blogs - 2020 - june 2 photos 6 short letters 19 · blog archive pitman’s new era shorthand 2020...

Images & Text © Beryl L Pratt www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand-reading.org.uk

2020 June p1 A of 16Blog Archive Pitman’s New Era Shorthand


2020 June p1 B of 16Blog Archive Pitman’s New Era Shorthand

2 Photos

6 Short Letters 19

10 Facts And Cons

14 Andy’s Speech

PDF Date: 24 June 2020

Images & Text © Beryl L Pratt

https://www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk

https://www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand-reading.org.uk

https://long-live-pitmans-shorthand.blogspot.com

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Blogs - 2020 - June

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Photos

Earlier in the year, I finally got round tosorting out all my old photographs. Whatstarted this marathon effort was theseemingly small task of removing photosfrom some old albums. They were ringbinder folders containing plastic sheets withpockets, which, being now 45 years old,had begun to warp and bubble. I was

concerned for the photos but fortunatelythey were unaffected, but it was necessaryto rescue them and give them a betterhome. The ring binder method was ideal,as it is always frustrating to arrange photosand then find another one that needsslotting between the others.

Photos

I was very organised at the time and typedlots* of tiny captions on sticky label stripsto put alongside each pocket. These couldnot be removed, so I had to interleave thenow loose photos with paper strips withscribbled place names and dates. The jobwent quite quickly and I ended up withwads of photos wrapped in sheets of paper,arranged in two shoeboxes. The albumswere destroyed, and took with them thememories of when they were first bought.The film rolls of 36 pictures were sent tothe chemist* for developing and there was

a wait of two weeks for them to come backfrom their lab. There was the excitement ofseeing several months’ worth of photos,reviving the memories of the events, daysout and holidays. It was nothing liketoday’s instant smartphone and digitalphotography.

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

* "chemist" UK term = pharmacy, drugstore





Photos

The slowness of the scanner was made upfor by being able to do several at once*, asthe photo setting could recognise theindividual pictures and present them asseparate files. While watching the scannerlight travelling back and forth, I wasconsidering how to organise them. One setwould be holidays, other sets for familyphotos, and a separate folder for oversize.I wrote details on the back of every photo,the only reliable way to ensure that theinformation could never be lost. At last*,

everything would be safe from loss ordamage, all information recorded and theentire collection easy to view whenever wewanted. It became a “fill-in” job overseveral weeks*.

* Omission phrases "at (w)uns" "severalwee(k)s"

* "at last" "at least" Always insert thevowel

Photos

Now that I had them all in a stack I had toconsider how to properly* store and displaythem again. They would have to bescanned first of course. There were* otherboxes of prints, which had never been putinto albums. They would have to bescanned as well, in order to be able to* geteverything in subject and date order. I alsohad some boxes of very old family photosinherited from relatives, ranging from smallhome produced efforts to large professionalprints of special events. More careful highres scanning would be required for those.The job was indeed growing by the minute,as I rummaged about for every photo I

could find in the house. A comprehensivescanning session was the priority, startingwith the oldest ones, as nothing could beput into books until that had been done.

* "properly" Insert the first vowel, and thediphone in "appropriately" as they aresimilar in outline and meaning

* Omission phrase "there (w)ere"

* "in order to be able to" As the "to" isomitted, the B stroke does not have to gothrough the line for "to be"





Photos

It was a relief to have the fragile andcreased ancient photos safely captured,and they could now be viewed on thescreen without disturbing the originals. Ialso had the huge fun of digitally removingall the dirty marks and white creases fromsome of them*, keeping the edited versionas a separate file, with the original scanuntouched. I revisited all the early yearsholidays in Cornwall, Devon and Wales*.There was a large collection covering theyears after our move to our present house,and a detailed record of the creation of thegarden, from totally overgrown*, to almostpark like perfection, a slow journey of path

laying, trellis building, and shrub and appletree planting, as well as severalenlargements of the fish pond.

* Omission phrase "some (of) them" Notethat "some other" uses doubling.

