Lithuania, Land of Catholics, Crosses, Pagan Symbols and a Jewish Genius

The Lithuanian flag is tricolour (three colours). The green and red are the colours traditionally used in folk costumes. Yellow was added to symbolize the dawn. 

 Lithuania may have a difficult language, but it has people who speak Russian or English, in some places German. 

The country offers all sorts of great things to eat, and something for everybody of al sort of cultures to enjoy.

First, what is it and what it is not. The Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia make a great set of close places to vist with contrasts. The Estonian language is nearer to Finnish. The Latvians and Lithuanians have a pair of different overlapping languages. 

The Estonisans have mostly no religion. The Latvians are more than half Protestants. The Luthuanians are Catholic with lots of Catholic places to see.

Let's start with the capitl of Lithuania, Vilnius. Historic.

Wikivoyage has some interesting comments and insights into attitudes amongst different sections of the population. 

Vilnius, colourful capital of Lithuania.

Chapel over the Gate of Dawn, in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.

Jewish cemetery of Vilnius. . Monument created from gravestones destroyed during the wars.

The white interor or St Peter and St Paul church in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania. Wikivoyage article on Vilnius

Vilnius. Open Air Museum of the Centre of Europe.

Hill of Crosses. Vilnius. Lithuania.

Iron fox sculpture. Lithuania.

Wikivoyage makes brief mention of the vilna Gaon museum, the Jewish vilna genius, who is buried in a Vilnius cemetery, as is mentioned, but he has a longer article elsewhere in Wikipedia.  Wikiquote has two quotations from him which I found quite negative. One was about telling his wife to stay home and avoid gossipping.

It was explained that women in those days were not obliged to attend synagogue at all. Why? Because women were fully busy looking after the home and family, children. (In that era married women went from one pregnancy to the next throughout their childbearing years).

 However, another website produced lovely timeless sayings that his wife and mother should get along, and woman should be good to their neighbours.

'I ask my wife to honor my mother, (as it is written in the Torah), especially a widow, because it is a great sin to cause her sadness, even with a small gesture. I also ask my mother that there be peace between you two. A woman should make her neighbor happy with good things'. 

What a lovely thought, well expressed, even though we are reading it in translation. 

The Vilna Gaon Museum has a page on him, and a shop selling publications, books, bookmarks, magnets and postcards.

Also see the street named after the Vilna Gaon with a statue of the Vilna Gaon.

For fun, around Vilnius are a statue of Frank Zappa, no connection with Vilnius except fans who wanted his statue, a Toy Msueum, and a Museum of Illusions.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Vilnius

https://www.jmuseum.lt/en/vilna-gaon-elijah-ben-solomon-zalman-2/i/156/vilna-gaon-elijah-ben-solomon-zalman-1720-1797/

vilna Gaon Quotations

https://www.torah-box.net/jewish-ethics-and-learning/jewish-thinking/10-quotes-and-tips-from-the-vilna-gaon_1354.html

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Hill of Crosses, Lithuania.

Grimsdyke Hotel, Home of Comic Opera, Comedy & Tragedy

Grimsdyke Hotel, Best Western. Harrow Weald. NW London. UK Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. 

 Grimsdyke Hotel is a dramatic and elegant country house in huge grounds. Beyond the lwan are the trees which are not only natural looking but a home to wildife. The grounds and gardens provide food for the restaurant, herbs and honey. History is all around, with Grimsdkey, the dyke or ditch built to wards off the Romans extending away to Hatch End across the link road to the motorway..

The plaque on the outisde wall give you some of the history. The reception desk has more.

In the house is a portrait of Gilbert, who wrote the words for the Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas.  He was hugely successful. The hotel still puts on performances regularly. 

My favourite quotations from the operas.

'When everybody's somebody, then nobody's anybody.'

'A policeman's lot is not a happy one.'

In for a penny, in for a pound

It's love that makes the world go round.

It isn't so much what's on the table that counts, as what's on the chairs.

Although Gilbert held important civic offices, he was able to make fun of everybody.

Useful Websites

'https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/william-gilbert-quotes

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Mother's day dates worldwide

 UK - March

Mother's Day in 2024 was March 10th. But next year, 2025 is a different day. It's always in march and on a Sunday, 4th Sunday in Lent, moving around linked to Easter.

If you are in or off to the UAE they have mother's Day on March 21st this year.

USA - May

You can have another go at it in May. In the USA and Canada. Down under in New Zealand. South Africa. Brazil.

