July 2019

Last weekend* was the hottest of the year so far*. On Saturday we went to a nearby park that we had not visited before. We go all over London to parks but had missed this one out, being just a small green patch on the map. We did not want to stay indoors but because of the heat we did not wish to travel too far*. We took the train and it was a longish hot walk to the park. It was more work than pleasure going round due to the heat, and when we got to the other side of the small lake, at the children’s play area, we envied the children in the shallow blue paddling pool, splashing about and making lots of happy squeals and noises. We were glad to find that there was a bus stop* right outside the park, so our journey home saved us from further uncomfortable exertion.

The next day was equally bright and sunny*, but with more breezes and not quite so humid and enervating. It was definitely a day for resting from activities and I planned to spend the afternoon in the garden, not indoors and also not actually working in the garden. I got together some painting materials on a tray, my sun hat and a bottle of drinking water. Somehow all my other activities had eclipsed the paints and I thought it would be good to sit outside and reacquaint myself with the red, blue, green and yellow, the soft artist pencil and the little sketchbook.

To one side of the pond I have draped the climbing roses overhead, in a somewhat haphazard* fashion, over some paving between the fence and the straight edge of the pond. I positioned the lightweight seat and sat down with the tray on my lap, and a little stool beside me with a basket containing the camera, and a supply of soft bread in a plastic bag. I threw in some little pellets of bread, one by one, to bring the fish to me and soon they were milling around almost at my feet. I did actually do some drawings and sketches of them, but after a while it became more interesting to watch them going for the bread pellets.

I found that the smaller fish were the best able to grab the food from just about any position in relation* to it, as they can turn rapidly in a small area, darting with ease in any direction*. The biggest fish could not do that, they just glide along like submarines, and the best they can do is slow down and back up slightly to find the piece, but most often it was gone before they could manoeuvre themselves. Some fish just found a pellet falling in front of them and a quick lunge forward enabled them to grab it instantly.

* Omission phrase "in (re)lation" Note the similar phrase "in (re)lation (to) the"

Some seemed more excited than others and were making big efforts at being the quickest. Even between pellets, they were zooming about to make sure they found the next piece, wherever it fell. It was difficult to aim it at them accurately, as they were moving about all the time. I think it was more excitement than hunger as the fish are all well fed with plenty of proper* fish food and greenery to eat. However, these were the ones that maintained their alertness and animated behaviour, ready to be the fastest one next time a piece plopped into the water, whether it was nearby or not*.

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

As I am sure you have guessed, these particularly energetic goldfish are all going to make excellent shorthand writers*. They are not big, slow and ambling, thinking a crumb of food is almost not worth the effort of turning from their* current direction of movement. They are not like some of the more relaxed middle size* ones, who will glide around in that patch of water, not speeding up unless a piece falls within easy reach. In total contrast, the Fast Fish picked up their initial excitement from the general commotion, but, unlike the others, interest did not subside. They intended to get the benefits, and put their energy and efforts into speedy reactions, in order to* get what they were after, not just some pieces but every piece, if they could manage it. They were dedicated* to the job in hand, attentive and quick to react. Each time they were successful, it strengthened their resolve to continue. I am sure it helped that they had had a restful* lazy morning, lounging about in the warm sunny corners, conserving their energies, before the unexpected shower of crumbs started. I got my drawings, and some of them learned that Fast means Fed. (786 words)

* "dedicated" Always insert the vowel after the K, to differentiate from "deducted"

I hope you are* managing to use your shorthand for real life* things. It makes all the difference between thinking of it as a study that will be useful one day when you reach a zillion words a minute, and actually doing something real with it right now, such as telephone message, shopping list, reminder note or diary. The main point is that you are thinking primarily about the activity or message and then the shorthand becomes a mundane, ordinary, everyday tool to write your note. You should be able to read it back another day with ease, because you already know what it is about, and it is a real treat to know that you have used it successfully, without any fanfare, for something other than a dry exercise. It loses its revered and lofty position of almost unattainable expertise for the privileged few, and is put in its rightful place of obedient, compliant and deferential servant that obeys your every command, and which just needs some extra training and practice to make it more efficient and easier.

Here is another one of my diary days. The day started sunny* and bright but quickly became cloudier and breezy. We took the bus to the railway station and then a train to Charing Cross Station in central London. From there* we took the tube train to Archway Station in the north of the city. The tube is generally very crowded but we always go to the end of the platform* and often find that the last carriage has more space. From Archway we took a bus to Highgate, which is one of the highest* points in London, as its name suggests.

We came to see the Highgate Fair in the Square, an annual village event. The first thing we saw was the barrel organ playing wonderful music, controlled by a long punched card strip that feeds through automatically at the back. Pond Square is a roughly triangular area of trees and paving, and it was full of colourful stalls selling street food, artisan bread and cakes, ornaments, plants, toys, clothing and household items. Local societies and clubs also had stalls, with all their goods, leaflets and information available on the tables. In the centre of the square were lots* of tables and chairs, and a mini stage with a brass band playing*. Everyone in Highgate seemed to have turned out for their* community fun day.