* "Wales" Special outline, to distinguishfrom place name "Wells" which uses theWel stroke

* "overgrown "evergreen" Always insert thesecond vowel, as these both refer to thesame subject

Photos

I met lots* of old family members, nowpassed away, via the efforts of my unclesas youngsters taking up the new andexciting hobby of photography and homedeveloping* of the prints. I met a fewchildren I ought to know very well* butwho now seemed rather distant. They were,in fact*, actually us as babies, toddlers andyoung ones, captured in our adventures byour ever present amateur photographers,always on the look-out for a snappingopportunity. There I was, smiling happily inmy pram (baby carriage), being held byadmiring grandparents, getting chasedalong a beach by someone with a bucket ofseawater, and sitting on that wonderfultricycle in a stripy jumper. Yes, it certainly

was me but not as anyone knows her now,she was a fresh unwritten sheet, entirelywithout all the decades of happenings andmemories. There seems to be* anenormous gap between us, but in fact*there isn’t, and it is a marvel and a wonderthat time and experience of life has beencontinuous and unbroken from there tohere. I can hardly believe it!

* "lots" "masses" Always insert the vowelas these are similar in outline and meaning

* "developing" The contraction is for thenoun "development" but safe to use for theverb as well

* Omission phrases "very (w)ell" "in (f)act""there seems (to) be"





Photos

After all this was complete, I had the ideaof taking the best of my immediate familyhistory photos and creating a slide-showvideo, starting with my parents as childrenin the 1930’s, and through to the present.This was great fun to do, and the movieproject file constantly grew in size, as I feltthere were items I just could not leave out.Fortunately, unlike the slip-in albums, it is

easy to insert new material in the correctplace. I am not going to leaf throughtwenty albums again very soon, so havinga video of favourites is a good alternativeto amuse* myself with on occasion.

* "amuse" "amaze" Always insert the vowelin these and derivatives, to distinguish

Photos

I thought I had the past all wrapped up,having spent weeks in my time machine,finally escaping and coming back to thepresent. But a chance find online threw meback into the past again. I found a pictureof all my school teachers in an official photofrom the 1960’s, standing and sitting inrows in the sunny* playground. Suddenlythe past was here in the room with meagain, with smiling familiar faces andnames surfacing from memory for the firsttime* in half a century. I will have to print

it out and include it in one of the albums,in order to* safely extricate* myself fromthe past and return to the present. (1052words)

* "sunny" "snowy" Always insert the vowel

* Omission phrases "for (the) first time" "inord(er to)"

* "extricate" Insert the last vowel, todistinguish from "extract"





Short Letters 19

All these letters are one hundred wordslong. When you can read one letter in nomore than two and a half* minutes (whichis 40 words per minute), that is themoment at which to read out loud andrecord into your phone. This will ensure younever write slower than that, as youcertainly don’t want to start and stay in theslow lane with your shorthand. The onlinemetronome* is very useful to help with this.The first meeting with a new outline needscareful, deliberate writing to ensureaccuracy, but after those few seconds ofwriting it three or four* times, it shouldnever be written slowly again. Practisesegments individually until you areconfident about the whole passage, then,after a break, take it down. When itbecomes easy, you can use Audacity’s

Change Tempo setting to speed it up ineasy steps. Slowing down files in Audacityseems to degrade the quality quite quickly,and is an incentive not to chicken out inthis way! If you do this from bookshorthand passages, you will always havecorrect shorthand to check yourself against,and that is the route to keeping youroutlines correct at all times and notguessed at. (206 words)

* "two and a half" See theory websiteVocabulary Numbers, Fractions

* https://www.metronomeonline.com alsohttps://www.online-stopwatch.com/online-clock

* "three or four" Using Ray to make thejoin

Short Letters 19

Dear Miss White, Thank you for yourenquiry about our business courses at thecollege. I am sending you our brochurewhich gives full details of full time* andpart time day courses, postal and emailcourses, and our new online courses oncommercial subjects. Please make yourapplication before the closing date at theend of July and ensure that your depositreaches us in good time. We look forward*

to seeing you and helping you gain thenecessary skills for a career in the businessworld. All our other course details are givenon our website. Yours sincerely (100words)

* "full time" Halving to represent the T of"time"

* Omission phrase "look fo(r)ward"





Short Letters 19

Dear Mr Black, I am sorry for the delay inreplying* to your enquiry. We still haveplaces on our shorthand and keyboardingcourses, and I can confirm that both ofthese subjects can be taken up at the sametime*, as the classes do not clash. Thesetwo courses can be followed by attendingtwo full days per week, with a commitmentto completing home assignments to ensureeverything is covered in the three months.

