Nandos - perfect for chicken and children

Four of us, three adults and a five year old child, went to Nandos for lunch. Nandos is a family favourite restaurant and a known quality. 

Chicken, corn and mashed potato and butter at Nandos, Stanmore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. copyright.

Parking in Stanmore

In Stanmore you can park outside if you are lucky. Other car parks are around the back, a public car park. 

Behind Sainsbury's we thought had public parking. It seemed to be mostly for customers. The criss- crossed markings on the spaces were reserved for local businesses, but only for Monday to Friday. 

Many Tables

Inside is a huge place with loads of tables. We had no need to book on a Saturday late lunch time July 25th 2026. We chose one of half a dozen alcoves with benches which suited mother and child, and granny with a big bag containing a pop-up reading book.

Children's Menu And Colouring

As soon as we arrived, we were given the family menus and children's menu. Also a jar of crayons and pages for children to colour. 

Pre-paying

The most active of our group went to order for us all from the counter. Pay in advance, like at the smaller fast food places with smaller menus. The advantage of pre-paying for the customer is that you can leave instantly when your car park reminder goes off on your phone. The driver can run off to collect the car, and then pull up outside to load up your passengers who don't need to walk back to the car park.

Suitcase Sizes, Car Boot Sizes

Isle Drink, by Trevor Sharot, about island wine, UK, New Zealand, and many islands worldwide. Order the book from Amazon.

Weighty Books To Read Whilst Waiting

My husband travels to  wineries and wine events with a copy of his book Isle Drink. I travel with at least one of my books. You might travel with your own book to show potential readers, or a product sample to show potential customers. Or take books to read during long waits at stations and airports. For long delays, you might need a suitcase or bag with room for books. Or an e-reader.

Travelling Light & Weighty Items

I always plan to travel light. I look at those videos of tiny suitcases which take rolled up tee-shirts, underpants, and socks. I look at Temu's suitcase organizers. Neat cubes, colour coded. Even zip up bags for cables, or cosmetics.

But by the time I have added a book, a laptop, and a spare pair of shoes, plus underwear, night wear, swimwear, something smart for the last night party, that tiny suitcase is nowhere near big enough. Plus the umbrella. A sunhat. My diary. Ticket and passport. Travel guide - and phrasebook. Hiking guide or map. Second phone, or spare reading glasses. Evening bag. The number of things I need keeps expanding, and so does the suitcase.

Airline Luggage Weights and Sizes

You might check that each suitcase is small enough to be checked into or carried onto a budget airline, indeed any airline. Especially if you have multiple flights. But whether you are doing fly-drive or only driving, you also need to consider the size of your car boot, the luggage contents, and weight.

Contents You Can Cram In A Carry-on Case

I have seen airline staff and others travel with the tiniest wheel on suitcases. How do they manage it? They have work uniforms, so only need to carry a change of shirt or blouse and underwear, maybe a light dress for a woman for the evening, a dress shirt or tie for the man.

I used to travel to writing conferences with my books to display and sell. Lugging luggage up and down stairs at railway stations was tiring. I took a small suitcase. 

Reversible Clothes

Once my small suitcase was filled with books. I wore a reversible dress. That was two outfits. I looked at my other two reversible dresses. I tried one on top of the one I was wearing to see if I preferred the colour. The one underneath was hidden. They were both lightweight. I decided to wear two. What about the third? I wore the third. At the venue I admitted to a friend what I had done. years later, long after I had forgotten, and had turned to car travel, she kept reminding me of the time I had travelled wearing three dresses. 

Suitcase Sizes & Car Sizes

Check the luggage for all the family can fit hidden in the boot (called trunk in the USA). If you give a lift (called a ride in the USA) to somebody else you need room for their luggage as well as the extra person.

You might need to book a bigger car and warn the car rental agency that you need a bigger car for the number of passengers and pieces of luggage. Otherwise they might tell you on arrival that their larger cars are not available. They can only offer people carriers which cost a lot more.

Any sporting holiday requires more equipment. A ski jacket, gloves. Sturdy hiking boots. Thick socks. Goggles. 

Walking Sticks

A folding walking stick is useful for getting up and down stairs and walking about a hotel if an older person or somebody hurts their ankle or falls. Walking sticks are designed for flat ground and have a flat rubberised base which will not damage carpets and wooden floors. Some city walking sticks can fold.

