What Killed Penmanship?

[Mercian]

I just had to nip in to the largest supermarket in my home town.

 

To my surprise (and pleasure), they had erected a display on their windows of the ‘handwriting competition’ entries from most of this area’s Primary and Middle schools.

The oldest kids whose writing was featured in the display would have been 11 years old.

 

It seems that cursive handwriting is still being taught here 👍

 

Thinking about it now, I probably ought to have taken photos of some of the pieces, so that you, dear reader, can see the model that is currently being taught here.
It looked like it might be a version of D’Nealian with its slant removed, so that all the ascenders are vertical.

Some of the kids were clearly having trouble drawing the glyph for the minuscule ‘f’ without it looking very similar to their minuscule ‘g’.

 

But at least handwriting is still being taught here!

[51ISH]

2 minutes ago, Mercian said:

I just had to nip in to the largest supermarket in my home town.

 

To my surprise (and pleasure), they had erected a display on their windows of the ‘handwriting competition’ entries from most of this area’s Primary and Middle schools.

The oldest kids whose writing was featured in the display would have been 11 years old.

 

It seems that cursive handwriting is still being taught here 👍

 

Thinking about it now, I probably ought to have taken photos of some of the pieces, so that you, dear reader, can see the model that is currently being taught here.
It looked like it might be a version of D’Nealian with its slant removed, so that all the ascenders are vertical.

Some of the kids were clearly having trouble drawing the glyph for the minuscule ‘f’ without it looking very similar to their minuscule ‘g’.

 

But at least handwriting is still being taught here!

 

That really is good to hear!  Was it a national supermarket chain? I'd love to check it out if the same thing is going on near me.

 

It would be interesting to know what generated the initiative. And at the end of the day, this is a competition, and maybe a one off, and I'm pretty sure that handwriting is not being actually taught in schools as there is nothing in it for them in terms of 'ticking boxes'.  Hats off to whoever came up with the idea. When I was in school, if your handwriting was difficult to read, you lost marks.  Which was OK by me, as I was an 'average' student, but you could read my handwriting. 🤣

[Mercian]

1 minute ago, 51ISH said:

That really is good to hear!  Was it a national supermarket chain? I'd love to check it out if the same thing is going on near me.

It was in the town’s main branch of Tesco.

[51ISH]

22 minutes ago, Mercian said:

I just had to nip in to the largest supermarket in my home town.

 

To my surprise (and pleasure), they had erected a display on their windows of the ‘handwriting competition’ entries from most of this area’s Primary and Middle schools.

The oldest kids whose writing was featured in the display would have been 11 years old.

 

It seems that cursive handwriting is still being taught here 👍

 

Thinking about it now, I probably ought to have taken photos of some of the pieces, so that you, dear reader, can see the model that is currently being taught here.
It looked like it might be a version of D’Nealian with its slant removed, so that all the ascenders are vertical.

Some of the kids were clearly having trouble drawing the glyph for the minuscule ‘f’ without it looking very similar to their minuscule ‘g’.

 

But at least handwriting is still being taught here!

 

Thanks for using the word miniscule... I've being trying to remember that word since I returned here....🤣

[51ISH]

2 minutes ago, Mercian said:

It was in the town’s main branch of Tesco.

 

There's a Tesco 'Extra' near where I work... I'll check it out tomorrow.

[Mercian]

29 minutes ago, 51ISH said:

 

There's a Tesco 'Extra' near where I work... I'll check it out tomorrow.

Caveat lector: I saw the display in the town’s big ‘Tesco’ - not in one of our Tesco ‘Extra’ stores.

[51ISH]

1 minute ago, Mercian said:

Caveat lector: I saw the display in the town’s big ‘Tesco’ - not in one of our Tesco ‘Extra’ stores.

 

I'll wager 'my' Tesco Extra is bigger than your towns 'big Tesco'...🤣

 

If you think a Tesco Extra is a small convenience store (as I did) you'd be mistaken... It's huge, and spread over two floors...🙂  If they don't stock it at this store you can only get it online from Tesco. If the handwriting thing is not on display, it's local to you.  I'm guessing, but I reckon you probably live in a 'posher area' than me!  😁🤣🤣

[Mercian]

14 minutes ago, 51ISH said:

 

I'll wager 'my' Tesco Extra is bigger than your towns 'big Tesco'...🤣

 

If you think a Tesco Extra is a small convenience store (as I did) you'd be mistaken... It's huge, and spread over two floors...🙂  If they don't stock it at this store you can only get it online from Tesco. If the handwriting thing is not on display, it's local to you.  I'm guessing, but I reckon you probably live in a 'posher area' than me!  😁🤣🤣

You’re probably right about our respective ‘local’ stores’ sizes - I live in a small (almost-former) ‘market town’, in dairy country.

It has featured on those late-night shows where the cops are having to round-up feckless drunks. I’d never think of it as being ‘posh’ 😁

 

That said, the town does now have a (small) Waitrose, and I have seen Bentleys, Lamborghinis, larger Porsches, and Ferraris in the car park there… 🤔

 

I’d guess I’d describe the actual town as being ‘no better than it ought to be’, whereas the surrounding countryside now hosts quite a few folk who have bought e.g. a former farmhouse as a rural ‘des-res’ from which to commute to their very well-paid jobs in the nearest large cities.

[51ISH]

3 minutes ago, Mercian said:

You’re probably right about our respective ‘local’ stores’ sizes - I live in a small (almost-former) ‘market town’, in dairy country.

