Pitman’s New Era Shorthand - Other Stuff
THIS SECTION COVERS ALL MANNER OF STUFF - I THINK IT IS ALL VERY INTERESTING AND I HOPE YOU DO TOO!
TATTOO
I recently helped to design a tattoo! I translated a phrase into shorthand. It's
not often I'm called on to do it the other way round but my client
told me this phrase had special meaning and that she, her mother and
grandmother were going to use my shorthand symbols as the template
for a tattoo. I find it amazing that a subject which a lot of
people consider out-of-date or just plain boring can have some
pretty unusual uses! Anyway, there's the
photo ...
GEOCACHING
Here is an interesting enquiry that came from Germany and has introduced me to the world of Geocaching. Its a form of hi-tech treasure hunt - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocaching
Anyway, I was asked to transcribe a clues written in Pitman's Shorthand and the coordinates would lead to the final cache - hopefully! I have just received a photo of the cache which I have posted here together with the clue. If you want to know what it says you will have to translate it yourself because I've been asked not to post the solution because it will ruin it for anyone else looking for this same cache. You live and learn!
VINTAGE POSTCARDS
I think these postcards were written in Pitman's Centenary and I've nearly worked out what they say ...
" I am sorry I have not been able to write to you, I did make a start to last night but was fetched by Jack and Jim to go down town with them. They might as well have left me alone for it rained the whole time. They told me that Mr McCormick will be going to Worcester today and very likely I shall see him. I am alright therefore for a bit of ... Jim said that you intended going to Worcester yesterday and I suppose the weather upset arrangements. You may be in Worcester tonight, I hope so. I shall not be able to write to you I expect until Sunday, so bye, bye til then. Hoping you will please excuse ... ..."
Still trying to fill in some of the gaps.
" I have just seen Jack and he tells me that Jim is coming to Wick today and that he is returning here tomorrow and that being the case very likely you will be coming too. I got a few flowers to send you and had not intended posting them until morning but thinking for the reason above they might miss you, I sent them by this post hoping you will get them alright. "
THE LANGUAGE OF STAMPS
Whilst I was trawling Ebay the other day, I saw these lovely postcards for sale. They are written in Pitman's shorthand and the date stamp is 1905. The pictures themselves are glamour type (not like Page 3 of the Sun!!!!) highlighted in gilt. I only bought them because I wanted to know what they said and I thought they would look really rather nice on my study wall. When I got them I was very pleased - but then really surprised to see that the stamp was at a very precise angle. I discovered (thanks to the Antiques Roadshow) that the Victorians had a way of sending secret messages - have a look at this and then check out the stamps on the postcards. A form of sexy texting for Victorians?
CHECK THIS OUT
In February 2012 I was watching the BBC News (BTW if you're learning shorthand, taking down the news is a good way to improve your speeds!) and was surprised to hear this story. It's about a 1917 diary which has been written in Pitman's shorthand. Check it out, here's the link - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17020463
REFERENCES
LinkedIn Recommendation
I have received the following recommendation following a job I did for a lovely lady I met through LinkedIn ...
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Dear Tracey, I've written this recommendation of your work to share with other LinkedIn users. Details of the Recommendation: "Tracey completed a difficult piece of work, translating and transcribing. She completed the work with great results and kept me informed at each step. Ever helpful and reliable. I would recommend Tracey without hesitation." Service Category: translation Year first hired: 2013 Top Qualities: Great Results, Expert, On Time |
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I enjoy researching my ancestor’s
involvement in the American Civil War. I recently contacted
another descendant of this regiment, the 85th
Pennsylvania Regiment Volunteers, who had placed a 150-year
old letter written in Pittman shorthand on the website
ancestry.com.
I found Tracey’s website and
sent her an email, asking her if she could help us. Tracey
was a godsend. Within a week, she took on the task and was
able to decipher most of the letter, which helped us to
establish when and where the letter was written. We cannot
thank her enough to taking the time to help us in our quest
of discovering more about the history of family’s
involvement in the Civil War.
Mae West used to say, “I have
always depended upon the kindness of strangers.” Tracey was
willing to help us even though we live a continent away. She
has done a wonderful kindness us.
Dan Clendaniel
Teacher in Residence
National Museum of the Marine
Corps
Triangle, Virginia, USA
From Norman - April 2013]
Re Tracey
Jennings
Tracey has just completed a
progressive, seven month task of translating shorthand
diaries made before, during and after the First World War by
a serving soldier. Her task was not easy; the dairies
were very small and the characters minute. The
original shorthand was written by a person with a regional
accent who frequently recorded the names of foreign
locations.
Tracey addressed these
difficulties with admirable thoroughness. She
presented the translations promptly and in clear digital
format. I was delighted with the results and more than
happy with the way she kept me informed of progress
throughout.
Tracey handled the delicate
diaries with care and ensured their safe return.
I found her fees to be very
reasonable. I would recommend her service without
reservation.
Norman - Cumbria - April 2013
From Michelle, March 2013
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I have recently had a diary (1968) of my late wife transcribed by Tracey. I could not have been happier with the results Tracey achieved a 99% + success rate. I can highly recommend Traceys transcription ability to anyone who may need such a service.
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Tracey has been able to translate my late wifes Pitman shorthand (circa 1966) notes accurately, promptly and at a very reasonable cost. I have no hesitation in recommending the service Tracey provides.
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YOUTUBE VIDEOS
My good friend Suraendra Ben has been making some shorthand videos which you can see on YouTube - check out - http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1D64B6A0930D7962
TIPS!!
Taking down the BBC News is a terrific way to improve your speeds. The BBC newsreaders speak at a steady (but fast!) speed. My mum and I used to do this and it really works.
YOU ALWAYS THINK IT WON'T HAPPEN TO YOU ...
Here's a special lesson for you all. My laptop recently contracted a virus. Instead of just crashing out and shutting the computer down, I tried to cancel the page. That made matters worse. I could not clear the page and even when I did shut down the computer, I still couldn't get rid of it. I knew it was scuzzy - bad spelling and bad grammar!
I made a frantic call to my webmaster friend who guided me through a clean-up procedure which entailed taking my machine back to factory default settings. I had to buy another memory stick (lost the first one but found it the next day when it was too late!) and transferred onto it all my photos and website stuff, also anything else that could be helpful. I spent the whole of the next day downloading software and getting things set up again - what a nightmare!
I had a lot of trouble with my email - accidentally deleted all my new emails and history. Please don't take it personally if I haven't responded.
I have now rebuilt my laptop (it's not quite what it was but I'm sure I will get used to the current set-up.) I have learned a very valuable lesson (and learned a lot about how computers actually work in the process!)
So it you haven't got it - get protection!!ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Morgan Hendry - he sent me an article from the Wall Street Journal about the lack of people who can transcribe shorthand and it planted the seed in my head which has evolved into the monster that is my website. I now spend all my spare time thinking about what to put on my site and how I can make old-fashioned text books seem more up-to-date. My life is not my own any more! I'm losing my mind. Thanks for that, Morgan!!
My good friend Steve Brown - thank you for sorting out my website and providing me with the tools to hopefully not make a mess of all your hard work!
Russ Briault - my WW1 expert! You are just soooooo helpful!
And, of course, my Mum!!
If you would like to know more, please contact me:
tracey@shorthandtranscription.co.uk