Hiking Sticks And Poles

For hiking you need sticks with a pointed end to stick into sand, gravel and earth to hold firmly. Like walking sticks for city use, hiking sticks are available in versions which fold up for carrying or transporting in suitcases.

Walking sticks with points might be banned because they have the potential to be used as weapons. Or might damage other luggage. You might have to cover the point with packaging. Or check in the items separately as large items - more queueing (Americans say line up) so allow extra time). You will need to allow time to look for and collect separate and larger items, such as sports gear and musical instruments, on the arrival airport. That takes time, whilst your group is getting on a bus without you, or your booked taxi is waiting, charging you money for waiting time, or giving up thinking you are not on the plane.

Folding Hiking Sticks

One solution is a folding hiking stick.

You may need to check whether your existing suitcases are large enough to take a walking stick, yet the weight and dimensions still fit the maximum allowed on a plane, or fit in you own or hire car's boot (called trunk in the USA).   A folding walking stick which is too long might still fit in the suitcase placed diagonally, if you still have room for a rucksack, or life jacket, and/or other bulky items. 

If travelling by car, also pack sunblock, in waterproof and leakproof containers, ideally double wrapped. Videos on YouTube show all sorts of ingenious ideas, from balloons, to Clingfilm to nappies and sanitary pads.

Life Jackets

Another bulky item my husband took to Indonesia was a life jacket. A colleague from Singapore who moved to Indonesia told us that he always travelled with his own life jacket in Indonesia, which has many islands, and often requires an international flight into a bigger or nearer islands, then a smaller plane or ferry. Here's where you need a smaller suitcase to go on the plane. But big enough to hold a life jacket.

After my husband, who is a statistician, checked the latest water accident statistics, he found that there was a sinking or drowning every three days. He bought a life jacket online. The smaller ones are not designed to support you for many hours in open, deep water. But they would still be handy if you fell in the water trying to jump from a big boat into a smaller one in the harbour and needed to stay around for a minute or two until somebody pulled you out, or until you swam in open water to something buoyant which had floated off your sinking boat. 

The smaller life belts may or may not have whistles and lights to attract attention. So you might want to add these in pockets or lanyards, and familiarize yourself with the features of your lifebelt and its size.  Is a smaller lifebelt good enough? It may still be better than no lifebelt.

Expanding suitcases

I like an expanding suitcase. I pack it done up tightly. Then when I buy souvenirs or acquire brochures on the destination I still have spare room in my suitcase for the extra items. Make sure the expanding suitcase is still within the weight limit for your airline, and light enough for your arms to carry up stairs.

My husband likes the opposite. No soft-sided cases with zips which break and lose the zip pull. He wants a hard shell case to protect bottles of wine.

Websites - Useful Backpack & Suitcase Sources

amazon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Owntop-Buoyancy-Neoprene-Foldable-Lightweight

ebay

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

https://www.finalcheck.co.uk/swim-vest/

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More Memorable German 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.

I am learning German on Duolingo. I also have several books on learning German. 

Many words are the same or similar. 

German - English

Butter - butter

früher - back then, before, further back, in the past

Name - name

Picknick - picnic

reich - rich r ich

Roadtrip - road trip

English - German

before, back then, in the past, further back - früher f r

butter - Butter

name - Name

picnic - Picknick

rich - reich

road trip - Roadtrip

Useful Websites

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

Translate google

duolingo.com

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Swiss-German_phrasebook

I travel the world, my local area and trawl the internet. I record delights and disasters, great places to visit, languages and lessons learned.

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German words which are the same as English, similar, and capital or small letter for morgen / Morgen

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

I am learning German on Duolingo. I also have several books on learning German. The words which I remember most easily are those with the same or similar letters. The challenge is to remember when to use capital letters and add the accents, which are there to help you with the correct pronunciation. 

One puzzle which perplexed me and got solved today was when to use a capital letter for the word morgen meaning both morning and tomorrow - and tomorrow morning.

German - English - the same words

Nouns are capitalised at the start of the word in German.

