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Eagles & L-Hooks
Apple Trees
Money
Something Easy
Eagles & L-Hooks (
September 2014)
Hello Readers, My name is Eagle. You met Crow last month, but now you
need to practise plenty of the L* Hooks to straight strokes. I am glad
to say that* we eagles have a good supply of hooks, but we call them
beaks and talons, or you could* say claws. They give you a clue as to
how we apply ourselves to the subtle skill of clasping our prey. From
their point of view*, eagles are a plague and a blight, but I am
completely confident* that I can tackle the job without any glitches. To
me it is as easy as playing. My blinking gleaming eyes can see
everything equally well, a playful mouse or glossy black beetle
scuttling close by in the clumps of grass, plump ducklings* waddling and
paddling through clay ponds and puddles, hares in the ploughed field and
placid cattle in the distance. I survey the scene from every angle, the
tangles of bushes and the jungle of grasses. I never get complacent and
I plunge on my target with deliberate and complete boldness, and a sense
of glee and gladness at the pleasing conclusion of my hunt.
* L stroke on its own is written upwards
* Omission phrases "I am glad (to) s(ay) that" "point (of) view"
* "you could" Not phrased, so that it doesn't get misread as "you can"
* You can use proximity for two con- outlines in succession, if
preferred
* Derived from "duck+ling" therefore does not use K + L Hook
Visitor from Eagle Heights
Sanctuary, Kent
Our nest of cluttered twigs clings to the bleak cliffs, on ledges of
brittle chalk and unstable rubble, or sometimes glossy* marbled rocks.
We replicate ourselves with our annual clutch of blotchy speckled eggs
and provide a surplus of new eagles to claim the land. When the wind
blows, I am able to glide through the clouds, straddling earth and sky.
I hover over the shingle shores and glassy* blue lakes for fish, leaving
ripples and circles of waves as I fly away cradling my prey in my claws,
which are as sharp as a sickle. My terrible talons clench tight as a
buckle and stick like glue to my prize.
* "glossy" "glassy" Inserting the first vowel is essential, as their
meanings are similar
Ship's badge,
National Maritime Museum,
Greenwich
In spring the fields bloom and blossom with purple heather, the birds
warble and the gaggles of sheep start to gambol. In summer I search the
blank grasslands for the glut of scuttling voles and paddle in the
gurgling river for fish. At the end of the year, I redouble my efforts,
flying over the clearings and arable fields again, rectangles and
triangles of glowing golden stubble. Not a single animal in this place
escapes my notice, whether a bedraggled rat snuggled in a mottled bundle
of hay nibbling the seeds, a lone sheep dawdling and toddling* along the
bridle path across the plateau or a rabbit huddled under a nettle patch
underneath the telegraph cables.
* "dawdling" "toddling" Ensure these are written clearly as their
meanings are similar
On the mountainside where I live, pupils from the camping club climb to
the pinnacle. They settle beside their cold tents, clad in glamorous
designer-label clothes with glitzy glass goggles and plastic rain cloaks
with dangling toggles. Their meals are not at all frugal and they fiddle
with noodles and a soup ladle in a hot kettle. They cook a cluster of
apple and plum flavoured bagels mingled with flour on the portable
griddle. They have a couple of bottles of clean potable water in their
satchels and cuddle their soup cups close to themselves. A squiggly bolt
of lightning and a clearly audible blood-curdling clap of thunder
rattles their camp and sends them scuttling inside, as the rain tumbles
down the rocks. Their giggles turn to complaining about the colder
cloudy weather and they prattle and clatter on about blue-sky summer
days and a more pleasant and less changeable climate. Their actions
disclose the fact that* they have been too cosseted and coddled, and
they are now in a battle when they thought it would be a doddle.
