Wine Clubs And Wine Tasting Events, Alcohol and No Alcohol Around Britain

Near Trafalgar Square, about half way between Charing Cross and Embankment stations, an easy 5 minute walk from each, is the civil service club which is the venue for the Central London Wine Club.

Other wine clubs in London and the home counties which I have attended include wine clubs in St Albans and Welwyn, which attract people who live in those areas. Put into a search engine the name of your location and the word wine club and see what comes up. Very useful if you live in a new area and want to meet friends. 

Some clubs attract young people. Others attract the retired. Or a mixture.

Many restaurants, bars, and pubs, and wine shops have evenings based on wines from a particular country, or season. Also embassies, promoting the wines and vineyards of their country. If you attend one of these events, you are likely to meet somebody from the local area or further afield. You might get invited to an event, or meet somebody interesting in attending a wine club you start, or in helping you to organize a meeting.

If you attend a trade fair for a country, or hospitality, for luxury travel, or group travel, or a wedding fair, you might meet suppliers of sparkling wines, low alcohol and no alcohol wines, mixers, spirits and juices.

Those attending might include owners of wineyards, winemakers, owners of bars and restaurants, sommeliers and head waiters, students of wine (not necessarily youngsters) people celebrating weddings and anniversaries.

Suppliers of wine such as Berry brothers also have wine tastings before Christmas and at intervals throughout the year.

If you order a case of wine, or even do an internet search, you might be sent useful advertisements and invitations and information about wine events and societies. 

WSET runs courses for the interest of amateur enthusiasts, sommeliers, and those specializing in sake.

Wine clubs have also been started by members of big businesses such as banks. You might find that your company already has a wine society. Or if there is a newsletter, you might be able to start one. It is a good way to network with others in your company, or to network if the club is open to guests and outside members.

Why would you need to give your details or pay money in advance? First of all, for the security of the venue, and the event. Secondly, to ensure there is enough wine, water, crackers, bread, or food, for all attending. Thirdly, you need enough wine glasses. Even if the event is bring a bottle, if ten people each bring a bottle, you either need a tasting sheet to provide information and enable people to note which wine they liked, or enough glasses of different types.

What if the event provides no food, or asks you to bring your own wine glasses?

Big events open either to trade only, or to anybody willing to pay, are held at major stadiums, in London at Olympia, and Excel. In Singapore a popular venue is Expo. Get on their mailing list. You can also look at Eventbrite and Meetup.

If you order wine by the case, for a wedding, anniversary, birthday, housewarming, club Xmas party, you might be able to hire for a fee, or free, glasses from major wine shops or warehouses. You then get on their list invited to tastings or events.

Another option is to join the Wine Society. You can then visit their huge shop in Stevenage has large selections of wine bottles. You can join online in advance for about forty pounds which gives you a discount towards your first purchase. 

For the driver of your car, there will be water, or a coffee machine. And toilets. And at Christmas chocolates in gift boxes, and other snacks and gifts. 

My husband and I have attended several lunches. At one of them we made permanent friends of another couple who meet us in London to have lunch at an art gallery.

Before driving all that way, to Stevenage, check their opening times and events. It may be possible to ask a member to take you in as a guest, or to stop at the cashier and pay for membership on arrival, without waiting, but please check the latest regulations of the society, and the UK laws on club membership and drink driving.

No Alcohol Drinks

For non drinkers, it is very handy to see the variety of low alcohol and no alcohol drinks which you can give to drivers and non drinkers, and people on pills for temporary or permanent conditions. You can now buy no alcohol wines, beers, ciders, and decaffeinated teas, and coffees.

Alcohol In Food And Drink

It is also handy to keep informed about spirits in food such as Christmas pudding and other dishes which you wish to buy or serve, or might get served in restaurants or people's home, when you are serving adults or children. 

Useful Websites

https://www.thewinesociety.com/

Seen On The Street - bus showing seated student advertising University of WInchester

 On the back of a bus. Big advertisement. Seated student. Advertisement for Winchester.

Ac stands for academic or academia, high education institutions such as colleges, universities and research organizations.

Driving south of London to Southampton, we saw this bus to Winchester.

From Southampton to Winchester is about 12 miles, 20 kilometers, on the M3 motorway, about 20 minutes.

I was wondering how the Roman word for fort, similar to castle and German cassel, turned into chester in modern place names. I asked Gemini and got this useful result:

The suffix -chester (along with regional variants like -caster and -cester) has a rich etymological history tied to the Roman occupation of Britain [cite: 1.1.9].

