November 15, 2010
Left hand in court
One time I went to court, this was 3 or 4 years ago but I still recall it, when magistrate ask me to raise my hand I put my left hand up insteed right hand with out thinking about it and I could see that the magistrate was not happy about it at all, so I am not sure if other left handers face the same things as I do or not
October 22, 2010
Piano problems
Hi
I've just taken up piano and am encountering some interesting problems. I'm curious to know are they due to me being a leftie or are they just typical beginner problems...? (keeping in mind I've no problem with the treble clef as I've played clarinet for 10 years...)
My hands seems to respond to the wrong clefs sometimes, for example if I see e,d, on the treble and c on the bass I manage to do it with c on the treble and e, d on the bass.
I also find the numbers a little confusing and would feel much more comfortable if the little finger on my left hand was a one instead of a five since that's what the thumb is on the other hand, sometimes my little finger ends up doing what my thumb should be and vice versa....
So are these specific to lefties, beginners or am I just odd? ;-)
October 10, 2010
Left handed education
There is no education program for instruction of Lefties. Having had to suffer through the American Public Schools as a South Paw. My Kindergarten teacher tried to make me Right Handed at the age of 6... Didn't work well
October 4, 2010
UK written but a worldwide WANTED: Information, company names, links, references etc for the discerning 'Lefty'!
Like me, my youngest son (5) is also a left handed mirror writer. He loves music and drawing... well colouring in mostly and is now settling in to year one at 'big school' here in the UK.
I visited his head teacher whilst his was in preschool to enquire which tools are available for; or what information schools are given about left handed children.
I was shocked to hear that even in these modern times, no information is given as a rule to teachers and there is nothing available in the way of scissors, rulers, pens or pencils for left handed children to use! In fact one girl in an older year I was told is 'given a pencil so she doesn't smudge' when the other right handed children in her class are using fountain pens?!?
I have since discovered that in the UK there is information and training available to teachers for children with colour blindness, ADHD, dyslexia and behavioural problems in most schools; some even get funding from local councils for extra staff, but there is STILL nothing is in place for a child who is left handed. Simple and cost free information such as sitting a left handed child on the left side of a 2 person desk so that their elbows don't clash with a right handed child, or turning the paper so a left handed child can see what they are writing! NOTHING!!!
Since being made redundant and becoming more of a house husband of late (and which is more tiring than manual labour fella's believe me!), any spare time I get is in research. It had become my goal to ensure simple solutions for left handed children are made available to all teachers, all schools and the parents of left handed children so that these they no longer feel singled out or different and that it is understood even by local councils these as with right handed children, left handed children need the right tool for the job. Even something as simple as a £1 left handed pair of scissors can boost a child's confidence no end! I know, I have seen it.
Until I find work, I have volunteered at my son's school to help the left handed kids with reading, writing, cutting skills etc and at the same time, I will be conducting a little experiment to see if their work and indeed their confidence improves.
I have already been connecting with other left handers on-line and companies that produce left handed products to ask for any advice etc moving forwards and I am humbled by the positive responses, good wishes, information and offers of support I have already received.
In fact, the owner of a site where you can buy Anything Left Handed has sent me a veritable sack of goodies for me to use with the kids in their development such as scissors, writing aids, work pads and books which I am eternally grateful for. Thank you Keith!
If anyone on these pages has ANYTHING they would like to share by way of information, links, references or new products, especially schools; then I would love to hear from you! Kindest Regards, Lunkdredd :o)
June 26, 2010
Left Handed Guitar
I am currently researching lefty guitars as I want to learn and came across this on teaching yourself guitar:
If you are left handed then you need to think particularly carefully when choosing a guitar. A lefty guitar will probably feel more natural to you - and could be the right choice. However if you can bring yourself to learn on a right handed instrument you will have a much greater range to choose from, will be able to share guitars with other players and won't have to mentally flip over the chord positions you see or read to match your fretboard. Both hands need to be doing quite precise work after all. You want to avoid choosing one type and then regretting your choice.
March 9, 2010
Simply Lefty
Hi fellow lefties!