* Omission phrase "disclose the (f)act that"
The climbers are now completely gloomy and glum, like skittles that have
tumbled over. Their mettle seems to be largely lacking, and their
laughable efforts end up bungled and mangled. The storm settles in and
in their muddle they dismantle the tangled tent, they "turn turtle" and
"pull the plug", driving home at full throttle, or clumsily throwing
themselves onto the saddles of their cycles, and seeing if haply they
can get home before the stormy* blasts begin. Their memorable holiday,
to which they felt entitled, culminates in them telephoning for help. I
am tempted to chuckle and chortle but I can only* conclude that it is a
complete riddle why these local people should wish to get in such a
pickle, although equally I must pay them the compliment of having the
pluck to make the attempt.
* "stormy" Insert the last vowel, as "storm blasts" would also make
sense
* "I can only" On its own, "only" is written with
full N and L strokes
The mythical Roc (ship's figurehead,
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich)
I know I have been blowing my own* trumpet and sounding my own bugle, and
declaring my own admirable, noble and almost infallible personality. But
I'm no poodle or mythical creature, and as King of the Birds I am as
bold in completing my blog article as when I am at home on my cliff in
the mountains. I recommend this single-mindedness and boldness as a
miraculous and entirely suitable way to clear the blockages that occur
when you find you are struggling and juggling with your own writing
scribbles. All these resemble the quarry grasped in my claws and it is
reasonable to recall my uncomplicated attitude and not allow these
clogging mental intrusions to amplify themselves or strangle your
performance for a single minute.
* "my own" Not using N Hook for
"own " as that would be the same as "mine"
My radical suggestion to clarify this situation* is to replace these
niggles and keep your mind as brutally sharp as an eagle's talons and
clutch your prey outlines with the pen nib as I do with my claws.
Instead of sitting at the table dabbling placidly and feebly over slow
vocal babblings, your endeavours in this valuable classic system will
blossom and you will be able to gloat over the numerical increase, maybe
even double, in your typical speed of writing, including all the
technical, legal, clerical, classical and political material. Yours
truly, deeply, boldly, and regally, King Eagle
* "this situation" Uses Ses Circle to indicate the two words, although
only one S is actually sounded.
Our friend Eagle has done quite well but he does not know all the
shorthand outline variations, so here are some extras to practise. The
hooked version is generally used for the verbs, so that derivatives can
be written without changing the form of the outline. Mottle, mottled,
mottling means a colouring of spots. Gold, silver and iron are metals,
and they have a metallic sheen. A metalled road is one that is surfaced
with broken stone. The science of metal-working is metallurgy. Mettle
means fortitude or courage, and is actually a variant spelling of
"metal" that arose in the 18th* century. Meddle meddled meddling mean to
interfere, and muddle muddled muddling mean to confuse or mix up. To
model means to shape or mould. Compare the nouns medal, medallion,
middle, and the adjectives medial, middling and modal, from mode.
* "18th" Always insert the first
vowel and in "tenth", as otherwise these are the same outline
The following do not use the L Hook. Idle means doing nothing or lazy,
and the outline uses full strokes so that the diphthong can be joined.
An image that is worshipped is called an idol and a popular performer
may be idolised. Idyll or idyll (two pronunciations) means a charming
pastoral scene and the adjective is idyllic or idyllic (also two
pronunciations). Swaddle means to wrap or swathe a baby in long cloths,
known as swaddling clothes, and the past tense is swaddled.
The short form hand gives us handle, handled, handling, manhandle and
mishandle. This same stroke is also used in candle, kindle, swindle,
swindled, fondle, fondled (but note fondly), and similarly disgruntled.
Startle, startled, startling means to surprise suddenly. Myrtle is an
evergreen shrub with fragrant white flowers. Unsettle, unsettled,
resettle, resettled, cannot use a hook because the first stroke has to
be able to join. A bridle is the harness used to control a horse. A
bride wears a bridal outfit at her wedding. A hurdle is what you jump
over in order to* get your shorthand from 99 words a minute* to 101 words
a minute!*
* Omission phrases "in ord(er to)"
"words (a) minute"
Old pub sign
The following have distinguishing outlines. Gentle means kindly or easy,
and Gentile means a non-Jew. Gentleman, gentlemanly and gentlemen are
short forms. Vital, fatal, futile: vital means essential for life or
success, fatal means causing death, destruction or complete failure.
