Travelling For Thrills?!? High Rise Buildings, Horror and Heartache

Remi Lucidi or Remi Enigma travelled the world for the thrill of looking down from the rooftops high rise buildings and sharing videos of his antics. He chose destinations with high buildings. 

Paid Work

What did he do for a living? His last location was in a hostel in Hong Kong. There he went to a high building and broke through a security door to reach the rooftop. So he doesn't sound as if he earned much money. But he must have spent on travel.

Surely he could have got a job with a circus? Or in movies as a stunt man? He needed an agent. 

He could have been an agent. He could have been the head of a team of agents cum performers. Event entertainers. Weddings. Best man. Dropping from overhead with the ring.

How about the traditional job of a steeplejack? Or mountain rescue, or suicide rescuer, or fire service rescue department, health and safety. 

He could have been a fitness trainer. 

He would have got legal access to heights as a window cleaner, crane operator, skyscraper building supervisor. Tower clock renovation, plant wall and irrigation installation. 

Did he want to have the excitement of travel as well as the excitement of heights? He could have been useful as a UN emergency rescue worker, or SAS, or trainer for the military, 

I was going to end with the words, rest in peace. That might be suitable for somebody who died in wartime, or an elderly person who had a long illness. But not quite the right phrase for a youngster and thrill seeker.

How shall we think of him, travelling on away from us, ahead of us. To the afterlife? He was taken too soon, to fly above the heights of planes to the heavens. We can imagine him as a happy, mischievous angel, watching down from above. Or still travelling to other galaxies.

Most of the commentators on the Daily Mail news site said in effect, not for me.

Those of us who are cautious will take out family insurance. Check the exclusion clauses.

From Brainyquote.com

We are the people our parents warned us about.

Jimmy Buffett

From the A to Z of Quotes website

It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a warning to others.

Ashleigh Brilliant

Useful Websites

https://metro.co.uk/2023/07/31/daredevil-skyscraper-climber-30-dies-after-falling-700ft-19218705/?ico=related-posts

https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/warning.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings

#tallestbuildings

#remilucidi

Stay Safe on Boats

What precautions can you take on boats?

1 A propeller guard.

2 No alcohol - certainly none for the driver, who should be sober, the same as in a car. The passengers should be sober so they don't jump or dive at dangerous times of places, 

3 Count passengers aboard before moving the boat

4 Have a spotter - to check who is in the water and where and are they all back on board

5 Life Jackets

6 Phones charged with the number of emergency services

7 First aid kits

8 Everybody should know how to swim

9 Somebody should know life saving

10 Update on weather and marine life such as sharks and crocodiles and whales

11 Ships have a codeinitials for man overboard

12 Check news of accidents in the area to eliminate or avoid known dangers

Wikipedia has an article on boating. Scan down until you reach the side heading safety. The information includes

 keep an inventory of safety gear on board every boat, which is prescribed by the U.S. Coast Guard as well as state boating law administrators in the U.S. Depending on the size of the boat and how it is powered, required equipment may include:

Sailor equipped with PFD.

• personal flotation devices (PFDs or life jackets) for everyone on board
• a throwable flotation device (in the U.S., a Type IV PFD)
• navigation lights suitable for the type of boat operation
• visual distress signals (VSDs) which are effective both day and night
• sound-making devices including horns and bells
• fire extinguisher(s)
• a copy of the Inland Rules of the Road
• a VHF or long range radio

There is more in the article.

 Useful Websites

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12353609/Arizona-mom-accidentally-AMPUTATES-six-year-old-daughters-leg-kills-running-familys-boat-day-lake.html#reader-comments

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boating

I wrote a book called Etiquette for every occasion. Ralph Nader wrote a book about planes called Unsafe at any height. There should be a book called Safety for every occasion. Perhaps there is.

Please share links to your favourite posts.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and author.

See Amazon for my 20 books including

Etiquette for Every Occasion

Improve Your English with alliteration, assonance and rhyme.

I have several blogs including dressofthedayAngela.blogspot.com 

Comic Poems by Hazel Nutter blogspot.com

Alexandra Palace and kids in toy cars, an unmitigated pleasure?

Alexandra Palace. Photo by the Sharot family. Copyright.

I was sent this picture by a member of my family. Alexandra Palace is in north west London, England. I was pleased to see this fine, huge, hilltop, historic building, after its ups and downs, damaged, empty, renovated, re-opened to the public.

Toy Cars

Another photo shows a child, aged two, in a toy car. A two year old! Well, it's only a toy car, attached to a shopping trolley. What is amusing is the idea that a small child can steer a wheel, and send something on wheels hurtling in all directions. On this occasion, the vehicle is actually steered by fond mother. What could go wrong? Naturally, we encourage children to be confident. What could go wrong?

Real Cars - permission

 Maybe time to teach the child to ask permission to drive a car. Or at least, you nod and give verbal permission to give her the idea that maybe she should get permission. 