It has featured on those late-night shows where the cops are having to round-up feckless drunks. I’d never think of it as being ‘posh’ 😁

 

That said, the town does now have a (small) Waitrose, and I have seen Bentleys, Lamborghinis, larger Porsches, and Ferraris in the car park there… 🤔

 

I’d guess I’d describe the actual town as being ‘no better than it ought to be’, whereas the surrounding countryside now hosts quite a few folk who have bought e.g. a former farmhouse as a rural ‘des-res’ from which to commute to their very well-paid jobs in the nearest large cities.

 

I live in a small (almost-former) ‘market town’, in dairy country.

It has featured on those late-night shows where the cops are having to round-up feckless drunks. I’d never think of it as being ‘posh’ 😁

 

If you live in a town where the cops are rounding up drunks...by default that is a 'posh town'.  The Tesco I mentioned is a 24/7 store. I get to work early, as I always have, and that's the way I like it, I often see the Homeless people still asleep in the doorway of the Tesco I mentioned.

 

 

[Mercian]

14 minutes ago, 51ISH said:

If you live in a town where the cops are rounding up drunks...by default that is a 'posh town'

😁

Oh, the Police don’t round-up all the drunks here - no prison would be big enough! - they just arrest the violent drunks, before they can smash-up any storefronts.

 

Some lads they just ‘cuff, and then drop off back at their homes, for their mothers/wives to deal with.

Because our local Police, having grown up round here, know that many of the locals would prefer to take their chances in chokey, rather than face the Wrath of the local women 😁

 

This, IMO, is a great example of the sensible application of local Officers’ discretion…

It doesn’t clog-up the Courts with petty cases, and I bet its deterrent value reduces re-offending far more-effectively than custodial sentences do! 😉

[51ISH]

10 minutes ago, Mercian said:

😁

Oh, the Police don’t round-up all the drunks here - no prison would be big enough! - they just arrest the violent drunks, before they can smash-up any storefronts.

 

Some lads they just ‘cuff, and then drop off back at their homes, for their mothers/wives to deal with.

Because our local Police, having grown up round here, know that many of the locals would prefer to take their chances in chokey, rather than face the Wrath of the local women 😁

 

This, IMO, is a great example of the sensible application of local Officers’ discretion…

It doesn’t clog-up the Courts with petty cases, and I bet its deterrent value reduces re-offending far more-effectively than custodial sentences do! 😉

 

I was a young Store Manager of a small supermarket in a small town in Devon in the early '80's... I rented a small flat...I didn't have a phone. If the store alarm went off during the night, they would drive round to my flat, knock on the door and drive me to the store.🙂 Happy Days!  🙂

(They did get a little 'Christmas Present' delivered to the station as a token of my thanks while I was there)

 

[Mercian]

On 4/5/2023 at 10:22 PM, 51ISH said:

I'll wager 'my' Tesco Extra is bigger than your towns 'big Tesco'...🤣

I’ve just realised (understood) something…

 

You are talking about a ‘Tesco Extra’ store.

I had thought that you meant a ‘Tesco Express’ convenience store 🤦‍♂️

 

Oy vey ist mir….

[51ISH]

3 minutes ago, Mercian said:

I’ve just realised (understood) something…

 

You are talking about a ‘Tesco Extra’ store.

I had thought that you meant a ‘Tesco Express’ convenience store 🤦‍♂️

 

Oy vey ist mir….

 

It's fine, I'll let you off  

 

I did 35 years in retail,  15 of them in supermarkets... and I thought exactly the same thing....🙂

[ParramattaPaul]

If I may digress, I'm sure all of us who have worked in retail have 'stories'.

[Mercian]

On 4/5/2023 at 9:17 PM, Mercian said:

I just had to nip in to the largest supermarket in my home town.

 

To my surprise (and pleasure), they had erected a display on their windows of the ‘handwriting competition’ entries from most of this area’s Primary and Middle schools.

Behold!

Should anyone be interested in seeing the entires to said competition, here…

 

 

 

…be the relevant link 👍

 

Slàinte,

M.

[51ISH]

On 4/7/2023 at 12:14 AM, ParramattaPaul said:

If I may digress, I'm sure all of us who have worked in retail have 'stories'.

 

  Sorry. 🙂

[ParramattaPaul]

3 hours ago, 51ISH said:

 

  Sorry. 🙂

I only have funny stories of the three retail jobs I had in my youth.

 

Imagine for a moment a 16 year old whose after school whose job is restocking shelves and fetching inventory, etc. in a large shop ala Are You Being Served.  Now imagine it is nearly closing time and a number of the sales staff have left early. Now imagine this young, very naive lad being asked to help a lady in the LINGERIE DEPARTMENT.

[51ISH]

8 minutes ago, ParramattaPaul said:

I only have funny stories of the three retail jobs I had in my youth.

 

Imagine for a moment a 16 year old whose after school whose job is restocking shelves and fetching inventory, etc. in a large shop ala Are You Being Served.  Now imagine it is nearly closing time and a number of the sales staff have left early. Now imagine this young, very naive lad being asked to help a lady in the LINGERIE DEPARTMENT.

 

😍  None of my retail memories can anywhere near match that! 

[Estycollector]

On 3/28/2023 at 11:14 AM, txomsy said:

But... is penmanship dead?

 

And if so, where? I suspect not everywhere, at least yet.

Not here. My 18-year-old granddaughter uses a British Conway Stewart, than you very much...LOL!!