I hope* this fits in well with the time yourpresent employer is able to release you. Ilook forward* to hearing from you. (100words)

* Omission phrases "in (re)plying" "I(h)ope" "look fo(r)ward"

* "at the same time" Halving to representthe T of "time"

Short Letters 19

Dear Mrs Gray, I have received* yourapplication for the post of shorthandteacher and would like you to attend forinterview on Monday 3rd of May. Theinterview will last one hour and includes aquite rigorous test of your shorthandknowledge. If successful, you will be able tosit in on existing classes in the summerterm, and take up the full time* post inSeptember, which would give you thesummer months to prepare material, which

is to be based on our present scheme ofpresentation and teaching. We lookforward* to meeting you on that date. (100words)

* Omission phrases "I have (re)ceived""look fo(r)ward"

* "full time" Halving to represent the T of"time"





Short Letters 19

Dear Mr Green, I am pleased to inform youthat you have been successful in yourapplication for the post of business coursesmanager. We have a new module startingin September to teach business writing andcomposing, and keyboard skills, for thoseon our commercial courses. The shorthandmodule will fit in with this in November*.Your start date with us will be on the 3rd ofJune, so that we can discuss thearrangement* of these new courserequirements. I look forward* to seeingyou then and talking over the plans for the

rearrangement of the commercial timetable.(100 words)

* "November" Months do not normally needcaps mark, but it is helpful here, as thiscontraction is the same outline as "never",also a time word

* "arrangement" Yoou can also use Arintersected for this word, where it would beclear

* Omission phrase "look fo(r)ward"

Short Letters 19

Dear Mrs Brown, I am very glad to informyou that we are able to offer you part timeemployment as shorthand assistant, to helpour new staff member Mrs Gray who willrun the courses. As there are two classesrunning at the same time*, you will beassisting her in leading these, so that theyprogress at a similar rate. You will also beable to increase your earnings with us byrecording all the extra online dictations,using the college facilities over the summerwhen it is quieter. This will* greatly

enhance* our shorthand course. Yourssincerely (100 words)

* "at the same time" Halving to representthe T of "time"

* "enhance" Note the circle of the Hay iskept in its correct direction

* "this will" Downward L in order to join thephrase





Short Letters 19

Dear Mr Redman, I was so pleased toreceive your letter regarding your careersuccess, after following our onlinecommercial course. We are all delighted tohear that you have been accepted for thepost of junior reporter at the city offices ofthe newspaper company, and we are sure

your new skills will enable you to completeyour assignments to a high degree ofaccuracy. Your end of term report wasexcellent and we are sure you will continuethis good work, and further your career inthis exciting field. Thank you for sharingthis good news with us. (100 words)

Short Letters 19

Dear Miss Blackmore, I am enclosing yourshorthand certificate for the speed of 90words a minute*. This is an excellent speedto have achieved in six months and you willcertainly now be able to take notes in youroffice assignments. If you wish to progressfurther up the speed ladder, in order to*take minutes at meetings, please do returnto the college for our evening classes inSeptember, or join our online dictation

scheme, to enable you to achieve this. Iwould suggest aiming for 120*, which weknow is within your capability. Yourssincerely (100 words) (Total 906 words)

* Omission phrases "words (a) minute" "inord(er to)"

* "120" Counted as three words for thispassage





Facts And Cons

This article practises some omissionphrases using the words consider, concern,fact and effect. The “fact” phrases omit theF stroke, which then enables the K to behalved, thus reducing the outline evenmore. Effect is generally written in full,apart from three fairly common phrases, sothat it does not clash with the “fact”phrases. As the “con” phrases are onlyomitting either the Con Dot or proximity, apen lift is what is being saved in thosephrases. The “con” words could be spoken

without the first syllable, or with just theKay sound, and still be intelligible. Ourability to supply slurred or missing soundsis the basis on which omission phrases relyin order to be* easily recognisable, as longas the phrase is a very common one andthat the missing sound or word is essentialfor it to make sense.

* "in order to be" As the "to" is omitted,the B stroke does not have to go throughthe line for "to be"

Facts And Cons

The examples below are all line lengthsentences, which you can repeat down thepage to get your hand trained to write theoutlines smoothly and correctly, in acontinuous even paced graceful glide thatresembles your own beautifully writtensignature. It is necessary to say it out loudas you go, so that sounds and shapes arelearned together, otherwise there is thetemptation* to just copy the line abovemindlessly, which will be of no benefit.Whilst fingers are being trained to writeoutlines, the mind also needs training to

obey the command not to look at the lineabove. Developing such determination is auseful and indeed indispensable skill tohave for all future shorthand writing* atspeed. The omitted whole words areunderlined, and there are a fewmiscellaneous samples at the end forcomparison.