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

Further along, past more stalls, we came to the church at the end of the road, where there was a sheep show in a large mobile trailer. We saw the sheep demonstration last year so we did not* stay for that, but we certainly smelled them at a certain point when passing close to the trailer! The church was open for visitors, with a tour of the church tower available. There were* trampolines for the children, bouncing up very high in harnesses on elastic ropes. I think this is something to do before they have their ice creams and cupcakes, and not after!

We left the fair and took a bus to Muswell Hill where we looked in the shops. Then we walked further along to Alexandra Palace. As we approached through the park and trees, we could* hear music coming from that direction. When we got into the open and came up the wide flight of steps towards the Palm Court entrance, we found that there was a large indoor sporting event happening inside and the grounds were full of food stalls, with all sorts of delicious smells coming from every direction. It was very crowded, with people standing around and sitting at the tables and on the low walls, eating, drinking, and enjoying the lively* music and the happy atmosphere.

We walked through the crowds, then along the side of the building and headed towards the park at the rear. The elevated location means there are wide and distant views over London and its suburbs, and we could* see the tall buildings of the city centre off in the misty distance. As the building is so large, by the time we rounded the back of it we could* hear nothing of the hubbub happening at the far side. We walked through the car park and found a seat by the lake. We had our sandwiches and watched the geese, ducks and pigeons. There were* people going round the lake in pedalo boats, in the shape of a swan, dragon or flamingo. There was a very brief* shower of thin misty rain but it soon blew over.

As it was now somewhat cloudy, we did not walk round the lake and park but decided to go home. As usual, as we left the seat the pigeons came wandering in to see if we had dropped any crumbs underneath. As we made for the bus-stop* a little way down the hill, our bus was pulling away but it was quite a short wait for the next one. It had become cooler with more gusty wind blowing up the hill. The bus took us to Finsbury Park Station, where we got on the train to Victoria Station without having to wait for it*. At Victoria we were also able to board our train immediately, delivering us back to our home in the quiet and green suburbs. (890 words)

This article practises those pairs of outlines where one of them has to be* written somewhat differently from the general rule. These are called special or distinguishing* outlines and the purpose is to differentiate between two words that would otherwise be similar in shape and close in meaning, and could be misread for each other when vowel signs are left out. Shorthand written at speed is never as neat as that shown in the book, the position of the outlines is not always pinpoint accurate, and you only write in a few occasional necessary vowels. The book shorthand is the ideal but, like handwriting, the outlines get more wild and woolly as the rate of delivery increases towards and beyond your comfortable speed. This is true whatever your current “best”, whether 20 or 120 words a minute*, as neatness deteriorates when you are pushed.

* "has to be" Ensure clearly written through the line, so it is not misread as "is to be"

* "distinguishing" Contraction

* Omission phrase "words (a) minute"

The distinguishing outlines lists on the theory website have been revised and rewritten to show the categories that such outlines fall into. The ones you have to know, in order for your shorthand to be correct, are those on the “Rule” list, where one of the pair is written outside of the rule, in order to* provide a clearly different outline. This is an aid to speed because then you do not have to put in the vowels for that pair. The other necessary category is “Vowel”, where it is essential to put in a vowel sign, such as “amazing” “amusing”. The third category is “Care” where the outlines, when written correctly, are different from each other, but might not be if the writer had to make one of them up in a hurry, through not knowing the correct version, or not recalling it quickly enough. That list is much longer and does not need to be learned as such. It is a resource for you to consult, as you probably already know some or most of them, and only need to pull out those that need attention or revision. You don’t truly know an outline until you can recall it at speed. In the paragraphs below, the one that is written outside the rule is in capitals.

* Omission phrase "in ord(er to)"

The baby’s birth was on Monday and the old man’s BURIAL took place on Friday.

He was a British citizen who behaved in a BRUTISH manner to his fellow travellers.

The protesters CAUSED some unrest, having been influenced by the political group.

I described the incident* to the officer who then TRANSCRIBED it into his report.

He tried EARNESTLY to correct the mistake but erroneously thought he had the answer.

We are favoured to have Sir Isaac to speak on our FAVOURITE subject of shorthand.

I was FORMERLY a receptionist but I have been formally advised of my promotion*.

* "promotion" Insert the vowel in "promote, permit" and derivatives, so they are not misread as each other

We are greatly encouraged that the students are GRADUALLY improving their shorthand.

There is a definite budget for the work but these plans are too vague and UNDEFINED.

She says that this problem is unavoidable, but I do not think it is INEVITABLE that this will happen.