In the USA , in UTAH, a five year old was the youngest child ever as far as the police know to drive Dad's car. The event, the police, astonished, stopping the car, astonished by the youth of the driver, was caught by police on a motorway, on a viral video. 

A two year old fired a gun. Another released a car brake or gear.

The same about to use a knife, and leave the table, and cross the road. 

Please share links to your favourite posts.

Useful Websites

Events, activities and children's playground

https://www.alexandrapalace.com/whats-on/

Lots of photos here

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Alexandra_Palace#/media/File:Alexandra_Palace_Sept._2016_90.jpg

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/us/utah-boy-driver.html

https://metro.co.uk/2020/09/14/child-filmed-driving-lorry-along-motorway-for-second-time-in-a-week-13267715/

I wrote a book called Etiquette for every occasion. Ralph Nader wrote a book about planes called Unsafe at any height. There should be a book called Safety for every occasion. Perhaps there is.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and author.

See Amazon for my 20 books including

Etiquette for Every Occasion

Improve Your English with alliteration, assonance and rhyme.

I have several blogs including 

https://dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com/

Comic Poems by Hazel Nutter blogspot.com

Please share links to your favourite posts.

American and British English - a few words

US flag

 American - British

diaper - nappy

dish soap - washing up liquid

soccer - football

Subway - underground

British - American

football - soccer

nappy -diaper

underground /tube - subway

washing up liquid - dish soap

The Queen's Head historic pub in Pinner

The Queen's Head Pub, Pinner

 The Queen's head is half way up the hill of the main high street in historic Pinner, on the Metropolitan line in North West London. The pub (short for public house) is the eye-catching main landmark of the street. 

Another old pub is opposite. A third is down the hill on that side, towards the station. If you are visiting the Heath Robinson museum in the Pinner Park, you could eat in the park restaurant, or visit any of the three pubs.

The Queen's Head is a beamed pub, a typical British historic pub, and now has a picture of the late Queen Elizabeth II in the room on the left. 

At the back is a raised terrace where you can sit in the sun in summer. Or smoke a cigarette, away from the fumers of traffic. (LOL!)  If you come by car you can park at the back. You just have to tell the people at the bar your car number.

The ladies toilet has an elegant two cubicle toilet. Above the wash basins are two bottles, one of pleasant hand washing gel, the other containing lotion, just like a five star hotel or Michelin restaurant.

I went there for a funeral tea. We started at 4.30 and went on to about 6 thirty. Our group had the room on the far left. The man who died was my lovely neighbour Loudon and one of his daughters had set up, on the back wall, on a shelf, three large glass frameless frames containing lots of photos of Loudon with the family or on his own. In the pictures he was, of course, smiling happily, as if he was pleased to see us at his funeral tea. (We had come from Breakspear Crematorium in Ruislip, about which I shall write in another post.)

Wikipedia says

Queen's Head Public House. Designated. 9 July 1968. Reference no. 1079700. The Queens Head is a public house, dating back to the 16th century, [1] at 31 High Street, Pinner, in the London Borough of Harrow, England. The timber-framed building was Grade II listed in 1968 by Historic England. [1]

Queen's Head, Pinner - Wikipedia

Apart from Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II, I must admit my knowledge of queens of England was hazy. So, inspired by my trip to the pub, I looked up queens of England and found the one who had died the year before the pub was built.

Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714)^[b] was Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 8 March 1702 until 1 May 1707. On 1 May 1707, under the Acts of Union, the kingdoms of England and Scotland united as a single sovereign state known as Great Britain. Anne continued to reign as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland until her death in 1714.

Anne was born in the reign of Charles II to his younger brother and heir presumptive, James, whose suspected Roman Catholicism was unpopular in England. On Charles's instructions, Anne and her elder sister Mary were raised as Anglicans. Mary married their Dutch Protestant cousin, William III of Orange, in 1677, and Anne married Prince George of Denmark in 1683. On Charles's death in 1685, James succeeded to the throne, but just three years later he was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Mary and William became joint monarchs. Although the sisters had been close, disagreements over Anne's finances, status, and choice of acquaintances arose shortly after Mary's accession and they became estranged. William and Mary had no children. After Mary's death in 1694, William reigned alone until his own death in 1702, when Anne succeeded him.

During her reign, Anne favoured moderate Tory politicians, who were more likely to share her Anglican religious views than their opponents, the Whigs. The Whigs grew more powerful during the course of the War of the Spanish Succession, until 1710 when Anne dismissed many of them from office. Her close friendship with Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, turned sour as the result of political differences. The Duchess took revenge with an unflattering description of the Queen in her memoirs, which was widely accepted by historians until Anne was reassessed in the late 20th century.

Anne was plagued by poor health throughout her life, and from her thirties she grew increasingly ill and obese. Despite 17 pregnancies, she died without surviving issue and was the last monarch of the House of Stuart. Under the Act of Settlement 1701, which excluded all Catholics, she was succeeded by her second cousin George I of the House of Hanover.

