Buy Cashmere From Scotland and see Cashmere Goats In Coats

In Scotland you can visit Lunanbay Farm and see Cashmere goats and buy products.

The label, of the merino wool and cashmere scarf. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

 Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Scarf in merino and cashmere. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

I was in St Luke's charity shop in London looking for a brightly coloured scarf, and at the last minute decided to  try on this scarf with its subtle colours. In the end I bought this scarf because it felt soft and soothing. 

Cashmere is a different spelling of what English-speaking people call Kashmir. The technical term for changing the spelling is Anglicization.

Cashmere is not sheep wool but from a goat. To sum up a long article on Wikipedia, the goat moults in spring, loses the hair it needs to keep warm in winter. You can do machine sheering, or comb it by hand. The tougher hairs are used in brushes and the softer ones for clothing. The goats have been imported to the USA, UK and France in the past but today most of the product and finished articles come from Asia and China. 

From an environmental point of view, the bad news is that over-grazing by goats turns the land into desert. This has increased the local temperature by up to four degrees and caused pollution in the air as far away as the USA. 

Oates & Morgan and Roger Oates

To sum up the story of the production of the scarf, regarding the manufacturer's and designers' names, Roger Oates and his wife Morgan (surname) met at art school in London and founded a company way back in 1977. After at least one buy out, a new company formed with the Roger Oates name. 

My scarf says Made in Mongolia. The latest good news is the latest company with the Oates name is helping to stall and reverse climate change. 

Cashmere And Dry Cleaning

My scarf is of pale colour, but the label says dry clean only. When the cost of dry cleaning increased, I stopped buying clothes which said dry clean. Or a part washed them in cold water.

My friend Lynda washed a cashmere scarf and it shrank. You are supposed to be able to restore a shrunken item by wetting it again, with cold water, and stretching it. She says the scarf also lost its vibrant colour.

Cashmere in Scotland

https://www.lunanbayfarm.com/

Useful Websites On Cashmere

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

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashmina_(material)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle-to-cradle_design

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Prevent Loss From Open Top Bags

 

Bag with central press stud. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

This bag has a handy press stud in the middle under the handles. But many tote bags are completely open at the top. The name on the bag is InStyle (all one word) which is an American monthly fashion magazine.

Open Top Tote Bag Problems

When I put a tote bag under my seat at a meeting, or a hotel airport, when I pull the bag out, the contents scatter. There's a delay. I feel foolish. My companions are annoyed. I shall lose my place in the queue to board. I look under the chair again from the other side and find I nearly lost a pen. I vow that I shall do something to solve this problem next time.

Temporary Tote Bag Solutions

There are two temporary last minute solutions to this scattered souvenirs problem. 

String or ribbon to tie up the handles of your duty-free bag and attach it to your main luggage, with the top held together.

Or carry a stapler.  

Permanent Solutions - Zips and Press Studs

Put zips in a tote bag, which you use for extras you buy. Or, after boarding, put the duty free bag inside the zip-up tote bag.

Today was next time, to find a permanent solution. As usual I have my mind on packing for my next holiday.

Check every item of clothing. Stains. Look for loose seams and hems. Loose buttons. Jammed zips.

Open-top pockets and tote bags need closures. Should you quickly sew on one small, or large, press stud? (Americans call them snap fasteners.) Or a zip. (Americans call them zippers.)

I have lots of tote bags. I have lots of zips. Some zips I removed from garment which were past their use by date. (Joke.) Others I bought second-hand on ebay. Some I bought new. Cheaply from China, never mind the wait, they were for stock. More expensively from UK department stores. Sometimes the added postage makes it better value to buy two at once, although you need only one, and keep the spare in stock.

How to sew in a Zip

For years I had thought sewing in a zip was complicated. Then I was showed how to sew a zip into the top of a handbag. My instructor was an au pair girl from France who stayed with us through her summer to help look after my then small son.

It's really simple. In theory.  You sew up at least two straight lines of stitching, along the left and right of the long sides of the zip.

Well, I lied. It is more complicated. As you find out when you try to do it. Your zip is usually too short or too long. 

Short Zips

If it is too short, there is a gap. If you leave the gap at the zip pull end and things might fall out. The tote bag might not hang right, straight and neat. 

Instead, I sew up the gap at the other end. You can sew the sides of the bag together over the gap. Or sew the ends of the zip together and leave them horizontal and sewn into the end of the tote bag.

What if you have only small zips? And zips of different colours? Choose two dark zips. Two light zips. Two nearly matching the colour of the bag. Two of maximum contrasting colour to the bag - jolly. Co-ordinates with more clothes and suitcase colours. Match the suitcase colour. Such as black or coloured.