April - April 

Bank - bank

cool - cool

Jazz - jazz

orange - orange

Party - party

pink - pink

Pizza - pizza

English - German - the same spelling

April - April

bank - Bank

cool - cool

hotel - Hotel

Jazz - jazz

orange - orange (colour)

party - Party

pink - pink

pizza - Pizza

taxi - Taxi

German - English similar spelling 

elf - eleven el

freundlich - friendly fr ... nd

gelb - yellow el

Glas - glass

hilfe - help h l

hassen - hate ha

Hotel - hotel

Musik - music mus

langsam - slowly l

oft - often  oft

shoppen - to shop shop

singen - (to) sing  sing

Souvenirs - souvenirs

Taxi - taxi

English - German similar spelling

eleven - elf

friendly - freundlich

help - hilfe

(to) hate - hassen

music - Musik

often - oft oft

(to) shop - shoppen

(to) sing - singen

slowly - langsam s

yellow - gelb

False Friends

Don't ask for a Gift for your friend. Gift in German means poison. 

Useful Websites

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

Translate google

duolingo.com

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Swiss-German_phrasebook

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Why Attend A Wine Tasting? For non drinkers, caterers and customers, event organizers.

 

Canary Wines at a themed wine tasting at Central London Wine Society, held at the Civil Service Club. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Why would you attend a wine tasting? Would you bother to go to one if you are an amateur or don't drink? What is the protocol?

Wine Tasting For Non Drinkers

You might attend a wine tasting if you run a restaurant, or work in a restaurant, shop, hotel, supermarket or other business selling wines. 

Identifying No Alcohol

You need to know about alcohol levels to identify the difference between no alcohol for drivers and people working with machinery. Low alcohol is not the same as no alcohol. 

Alcohol In Food

Alcohol is also used as a preservative in food such as Christmas pudding. This is traditionally made weeks or even months ahead. 

Red wine is used in Coq au vin and some casseroles. 

White wine is sometimes used in risottos and white fish sauces. 

Madeira is used in madeira sauce for meat dishes.

Vinegar

You might learn about vinegar, which is made when one particular bacteria converts wine into acetic acid. 

Some vinegars are made by malting. What does malting mean?  Grains allowed to sprout, as in malt whisky, converting starch into sugar. The best vinegars are from wine.

Alcohol Prices

You want to know about prices, so you can use cheaper alcohol in cooking and not waste expensive alcohol. When buying a gift, you might need to know about drinks you do not drink.

Protecting Your Health

As a teenager at college, having had no alcohol at home, with parents who drank little, I had no idea that fortified wines such as sherry served without food, would get me drunk quickly. Looking back, I am alarmed that I was in danger crossing roads drunk as a pedestrian, or as a young driver. 

I want to be aware that spirits are stronger. Also, how much is in each glass, to watch calories as well as alcohol content.

Nowadays, with cameras in streets everywhere, you want to be sure customers are not in danger. Not getting drunk themselves. Not in danger from other customers. And not getting drunk and aggressive and endangering others.

Reading Bottle Labels

It is helpful to read bottle labels. English bottle labels. French labels. German labels. Spanish. Italian. Portuguese. Japanese - sake, plum wine.

You want to know why a restaurant is charging more for one wine than another. How to compare prices online to see the restaurant markup. 

When ordering large quantities for a Christmas party, birthday, anniversary, or wedding, it helps to know the amounts to order and the cost. 

If you don't like wine, or only some wine, it helps to know which wines contain tannin which give you a headache. 

You will learn to identify sweet and dry, auslese and spatlese, sec and brut, rosada, Italian and Spanish Portuguese and German text on bottle labels.

Identify Sweet and Dry

Which wines are sweeter. Which are dry? What to buy or serve yourself and others. 

Avoiding Alcohol

You might want to know whether alcohol in food gets you drunk or is perfectly safe. Who likes which alcohol?

What should you provide at a party? 

General Knowledge  Updated

What is orange wine? 

Import regulations

If you are bringing back wine as souvenirs or gifts for others, how much wine is it legal to bring in? 

Knowing The Law

In which countries or states is it illegal to have opened wine on public transport, or in a car, or off the premises. 

Where can you buy wine? Which countries ban alcohol? What if you are in transit on a plane or car? 

