Pitman's Shorthand -
"I love to write in shorthand!"
When I left school at sixteen
years old, I wanted to get a job in a London
newspaper and train as a newspaper reporter from the bottom up. However, my
mother didn't want me to leave Devon and go to
the big city on my own at such a young age! She insisted I enroll at the local
technical college and train to be a secretary. Wise mother as she was, she told
me the shorthand and typing would come in useful if I ever did become a
newspaper reporter.
I followed her sound advice
and to my surprise, I found I just loved shorthand and typing. After a year, I
qualified as a secretary, having also taken law, commerce and a couple of other
courses, as well as Pitman's Shorthand and RSA Typing.
I worked as a secretary
for a year, then the opportunity came up in a news agency that two London Fleet Street
journalists had set up. I took the job they offered me as a trainee
reporter/Girl Friday and received the best newspaper and writing training ever
from these two brilliant men.
Even today, I still write in
shorthand most of the time when making notes to myself. It comes in very handy!