1. The Root: Latin Castrum

The origin traces back to the Latin word castrum (plural: castra), which meant a Roman military camp, fort, or fortified stronghold [cite: 1.1.3]. (This root is also the ancestor of the modern word castle [cite: 1.1.9]).

2. The Anglo-Saxon Adoption: Ceaster

When the Romans left Britain in the 5th century [cite: 1.1.9], the invading Anglo-Saxons encountered these old stone fortifications and walled towns. They adopted the Latin term into Old English (Anglo-Saxon) as ċeaster, using it to describe a Roman town, city, or fort [cite: 1.1.10]. Over time, they began attaching this suffix to local geographic or tribal names to designate a former Roman site.

3. Regional Variations

Depending on where you are in England, the Old English ceaster evolved differently based on local dialects:

• -chester (Standard/Southern/Mercian): Found in names like Winchester, Manchester [cite: 1.1.5], and Colchester [cite: 1.1.9].

• -caster (Northern / Danelaw): In areas heavily influenced by Old Norse (which lacked the soft "ch" sound), ceaster shifted to a "k" sound, resulting in names like Doncaster [cite: 1.1.6], Lancaster [cite: 1.1.5], and Tadcaster [cite: 1.1.9].

• -cester (Midland): Reduced over time in rapid speech, seen in names like Gloucester [cite: 1.1.9], Worcester, and Leicester [cite: 1.1.9].

In short, whenever you see a town ending in -chester, it is a linguistic fossil pointing directly to a Roman fort or walled settlement [cite: 1.1.4].

 I knew that the city names Chester, Colchester, and Manchester were related. I had not realized that Lancaster was part of the same group.

Useful Websites

winchester.ac.uk

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

London Souvenirs By Embankment Station in Gift Box and Blimey Britain

 From Gift Box

Suitcases in several sizes featuring tube maps and other London, England and UK themes.

Socks from Gift Box.

Tote bags from Gift Box.

The windows show all kinds of mobile dolls with rocking, shaking heads. You can also buy bracelets. 

Opposite even larger is Blimey Britain.

Thomas Calvi umbrellas in animal spot designs.

Gift Zone (London's Gift Superstore): Located on New Goulston Street (near Aldgate and Liverpool Street, this is a massive, floor-to-ceiling warehouse-style shop packed with thousands of British souvenirs, football merchandise, toys, and traditional memorabilia. They cater to both retail shoppers and wholesale/

Cool Britannia: A well-known, large dedicated souvenir retail chain with stores in central London locations offering extensive selections of Union Jack items, London apparel, and classic memorabilia.

Crest of London: Established in 1990, Crest of London is one of the market leaders and most prominent souvenir shop chains in the capital, featuring large inventories of high-end and novelty gifts.

Fancy That of London: Operating as one of London's oldest souvenir chains, they run multiple stores stocked with traditional British gifts, heritage items, and iconic London city merchandise.

You can also get smart, pricier items from Fortnum's, Harrods and other department stores.

Gemini informed me of a few more:

Gift Shops

Attractions and Landmark Gift shops

The British Museum

London Museum

The Natural History Museum

Tower Bridge Gift Shop

Transport for London

Westminster Abbey 

Useful Addresses and Websites For Gifts From London

Gift Box

Embankment Place, London WC2N 5AQ.

The Gift Box UK online shop at the same address is only online and offers a different range of personalised goods.

https://coolbritannia.com/

Wines from Cyprus from lovefromcyprus

 

Pappoulos means grandfather in Greek. A red wine from Cypros.

Oenou means Little John.

Importers of Cypriot wines to the UK,  

Thomas Page & Marina Nicoli.

My favourites of the ten we tried were the first sparkling white, and the last sweet wine.

Website

Pinterest

www.Lovefromcyprus.co.uk

Lost Keys - Problem Solved

Spiral or coil keychain, or spring keychain. In green. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Lost Keys Problem Solved. Comical Poem by Angela Lansbury. 

Where did I lose my keys?

Did I lose them, did they lose me?