She had 17 miscarriages, poor woman. She is less remembered than Henry VIII's poor wives. but here is the Queen's head pub, recalling two famous queens.

Whatpub.com told me more. I thought the pub was named after the queen after she died, but there is a closer connection. She actually visited Pinner more than once. The pub was known as the Crown Inn until 1715 when the name was changed to the Queen's Head because Queen Anne used to change horses here when riding between Hatfield and London.

Changing horses! Horses, like people running marathons, got tired running, or gallopping, long distances for hours. So the rider and horse stopped for a drink. The rider took another horse, which had more energy, leaving the first one to rest.

Useful Websites

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen%27s_Head,_Pinner

What Pub

https://whatpub.com/pubs/MDX/11940/queens-head-pinner

Pinner History Society

London Borough of Harrow

Facebook

Pub Owner

https://www.queensheadpinner.co.uk/

How To Pose Photos Taken By Bystanders - and edit

 

Finding a Suitable Bystander

When you are travelling around, either to an event, even in your home city, or overseas, you have many places and people you may wish to record. If you are concerned about permission and copyright, instead of taking other people you can take yourself next to a landmark or in an historic place.

Who can you ask? To be sure that no stranger runs off with your camera and disappears down a side street, it is safer to ask somebody with your own group, or a static, known person, such as your tour guide, or the waiter in a restaurant.

This picture was taken by a bystander. She was good enough to take half a dozen pictures. 

Editing

What is wrong with this version? Everything. I am trying to show off my new Anthony Sicari outfit. I have tried to make it look formal and save myself having to wash the heavy, bulky knitted jacket by wearing a lightweight white shirt underneath. 

The first thing I noticed when I got home and blew up the picture on the big screen is that the collar is lopsided. It is and bent on one side. 

My earliest pictures of myself in clothes on dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com were mostly taken my my husband in good light and re-posed when necessary. Or we took several different poses. 

My husband has the know-how and patience to correct this, by copying white from the collar, or copying the point of the other collar and adding a blob of white, then marking a line and deleting alongside it.

Looking at this version of the picture later, more critically, I see more aspects which would need correcting. I checked at the time that my head was not cropped. However, I did not get both my feet fully visible in this picture. I think I had in mind that it did not matter because if I had socks or leg showing I would crop the picture. 

It looks better to crop at waist level than to have part of the footwear missing.

Here is a list of items to check when photographing

1 Subject is smiling to look cheerful and lift wrinkles around the mouth.

2 The glasses can be removed. If the eyes are crossed or baggy or too small, the mask of the glasses might improve the picture or add variety.

3 Remove items growing out of the subject's head. Occasionally the subject can be re-positioned to have flowers or a tree as a halo or frame. In this picture, the photos behind cannot be seen properly and destroy the outline of the head. The head should be between the pictures. 

Standing forward or backwards against the scene will change the ratio of how large the head appears compared to the pictures in the background. Also, you can blur background. 

However, in an historic building, usually the background is an enhancement and you want it in focus. So the reverse is the case. Check that the camera is not in portrait mode.

Editing

Find First Class Friendly Service And Experience On Airlines - or copy and create it

Heathrow goodbye. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Your Memorable Names

When I was a frequent flyer, before Covid, I used to get welcomed aboard by staff who said my name.

A polite way to ask somebody's name is to ask, "How may I address you?" 

If the person beside you does not speak good English, you could show them your name on a conference badge, or give them a shortened nickname. If they look doubtful, puzzled, repeat your name.

Crease-free Clothes

When I reached my seat, the chief steward or other nearby member of staff asked if I wanted to take off my jacket. They offered to hang up my jacket. Sometimes you can ask staff to hang up your jacket. The put your boarding pass in the jacket pocket or on the hanger so that when they want to return it, they can find you.

Stowing Luggage

They helped stow my luggage in the overhead compartment. 

They offered me a pillow, and a blankets.

I remember a line from a film (Americans say movie) Gosfroth Park, which I watched on a flight. The chief housekeeper said, "My job is to prepare what the visitors may need or want, even before they have thought of it themselves." 

They always had a pen and paper to lend or give me when I needed one. When asked, they could point to the nearest exit to my row of seats, and the locations of toilets in front of and behind my row.

Chocolates

My husband travels with a couple of chocolates in his luggage. After a meal he finds me, if the seating has separated us, and gives me a chocolate. A wrapped chocolate? Less likely to melt over your hands and pocket. More likely to be saved and eaten discreetly so as not to excite desire or jealousy in others. But 

If you eat very quietly when others are asleep, they are less likely to notice. Rattling paper might annoy them.

If you have lots of food, in small pieces, it might be polite to share. The other person might decline. They might be vegetarian, or not hungry, or paranoid about being poisoned, or not want to eat your food and deprive you of it. I always think offering shows goodwill. You stop wondering if the other person is sitting there wanting it. If they say, "Thanks, but I don't eat ...," I feel that I have established goodwill, started a friendly conversation. I can relax. They can convince themselves that they don't need my food.