Futile means an ineffective or useless action and comes from a Latin
word meaning easily poured out or melted, just how you feel when the
speaking was too fast for your present level of shorthand skill. The
nouns are vitality, fatality and futility. It is vital to practise
regularly, avoiding the fatal error of hesitation, and remembering that
it is quite futile to resist the urge to pick up your pen and write
everything you hear in shorthand. (1413 words)
See Distinguishing Outlines pages
for these:
https://www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/distinguishing-outlines-1-vowel.htm
"gentle genteel Gentile"
https://www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/distinguishing-outlines-2-rule.htm
"gentleman gentlemen gent"
https://www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/distinguishing-outlines-2-rule.htm
"fatal futile vital"
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Apple Trees (22 September 2014)
When we first viewed our current house over thirty years ago, it was the
end of the day and we had decided to look in just one more estate agent
shop before going home. We wanted to get the most out of the cost of the
petrol to drive out here to the edge of the countryside, from our
existing home in south east London. We were given the keys and the
information sheet, and we duly sought out the road and the house. The
house was empty and newly refurbished, but what struck me most was the
garden. Although it was not particularly large, being springtime it was
a sea of apple blossom spread over the thick greenery below. The garden
was not overlooked, and although it was full of weeds and wild tree
saplings, it was definitely full of promise for the future. We moved in
three months later, in August, and discovered that the information sheet
was correct when it said "garden with mature fruit trees". It was a lot
longer than we had realised, when we pushed our way through the thicket
of nettles, and damson and ash tree saplings.
Cox's Orange Pippin
There was a large Bramley apple tree (which produces cooking apples) and
this was the one that we saw from the upstairs back bedroom, spreading
itself over the garden. There was a greengage tree, looking rather
ancient but still laden with green plum-like fruit. In the centre
further down was a respectable sized pear tree, and near the end was a
large tall plum tree. Although the entire garden was filled with dense
high weeds, as we cleared it, we discovered even more small apple trees.
They all bore very small fruit which I assumed were crab apples, but
they were most likely poor quality seedlings and also starved through
years of neglect. The greengages were harvested, but as the trunk was
largely hollow, and soft and rotting at the base, it had to go, before
it became unstable and dangerous. One by one the straggly seedling apple
trees were removed, as they were producing nothing eatable or
decorative.
Bramley blossom
After a few years of enjoying making plum and damson jam, as befitted
our move out of the suburbs and into the (almost) countryside, at last
even the large plum tree eventually went. Its trunk was splitting and
weeping sap, and various branches dying and falling off. The abundance
of wasps in the fallen plums made the decision that much easier. All
that remained was the Bramley tree, which continued producing
prolifically and contributed to many delicious apple pies and stewed
apple dishes. Eventually the branches died off one by one and the tree
gradually became more misshapen. Finally it ceased to be either use or
ornament and was removed. It was sorely missed, as it had introduced
spring in the garden for a good many years and had filled the space with
flowers, fruit and greenery. We left a tall stump in for a while, as it
had a large hole where the robins nested. Eventually the wood dried out,
the dead roots rotted away, and the stump became looser and could be
rocked. Natural weathering and decay had done the job for us, the stump
came out with very little persuasion, and the only work was to scoop out
the crumbly roots.
Spartan
All those fruit trees were probably planted in the mid 1930's, when the
house was built, and so have given many years of good service, at least
while they were being cared for. Since I have lived here, many plants
and shrubs have come and gone, and finally I have reached the stage
where low maintenance is a greater priority. Too many plants in a dry
clay soil have produced crowded areas with nothing doing very well. This
year I have been working on renewing various little corners, giving each
plant its own space and curbing my greedy habit of squeezing in extra
plants. Having had good success with a new apple tree ten years ago, I
decided that I would restock the garden with as many as possible,
ruthlessly taking out old woody shrubs and ensuring each tree has enough
light and space to grow healthily.