She worked as a saleswoman and became good friends with the other saleswomen. (911 words)

Last week* was the fiftieth* anniversary of the first manned landing on the moon. Television programmes and news articles everywhere are full of all the stories, from brief facts and summaries to complete expositions of the projects, flights and events that led up to the day of the moon landing. The moon has become the flavour of the month and of course the two words are related. It can be traced back to a root meaning to measure, as in metre and metric, as the phases* of the moon were the first means of time measurement available in human* history.

* "fiftieth" Not using halving, as that would be too much like "fifth", similarly the others in this range twentieth, thirtieth etc.

* "phases" The word "faces" could also make sense in this context, and it might be preferable (outside of an exam where outlines may be marked) to use a Zee stroke plus Circles S (non-Theory version), to ensure correct reading

* "human" Above the line, following its second vowel, to distinguish from "humane" on the line

I am sure you don’t really need moon vocabulary or moon measurements for daily work, but it is a good opportunity to practise numbers. When there is a torrent of facts and figures* in a talk or report, it is often better to use the normal numerals for the large numbers. With numbers there is no room for manoeuvre, they must be* exact and the shorthand must be* right first time. If you are rushing beyond your capability, a zero can become a six, a six can become an Ith sign, a one can become a seven, and vice versa*. Please see the theory website for ways to ensure each longhand numeral is more distinctive. Numerals are actually a form of shorthand of their own, and deserve care and consistency in how they are written, to avoid mistakes in transcribing.

Many planets have moons, so to describe our Moon it is sometimes capitalised or called by its own name Luna, with the adjective being lunar*. Its average linear* distance from Earth is 384,400 kilometres (238,885 miles) with a maximum of 389,000 kilometres (242,000 miles) and a minimum of 362,000 kilometres (225,600 miles), as its orbit is a nearly circular* ellipse with additional irregularities. This is between 28 and 32 Earth diameters away, or an average of 60 Earth radii*. If the Earth were a football, the moon would be nearly 24 feet away. The orbit period is 27.3 days and orbit speed is 1.02 kilometres per second. The moon is slowly moving away from the Earth by 3.8 centimetres each year and in 50 billion years’ time it will take 47 days to orbit the Earth. The period of the moon’s orbit is the same as its own rotation, so this means that the same side always faces the Earth. This is called synchronous rotation.

It is now thought that the moon was formed early on in the history of the solar system, when another body the size of Mars collided with the young Earth, with the ejected fragments of both eventually forming the moon. It has a diameter of 3,475 kilometres (2,159 miles) and an equator circumference of 10,917 kilometres (6,783 miles). It is just over a quarter* the size of the Earth. It has a surface temperature of up to 127 degrees Celsius* during its day, going down to minus 173 degrees Celsius* during its night. The gravitational strength is about one sixth* of that on Earth.

* "degrees Celsius" Outlines given for learning purposes, but in real life you would write the degree sign and a capital longhand C. If the speaker used the older word "Centigrade" that should be written in full, in order to have an accurate note of what was actually said.

The moon does have an exceedingly thin atmosphere, made up of carbon dioxide, methane, helium, argon, ammonia, neon, sodium and potassium. Water ice has been found to be present in the deepest craters at the poles, into which the sunlight never reaches. There is also a small amount of water held within the rocks. The virtual absence of atmosphere means that there is no erosion of the surface, and so every impact crater remains until covered or destroyed by another impact. The dark “seas” are craters that were filled with lava seepage billions of years ago. The lunar surface is covered in a layer of fine dust and broken rock, from meteor impacts which have pulverised the surface material.

In order to* check out all these facts, I thought it necessary to actually go to the moon myself, which I had heard was now on tour and located in the Natural History Museum in London. I must say* it seemed to have reduced in size dramatically and fitted quite well into one of the large halls, suspended over the visitors on almost invisible wires. The otherwise empty hall was in darkness except for strips of blue lighting along the edges, and the milky* white moon was brilliantly lit from within, showing clearly all the surface detail.

Natural History Museum, London - 20ft "Museum of the Moon" artwork by Luke Jerram

I was beginning to think that the journey to the moon was actually just an exercise in the rocket and its occupants getting smaller and smaller*, to give the illusion of going further and further, until to my amazement* and amusement* I discovered that this moon was an artwork and not the real thing. Just as well, as we don’t want it exerting its gravitational force on all the seas and causing a tidal surge to engulf the city of London*. I took lots of photos and most people seemed to be angling themselves so that the moon was either sitting on their hands or balancing on their head, and we too were not immune to this unmissable temptation to capture it. Later on we saw a piece of moon rock in the nearby Science Museum, which looked not much different from the little pieces of coke that I occasionally find in the garden soil, from the days when this house had open coal fires. I shall look rather differently upon the next piece of moon rock that I find in my garden. (908 words)