What can you do to help yourself on a flight? Or to help others.  

 If you are in an economy seat, never mind. That means you have people next to you to help you, or people you can help.

I have just ordered a tee-shirt which says, 'I am an author, ask me about my books'. I like souvenirs of what I enjoyed about the journey, and try to copy it. I used to be a higher grade of frequent flyer, before Covid. The staff on the airline would welcome me aboard, using my name. After you have smiled and said hello to the people next to you, you will feel less awkward about asking them to stand up. When they go to the toilet, I go after them. 

If you are in an economy seat, never mind. That means you have people next to you to help you, or people you can help.

I have just ordered a tee-shirt which says, 'I am an author, ask me about my books'. I like souvenirs of what I enjoyed about the journey, and try to copy it. I used to be a higher grade of frequent flyer, before Covid. The staff on the airline would welcome me aboard, using my name. After you have smiled and said hello to the people next to you, you will feel less awkward about asking them to stand up. When they go to the toilet, I go after them. 

If I am in first, and put some items on the middle seat, I say, "This is our seat to share. Shall I move my things back to my half so you can use your half?"

Usually, they smile and say, "No, that's fine, leave your stuff there. I don't need it.

To help getting out, you can lift up the armrest on the aisle seat. There is a button hidden under the arm rest somewhere. If you cannot feel it, squat in the aisle when nobody is using the aisle and look for the button, convex, bulging out. On my last flight the button was not underneath. Neither I nor the person across the aisle from me could find it. Then I had a look. It was right at the back, where the underneath of the arm curves upwards. Sorted!

If you chat at the start, but want to sleep, you can inform the other person and still seem friendly. For example, on my last flight, the passenger in the window seat told me, "As soon as we are allowed to, I shall put my seat back and try to sleep. This is my second flight. I started in Australia. We've already been travelling seven hours!"

If you are in the aisle seat and want to shut eyes, and sleep, you might first ask the person in the middle seat if they need to get out to the toilet. (The British say Toilet. It is also called a rest room, as some Americans might say). 

My extended family's flight packing lists include;

1 Folding walking sticks. Wheels for luggage. Straps to keep a handbag (Americans say purse) fixed on top of a wheel on bag. 

2 Emergency or fun food and drink and containers. A plastic stemmed glass (in a solid cardboard container) for drinking Champagne, Prosecco, other sparkling or chilled white wine, a Platypus for storing wine, or water. 

3 Travel Clothes. A light, large scarf. A waterproof quick zip off jacket with secure pockets inside and out. A pocket large enough for my passport, credit card and money so they stay safely with me when I go to the toilet or if I had to evacuate a plane or building. Quick release sandals for security. (I don't wear heels because they are not suitable for plane travel. If I did wear heels, I would keep flat shoes for the plane, and a bag for my shoes, with a ribbon to attach the shoes to other luggage so the shoes never get left behind.)

4 A colour stick on all six sides of a suitcase, especially if it is black, to identify it quickly from a distance. A photo on my mobile phone of my wheel on bag. (So I can spot it quickly on a carousel 

Please share links to your favourite posts.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, public speaker, blogger, author.

Singapore Airlines - World's Best Airline - The Winner Again

 Picture from the window seat on a Singapore Airlines plane. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

If you are not in a window seat, and you want a photo, simply ask the person in that seat to take a photo. They might be asleep during the flight, but you can ask them during or soon after take off, and before landing, and any time you are both sitting upright.

Singapore AIrlines wrote to tell me

Thank You from the World's Best Airline

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has been named World's Best Airline in the 2023 Skytrax World Airline Awards, the fifth time we have won this prestigious accolade. We also took the top spot for Best First Class Airline, Best First Class Comfort Amenities, and Best Airline in Asia. In addition to this, we were also named Best Airline (Overall) in DestinAsian (Asia) Readers' Choice Awards 2023, and awarded Best Overall Cellar by Business Traveller’s Cellars in the Sky Awards in February this year! We are committed to innovating and investing in industry-leading products and services, as well as offering you a world-class travel experience. Thank you for your support and for making us a part of your travels. We look forward to welcoming you on our flights again soon.

Buying Bargains Worldwide - especially tee shirts, flags and landmarks.

 Many countries have local specialities you can buy easily from kiosks in tourist spots. You often see t-shirts with the national flag.

Albania

 In Albania I bought a cross body bag which was light weight and woven.

You can also buy lots of items with the national flag.

If you are not travelling, two of the big online websites from China are Shein and Temu.

In the UK even the post boxes (Americans call them mail boxes) wear fancy, seasonal hats.

 In the UK we have Ebay online.

Bargains can by bought in charity shops. Well known companies include Barnardoes, Oxfam, St Lukes (in London).