Cox
I am looking forward* to even more blossom in spring, and
an entire summer of happy anticipation, watching the fruits growing and
ripening. The last and best job is roaming around testing which apples
come away gently in the hand, which is much better than finding out
after they have dropped and smashed, or been nibbled by the slugs and
snails on the ground overnight. Unlike shrubby perennials, there will be
no need to chop back or tidy up at the end of the season, other than
sweeping up leaves.
The total is now eight* apple and two pear trees, and I think this just
about replaces what had to be removed all those years ago. Most are on
dwarfing rootstock but one is on a vigorous rootstock, a variety called
Sunset which is derived from the Cox apple. I am hoping it will grow
rapidly and be similar to the old Bramley in size and shape, with the
added advantage that the apples will be eaters and not cookers, and
provide a colourful display of red fruits instead of the plain green of
the Bramleys.
* Omission phrase "looking f(or)ward"
* Always write 8 as a numeral, not an outline, as the T stroke could be
confused with the numeral 1.
When I see the gnarled and knobbly bare bark in
winter, I still find it amazing* that it can produce the beautiful
flowers and the big luscious fruit, with just sunlight, air, rain and
the highly unappetising and inedible soil in my garden. It is also
gratifying to know that these are the only ingredients, as the trees are
never sprayed or given any chemical treatment. It can be very tempting
in winter to look at old plants and think that nothing can come of all
the bare branches and sticks, but I make an effort to see the fruit tree
twigs as little storage places for the miniature, if not microscopic,
blossoms and fruits, wrapped up in the waxy buds and sleeping through
the winter. This is my version of counting my chickens before they are
hatched. When spring appears to come early, it is not so welcome, as it
may bring the buds out with the risk of a return to colder weather and
frost-damaged buds. If I knock off a twig by mistake, I think of the
loss of the apples it could have produced, but then remember that this
just means that the tree's energy will go instead into making the
remaining fruits even bigger.
* "amazing" "amusing" Always insert the vowel
I bought these latest trees by mail order, and was delighted to find
that the whole process was very easy and efficient. "Mail order trees"
still sounds very strange to my ears, but they are packed and despatched
very quickly, and so spend less than* 24 hours in their tall cardboard
boxes. I found them to be much better than the sometimes leggy trees
crowded together in the local garden centres, as they are obviously
grown with space and air around each one, and pruned to produce a good
bushy* shape. Mail order plants and trees would not have been practical
years ago when emails* and the online world did not exist, and the very
short delivery times that we now enjoy have made mail order plant buying
easy and reliable. The choice of trees was enormous, and I must admit to
being swayed more than usual by those sites with the best photos of the
future apples. I was very tempted by the "Isaac Newton" apple tree,
produced from genetic material from his famous apple tree, whose falling
fruit inspired his theory of gravity, but in the end taste and colour
won out over history. All our favourites are now represented in the
garden, plus two that are not always available in the shops and which I
pounce on when I find them.
* "less than " Downward L in order to make the join
* "bushy" Insert last vowel, as "bush" would also make sense
* "email" and "mail" Always insert first vowel"
Best parcel
ever
I am very glad to be enjoying the results of thousands of years of apple
breeding and development. There are now over seven and a half thousand* named cultivars of apples, three thousand* of which are grown in the UK.