In the USA, Mother's day was started by Anna Jarvis in mmory of her mother. The places associated with her are the Methodist church where the Mother's Day was first celebrated, and the birthplace of Anna which is on the US national register of Hisstoric places.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother%27s_Day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother%27s_Day_(2016_film)

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Mother's Day, UK

 

Mother's Day card from my son to me in 2024. March 1Oth. Sunday. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Mother's Day in the UK, is mothering Sunday, a different day to mother's day in the USA. For Canada and other countries, check the dates. 

there\s a heartrending Country song, and a myth, about, a man, a trucker, who goes into a shop to send flowers to his mother. A little boy wants to buy flowers for his mother, but is short of the sum needed, so the trucker pays the sum needed for the flowers. He follows the child to see the boy deliver the flowers to his mother (hoping to see the happy lady). But the little boy goes to the local cemetery and places the flowers on the grave. The trucker is so moved that he takes his own flowers and instead of taking them to the post office, drivers a hundred miles to deliver them in person.

I'm saving my card for next year.

If you didn't get what you wanted on mother's day, you can cut yourself a flower, cut up an old card, or change the date. Or celebrate on another country's mother's day. Or just make every day, mother's day.

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#Lao101: Don't be surprised, this is how Lao people greet each other

Sabaidee is the greeting, Like the word somebody. 

A Little Look At Lovely Latvia

 Latvia is one of the Baltic states, north of Lithuania. No, the two languages are not interchangeable.

The capital city and largest one is Riga. The language is spaoken by a million and a quarter people in the country, but Russian is a main language, too. The Latvian language is spoken by one and a half million people if you count those outside the country. 

The city of Riga is a UNESCO world heritage site, wtih its cobbled old town full of restored or reconstructed buildings. 

One of the older buildings is the beautiful Black Heads museum. The building is distinctive and easy to find. The outside is orange with white edging.  It is opposite the town hall. A statue stands in front. 

On the fascia is a fancy and fasinating old clock. It shows the names of the months which are similar to English. For example, januar. Martz.

 It has the original cellar from the 13th century. Upstairs is a restored ballrroom with frescoes and a decorated ceiling.

My other must see museum is the Art Nouveau museum, on Albert street. The word for street is iela. Their website shows art nouveau ear-rings you can buy, in both pierced ears and screw on designs. 

Wikivoyage has lots of information on food. Soups. Pork and fish. Rhubarb tart.

Useful Webites

wikivoyage

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Laos - Lovely temples, caves, buddhist sculptures and the language is easier than you might think

 

Flag of Laos.

You can fly into the capital, Vientiane, on many airlines. The national carrier had the five petal flower as its symbol, seen on the logo and the planes.

You could fly in from neighbouring countries such as Cambodia and Thailand. The Lao language is understood by people in the north of Thailand, and the reverse is also the case. For two reasons. The people on both sides of the border are racially and culturally the same or similar. The languages are similar.

The capital and largest city is Vientiane.

In Vientiane you can see the Victory arch which is reflected in water.

A second airport has attractive local style rooftops in a gable shape.

Laos caves.

Getting Around

Learn Hello and Goodbye, the five tones, low medium high rising and falling.

when the speaker says ant he means not ant but aunt.

Hello in Laos is ss bai dee like somebody

goodbye is lakon like lack on. 

Counting - ten is sip like zip it up.

one is non. Not none but one

two is song (like a duet.

three is sam, like Sam joined us. (Like san is three in Chinese and Japanese.)

English - Lao (alphabetically)

goodbye - lakon

Hello - sa-bai-dee

one - non

ten - sip/zip

three - sam

two - song

Lao - English

lakon - goodbye

sa-bai-dee - hello

sam - three

song - two

sip/zip - ten

Lao - English

Souvenirs - food and fashion

Useful Websites

wiki lao language

simple wiki lao language

wikivoyage phrase book

Google translate - English - Lao

Google translate Lao - English

If you want to learn languages, meet me online, come to LILT languages club which we hope will be an official Toastmasters to be languages club by June, if 20 people want to join and pay the 60 US dollars joining fee to get a weekly entertaining lesson on languages, an opportunity to speak, a menot on public speaking and learning a language, videos, speech contests and chances to join speaking clubs around the word. Contact me, Angela Lansbury, on Facebook or linked in, and Carolyn Street my co-founder whose zoom we are using. Give her your full name and she will admit you from the waiting room on the day. The day is always every Sunday. The time is  3.30 pm UK and 9.30 pm in Singapore, summer time.

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