This is a t-shirt with tower bridge in playing cards which I bought online in early 2923

USA

The USA has thrift stores, Dollar stores, Goodwill. 

Online you have EBay and Etsy, Amazon and many more.

Most websites have a sales page, and an offer of discounts if you give them your email.

Shopping In Your Spare Room

Another way to shop without travelling is to shop in your own cupboards for those old beach bags and souvenir tee-shirt which you bought on holiday and never wore. With global warming, you have an opportunity to wear summer clothes and beach clothes in the city without looking out of place.

 In the good old days people used to store their winter clothes in a suitcase in the loft or attic in winter. The reverse took place in summer. Nowadays we recycle and collect clutter. Only a quarter of UK garages are used to store cars. Now cars are left in the front forecourt, and garages are used for storage, clothes, accessories, bric a brac.

You need t keep moving clothes. Why? To be sure that moths get disturbed. Also so that the clothes do not get mouldy from damp.

I try not to go shopping for food. I postpone my trips to Tesco supermarket because it is right near a charity shop. 

Every time that I look in the spare room, I found a new outfit which I have not seen or worn for years. Often great colours and styles. Better suited to me than most of all of the items in the shops.

I won't say that everything fits. I have had to re-label some drawers. Move too small or too large clothes into a different area. Or start alterations.

I recently gave a speech in which I said that I liked to go shopping in my own wardrobe, in order to recycle, re-wear clothes. even Kate Middleton is making this fashionable and acceptable. You don't have to wear a whole new outfit. You can ring the changes by altering the hat, shoes and belt or gloves or scarf.

Instead of going shopping, shop in your own wardrobe. (Americans would say closet. They have larger homes, which often have walk in closets, small rooms, without windows, storage rooms, kitted out with clothes rails under a shelf for hats and shoe boxes, scarf boxes, what you will.

Please share links to your favourite blogs and blog posts. I have other blogs on travel with angelalansbury.blogspot.com and dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

Americanisms translated into British English - and British English into Americanisms

 American English - British English

double down - as it suggests, more, reiterate, insist, repeat, make a strong bid (the phrase comes from a card game where you make a strong bid with a card)

bonnet - hood 

gas - petrol

gas station - garage

gear box - transmission

make a left - turn left

sidewalk - pavement

trunk - boot

tyre - tire

windshield - windscreen

British English - American English

boot - trunk

car - automobile

glove box

hood - bonnet

motorway

pavement - sidewalk

petrol - gas

turn left - make a left

tyre - tire

windscreen - windshield 

Useful Websites

translate google does not translate American English into British English

Please share links to your favourite blog posts.

Which Dessert to Take Away (take out) from B & K Salt Beef Bar? Lokshen pudding! Or chocolate cake?

 

Lokshen pudding to take home. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

This is what I dream of when I am outside the UK. Lokshen pudding. Made with lokshen (noodles), sultanas (seedless dried grapes from the Greek island of Sultana) and a hint of lemon. I asked for the slice to be cut into three, because it is very filling.

However, the chocolate cake with soft oozing chocolate on top was so good, that I might have that instead, or in addition. 

I also had wrapped up the leftover cod goujons.

Cod goujon from B & K. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

I wondered what the difference was between salt beef and corned beef. Now I know. Corned beef is minced up. it comes in tins, instead of fresh, so no wonder it is not half as nice as salt beef. Finally, the nasty sounding nitrates, which stop the meat going bad, are what keeps the salt beef nice and red, whilst the corned beef is a horrid grey. (That is the British spelling, not a mistake. Americans use the spelling gray.) Give me salt beef any time. Plus lokshen pudding. And some chocolate cake. From B & K.

Useful Website

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corned_beef

See previous posts on B & K.trip

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uUserReviews-g7380842-d1899079-r158403728-B_K_Salt_Beef_Bar-Pinner_Greater_London_England.htmlk/Show

B& K

https://www.bksaltbeefbar.com/

https://www.bksaltbeefbar.com/contactPlease share links to your favourite posts.

B & K salt beef bars, Edgware, Hatch End and Potters Bar

Salt beef sandwich with egg and thin latka. Hatch End branch of B & K. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Chocolate cake. B & K. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Chocolates with the bill. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

 A family favourite. When he was single, my son used to go there, to the Hatch End branch, once a week and buy half a dozen sandwiches for lunch each day. 

After my mother's funeral, we stopped there for a filling, comforting meal with my widowed father on the way home. That was way back in the year 2000. So we have been patronising their restaurants for more than 23 years. They know us. We know them.

I was so pleased when my beloved son phoned and said, "Are you free tomorrow? We thought we'd eat at B & K. I wish they would open in Mill Hill." 

So we recently went back to Hatch End

The parents of the B & K family run the Edgware branch. One of the next generation runs the Hatch End branch. He told us they'd just opened a branch in Potters Bar. They have run out of family members to run it so it's a bit like a franchise. Other people are running it, with food supplied by the B & K family.