I have noticed that very often supermarket ads for eating apples portray
them as crisp and fresh, but to me a crisp apple is one that has been
picked too early! My ideal apple is soft and sweet, so this is another
incentive to grow my own. The novelty of watching fruit appear from
apparently nothing never diminishes, and the length of time spent in
anticipation only adds to the pleasure of consuming them, and, even
better, handing them round to friends. I am greatly looking forward to
next year's fruit production, although these newest trees will only be
allowed to bear one or two apples, as advised by the growers. Maybe it
is time I made a map of the garden to record all the varieties for
posterity, so that the new trees do not suffer the indignity of being
called crab apples many years in the future when someone else lives
here. (1517 words)
* "thousand" Stroke Ith is only used after Arabic numerals
www.orangepippin.com Extensive information on apple varieties
Ornamental crab apple
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Money (29 September 2014)
During the summer I visited several museums around London, showing the
history of the area over the last few thousand years. As well as
fragments of everyday life, there were lots of coins. Some of the dull
ones must have been* barely discernible from the soil, and some were of
glorious shining gold. In one museum case there was a mound of grey
slate coloured coins, a hoard that had been buried for safe keeping,
maybe when the area was under attack. In other glass cases were
collections of gold coins, laid out carefully in rows, gleaming just
like the day that they were struck. My first thought was that this money
was not spent on anything by its last owner, who obviously did not come
back again to dig it up. Of course, as the gold never deteriorates, it
will always outlive its owner, regardless of the circumstances that
surround its hiding place. The second and probably more relevant
observation is that the money is now worth nothing as money, and it has
changed its value to that of an antiquity or the lesser value of its raw
metal. They were a reminder that money is only of value when all
concerned agree to abide by the rules of its creation, circulation and
use.
* Omission phrase " mus(t have)
been" in order to make a good join
Sunbury Hoard, 100-50 BC
(Museum of London)
As children, we were once given a large quantity of farthings, which had
ceased to be legal tender a few years earlier in 1960. There were four
farthings to the old penny (hence the name "fourth-ings"), 12 old
pennies made a shilling, and 20 shillings made a pound. This was before
the decimalisation of the UK currency in 1971, when the pound became a
hundred new pence. In fact I remember that people not only talked about
five new pence but also one new pence, a slight contortion of grammar,
which fortunately only lasted a short while, until the word "pee"
replaced it and its name was one P. We played with the pile of farthings
regularly, mostly using them as counters, or for shopping games, or laid
out in lines and patterns on the carpet. We eventually buried most of
them at the end of the garden, and in our imagination someone would dig
them up in the distant future and be suitably delighted with their find.
I hope that some archaeologist in the future does not puzzle over why
the owner would want to stash* such valueless coins in the ground.
* "stash" Not in dictionary. Full length Ish goes down after T
and upwards after D, and also upwards after these if halved, in order to show the
halving
Roman gold coins, 1st & 2nd
century (Museum of London)
At holiday times we were given a large glass jar full of coins that our
grandparents had saved up throughout the year. We counted it, rearranged
it, and admired it. We were grateful for this wonderful gift, which
occurred again at Christmas, and even at that young age I realised that
Nanny was depriving herself of bits of cash throughout the year in order
to* collect them in the jar. Young children are well known for endlessly* counting their money, as if it would mysteriously increase if it was
counted again. I don't think this means that they are greedy or
avaricious, but that it represents a form of control, which children are
sorely deprived of, at least* in comparison with the choices open to
adults. Children have to wait for gifts or ways of earning, which may be
few and far between. They learn that their efforts and work (or those of
the giver of the cash gift) can be converted into a numerical storage
system and then exchanged for something else. The desired toys or items
now become a possibility* to be worked towards, rather than an empty
dream that can never be achieved.
* Omission phrase in ord(er to)"
* "endlessly" Note that "needlessly" uses full N and D strokes to
provide a distinguishing outline
* "at least" "at last" Always
insert the vowel
* "possibility" Optional contraction
Roman coins perforated for use
as pendants by the Anglo-Saxons (Dartford Museum)
I have been looking through some quotes about money, and the most common
one is that money is not the most important* thing in the world* and
indeed that it can become meaningless. If I were stranded on the
proverbial desert island, I would be urgently looking for water, food
and shelter before anything else, as well as missing family and friends.