You could divide the tote bag into two verticals to make two separate compartments for bottles or rolled-up magazines and newspapers. With or without a line of stitching down the bag.

My latest effort was to sew two old zips into a tote bag. Why two? I did not have a zip the right size. I did not want to waste a big zip. I thought of having just one zip on one side to keep the bag half closed. No. All or nothing.

Tote Bag Supplier

I had bought the blue and yellow tote bag from St Luke's charity shop in North West London, which raises money for hospices in that area. Different parts of the UK and other countries raise money for their local hospice, often named after a Christian saint.

Useful Websites

St Lukes

https://www.stlukes-hospice.org/shops/

https://aleteia.org/2021/10/13/10-saints-who-served-and-healed-the-sick/

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Angela Lansbury is the author twenty books, including several books on etiquette, wedding etiquette of comical poems, such as Animals Pets and Pests. She has also written  books on about writing poetry such as Poetry Workbook, which you can browse of buy from Amazon.co.uk, or Amazon.com and Lulu.com  She has also contributed poems and chapters to anthologies edited by Carolyn Street.

A book on clothes and sewing will appear in the next year. Earlier if somebody helps me with loading my word documents into publishing format, or convinces me that like sewing, you just try it and keep going until it's good enough.

Bubbles and Brownies Dessert Lounge For Brownies In Northwood

Bubbles and Brownies is a pretty pink snack stopoff in Northwood.

The bubbles are bubble tea. The decor is pink and white, with circles and rose motifs.

Child in pink at Bubbles and |Brownies in Northwood. Face obscured by a pink heart at the request of parents. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

BNB logo with neat reversal. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

The brownies are small, flat, dark brown chocolate cakes.

They also sell a small range of ice creams. Our five year old grand-daughter chose mango ice cream. I found it too sweet, with not enough mango taste. Three of us tried it and didn't finish it. But we had just had a three course meal including desserts a couple of doors along at Lomito Argentinian steak restaurant.

That didn't stop Dad from buying a brownie to take home.

Our five year old loved posing for a picture in the circular alcove. It's certainly the perfect backdrop for pretty pictures.

If you drive on to Hatch End, where I hail from, has a huge selection of moreish ice creams with great flavours. Small amount of seating. No atmosphere. Surrounded on two sides by the counters and fridges. Perfect for a quick take away and suck and slurp in, surrounded by crowds in the evenings.

 However, if you are in Northwood, night or day, and want to sit in smart surroundings, Bubbles & Brownies is pretty and peaceful. 

I asked for their business address card. On the back of it is an offer for a free bubble tea after you have had ten, marked on the back on the card.

Parking is free, currently, August 2026, after 6 pm in the small car park around the corner opposite the library.

This is the only branch. No more, yet? They have been in Northwood about 18 months.

Useful Website Links

https://bubblesnbrownies.co.uk/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=disney+princess+in+pink+

https://baskinrobbins.co.uk/locations/

https://www.ice-cream-shops.co.uk/cities/ice-cream-shops-pinner

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Lomito Restaurant Argentinian Steaks, Northwood, Middlesex, North West London For Four Types Of Steak - A Memorable Meal

 Lomito means lion, what the English flatteringly call Sirloin (Sir Loin!), or steak. We'd visited Lomito before and liked it so we went there again. 

You have to book. The places is on the ground floor and underneath. We booked the ground floor, confusingly called upstairs, because I did not want to go down stairs, having recently fallen down stairs at a hotel in the Canary islands.

Lomito Restaurant interior mural showing horses and riders, people wearing ponchos and hats to shelter from the sun, and guitarists. Photo by Sharot family. Copyright.

Photo by Sharot family.

Four kinds of steaks, on a platter for a minimum of two to share. Photo by Sharot family.

Lime cheesecake with pieces of lime on top. Photo by Sharot family.

The far end has an attractive mural wall to wall. On the right beyond the bar area is a picture of cow, or bull, and a diagram or picture of a skin spread out showing the size of the animal, a kin of aerial view of a flattened skin.

I ordered a Prosecco, which was acceptable, nothing special.

Starter

The starter found favour with us all.

Main Course Steak

The steak was really special. Four thicknesses of steak, so soft, as well as tasty, that I thought today's was better than I had had previously at Hawksmoor, which is our family's favourite and regular. Our dish was the sharing platter. We had enough for the two of us and |I still had some steak to take home.

Vegetarian Alternatives

The vegetarian and fish options for somebody who did not want meat, were starters of two kinds of fish, one of which was tuna. The vegetarian main courses were what seemed like diced potato mixture in a sauce, or mushroom ravioli. Large ravioli, got good marks from all three of us, after our diner sent back the alternative which was misdescribed. 