Even online. Even if you do not visit another country where alcohol is banned or unpopular, but are a long distance consultant, your job interview on Zoom will go better, or you will feel more confident, if you do not have bottles of open or unopened alcohol in the room behind you.

Wine Tasting Protocol

Perfume Is Not Popular

You should not wear strong perfumes or aftershave to a wine tasting. Why? Because people are sniffing drinks to identify and describe the aroma. Strong perfumes interfere with other people's ability to detect aromas. This will apply to one day courses and exams as well as tastings.

Polite Listening

A wine tasting may include a lot of technical terms and facts. When a speaker is describing wines, or the other participants are giving their feedback publicly, those attending should not start private conversations with those seated alongside. If you are organizing, you may need to take action to prevent or stop noise. For example, tap a glass for silence, stand up and project your voice, wait for silence, use a microphone. Ask the audience, can you hear me. People who ae inebriated may lose inhibitions and talk loudly. 

Also beware of noise from people in doorways, or outside the doors and windows, or nearby at exhibitions, fairs and events. Passers-by to other events may not realise they are disturbing you. You may need to shut windows. and doors. Or turn off air conditioning, fans. Ask the venue to make the canned music quieter. 

Tell the adjacent stalls at an exhibition which times your or your guests are speaking. Conversely, let them know when, before or after your event, it is okay for them to play music and shout to their audience and passers-by.

Organizing Events

It is helpful to know about:

hire of glasses. Who gives loans or gives glasses free? Who sells glasses? Which glasses are unbreakable? What insurance do you need? What licensing permits are needed? Which venues, such as churches and temples and their rooms for hire will ban alcohol? 

Preparing For Non Drinking People, Locations and Events

When are drinks banned or expected? Some religions ban alcohol. Others allow drinking in moderation. Others have celebrations where a glass of wine is expected. What should you provide for children and non drinkers?

Glasses and Decanters

Even if you are not interested in wine, you might be interested in the use and value of antique and modern decanters. And selling or buying drinking glasses. Unbreakable glassware for serving soft drinks. Unbreakable glassware or lookalikes for bars near swimming pools. How to clean a decanter. 

Gifts 

Visiting large wine venues and shops may provide gifts for people who drink wine and don't. You might see books. Aprons and tea towels. Bottle openers. Discount vouchers. Hampers. 

Other Food and Drink

Water. Jams. Olive oils.

Networking

You might meet people in other businesses. 

The local tourist board, to help you plan a holiday. 

Rich investors, who can advise you on investing, on your business or theirs, or travel, or life in general. 

People who are accompanying their spouse or boss and actually prefer whisky, beer, non-alcoholic drinks, food.

The organizers, may be able to recommend  local restaurants and advise on visitor attractions.

The PR company for this event might invite you to other food and wine exhibitions, restaurant openings, or national events.

What Is Free?

A free tasting is free. Although you might feel obliged or happy to buy something in a shop or at the venue.

Free tastings often take place alongside the month's promotion of wine and food.

Tastings often end with discounts on wines or products at the venue. Sometimes you get a free large or small sample, useful leaflets, an opportunity to buy a signed book, or a free goodie bag to take home with information and gifts for yourself or a friend or colleague.

You can buy a wine tasting as a surprise or novelty for family and friends, as a gift for a birthday.

What's For Non Drinkers And Children?

Occasionally you will find other events or exhibitions alongside. For example, in the Canary islands, the large wine museum centre had a room on the architecture of the building and the history of the area. Another exhibition was about bees and honey.

The Wow wine theme park in Portugal had provision for children with non alcoholic drinks and cartoon character glasses.

Two wine museums in Spain and Portugal had aroma exhibits, with the aromas or different herbs and other ingredients. Their shops sold

Wine museums often sell tee-shirts and caps advertising the local winery and/or the local area.

Wine And Food

Wine tastings for the trade sometimes have only wine to taste and spit into a spitoon. Other events have water. Some have savoury water biscuits. Others have national food alongside, or a buffet afterwards, or canapes. You might get invited back to a Christmas, end of year, national day, or summer party with food.

If the event is at a restaurant, you might wish to stay on later, paying for a meal, if that is an option. 

Some organizations served food with wine or spirits. Two which I know about in England are a food and wine club in London and a whisky dinner group in Pinner in north west London.