What's new on the menu at B & K in Hatch End?

I tried the salt beef sandwich with egg and thin latke. I didn't need the egg. I was already overdosed on calories. We had chips to start to keep the granchild busy whilst waiting.

The latke gets lost inside the big sandwich. Next time I'll  save calories by not having the egg and instead go back to the original salt beef sandwich with a separate, proper, big potato latke.

My two year old grand-daughter cannot yet speak, but she pointed to the chocolate cake and with a lot of pointing and asking and nodding it was clear that was what she wanted. It was very good. With a modest extra payment of one pound for vanilla ice cream we had enough to end the meal for all four of us. 

Useful Websites

B& K

https://www.bksaltbeefbar.com/

Edgware

Hatch End

Potters Bar

Please share links to your favurite blog posts with your friends.

Cosmopolitan Restaurants in Hatch End, Kebab, Sushi, Salt Beef, Japanese, Lebanese

B & K Salt Beef Bar & Restaurant

 Kiyoto

Kiyoto sushi bar, Hatch End. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Lattakia

Lebanese (Middle Eastern)

Dishes you might recognize include hummus, kebab and baklava.

Useful Websites

Lattakia

513 Uxbridge Road

Post being updated. More Photos and text tomorrow.

Please share links to blog posts with your friends.

Safety checks on vehicles and property, hotels and homes

Vehicle Checks 

In the UK vehicles have an annual safety check. 

Electricity and Gas

In the UK, rental properties have checks for electricity and gas safety.

 Ironically, if you are a landlord, you are compelled to check the safety of your tenant's property, but there is no check on your own home safety. So, if you travel and stay for free with a friend, they might not have a fire alarm, a fire extinguisher, or a carbon monoxide detector. Or the items might be there, with a dead battery, a removed battery, or a fire extinguisher out of date. Yes, there is an expiry date.

More children have been found locked in a house in the USA, not schooled, nor washed.

 These events could be prevented or curtailed if every child had an annual online mental and physical examination.

I look forward to the day when every adult has an annual health and safety check, so their sight and hearing, teeth, and everything else get checked with a referral elsewhere if anything needs attention. Some insurances for work may require this.

Wishful Thinking

Every dwelling, at least those used for home schooling, should have an annual health and safety check (like a car's MOT).

Hotels

Meanwhile, some people travel with a hotel door alarm. Others take heir own carbon monoxide detector. You can even buy a fold up or concertina fire escape ladder.

If you decide to house swap, whatever the regulations, you might decide to install safety devices such as a fire blanket, carbon monoxide detector, fire extinguisher, or fire escape.

Burglar alarm

Useful Websites

https://evaq8.co.uk/Emergency-Workplace-Kits/compact-survival-kit.html

https://www.safelincs.co.uk/saf-escape-fire-escape-ladder/

https://www.hotel-buyer-store.co.uk/products_search.php?search_string=alarm

Single use escape ladder.  

https://www.smokehomegarden.com/cgi-bin/shop.cgi?i=B000H5S96A&msclkid=ef8ab81e07e010f0400cdca6140b7d02

Downgrading from Singapore Airlines to Indian Airlines - what happened?

Singapore Airlines wins awards for being the best airline. You get more privileges if you book a premium economy seat, or are a frequent flyer. 

My husband earlier this year took a flight to Singapore on a longer but cheaper Air Indian route instead of direct on Singapore Airlines, at a considerable saving. The alternative flight he chose involved a stopover of a few hours at an airport in India. Was it worth it and would he do it again, or recommend it to me or you?

I thought that having an Indian meal, or two, might be interesting. It could be fun, seeing another country's foreign airport in transit.

He said these were the advantages.

1 He saved a lot of money.

2 The Indian food was better, more interesting.

In flight meal. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Copyright.

3 He was able to use a lounge during the stopover.

If you don't have a free lounge linked to your regular airlines, the cost of using a lounge on a one-off basis as a paying guest might still leave you considerably better off than flying on a more expensive leg of the journey.

The disadvantages:

Packing comparison

Increased risk of losing luggage, or personal items you accidentally leave behind in the transit airport or extra flight when you are overtired and stressed and thinking about making your connection.

Carrying bulky items such as climbing sticks for trekking is a nuisance when you have to keep hold of them in transit. He had to take a larger suitcase in order to pack them into checked luggage.

Not using the regular airline which gave him extra luggage weight allowance meant he could not pack food and drink in heavy bottles in a bulky heavy container. He had to decant wine into a Platy Preserve and take a lighter folding cool bag.

Frozen food and perishable food and drink would be in transit longer and less likely to be fresh or even edible and drinkable at the other end.

In Flight Comparison

On one leg of the flight he had no movie screen, no pillow and no blanket. When he asked, he was given a pillow borrowed from another class.

Verdict

Even if you don't mind the hours at the transit airport, the entire time spent between leaving home and reaching your destination might be exhausting or eat into a holiday or working week.

