Scramble!

Hawker Hurricane Mk I replica at the
National Memorial to the Few (Battle of Britain), Capel-le-Ferne, Kent

I do not watch war movies or programmes but a few days ago* I just caught half a minute of a documentary on the role of the Royal Air Force at the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. The actors portrayed pilots sitting around waiting for the call to action. All of a sudden the shout was "Scramble!" and every one of them threw down what he was doing and ran to his plane for immediate take-off*. The narrator said that they had 90 seconds to get into the air, in order to be in a good position to intercept the attacking planes. I instantly recognised the scenario as being exactly like taking notes in shorthand – one moment waiting quietly and at rest, yet alert and ready, and in a split second leaping into action with only one thought and goal in mind. The demands of shorthand writing do not of course compare with the importance and danger of defending one's country, but the attitude is the same in terms of requiring instant reaction to the command.

* To phrase "few days ago" you would omit the diphthong sign and write the circle outside the angle.

* "take-off" the noun is written in full, but the phrase "take off" uses the hook

In my college class, gaining a knowledge of the shorthand system was really the easiest part. The skill of controlling the mind and attention from their wanderings had to be acquired. Once the teacher said the words "Ready, begin" before starting the passage, then all our attention was focussed* on turning sounds in ears into marks on paper. Everything else was screened out – not only surroundings, extraneous noises, and the sighs and grunts from discomfited fellow students, but also the constant naggings that accompany every wrong outline or hesitation. The necessity to shut these distractions out is something we all learned from raw experience as we went along, rather than being told about it. It did not take very long for us to realise that writing shorthand was utterly impossible if the mind was on anything other than producing the outlines. This applies whenever writing speed exceeds one’s comfort level and is an obvious reason for aiming high and not being satisfied with the bare minimum that the employer may require.

* "focussed" insert vowel, so it is not misread as "fixed"

For walkers but not shorthand writers -
cafe sign halfway up a short but
very steep High St in Folkestone, Kent

Distracting thoughts can pile themselves up alarmingly, clamouring for attention, and the final and most dangerous* one is this: is it near the end yet? Teacher and high speed writer Emily D Smith gave the valuable advice that one must always assume that the speaker will go on forever and that this is the only way to prevent such a disastrous shorthand-destroying thought from coming up in the mind. Then when the end comes it is a pleasure and a relief - that is, for those situations where the speed is being pushed.

* "dangerous" is a distinguishing outline, using the full stroke S so that it does not look like "dangers"

I would guess that most shorthand students nowadays are learning without the benefit of a communal classroom situation, for part or all of their studies. Being able to replay the MP3 is a temptation to not really try the first time, making it easy to give up in disgust at the first hurdle, and assuage yourself that you can give it another go later. In class you have to start writing when the teacher decides, and it is expected that you will do your best effort, read it back or make a complete transcript, then do it again faster when you have practised some of the outlines. Somehow the home learner must acquire the focussed* classroom attitude and no shorthand book is really going to teach this. You might be able to revive this attitude from your school or college days, or you may have to reach down into your boots and drag it up from the depths. Once it is within your grasp and made regular use of, it is unlikely to slip away again and it can be pressed into service to overcome any slackness that is holding back progress.

* "focussed" insert vowel, so it is not misread as "fixed"

The idea that “It doesn't really matter, it's only shorthand practice” will be reflected in the quality of the shorthand notes, and the attainment of greater speed and ease of writing will drift out of reach. Small failures add up to discouragement and possibly giving up, and then there are two losses: the loss of time and effort already spent without having got to the point of usability, and, most disappointingly, the loss of what might have been achieved and enjoyed with the new skill. Whatever is practised will eventually become automatic, good news for shorthand, but bad news for unhelpful habits such as allowing Mr Panic or Mrs Fluster to get their foot in the door, or letting the unwelcome cousins Miss Takes and Miss Topper-Tunity make themselves at home at the study desk.

Per ardua ad astra
= Through adversity to the stars

It is interesting that "scramble" is a blend of scrabble (to scratch, scrape, scrawl or scribble) and scamble (to mangle, shuffle or move awkwardly). It is also related to shambles, which means a mess, scene of destruction, carnage – the word comes from the name for a butcher's shop, stall or bench. Other meanings seem to match shaky shorthand even more closely: to collect up in a hurried or disorderly manner, to cause to move hastily as if in panic, to compete or struggle with others, to make a message incomprehensible to interceptors, to mix up so that it requires decoding. Maybe for shorthand it is better to stick with the airmen’s command – "to move hastily and with urgency, to take off in the shortest possible time in response to an alert”. This concentrates on the speed aspect while at the same time maintaining efficiency and control without allowing the situation to descend into chaos. (924 words)

http://www.battleofbritainmemorial.org/

The Battle of Britain Memorial site is located at Capel-le-Ferne between Folkestone and Dover in Kent, UK (Google Map Ref 51.098509,1.206089). It is on the clifftop and provides a spacious and quiet environment for contemplation of the price of freedom. The airman statue sits amidst the insignia and mottoes of the squadrons, looking out over the sea and awaiting the return of his colleagues. The three paths leading to him are in the shape of giant propellers. The wall in the distance lists the names of all those who took part in the missions.