Just wanted to let you know about Simply Lefty, a left-handed products shop. Our web address is http://www.simplylefty.com
We strive to provide quality products specially designed for left-handers and to promote awareness and acceptance for left-handed children and adults. Regretfully, many of the problems left-handers face today are due to products not being designed with left-handers in mind and we hope to be able to change that.
Rosemary: I have added a link to this website at http://www.simplylefty.com/Topic/33-resources.aspx as it will be useful reading for my visitors. I hope that you will add a link to Simply Lefty too on your list. Your visitors will benefit from our left-handed products which help to make everyday lives safer, easier and more convenient.
Hopefully, the world will be more convenient for left-handers in the future!
February 25, 2010
new left-handed embroidery book
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Just wanted to let you know about a new left-handed book that has been published: "The Left-Handed Embroiderer's Companion: a step-by-step stitch dictionary" by Yvette Stanton.
I am a left-handed embroiderer and embroidery teacher and for some time I have enjoyed the enthusiasm of my left-handed students when they have realised that they have a left-handed teacher for their embroidery class.
I therefore decided that if they loved having a lefty teacher so much, maybe others would too, so I packaged myself up in a book to teach left-handed embroiderers the left-handed way to stitch comfortably and easily.
The book has over 170 different stitches which includes stitch variations, and features counted thread stitches, needlepoint stitches and surface embroidery stitches, all explained in a step-by-step format, with diagrams for each step.
You can find more about "The Left-Handed Embroiderer's Companion" at the Vetty Creations website. It is available for purchase in all good needlework stores (if they don't have it, ask them to get it!) and direct from Vetty Creations.
But don't just take my word for it that it is a great book, you can also read Mary Corbet's in depth review of the book at Needle'nThread.
January 23, 2010
The National Association of Left Handed People
The NALHP helps spread awareness and fairness to all people left handed. Check the website out and follow us on twitter. We are just getting started and will grow in the next few months.
Thank you!
NALHP
January 22, 2010
Simply Outrageous
I’m a student training to be a hairdresser in the UK. In my entire 36 years on this planet I have never felt more discriminated against than I have these past 4 months.
When I received my kit for the course the scissors I was supplied with were of inferior quality. I was surprised to see that my right handed classmates had all been supplied with a decent brand and reasonable quality model. Mine were so poor they wouldn’t cut, so I ended up supplying my own scissors that were of the same quality as those of my class mates.
By sheer bad luck they were lost by our wonderful mail service when they were returned by the sharpening company during the Christmas break. I have tried all the major wholesalers for replacements and not one of them holds physical stock in the left handed versions they sell. They claim they have to be ordered specially and it takes weeks to get them in.
I got some through the internet but had to send them back as when they eventually arrived (3 weeks after I ordered them) they were defective – to replace them I was looking at another month. I decided to upgrade and order a ‘better’ pair from a different company but was horrified to find that the two major manufacturers only make one or two left handed versions of their scissors.
If I was right handed I’d have a huge choice from Jaguar, ranging anywhere from £30 up to hundreds of pounds with all price ranges and abilities catered for. As a lefty they start at £40 and then jump to £150+. In all honesty the £150+ pair are above my current ability but it was either that or have to buy a pair from Joewell for £235. And why is it that these companies charge more for the same size and model just because it’s left handed?!?
It’s been over 2 weeks since I paid for my new scissors and this morning I got an email saying that they had just been sent from the factory in Germany. If I am lucky I might have them the middle of next week. The guy’s website claimed that they were available and would be dispatched within 48 hours… This was the reason I ordered from him and when I told him this he responded by telling me it was my fault for being left handed.
I have missed out on all of my practical lessons since returning after the Christmas break because I have nothing to cut with. If I was right handed the college could have loaned me a pair for these lessons but guess what?
They don’t have any left handed scissors and can’t help me!!!
I don’t know if being left handed is a recognised minority in the UK but I sure would like to see this so all these blasted companies have to stop penalising me for it :(
January 17, 2010
New Lefties Blog
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to mention that I have a new blog about all things left-handed: http://www.leftiesblog.com
I hope you'll check it out
January 16, 2010
What is wrong with CSUN?
There is absolutely no excuse for this. Two-sided desks have been available for decades. Other schools purchase them. Why in the 21st century would a public institution be permitted to continue discriminating against 15% of the population? This is simply unbelievable.