So he saved money in peak season, but will return to his favourite airline in the off season when prices are lower.

Useful Websites

https://seatguru.com

https://www.flyertalk.com

https://seatguru.com/help.php

https://www.flyertalk.com/articles/airlines-targeted-in-google-search-scam.html

Please share links to your favourite blog posts.

How to be in the know about airline seats, Star Alliance, scams and add your feedback

Goodbye sign at Heathrow airport. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

My recent airline booking queries were which airlines are in Star Alliance so that my family could find a cheaper alternative to Singapore Airlines but still collect airmiles. (Meanwhile we were still collecting airmiles on a credit card.)

The exorbitant prices of fares for July seem to be coming down for the less popular months of late August onwards.

Star Alliance includes Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, United, Polish and Croation airlines and several more.

If you are wondering what to read to while away waiting time at an airport, you might like to check out information on seats to sort out your return flight. 

I was reading about seating on the Seat Guru FAQ page when I came across another fascinating site for frequent flyers, Flyertalk. I read about the stabbing on a British Airways flight to the Caribbean.

Flyertalk mesmerized me with an article on scammers changing airline helpline phone numbers.

Useful Websites

https://seatguru.com/help.php

https://www.flyertalk.com/articles/airlines-targeted-in-google-search-scam.html

Please share links to your favourite blog posts.

Historic Harrow and Harrow School - Churchill and Byron were here

London and Harrow are full of memories.

You can see Shakespeare's bust outside the Guildhall, which has a free art Gallery, near Bank station.

Angela Lansbury

My travel blog reached 3666 readers yesterday. Mrs Beeton was in Hatch End and a plque to her is outside Lattakia restaurant. 513 Uxbridge Road.

W.S. Gilbert (b. 1836, lived and died at Grim’s Dyke, Harrow 1890-1911), now a hotel, with good food.

William Heath Robinson (1872, lived in Pinner 1908-1918), and a museum featuring his work is in Pinner Park opposite Pinner station.

Ballantyne, Scottish author of The Coral Island and many children's books lived in Pinner, but retired to Rome for his health and died and was buried there.

Leefe Robinson (1895, d. Stanmore 1918), is comemorated in the Leefe Robinson pub, opposite the cemetery extension where he is buried.

The Mayor of Harrow lays a wreath on his grave, which is photographed in local newspapers, on remembrance day, November 11th.

Terence “Jet” Harris (b. Kingsbury 1939),

Jane Asher (b. Willesden 1946), and

Jane March (b. Edgware 1973).

Up near Harrow school are heritage plaques to writers.

Anne Frank's father lived in Edgware, after WW2, with his second wife and stepdaughter who wrote a book.

Writers, poets, and philosophers

• George Barlow (1847–1913–4), English poet^[485]
• Edward William Barnard (1791–1828), English poet^[486]
• Bernard Bosanquet (1848–1923), philosopher
• Beriah Botfield (1807–1863), bibliographer and Conservative MP for Ludlow (1840–1847; 1857–1863)^[152]
• Harry Bucknall (1965–), British travel writer
• Francis Crawford Burkitt (1864–1935), theologian and scholar^[487]
• Arthur Hugh Montagu Butler (1873–1943), House of Lords Librarian (1914–1922)^[175]
• George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (1788–1824), poet, commonly known as Lord Byron^[488]
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• Charles Stuart Calverley (1831–1884), poet
• Francis Chenevix Trench (1805–1886), author and divine
• Wilfred Rowland Childe (1890–1952), poet
• Charles Travis Clay (1885–1978), House of Lords Librarian (1922–1956)^[323]
• Sir Jock Colville (1915–1987), Diarist at 10 Downing Street
• William John Courthope (1842–1917), English writer and historian of poetry^[489]
• Richard Curtis (1956–), scriptwriter & film director
• Alain de Botton (1969–), author
• John Dennis (1658–1734), English dramatist^[490]
• George Brisbane Scott Douglas (1856–1935), Scottish poet and writer^[491]
• Henry Drury (1778–1841), English classical scholar and friend of Lord Byron^[492]
• Julian Fane (1927–2009), author^[493]
• Michael Farr (1953–), British expert on The Adventures of Tintin and its creator Hergé
• Alastair Fothergill (1960–), British producer
• Walter Frith (1856–1941), novelist^[494]
• John Galsworthy (1867–1933), dramatist and Nobel Prize–winning novelist

• William Gibson, 2nd Baron Ashbourne (1868–1942), president of the Irish Literary Society who was disinherited due to his Irish nationalist leanings
• Thomas Gisborne (1758–1846), English poet of the Clapham Sect^[495]
• John Strickland Goodall (1908–1996), British author and watercolour painter known for his Boston Globe–Horn Book Award-winning The Adventures of Paddy Pork
• Augustus Hare (1834–1903), author^[496]
• Tony Harman (1912–1999), English farmer and author (Seventy Summers)^[497]
• L. P. Hartley (1895–1972), author

