Brixton, bustling, bohemian

 

The streets thronging with people

Old and new architecture. Art deco. Neon.

Mural and music at the station. And the aroma of marihuana. 

Everything and everyone all around you. Happy smiling youngsters. Sad, shuffling old people. Beggars lying propped up against the wall with signs. Groups gaily greeting each other. Singles and couples dancing along. McDonalds for fast food. Morleys department store opposite the station for fashion and big name brands. Wide pavements crowded with people.  It feels like you have got in free to a festival. Or a hairdressing contest. Just like the rest of London. But more so.

We changed from train to bus here, in busy Brixton. We were on our way to quiet, elegant, empty Dulwich, a complete contrast.

Strings of red double decker red buses take you from Brixton back into London and onwards around the area and out of London. 

Useful website on Brixton

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

Dulwich wine bars with wonderful Portuguese wines

 

Wine from Quinta Das Bageiras. Bruto natural (dry), and rose.

Portuguese pink sparkling wine.

Delightful.

Inexpensive. Under ten pounds a bottle online.

Drop Dulwich Wine Bar, 1 Melbourne Grove, London.

About four minutes from East Dulwich Station which is about 15 minutes from London Bridge station.

Useful websites

https://dropdulwich.co.uk/

London Bridge Station

 

• London Bridge logo. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Quite a walk through vast high ceilinged halls from the overground to the underground. 

Shops including Hamleys toys.

Attractive, colourful murals of London landmarks. The Royal Albert Hall. Liberty's department store.

On the platform, we met a mouse. It ran very fast. Zig-zagging.

Useful Websites

https://bugwomanlondon.com/2023/04/07/mice-on-the-underground/ 

Spanish words which sound similar to English

 I have been re-learning, revising, Italian which I learned two years ago on Duolingo, but using Spanish as which I have been learning for 6 months, as the instruction language. A huge number of words in Spanish sound similar to English. Once you have learned the correct translation, the Spanish words is easy to recognize.

Here are the ones I have found.

Spanish - English

acerca de - about (think of encircled by)

ahora - now (now is the hour, as the old song said, on the hour)

allegra/o - lovely

amatista - amethyst

ascenso - ascend/rise

asi - so (ah - see, so)

borrar - delete (brush off, rub out)

clic - click

descenso - descent

describir - describe

division (accent on the o) - division

empleo - employment

escribe - write/inscribe

estado - status (in Spanish the letter e often goes before s at the start of the word, like the name of the country, Espana, escuala - school)

felicidades - congratulations (felicitations)

gramaticales - grammatical

 

impresionante - awesome/impressive

legas - leagues

minutos - minutes

perfecta - perfect

practicar - practise

reportar - to report

terminos - terms

utilizar - to utilize

zona - zone

verdad (Spanish)/vero (Italian) - true (like the English word verify)

 

Spanish and Italian, which is which: e and y and io sono and yo soy

 Spanish

Spanish has the letter y for and. I am is yo soy. The letter y appears in both words.

Italian

The word for I starts with the letter i like the word Italian. io sono. Io sono di Italia. I am Italy (from Italy). The letter i after d, di, in Italian, which starts with the letter I and has the letter I twice.

Useful Websites

duolingo

duolingo.com

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Rainfall and Flat Rooftops - A Global Disaster

 I can see the problem in the picture of a local council building in Harrow, NW London. The local councils in London allow sub standard flat roof homes - when the annual rainfall is getting worse.

Flat Rooftops And Rainfall

The flat rooves leak and make mouldy housing. The sick people are draining the NHS. 

Landlords and householders are bankrupt fixing leaking rooftops. So rents rise.

Official websites say that a properly designed flat roof should not leak - if it has a slope.  A slight slope. But nonetheless a slope. 

The advertisements for remedies will tell you the problems.

I have experienced leaking flat roofs in Singapore and the UK. It's not just a recent problem. It has been known for years. You can see that houses in medieval and Victorian times - the ones which lasted, have gabled rooftops.

A slight slope is not good enough. We have a conservatory with a supposedly see through ceiling with a slight slope. Leaves and moss gather on it. They don't roll off.

Useful Websites

Rain in the UK

https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2026/why-has-it-been-so-wet-this-winter

Flat Roof Defects

https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Flat_roof_defects

Flat Rood drainage

https://www.buildingregs4plans.co.uk/guidance_flat_roof_drainage.php

More rain in Australia

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15586039/sydney-melbourne-weather.html

Spanish words you already know

Most adult English speakers already know these words. It is amusing to note how many words you already know of another language. I teach English, so for the benefit of children and people whose first language is not English, such as Chinese speakers, I have added some handy translations.

casa - house

macho - strong man, strong not just physically but verbally

poncho - cape without arms

sombrero - hat with a big brim worn in hot countries such as Mexico and Spain

villa - large house, often with grounds, elegant and grand

Rarer but well known words

albino

armada

armadillo

mosquito

Wine Words In Spanish

From wine, my husband knows 

vino for wine, 

blanco for white, 

tinto for red like tinted (rosso is Italian). 

Useful Websites on Spanish

https://springlanguages.com/learn-spanish/spanish-words-used-in-english

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