Lost Property has lots of them

To prevent burglars, with no name

My new bag contained a key chain

My keys had a place, I was glad

But when the fabric fell apart

My homeless keys and I felt sad

I cut out the sewn in ribbon

Thought, I'll sew it on my new bag

I had no time to sew it

Used the large safety pin I had

I kept my keys on the lanyard

Moved and pinned inside each new bag

I was organized, soon forgot

Those lost key troubles I'd once had

When I went out without a bag

I pinned key ribbons to pockets

Not sewn, secured with safety pins

Like plugs stuck firmly in sockets

Now I always have my door keys

'though my pocket's a bit heavy

I never have to wait and hunt

Nor pay cut a new key levy

Once my mother lost her house keys

We found them after she had died

In the pocket of a beach bag

Before donating, looked inside

Then our son lost our front door keys

We had to add another lock

Keys were under his friend's sofa

Their cleaning lady was a rock 

I've made a long list of places

Where our sets of keys like to hide

Inside an old coat, or jacket

And each suitcase, search each pocket

It's like losing your train ticket

To prevent the loss, day and night

You simply must decide - always

Which pocket, the left, or the right

When I go to a conference

Or a one hotel holiday

I keep the bedroom key on a lanyard

Round my neck. There it stays all day.

Some people lose keys so often

I call it losing keys disease

It's no good asking dead mother

Paying to God, upon your knees

Just have a designated place

Maybe inside a hollow book

In your jacket's right-hand pocket

Or in a cupboard on a hook

In a hotel beside the bed

Or on the hook behind the door

On the door handle, on the floor

Then you won't lost them any more 

I've listed the common places

You can find door keys or car keys

So when we're in your home or room

Find those vital keys quickly, please.

-ends-

Updated with improved syllable count on October 22nd 2026.

A spiral key chain takes up less room in a pocket but enables you to reach a lock without detaching the key from a bag or jacket pocket. If the spiral is not long enough, lengthen it by adding another.

Please share links to your favourite poems. I wrote this poem for my blog, comical poems hazel nutter.blogspot.com. For this travel blog I added the lines about holidays and bedroom keys I am copying this poem to my dress blog, dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

Chewable Pills Supporting Bones, And Safe Falling At Home, On Holiday, And In Hotels

A major cause of accidents at home and overseas for the elderly is falling. You could fall off a ladder or roof fixing a roof at home. (This happened a couple of years ago to a relative in the USA.) 

You might fall down stairs at home or in a hotel. When you are younger, you might laugh and forget if you fall off a chair whilst changing a light bulb, or trip over a paving stone. When you are older, you cause more damage, or alarm, when you fall over a pothole, up or down steps into your house or a building. 

You might often simply trip over your own long skirt or shoe laces or bump into a trolley at a supermarket, or fall for no apparent reason at all. That's without being drunk, overtired, jet-lagged. 

Frequent Falls On Public Transport

Signs on the London underground railway, nicknamed the tube, warn you to hold onto the handrail of the escalators. They say accidents happen every week.

Mind the Gap is a sign used in the UK, China (Hong Kong), and Canada.

Mind the gap sign in Victoria station, London, England, UK. Photo author WillMcC in Wikipedia.

Prevention Of Falls

Prevention is better than cure.

What precautions can you take? The NHS Falls Prevention issues a booklet of exercises left by a trainer for those patients at risk of falling.

I have two relatives who take Alendronic, to strengthen bones. This is a prescription drug.

Chewable Adcal

Adcal, chewable calcium and vitamin D is currently in 2026 available in UK chemist shops (Europeans say pharmacies, Americans say drug stores) for anybody to buy. Adcal is free on the NHS in the UK to those British residents who are eligible for free medicine because of low income and/or advanced age and medical need.

It comes in more than one flavour. Lemon. Multiple fruits. 

You can also buy it online. Prices vary. You can search for the cheapest supplier, taking into account whether postage is included or extra.

Practical Information Falling Safely

Safe Falling Demonstration

I recall at a |Toastmasters International club in Singapore, which met at the Sheraton hotel, the late Laurence who had had part of one leg amputated, enjoyed shocking the audience by pretending to fall up the steps to the middle of the dais. He would fall and immediately right himself, and gleefully lift his trousers to show his wooden ankle. 

He always got applause and was voted the best table topics speaker. (He was volunteering to give 2 minute impromptu speech on one of the topics which in the 1920s when TI started in the USA were on pieces of paper on the table, face down, selected randomly.)

After writing this poem I started wondering how you avoid a fall. I seem to remember that he had learned to fall safely at martial arts classes, which are very popular in Singapore, and taught to all ages in the Community Centres in every area.

I have spoken to many people who train for marathons. In the months ahead of a triathlon, they practise running, plus swimming or cycling. 

My husband, when we lived in Singapore, used to run down and up the stairs to our flat on the 12th floor of a skyscraper. Good practice for a marathon, or if the lift fails. 

But what about falling?

I asked AI for advice on falling.

Advice On Falling

Minimize the impact and protect vital areas of your body using specific physical techniques:

Protect your head: 

Tuck your chin firmly into your chest immediately to prevent your head from whipping backward and striking the ground. Wrap your arms around your head to shield it from debris or hard surfaces.