* "temptation" Omits the lightly-sounded P,therefore M not Imp stroke

* Omission phrase "short(hand) writing"





Facts And Cons

I will consider your request to be invited tothe next board meeting.

The officers will consider the case at thenext council meeting.

They may consider* taking the time tolearn something completely new.

You may consider* what will happen if youtake this course of action.

I have considered your suggestion aboutgoing on the commercial course.

We have had discussions to consider thenew factory building proposals.

* "may consider" Note that the words"must consider" have to be written as fullseparate outlines

Facts And Cons

We have considered the matter of thetransport costs very carefully.

This organisation cannot be consideredresponsible for the delay in delivery.

We will be considering our future staff plansat the next meeting.

I enclose a copy of the financial report foryour consideration.

A great deal of consideration has beengiven to these* plans for our new building.

We have agreed a pay rise in considerationof your exam passes.

* "to these" Always insert the vowel in"those, these" when out of position in aphrase

Facts And Cons

I have been told that you are concernedabout these serious accounting errors.

We are concerned that the employee hasnot been trained for this difficult job.

I fully understand your concern over thesalary figures in the report.

I am concerned that they will not be able tofinish the mailout job in time.

They are concerned very much* foreveryone’s safety on the factory site.

We are very concerned about the welfareand health of these people.

* "very much" Includes M stroke in order tojoin the phrase

Facts And Cons

I have concluded that this matter is nowresolved to our satisfaction.

We have concluded that you are the bestperson to do this new job.

These discussions must be* concluded bythe end of the month at the latest.

I have come to the conclusion that I muststart work earlier.

We have come to the conclusion that thiswork must be* done immediately.

The staff came to the conclusion that shewas going to leave next month*.

* Omission phrases "mus(t) be" "ne(k)s(tmon)th"





Facts And Cons

In conclusion I wish to thank everyone forattending this important meeting.

The logical conclusion of this matter is thatwe must take immediate action.

My own conclusion is that they should havereported the matter to us sooner.

The meeting of the sales representativeswas brought to a satisfactory conclusion.

When you read the report, you may cometo other conclusions.

We believe the necessary conclusion to allthis is to review our delivery arrangements.

Facts And Cons

I have in fact learned a lot of shorthand atthe college this last month*.

I did in fact enjoy learning all the factsabout this interesting subject.

It is a well-known fact that these wildanimals are very dangerous.

As a matter of fact, they are aware of thedifficulties at the factory.

We took on the accounting job, in spite ofthe fact that it was very urgent.

They are pursuing the matter,notwithstanding the fact that he paid thedebt last month*.

* Omission phrase "las(t) month"

Facts And Cons

The lawyer said that several significantfacts have been discovered by the police.

The significance of the fact was discussedby the directors last month*.

The case was dismissed in the light of thefact that there was no evidence.

In point of fact she did complete all heroffice report assignments in time.

We assume she is capable, from the factthat she has the certificates.

The fact of the matter is that they allpassed the exams this year.


Facts And Cons

We have been informed of the fact thatthey did not complete the worksatisfactorily.

This problem is all down to the fact that thebuilders failed to arrive.

We are here today owing to the fact thatthe director asked to see us.

We have to take on staff due to the factthat sales have greatly increased.

In view of the fact that they are always late,we will have to reconsider their position.

The staff must not* lose sight of the factthat sales have risen this month*.

* Omission phrases "mus(t) not" "las(t)month"





Facts And Cons

The reports contain all the facts and figuresthat you need to know for your meeting.

This report is in effect a recommendation tocontinue the new project.

The side-effect* of the new drug was tocause a heart defect*.

We are going to put this new plan intoeffect next month*.

The doctor said that the medication willtake effect immediately.

We changed the shop window display togive the right effect for the summer. (995words)

* “side-effect” In full, so it cannot bemisread as “defect”

* Omission phrase "ne(k)s(t mon)th"





Andy’s Speech

I think we have another cliché devotee onour hands, whom our fictional shorthandwhizz Fraser has had to record verbatim ata board meeting. Although clichés are oftenridiculed and clearly do not belong in acrisp business-like printed report, they dohave a friendly relaxed quality to themwhen spoken, as everyone can enjoy thegame of anticipating the second and thirdwords before they have been uttered. Thiscan be a serious trap, though, for theunwary shorthand writer*, if what is saiddoes not match the expected version, so itis essential to pay close attention to theexact words used. For the speaker theytake up extra seconds that slows down thedelivery and gives them a little extrathinking time. Clichés do a good job ofemphasising the point by repeating themeaning, contrasting the meaning, orforming pairs that just belong together to

neatly complete the description. Let’s callour effusive speaker Andy, as that is theword that is being omitted in all thesephrases, except for a few in the lastparagraph. As there are so many of them*in his speech, his audience might havewondered whether the subject was actuallybeing covered, or maybe his lack of moreprecise vocabulary is just being coveredover with verbal space fillers. It is possiblethat some of them* “rested their eyes”during the meeting, only waking at the endto join in thanking him for his presentation.

