Problem
Nothing more annoying than coming home from holiday with indecipherable notes. What was the name of the restaurant? How do you spell it? What did I say about it at the time?
Answers
Take self-captioning photos as soon as you reach a destination:
The welcome signpost of the city.
The hotel name on the door.
The menu in the restaurant.
Your new friend's business card.
Their name surreptitiously written on the corner of the paper table napkin.
If you can't spell their name, ask them to write it and keep the paper.
Label photos with names at the time or the same evening.
On the plane or the way home, go through hand-written notes and write any unclear words and proper names in capitals above the lower case handwriting.
As soon as possible, type up your handwritten notes.
Reading Handwriting
Join up the writing. Dot the 'i's and cross the 't's.
Keep a record of your own handwriting common confusions. For example, here are mine in alphabetical order:
First is what the letter looks like, then what I actually meant to write
h=k
i=t
l (looped) = u
l (short) = r
l = uncrossed t
m=n or ni or in with the dot missing
n=o
n=m
r=t
u=o
v=i
w=rs (yourself looks like yoivself)
backslash is r
forward slash is r or t
Able label used to have a guide to how you should write letters when ordering address labels. A common mistake was ambiguous letters and number, failure to distinguish 6 from L and so on.
1 I cross a seven, European style, to distinguish it from one.
2 I trained as a sub-editor, and in proof-reading, so I am used to underlining capital letters.
3 I write the surname in capitals. This is helpful in Asia where the surname comes first. I also write the surname in capitals. LEE Kuan Yew tells me that his surname is Lee. Lee is not his first name.
I often accidentally write phone numbers with the zero with a gap in the top so it could be a six. To avoid confusion, I go back over a number and check with the original and then make the number clearer.
4 I make a point of joining up a zero at the top.
5 I join up the six with a small circle at the bottom and a large semi-circle on top.
6 You could alternatively write a dot under a six and a line above a zero.
7 Nowadays I often find email addresses won't operate because you have typed in an elongated zero 0 instead of a wider capital O or vice versa. If website addresses don't link up, check your typing.
8 Writing slowly helps. I often write fast when I am not in a hurry and when it is more important to get the number right.
9 If you are rushing to get off the train and say goodbye, say the number out loud, keep repeating it to yourself, then check your writing after you have waved goodbye.
10 Copy handwritten notes on names, addresses and phone number into your phone immediately. Don't rely on hand-written notes in your pocket, often lost amidst other bits of paper. List the day's contacts from the agenda in your mobile phone.
I do this, mainly so that if I get lost en route, I have the name of the club president to phone and check directions.
Ring Tom
I once spent hours wondering who I meant by an instruction ring tom. Who was Tom? I did not know any Tom. Maybe it was Tim? I solved the mystery when I wrote the same thing again later in the day. Ring tom was an abbreviation for ring Ring tomorrow.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Author of How To Get Out Of The Mess You're In.
Nothing more annoying than coming home from holiday with indecipherable notes. What was the name of the restaurant? How do you spell it? What did I say about it at the time?
Answers
Take self-captioning photos as soon as you reach a destination:
The welcome signpost of the city.
The hotel name on the door.
The menu in the restaurant.
Your new friend's business card.
Their name surreptitiously written on the corner of the paper table napkin.
If you can't spell their name, ask them to write it and keep the paper.
Label photos with names at the time or the same evening.
On the plane or the way home, go through hand-written notes and write any unclear words and proper names in capitals above the lower case handwriting.
As soon as possible, type up your handwritten notes.
Reading Handwriting
Join up the writing. Dot the 'i's and cross the 't's.
Keep a record of your own handwriting common confusions. For example, here are mine in alphabetical order:
First is what the letter looks like, then what I actually meant to write
h=k
i=t
l (looped) = u
l (short) = r
l = uncrossed t
m=n or ni or in with the dot missing
n=o
n=m
r=t
u=o
v=i
w=rs (yourself looks like yoivself)
backslash is r
forward slash is r or t
Able label used to have a guide to how you should write letters when ordering address labels. A common mistake was ambiguous letters and number, failure to distinguish 6 from L and so on.
1 I cross a seven, European style, to distinguish it from one.
2 I trained as a sub-editor, and in proof-reading, so I am used to underlining capital letters.
3 I write the surname in capitals. This is helpful in Asia where the surname comes first. I also write the surname in capitals. LEE Kuan Yew tells me that his surname is Lee. Lee is not his first name.
I often accidentally write phone numbers with the zero with a gap in the top so it could be a six. To avoid confusion, I go back over a number and check with the original and then make the number clearer.
4 I make a point of joining up a zero at the top.
5 I join up the six with a small circle at the bottom and a large semi-circle on top.
6 You could alternatively write a dot under a six and a line above a zero.
7 Nowadays I often find email addresses won't operate because you have typed in an elongated zero 0 instead of a wider capital O or vice versa. If website addresses don't link up, check your typing.
8 Writing slowly helps. I often write fast when I am not in a hurry and when it is more important to get the number right.
9 If you are rushing to get off the train and say goodbye, say the number out loud, keep repeating it to yourself, then check your writing after you have waved goodbye.
10 Copy handwritten notes on names, addresses and phone number into your phone immediately. Don't rely on hand-written notes in your pocket, often lost amidst other bits of paper. List the day's contacts from the agenda in your mobile phone.
I do this, mainly so that if I get lost en route, I have the name of the club president to phone and check directions.
Ring Tom
I once spent hours wondering who I meant by an instruction ring tom. Who was Tom? I did not know any Tom. Maybe it was Tim? I solved the mystery when I wrote the same thing again later in the day. Ring tom was an abbreviation for ring Ring tomorrow.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Author of How To Get Out Of The Mess You're In.