Roll with the fall: 

Avoid keeping your body rigid. Instead, try to curve your back and roll along the fleshy parts of your body (such as your shoulder, hip, and thigh) to distribute the impact over a larger surface area rather than a single point.

Avoid breaking falls with straight arms: 

Never extend your arms stiffly. Also don't lock your elbows to catch yourself, as this often results in wrist breaks and hairline cracks, dislocated shoulders, or broken collarbones. If your hands must hit the ground, keep your elbows slightly bent.

Fall sideways if possible: 

f you feel yourself losing your balance backward or forward, try to twist and land on your side. Landing flat on your back can knock the wind out of you or injure your spine. But falling directly forward risks injuring your face, mouth and teeth area.Keep joints loose: Allow your knees to remain slightly bent rather than locked straight to help absorb some of the shock.

Sources Of Information On Safe Falling

I asked where Gemini got the information on falling.  

Gemini took the essential points from Mayo Clinic on Fall Prevention, and Medical Guardian on How to Fall Safely. Gemini rewrote the information without technical terms, without long words such as velocity. Gemini also left out advice on clothing and furniture.

I have further edited Gemini's text into simpler, everyday language, leaving out such terms as kinetic energy, trauma, dental, while, fractures. This helps me to grasp the facts at a glance, as well as helping all my readers in countries such as Singapore, whose location is listed in my blogger's Google analytics pages.

I have recorded this advice, firstly for my own benefit. Secondly, I am sharing it with you so that you can send me corrections or updates, and to save you time so you can start your own research if you or your family might need more information, or more accurate information.

This is intended to entertain and provide information so you can be informed and prepared when asking professionals for help relative to your own personal situation. This is not a map, just a signpost to places with maps. Please check the latest up to date expert information from sources in your area and relevant to your needs.

No wonder doctors are concerned about building bones and preventing falls.

Falling is the leading cause of injury-related death among older adults aged 65 and older.

The most authoritative and reliable sources tracking these statistics include:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): The CDC tracks mortality data and emergency department visits through its National Center for Health Statistics. Their tracking shows that falls among adults 65 and older cause tens of thousands of deaths annually (with figures surpassing 43,000 deaths per year in the U.S.), making accidental falls the number one cause of injury death for this demographic. You can explore their datasets and reports directly on the CDC Older Adult Falls Data page.

• World Health Organization (WHO): Globally, the WHO reports that falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide, noting that older adults suffer the highest burden of fatal falls globally. Their global estimates and risk factors are detailed on the WHO Falls Fact Sheet.

• National Council on Aging (NCOA): The NCOA compiles extensive research from federal health databases, highlighting that roughly one in four older Americans falls every year, cementing falls as the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries for the demographic. Their summaries can be found via the NCOA Falls Prevention Resource Center.

Look after yourself. Happy holidays, and stay safe, fit, and healthy!

Useful Websites

https://fyldeclinic.co.uk/products/adcal-d3-chewable-tablets

-ends-

Please share links to your favourite, useful posts.

Where To See Popular, Traditional, Modern, Serious, Humorous, and Minority Interest Statues And Monuments

Mr Bean at Leicester Square.
 

Popular Statues

Mr Bean is not a has-been. His videos are loved worldwide. In Singapore when I was teaching my pupils loved videos of him attempting to cheat in exams.

UK Royalty

In the UK statues of Royalty and peers are in London, Nelson's Column in Traflagar Square, Piccadilly, and inside and outside cathedrals and city squares. 

UK Royalty Worldwide

Queen Victoria's statue is in squares worldwide.

Kings, Queens and Bishops are in central squares. Royalty and Presidents are outside Parliament buildings.

Belgium

Famous mythological characters and animals, cherubs and children include Belgium's Mannekin Pis.

Outside parliament and municipal buildings you will find city founders.

Jewish, Spain & Arabic Maimonides

The seated statue of Maimonides commemorates the writer of The Guide For The Perplexed. Maimonides was Jewish, but wrote in Arabic. He left Christian Spain and became the revered physician for a Moslem ruler. He is revered by Arabs and Moslems in several countries as well as by Jews.

Moslem India & The Taj Mahal

Because of the taboo against worshipping statues in the bible, Islamic countries and those with Islamic rulers and communities do not have statues. Instead they have buildings and monuments named after those they wish to commemorate. For example, the Taj Mahal, built by the widower to commemorate his beloved wife in India.

The USA and Pocahontas