Things I have learned today about soldering pipes...

1. It's not a one handed job. As a beginner, I wanted to hold both the blowtorch and the solder in my right hand. So I heated the pipe with the torch, then put it down and applied the solder. Bad idea. I guess the solder cools the metal as it melts, so you need to keep on applying heat. I'll just have to learn to use my left hand.
2. Solder flows downhill. So arranging the workpiece accordingly makes it all go a bit more easily.
3. Americans pronounce it "sodder". ...For some reason best known to them.