Typing skills...

Typing's not bad now - but I've got crumbs in my keyboard (nasty affliction!), due to having to take my meals whilst nosing on threads!

You need one of those little vacuums for getting crumbs off the tablecloth.

I would like one of those. I saw one at a fete but the vicar grabbed it first.

Bad vicar!

Typing much better, no crumbs, but a sticky marmite stain from breakfast long gone by that I must remove.

Hello typers ! I am learning to touch type for my new job ( using ten fingers instead of the usual three !) and have found a great bbc site on t'interweb, designed for school children from age of 7. I have made great progress in just a week and so far I am very impressed with the site. Now I am 'doing' the bottom row keys '\zxccvb etc but my fingers just don't want to go there and my hands feel like I'm wearing boxing gloves, any tips for doing this tricky row ? practice, practice, practice did it for the other rows but I have hit the wall with this one.
ps to get crumbs out of keyboard, put piece of tinfoil over nozzel of vacume cleaner, fix with laccy band, poke drinking straw through keeping hold of same-jobs a good 'un, yah boo to vicars.

What a good idea, frida - bet the vicar never thought of that!

Frida - could you do a link, please? Would like to put that website in front of elder grandson.

I learnt to touch type at my girls' school, many moons ago. Funny thing is, though, when I need to "type" something into my kindle it takes me ages. I don't really know where any of the letters on the keyboard are! Its just, sort of, parrot fashion.

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing

I can't touch type. I qualified, in my youth as a shorthand non typist [couldn't get to grips with the touch typing]. I often type a whole paragraph, realise I've done it all in capital letters, and have to start all over again. [I was VERY good at the shorthand, though....]. I was once given a typing job..at the end of the interview he said 'better just check your typing I suppose..just a formality'. When he saw a line of *!!!&$$$&%%%'s he looked very embarrassed, apologised like mad and asked me to leave . Oh the shame of it......

I`m a one finger typist, first finger left hand actually, getting quite a decent speed up, tried with right hand but terribly slow and ponderous.

When I started working (pre-word processors, pre-historic!), I was a terrible typist. Like Crimson, I had a horrendous typing test at the end of an interview and I'm sure the poor bloke thought he was reading an unknown foreign language! When I eventually got a job, being chucked in at the deep end improved my typing no end, but I was always terrified of electric typewriters. Once I got my hands on a word processor I went from strength to strength. However, I have found getting any speed up on a laptop next to impossible but then, not something I should worry about these days - no hurry on Gransnet! Bliss!

I had a very short spell at a secretarial college when I left school (short because I lost interest and gave up much to my Dad's horror as he thought a secretarial course would be "very useful"). We used chunky, clanky solid typewriters that had a shield over the keys which stopped you looking at your hands, once you had learnt the position of all the keys. We also had a metronome on the front desk too so that we kept to a strict rhythm. It did teach me the basics so that I now use all my fingers and it's really painful to watch DH using a keyboard. I have to stop myself from taking over

Saw a great notice to hang in the house in John Lewis today. It said " If the house is clean the computer must be broken" So wanted to buy it but couldn't justify it!!

frida the bottom row will come in time, as you say 'practise practise practise'. I learnt to touch type in the 70's at school on ancient metal typewriters and like yogagran we had a shield over the keys. After leaving school I worked as a copy typist but I think my speed is much better nowadays because I get so much practise coming online.

I can even touch-type on the iPad, unfortunately the darned thing can't spell.

I also had a short spell at college in the 70's which gave me a bit of learning with regards to shorthand, typing and book-keeping. The typewriters were quite old manual ones, with a guard over the keys, like Libradi described. The teacher also used to play 'marching music' on the record player. We had to type in exact rhythm, in time with the music! It was so embarrassing when you needed to go to get more paper, because you found yourself stepping out in time to the music!

My father said when I was about 14 that if I learned to type he'd buy me a typewriter, so I got hold of a book and learned how to touch type which has stood me in good stead ever since. And yes, he kept his promise.

I cant now imagine going back to using a typewriter. You had to use tippex if you made a mistake. And carbon copies. What a mess you got into trying to correct mistakes. I just love my computer and my android phone.

Remember Roneo machines. Those messy printers; you had to create a stencil first and then the centres of o's, e's and a's etc fell out. I use to use a switchboard with the pull-out plugs and boards. My GC will think I'm more ancient than I am

Yes I remember the stencil machines yogagran, when I left school I went to work in a solicitors where we had one. We also had a very ancient switchboard with 'dolls eye' numbers on the board and it had a wind up handle on the end of it that we had to turn to ring through to an extension. It was a very antiquated office with a tall oak counter in the reception area and a brass bell on the top (I'm not that old, just very dated office like something out of Dickens).

My goodness, this brings back memories! I started work in 1960 and on my first day I also started going to evening classes for shorthand and typing (and something called Secretarial Duties). I was an office junior. We had the old Imperial black typewriters and the metronome too.

I continued doing office work (and RSA exams) and by the time electric typewriters came along I was pretty fast. I remember that IBM golf ball typewriters couldn't keep up as the mechanism would stall. I'm still a touch typist and have only recently retired (despite being well into my 60s).

I used to be secretary of the PTA at my sons' school and did a stencil for some Minutes and remember being amused that the headmistress was amazed I could use the roneo. I said to her "I wasn't always just a mum you know!"

PS Turn the keyboard upside down and tap sharply on the desk to get rid of crumbs.

yes frida ...I'd forgotten that web-site ...used it with my Y6 class ...brilliant for anyone ...whatever age/skills level

Thanx McTavish ...does it work for laptops ...the turning up-side down/sharp tap thingy? Staples were trying to persuade me to un-screw everything on the bottom surface and use a vacuum to blow the bits out!! (Mine sucks ...doesn't blow ...the vacuum of course)

Thanks frida for the link www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/ I let my six year old granddaughter use it and she loved it and is really interested in learning how to type properly. I will send the link to my DIL for my eldest grandson too. I touch type and my typing is quite fast, I think it might be a good thing for my grandchildren to have that skill too! I love teaching them things, I am also trying to teach them how to whistle using two fingers. I can do it very loudly and have since I was a child. I had to laugh when two of my grandchildren (boy and girl 3) would do a screech sound and say they were whistling like Grandma!