We also had to wait a while for our main courses which seemed to have been forgotten by the kitchen. Despite this we were very pleased with the service. They changed the wrong dish quickly and gave us three free desserts to compensate for the long wait for the main course.

Delightful Desserts

The desserts were universally acclaimed. The churros, twisted fried dough sticks which you dipped in chocolate sauce were yummy, like the very best doughnuts. Delicious, despite everybody knowing that they must be bad for you. 

The tiramisu came in a bowl of edible crisp, a visual novelty. The creamy tiramisu had distinctive brandy flavour, no stinting on the alcohol.

My lime cheesecake was wonderful. Despite it not being my favourite New York style slightly crumbly baked cheesecake. Instead it was a very creamy oblong with thin slices of lime elegantly overlapping along the top. More cream than cheese. 

The waiters sang Happy Birthday To You at the distant table.

An enormous number of staff. I counted six to eight visible at one time. The lady at the welcome pedestal was charming. And my grand-daughter lost the top of a crayon. They managed to find it dropped to the downstairs area. So we left all smiles.

If you are thinking of going with a child, a child eats free with one paying adult during the month of August, the UK's school holiday month. That's also the month when children travel free in London. If you are travelling by train, Northwood is on the Met line.

Lomito

Northwood

Middlesex

Tel:019238 29499

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German - easy words, and harder words

 Where can you learn and practise speaking German? 

Flag of Germany

Flag of Austria

Flag of Switzerland

You can use German in Germany, Austria and German-speaking parts of Switzerland.  Also Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and parts of Belgium and Italy.

Flag of Luxembourg.

Flag of Liechtenstein.

At night when I lie down in bed I close my eyes but imagine my room and describe it in German.  

Easy German - English words

Bett - bed

Hotel - hotel

insekt - insect

Kamm - comb

Rasierer - razor

Rollo - roller blind

Rosen - rose

Tag - day 

Teppich - carpet

Vorhang - curtain (plural Vorhange, put two dots over the a to make it sound like e)

Zahnpasta - toothepaste

Easy English - German

bed - Bett

carpet - teppich

comb - Kamm

curtain - Vorhang

dessert - Nachtish (after dish, next dish)

hotel - Hotel

insect - Insekt

rose - Rosen

toothpaste - Zahnpasta

More Advanced Words

German - English

Kissen - pillow 

Jalousie - Venetian blind

English - German 

pillow - kissen

razor - rasieren

Venetian blind - Jalousie (not jealousy)

After that I imagine asking a hotel for a bedroom for the night.

English - German

I am allergic to feathers

I am allergic to shellfish

air conditioning

breakfast

breakfast room

desk chair

dining room

dining chair - esszimmer

double bed - Doppelbett

evening dinner

guest house

quiet - ruhig

heating

Hotel - hotel

how much is it/does it cost

large room

space

suitcase stand

toilet - Toilette

ladies' toilet

Lunch - Mittagessen (mid-day-to eat)

Useful English-German websites

duolingo.com

https://wikitravel.org/en/German_phrasebook

translate.google.com

The Great Mullein in Great Britain

 This plant appeared, uninvited, in our back garden in London.

I'd never seen anything like it before. So I sent a picture to the WhatsApp group for our street and asked if anybody knew what it was. The answer came back straight away.

I watched a video done by a man in th USA. Apparently the tiny yeĺlow flowers each last only one day. The plant produces 7,ooo seeds each of which can last a hundred years.

German Easy Everyday Words

Where can you learn and practise speaking German? 

Flag of Germany

Flag of Austria

Flag of Switzerland

You can use German in Germany, Austria and German-speaking parts of Switzerland.  Also Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and parts of Belgium and Italy.

Flag of Luxembourg.

Flag of Liechtenstein.

 English - German

I am learning German on Duolingo.

I listened to a BBC podcast about how apps can help, and whether you gain more by adding a conversation with a live person or doing that instead. For me, at home alone, or on public transport, the app is a start and a constant practice.

Apparently you can turn off the sounds at the ends of an exercise, which might annoy others at home or in public places such as on a bus or train.

 German - English

A capital letter at the start of a word indicates that it is a noun rather than a verb or adjective.

(Die )Jacke - (the ) jacket 

du - you singular, like tu in French

English - German

Remember to use a capital letter when writing nouns in German.

jacket - Jacke, the jacket is die Jacke, (both die and Jacke end in the letter e)

you singular - tu

(you singular) must - musst (You must use the double ss in German)