The Wine Society

The Wine Society in Stevenage has a programme of lunches and dinner with matched wines, not all in Stevenage, some in London and elsewhere.  If you join the society, just £40 for life, no further annual fee, you can buy from their huge premises in person or online and get invited to events.

Many wine shops and warehouses hold regular events.

Useful Websites

Free wine tasting forms you can print, save or photograph

https://www.delongwine.com/products/wine-tasting-note-form

Sign up to get this form

https://www.bbcmaestro.com/free-wine-tasting-template

Wine Tasting Descriptors

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

Wine Events

https://www.thewinesociety.com/buy/tastings-and-events/

Central London Wine Society

On Meetup 

Majestic

https://www.majestic.co.uk/events

Information

https://www.wine-tastings-guide.com/

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Virundhu Restaurant, Eastcote, serving Sri Lankan Food

After trying Sri Lankan food at Pradha in South Harrow, I was interested in trying other Sri Lankan restaurants. My family found Virundhu in Eastcote. The restaurant's name is Tamil for feast.

I went on their website and saw they had lassi. Not just mango lassi. Rose lassi. Carrot drink.

I had found a restaurant I must try. You can sit indoors, or outdoors on the pavement.

Did they have Prosecco? Yes, at £9 for 20 cl. That would be for me, if I had not seen the lassi. Rose lassi.

Maybe both.

On arrival we asked for water, just plain tap water. It was served from attractive copper coloured jug.

The table lights were mechanical, not candles. Good. I think candles are dangerous and a nuisance because every now and then they set fire to something small like a table napkin. I prefer everything clean.  So far, the restaurant has several plus points. To read the menu, we were a foursome, we took a second light from another table.

I also liked the strings of flags.

Rose Lassi

The rose lassi was thick. Served in a copper colour metal container, with a thin straw. 

The Food

Starter Hopper

I ordered a hopper with egg. That was a novelty for all of us. Within the bowl an edible bowl made of crispy rice for the central egg which looked like poached egg. A contrast in textures. Soft boiled egg with a crispy outside.

My main course choices were 

chicken, 

potatoes.

 And a rice item. A thick white disc 

Two members of staff  asked if the food was okay. We all smiled and nodded. Although, my husband said we didn't have much in the way of vegetables. I found the chicken and potatoes too spicey and didn't want to fill up on rice to counteract the spiciness. Next time I shall order at least one vegetable dish. And ask for a less spicy option.

Desserts

Only two of the desserts were available.  In any case we were full. We wanted the leftovers wrapped up to go. This was done efficiently and promptly.

With the bill came a small glass of ginger tea, on the house. I really liked the ginger tea. Sweet, satisfying, refreshing, lovely ginger flavour.

As Shakespeare said in the title of is play, all's well that ends well

Website for Virundhu Restaurant Menu 

https://virundhurestaurant.com/DrinksMenu.pdf

https://virundhurestaurant.com/pdf/dessert-menu

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German words which are the same as or similar to English - kiosk, mantel, text

 

German and English Words spelled the same

German - English

Kiosk - kiosk (Note that the German noun has a capital letter.)

Text - text

English - German - same spelling

kiosk - Kiosk

text - Text 

German and English Words containing similar letters

German - English

Kanzler - chancellor (both words include the letters an, l, )

Lang - long

Mantel - mantel / coat

nacht - night (starts with n and ends with ht)

morgen - morning (Both words start with the three letters mor, and later g and n, although German has the g before the n, whilst English has the n before the g)

richtig - right ( Both words start with ri and include ht  - and a g)

wann - when (Both start with w and end with n.)

warte - wait (Both start with wa and include the letter t.)

English - German - some letters are the same

morning - morgen / Morgen (capital letter when it is a noun, as in this morning, or good morning, but small initial letter when describing action, an adverb, going there in the morning, or adjectival as in a morning walk, lower case for tomorrow

right - richtig

wait - warte wa t

when - wann w n   

Useful resources for learning German

duolingo.com

https://wikitravel.org/en/German_phrasebook

https://blogs.transparent.com/german/morgen-vs-morgen-in-german/#:~:text=Simply%20put%2C%20the%20reason%20the,Therefore%2C%20it%20is%20not%20capitalised.

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