Any money lying in the bank account would be forgotten as irrelevant and
meaningless, whether the sums were large or small. However, here in the
suburbs outside a big city, the necessities of life have to be bought,
so I cannot quite agree with those quotes by people who feel that money
is meaningless. I think maybe this is like the apples and pears on my
trees in previous bumper years, when I could* pick, eat and give them
away by the bagful at any time I chose to. I did not bother counting
them, the number that I possessed was meaningless because I knew that
there were more than enough, even when there were losses to the birds,
snails, slugs and bugs. This carefree attitude continued until I came to
the last few, which suddenly became more precious. Taking them off the
tree left the garden with no colour and only the bareness and emptiness
of winter ahead. Or maybe it was the thought of having to buy them again
in the supermarket!
* Omission phrases "mos(t) important" "in (the) world"
* "I could" Not phrased, so it is not misread as "I can"
If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only
real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of
knowledge, experience, and ability. Henry Ford
It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the
money. It is the customer who pays the wages. Henry Ford
Waste your money and you're only out of money, but waste your time and
you've lost a part of your life. Michael LeBoeuf*
You aren't wealthy until you have something money can't buy. Garth* Brooks
I ain't never been poor, just broke. Being poor is a state of mind,
whereas being broke is just a temporary situation. Mike Todd
* "LeBoeuf" This French vowel, similar to the one in "turn", is represented by a
second
place dash parallel to the stroke
* "Garth" The similar name "Gareth" would need the second vowel written
in
People say that money is not the key to happiness, but I always figured
if you have enough money, you can have a key made. Joan Rivers
Money can't buy you happiness but it does bring you a more pleasant form
of misery. Spike Milligan
We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people
we don't like. Dave Ramsey
I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy
something. Jackie Mason
Money won't buy happiness, but it will pay the salaries of a large
research staff to study the problem. Bill Vaughan
Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't* know where to go
shopping. Bo Derek (1075 words)
* "Didn't" is a contracted outline, in effect it reads "dint" and must
have the vowel. Without the vowel, it is "did not".
Top of page
Something Easy (30 September 2014)
I like to have four blogs per month so I am going to squeeze in just
one more before the month ends. I am sure you have had quite enough for
the moment* of practising points of theory such as the hooks or learning
new vocabulary and so I am keeping to the simple words. Although
learning how to write lots of new words is important, I think the
biggest factor* that will increase writing speed is knowing all the very
common words perfectly. Most speaking uses quite a small number of words
over and over* again, mainly the basic words that create and connect
sentences. Because they come up in every sentence, if you stumble over
these, then you are losing a very large amount of time whenever you have
to slow down to think of them. It is like being in a three-legged race,
but instead of your foot being tied to another person, you are trying to
run while being tied to a memory that cannot provide the outlines as
fast as they are needed. The result is wild guesses at outlines, too
large and spread out on the line in the panic to get something down.
* Omission phrase "for (the) moment"
* "factor" Keep the R Hook clear, as "fact" has a similar meaning
* Omission phrase "over (and) over again" The second "over" is reversed
to make a good join
The mad dash for high speed should not be the normal method of improving
your shorthand. It can be used as an occasional test, but in between I
believe the best method is to work on reasonably* simple passages, so
that the shorthand being written has a chance to remain correct and
neat. It is never a waste of time* to practise outlines that you believe
you know quite well. At speed, it becomes clear just how well they are
known, or not, as the case may be. A difficult part of the dictation can
cause the mind to freeze, and so the better the easy ones are known, the
more likely it is that the writing will not be slowed down. Once this
habit has become established, it provides a solid background against
which the more difficult outlines can be dealt with. Both of these
paragraphs contain exactly 200 words and so it should be easy for you to
practise them at certain speeds. Writing each paragraph in two minutes
gives a speed of a hundred words a minute, and taking four minutes on
each paragraph gives you a speed of fifty words a minute*. Time to begin* practising! (400 words)
* "reasonably" Insert the last vowel, as "reasonable" could also make
sense
* Omission phrases "was(te of) time" "words (a) minute"
* "to begin" Based on the
short form phrase "to be",
similarly "to become"
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