Short hand lecturer Derick Richards is lucky to be alive, and lives his life to the fullest.
by Elin Glad
There is more to Derick than short hand. He had a very dramatic start in life. “I am lucky to be alive,” he says. When born he weighed only three pounds. His parents were told he was going to die. “Throughout my life I’ve been a fighter not a quitter,” says Derick. “I’ve always done the best I could.”
“My headline could be: ‘From tee boy to tee line lecturer,’” he says. He started off as a junior clerk and worked for a firm in Hayle for 13 years, gradually moving up in the grades, becoming senior clerk, secretary and finally acting company secretary.
Derick was to go to London for a new job, when he was offered work at Cornwall College in Camborne. The plan was three months of tee line teaching at the college, but he stayed there for 24 years as a full-time senior lecturer.
Our short hand lecturer has taught 10 different subjects, including office organisation, management and practice and three different types of short hand.
Derick strikes a pose, writing the shortcut for “university”“I’ve had the chance to write something, but I’ve just been too busy,” he says. No wonder. Some of Derick’s hobbies are sword fencing, badminton and cycling.
At the age of 16 he and a friend cycled 1400 miles from Cornwall to Scotland and back in 14 days. “We were actually in the newspaper at the time,” Derick says looking back.
“I was born and bred in Camborne,” says Derick about his childhood. As a student at Cornwall College he met his wife, Pearl, at a secretary course. They were both 15 years old.
Derick and Pearl met again when they were 18. “The best memory I’ve ever had was meeting my wife again after three years,“ he says. Derick put on his charms and they got married at 22. “She is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, I am very happily married,” he says, with a spark in his eyes. “I’ve been married to Pearl, who is a gem, for 43 years.” They have two grown-up kids. Derick and his wife are very interested in history and spend their holidays in the Mediterranean, cruising the Greek islands.
Our short hand exam is coming up on the 20th of April. “You’ve got to pass at least 40 words per minute,” Derick emphasises. He does 160 wpm himself.
“You’ve got the world at your feet”
Times have changed from when Derick was a student. “The main difference would be the lack of discipline these days,” he says. “I try to keep nice. I believe in being honest with both students and staff,“ he continues.
“Today youngsters seem much more aware, much more willing to talk and not so secretive as maybe in years gone by, and that’s a good thing.” When it comes to us journalists-to-be he has a very positive view on our future: “You’ve got the world at your feet,” he says. “Once you’ve got the short hand skill, it transfers to other professions.” He is a firm believer that every journalist should know short hand. “Short hand is still the only thing allowed in the English court,” he says.
Derick now works part-time at the University College of Cornwall teaching only tee line. “I’m just working at the ‘uni’ a couple of hours a week, just to keep the brain cells working,” he says and winks. In his spare time he plays golf, snooker, does ball room dancing and line dancing. He’s also a real Cornwall patriot. “I just love the coastline in Cornwall.”
He has been a short hand specialist for 25 years, but he does a lot more in his spare time than just practice his shortcuts.
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