow-hawk on a gold background. A nighthawk is a North American
bird and also someone who stays up all night. A newshawk is a modern
slang word for an energetic, enthusiastic and possibly aggressive
reporter. The old almshouse* had been renovated into a smart new
boarding-house. The huge glasshouse was heated by a small boiler-house
at one end. The greenhouse was set up next to the wooden storehouse. He
worked at the clearing-house and lived in a penthouse.
* "hobbyhorse" The dot vowel goes immediately after the B and cannot be moved forward
to the next stroke, because the Hay comes between
* "favourite" Note that "favoured"
has a left VR stroke
* "almshouse" The longhand L is
silent
The initial curl is used where the meaning is "in"* but this is changed
for a stroke if it becomes medial. // Do not inhale the fumes from the
fire. Inhalation of the gases can cause damage to the lungs. The patient
had to use an inhaler every day. The holiday house was inhabited in
summer but left uninhabited during the winter months. They had many
inhibitions but when on holiday they seemed to be completely
uninhibited. The brothers were hoping to inherit the house but their
father had disinherited them. // When it is a negative the stroke En is
always used. The conditions on the island were inhospitable. The
atmosphere in the house was inharmonious. (1111 words)
* "in" Need to insert the vowel in this short form, as the context does
not help
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