• William Harness (1790–1869), English cleric and man of letters^[498]
• Carey Harrison (1944–), English novelist and dramatist
• Walter Headlam (1866–1908), poet and classical scholar^[499]
• Edward Heron-Allen (1861–1943), English polymath and translator of the works of Omar Khayyam^[178]
• Theodore Hook (1788–1841), author
• Adam Jacot de Boinod (1960–), British author known for his works about unusual words and his work in the first series of QI^[500]
• Harold H. Joachim (1868–1938), British philosopher^[501]
• Ion Keith-Falconer (1856–1887), Scottish Arabic language scholar^[502]
• Hugh Kingsmill (1899–1949), British writer of science/crime fiction^[503]
• Rowley Lascelles (1771–1841), archivist^[504]
• Walter Leaf (1852–1927), classical scholar^[505]
• Chandos Leigh, 1st Baron Leigh (1791–1850), British landowner and poet^[506]
• Thomas Leveritt (1976–), English author and artist
• Sir Arnold Lunn (1888–1974), skiing pioneer & writer
• Richard Warburton Lytton (1745–1810), English bibliophile and landowner
• Benjamin Heath Malkin (1769–1842), British writer known for his connection to William Blake^[507]
• Francis Albert Marshall (1840–1889), British playwright^[508]
• Ronald Brunlees McKerrow (1872–1940), bibliographer^[509]
• Herman Charles Merivale (1839–1906), dramatist and poet
• E. H. W. Meyerstein (1889–1952), poet and writer
• George Mills (1896–1972), British children's author^[510]
• Charles Henry Monro (1835–1908), English author^[511]
• Sir John Mortimer (1923–2009), dramatist and author
• Thomas Mortimer (1730–1810), English writer on economics
• J. B. Morton (1893–1979), English writer under the Beachcomber pen name
• Nathaniel Newnham-Davis (1854–1917), British author on food and wine^[512]
• Roden Noel (1834–1894), English poet
• Marco Pallis (1895–1989), Greek-British author on Tibetan Buddhism
• William Henley Pearson-Jervis (1813–1883), English cleric and ecclesiastical historian of France^[513]
• Major-General Thomas Pilcher (1858–1928), British Army officer removed from command in disgrace during the Battle of the Somme^[514]
• Henry Francis Pelham (1846–1907), scholar^[515]
• John Thomas Perceval (1803–1876), writer and campaigner
• Marmaduke Pickthall (1875–1936), Islamic and Middle-Eastern scholar
• Bryan Procter alias "Barry Cornwall" (1787–1874), English poet and Commissioner in Lunacy^[516]
• Robert Hebert Quick (1831–1891), English educator and leader in Whig history^[517]
• Hastings Rashdall (1858–1924), English philosopher and pioneer of ideal utilitarianism^[49]
• Sir Terence Rattigan (1911–1977), dramatist

• Ian Scott-Kilvert (1917–1989), British editor and translator
• Hugh Sebag-Montefiore (1955–), British writer
• William Seward (1747–1799), anecdotist
• Richard Brinsley Sheridan MP (1751–1816), Irish playwright (The Rivals, The School for Scandal, The Duenna, and A Trip to Scarborough) and politician^[518]
• Walter Sichel (1855–1933), English biographer and lawyer^[519]
• William Sotheby (1757–1833), English poet and translator^[520]
• William Robert Spencer (1769–1834), English poet from the Spencer family^[521]
• Percy Smythe, 8th Viscount Strangford (1825–1869), British Nobleman & man of letters
• John Addington Symonds (1840–1893), poet and literary critic^[522]
• Yorick Smythies (1917–1980), philosopher^[523]
• R. C. Trevelyan (1872–1951), poet^[524]
• Anthony Trollope (1815–1882), English Victorian era novelist

• Thomas Adolphus Trollope (1810–1892), English writer who lived in Italy^[525] (Chronicles of Barsetshire)^[526]
• Horace Annesley Vachell (1861–1955), English writer^[527]
• Sir Aubrey de Vere, 2nd Baronet (1788–1846), Anglo-Irish poet and landowner^[528]
• Peter Williams (1914–1995), author, editor and critic of ballet
• Robert Aris Willmott (1809–1863), English cleric and author^[285]
• Dornford Yates (Cecil William Mercer, 1885–1960), novelist

Useful Websites include

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2014/09/more-about-mr-blackwell-of-crosse-and.html?fbclid=IwAR0YSA2gSOcC95j94hu__6nFvq9LQwViSh5n56haGlvjaBY_uwzfvCMDrgs

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Old_Harrovians

https://harrowonline.org/2017/11/14/our-haven-of-heritage-mapping-harrows-blue-plaques/

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/propose-a-plaque/

https://www.harrowheritagetrust.org.uk/plaques

Please share links to your favourite blog posts.