A picture tells a 100 words...(per minute)!!

For the first time in 6 years, and after only 6 weeks on the course, I've cracked it!!

Princess Anne & The Falling Horse

Safe to say that things truly got ridiculous this week.  At 5pm to be precise. That was about the time JT handed out the day's last task ; to write a story about a fella, who used to be a woman, but always knew he wanted to be a man. A gay man. And now that he is a man he spends his time dressing up as a woman, as a drag queen, to earn money.

It's at moments like that you realise it's time to go home.

My major success of the week was nailing a 2 minute passage of shorthand at 90wpm - although Paul did read out that I'd passed at 80 - great when your own teacher doesn't even know what exam your taking!  But then he dropped the bombshell - November 11
for first attempt at NCTJ 100wpm Shorthand exam.  4 weeks to nail another 10wpm - sounds easy, surely? Not a chance it will be!

Wednesday afternoon's Yellow Pages task had almost finished our group off when at ten to five we didn't even have a story.
And no, we hadn't been lazy; we'd been working all afternoon on mortgages (can you link that to building societies?) but the story fell through when we couldn't get quotes.  With a little help, we managed to find a storage company that had won an environmental award - building relocations is the link.  Two interviews and a press release later and we were sorted.  Think
that's the first time that I've properly understood the pressures of a real time deadline.  And it has to be admitted, that we would have failed as it wasn't on the page till 6.  But it got done, which is the main thing. Massive thanks to Tom, Hannah and Jade on that one. Here is the fruits of our labours: http://mancunianmatters.co.uk/content/young-self-storage-company-scoop-enviromental-award

I think I had the class in stitches on Thursday morning when, during the PA lecture I called out, at a very opportune moment: "will you just shut up!" (apologies Paulyn) 
Well, Marcus was in stitches even if no one else was.  To be fair, he repaid the favour later in the afternoon when I read his intro about Princess Anne's horse dying when she fell on him. Add in Facebook again and it got completely out of hand..."Princess Anne’s horse has died after she fell on him. The Princess got scared by a fire engine and in her panic pushed chestnut thoroughbred Lancer over a fallen tree."

I'm beginning to realise that this blog is reading backwards as this is what I had published on Monday: http://mancunianmatters.co.uk/content/afflecks-get-%C2%A3750000-makeover-help-influential-mosaicist-mark-kennedy
Quite pleased with this one, portfolio coming on nicely.

6 weeks down and liking it more and more, would love to nail shorthand and news-writing early and then dedicate my time to Law & PA.

Until next time...

Shorthand, Socialising and Everything In Between!

And so it begins, was never going to take long before everyone in the class started “Facebooking” each other was it!  Remind me again, why this site was a good invention? Maybe I should go see the film.

Think Jack got it spot on this afternoon with his talk though...some people really are on it like 24/7 and it does get annoying.  Not as annoying as the constant tap tap of keyboards however! I know Toomer may not be the most thrilling of lecturers but seriously, do we need to email all the way through? Personally I like his lectures – seems to be only Will and Me that ever talk in them though so what does that tell you?

The ‘Newsies Manchester’ Facebook group has already proved itself a source of great amusement....topics of the week being Dave Toomer and David Brent, sorry, Chris Maguire. Gutted Rick lost his Hollywood script; keep at it lad there's definitely an alternative career being carved for you there.

As for this week's guest lecture - I agree with Mayor...how could he get offended by those comments about his front page splash? And seriously, who would ever put snow chaos above a murder in terms of news worthiness? And if he’s really only 38 hell do I not want to be an editor – clearly puts years on you!

Although I think Law and PA aren’t going-in quite the way they should I’m cracking on a pace with Shorthand, surprising even myself with my progress, nailed a 70wpm this week and very close to getting 80 which after only 5 weeks is progress indeed.

Should have seen the smoke coming off my pen tonight as I tried to conduct a phone interview and get it down in shorthand; never seen paper combust so quickly or so spectacularly! Might have been something to do with my very enthusiastic interviewee who was on a roll with the Didsbury Beer Festival.

And as for Didsbury, how did we end up with that area for patch project? I thought Ashton was bad last time and now when I thought we’d nailed a good area – the University – we lost the quiz and had it stolen to be replaced by the aforementioned village.  But then I found the Beer Festival was happening in next couple of weeks so that’s my story sorted wey hey!

Hang on, that paragraph back up there, oh dear, no, did I really just say 5 weeks have passed? That’s like 20% of the course gone! Already? Eek! Oh well, only 15 more weeks till I can go back to my well paid recruitment job then eh!

Gutted that I’ve still not ingratiated myself in the social side of News Associates yet, need to remedy that very soon before people start thinking I’m boring.  Then again someone in the class did say “You’ve surprised me twice today Paddy” – not that I’m going to reveal why they were surprised. Well ok, one of them was the ‘pacemaker’ story but the other one is a state secret!

On the social side I did turn out in goal for ‘The Parsons Project’ on Monday.  Didn’t think I put in that good a performance and we did get tonked but then James very kindly posted on Facebook that: “I dread to think how bad yesterday would have been without a good keeper!” So that pleased me, didn’t stop me feeling bloody sore though. Bring on Wednesday. Oh and that was a great goal Johnny!

Need to nail some articles this weekend. Got Didsbury story to write up, Afflecks piece to finish (Ta Tamsin!), and need to crack on with Russ’s profile piece.  Body bags, and breathing in plastic, I’m sure I can make an entertaining read out of that.

Knackered, Glad it’s Thursday, Wishing it was Friday, Scared how quick it’s going, Made loads of new friends, Long Days, Shit Commute, But....still LOVING IT! LARGE!

Danny Lockwood look out...someone’s coming for your crown! But on much less controversial lines.  Of course, once I’ve won the lottery I’ll be buying him out but that’s another story...formulated in dream land.

AND...Still no fans"  Definitely can't face a return trip to the Doctor, far too dangerous; roll on Winter!

TTFN Readers.