* Omission phrases "short(hand) writer""some (of) them"

* "many of them" Include the Tick The, anduse just the Thee stroke for the omissionphrase "many oth(er)"





Andy’s Speech

Ladies and gentlemen, First and foremost*I would like to say that* it gives me greatpleasure to place before you such asplendid report and accounts*, whichshows a satisfying improvement in theprofit and loss balance. Over and overagain* I hear of the wonderful work thatthe men and women in our company aredoing, putting their heart and soul intomeeting their targets. After a period of thevalue of our stocks and shares going upand down, and every now and thensuffering right and left the effects of thetrials and tribulations of the unstablemarket conditions, our present and futureprospects are now improving very rapidly.This is all part and parcel of our newmethods to increase efficiency, whichinclude time and motion studies, ways andmeans of keeping our staff safe and sound,

at our plants in both England and Wales*,and opening new outlets in the north andsouth. We hope* to overcome theunsettling influence of cause and effect inthe markets by ramping up our productionin all areas, pure and simple.

* "first and foremost" This could also bewritten "first fost", with just F and SteeLoop instead of the whole outline

* Omission phrases "I would like (to) s(ay)that" "rep(ort and) accounts" "we (h)ope"

* "over and over again" The second "over"is reversed in order to make a good join

* "Wales" Special outline, to distinguish itfrom the town of Wells which uses the Welstroke

Andy’s Speech

There are no grace and favour jobs here,and we are more than happy to pay a fairand reasonable starting salary to the manyexcellent boys and girls* who are coming tous straight from college and university withtheir qualifications, certificates anddiplomas in black and white. We believe ingive and take with wages, and we have hadthe opportunity again and again to providemonetary rewards for outstanding servicefrom our employees, over and above theirnormal wage level. This gives them much

more* to live on than just basic board andlodging, as it were*, and to enjoy theirlives rather than just keeping body andsoul together on low pay. They might evenbe inclined to secure their savings bybuying stocks and bonds in our prosperousand expanding company at a generouslydiscounted staff rate.

* Omission phrases "boys (and) gi(r)ls""much mo(re)" "as it (w)ere"





Andy’s Speech

In the past, accounting procedures in someof our offices were somewhat rough andready, with some anomalies here and there,but all that has changed for the better.After much discussion and correspondencegoing back and forth, and our directorstravelling over land and sea, we havemoved heaven and earth to find the verybest accountants for our business. I ampleased to report that we no longer have togo backwards and forwards* looking foraccounting partners. Last month* we finallyagreed all the terms and conditions, and Iwas delighted to be able to put my name to

the contract in pen and ink. We are happythat this endeavour is now done and dusted,and that the whole scheme for appropriate*financial management is finally signed,sealed and delivered.

* "forwards" Omits the first R when in aphrase


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

Andy’s Speech

I will finish by mentioning that I intend nowand then to drop in on our various officesup and down the country to see how all theimprovements are going. I would like toend my presentation with a vote of thanksto our industrious support staff, ably

headed by Mr and Mrs Green, who haveover and over provided wonderfulrefreshments to keep us going at ourregular meetings, as well as keeping theboard rooms spick and span. The Secretarywill now conclude this meeting.

Andy’s Speech

Fraser was delighted to take all this downverbatim, with his trusty* shorthand penflying hither AND thither over the pages.He was able to record instantly everyphrase there AND then without hesitation,as he is no stranger to using them himself,before he took his report writing in handand improved his style. He has only onehard AND fast rule for his shorthandwriting* and that is to practise more thanonce every day and so, by AND by, hisspeed increased to a comfortable level for

meetings like this. He now travels far ANDwide on his assignments, and the change inhis lifestyle between then AND now is asdifferent as east AND west. Truly*, onephraser deserves another. (918 words)

* "trusty" Insert final vowel, as "trusted"would also make sense

* Omission phrase "short(hand) writing"

* "truly" "utterly" Helpful to insert thevowel in these

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