Your safety as a travelling shopper and visitor to leisure areas

The year started with more than 239 killed at Kiss nightclub in Brazil. That was January. In February we heard reports of a fire in a Calcutta shopping area. (See wikipedia on disasters.) Each country has Building Regulations.  One improvement in safety would be to have all exits numbered like pages 1/1, 1/2. An illuminated /reflective arrow and map underneath should show all fire exits. Phone numbers of owners and emergency services. (In the UK we call 999 for all emergency services. But in other countries it can be 911 for some services. Visitors need to know the local numbers.)
Angela. Travel writer and survivor.

Judging a speech contest

Judges face all sorts of problems and need guidance. A first-timer may have difficulty simply listing the foreign sounding names in the columns. Then you might think speaker a) is a clear winner, so is b), so is d), and by the time you've got to e) you can't remember a). You might have trouble adding up all the scores, or be so busy writing numbers that you miss the gestures and don't hear the jokes.
You could hear four bad speeches and have a clear winner but all runners up are equally good or bad. One speech may have great content badly delivered, whilst another has no content, purely entertaining, and be highly amusing.
Once I was advised, if in doubt, forget the score and go for which you liked the most. My ultimate decisive factor is - if I were running a social club or business and had to invite a speaker, who would be my first choice? If they were unavailable, who would be second?
Another system I use is to rate each speaker against the previous one.  That way you don't have to compare c) with a). If a) is good and b) is better than a) and c) is better than b) you have your ranking.
I also use a star for each really good prop, piece of advice or turn of phrase. Sometimes all the speeches are brilliant.
Ultimately the top score goes to the one whose message will stay in years to come.
It would be enormously useful to hear judges before a contest saying what they are looking for. This would help speakers and other judges. This could be done anonymously.

Can you take hotel toiletries and biscuits and pens and slippers?

Not can. I know you can. I mean should you? Are the goods complimentary or is it stealing?
The answer's really simple. You ask the staff if the goods are recycled or if you are allowed to take them. You ask if it's possible to take a pen. Sometimes they say no. Sometimes they say yes. Sometimes they give you two. Sometimes they hand it to you and say, 'Sh - don't say I gave it to you!'
Sometimes they say, 'Of course, love,' or 'You're welcome, madam.' That way you don't have to worry that your bag will tumble and drop the goods in the lobby and you'll get arrested or die of embarrassment. Instead, if out of luck, you can shrug and think, 'Worth a try,' or, 'glad I didn't spoil their day'.  Or, if they gave it to you, you leave feeling happy and grateful, while the staff look affable and generous.  

Naked man in hotel corridor

A hotel video shows a naked man putting a hotel tray outside his door and getting locked out.
What does he do? He walks down the corridor. He passes two men. He gets in the lift. A woman with her son is inside. He turns his back on them. A woman shields her small son's face. He goes to reception and asks for a duplicate key. The receptionist demands a driving license as ID.
Some commentators claim it's a fake. Other claiming to work in hotels say it happens regularly.
One commentator suggested he should knock on the next room and ask to borrow a towel.
Others say he should have asked the two men to fetch him a towel. Others ask why the hotel does not have a phone.
You wouldn't offer him a towel. The polite thing is not to notice. If he doesn't speak to you, you assume he'd rather not be identified. You'd assume he was creeping back from his room to a friend's or vice versa. Like any resident looking out of the room seeing a naked person by their door, you'd rather not get involved. He might be drunk, drugged or nuts.
You might report it to reception - but the danger is they come upstairs to look and he's gone so they think you are the nutter claiming to see naked people in the corridor.
Best suggestion is to look for a linen closet and borrow a big towel before going to reception.
Warning: Reception may not give you a key until you have answered a security question. If you have no passport nor photo driving license, they may ask for your home address and phone number as ID. Sounds easy. Until you are on your way to a new home in a foreign country. Or you've given the address of the relative or friend you are staying with, and can't give the house number or remember the multi-digit phone number. If you are Mr and Mrs Smith and haven't given your home address, or aren't sure which address has been given, or have two homes, more confusion and embarrassment. If you have a married name and a maiden name, or the room is booked by the business you are visiting, even worse.
Moral of the story: do not walk around naked in hotels especially not when opening a door to bathroom or corridor. If you go into the bathroom naked, you never know when room service will walk into the room behind you. If you step out into the corridor you are on TV cameras. In a lift you are on TV cameras.

Window Falling Accidents

An accident was reported of a young, 27 year old, woman falling from a window in Dubai. Has anybody collected statistics on these accidents worldwide? I'm sure in each country the society for the prevention of accidents has figures. How do you prevent accidents? In some parts of the USA this cannot happen. To prevent accidents, windows of high rise hotels in San Francisco cannot be opened far enough for anybody to get out.
In Canada back in 1967 Habitat dwellings were designed like pyramid steps so nobody could fall further than one storey. Soft surfaces such as lawn or the sort used in children's playgrounds can be provided under windows.

Brazil's Plus Size Fashions & How To Flatter The Fuller Figure

Photos of 'plus-sized models' in Brazil did not show me any new tricks nor fashions but I've a few suggestions of my own. I'm glad they've tried to look glamorous and had the courage but now they need:
1) Gok Wan, English TV personality and makeover stylist, to show them before and after wearing outfits which flatter.
2) The woman with the underwear covering her thighs was the only one whose clothes seemed to flatter her shape.
3)  I've seen lots of dresses with a vertical central panel to make the short and fat look taller. You can also buy swimsuits with a vertical contrasting colour central panel.
4) In the Far East short women manage to look elegant. For example, the sari is floor length. Ankle length dresses help a short or dumpy woman look taller.
5) Emphasis on the neckline draws attention to the pretty face away or cleavage from the heavy thighs.
6) A square neckline with emphasis on two verticals like a picture frame on the chest, divides the chest into three, and can distract from and hide large shoulders.

Noise Levels In Pubs And Entertainment Centres

I read a news story about a New York employee suing her employers for loss of hearing.
Our local London pub has a noise level meter on the wall. You can see when sound reaches red (when everybody shouts and claps).
All music establishments should have noise meters fixed visibly where anybody with a mobile phone can picture them.  A video like a black box should be kept to show the noise meter when applying for a new license.
A health and safety staff member should be responsible for checking noise levels are acceptable - and fire exits are accessible.
If the venue is damaging the hearing of staff wearing earplugs, the venue must be damaging the hearing of customers without earplugs. Does anybody already do this?

Why you should never run out of petrol

An America car ran out of petrol and two boys helped their father push it. The boys died when another car apparently ploughed into the back. The driver of the second vehicle was believed to be drunk. The driver of the second vehicle was shot dead. Police arrested the father, suspecting him of firing the missing gun. When I read about it the investigation was ongoing.
Tracking back through the series of alleged events, the trigger event is the first car breaking down. This type of fatality to pedestrians near a stalled car happens often on motorways even when the other drivers are sober. Drivers just plough into the back of stationary vehicles. That's why police tell you to get out of a stalled car on a motorway.
I can see that the families of the occupants of both vehicles would think that the main cause of the tragedy was the other vehicle.
What could anybody do to prevent an event like this happening again?
Most commentators would blame either gun ownership or drunk driving. A few would look at anger management.
Wrong place at wrong time? How could you avoid being there?
Prevention is better than cure. The moral is, try not to break down or stop on a dark road at night. Always have enough petrol (gas to American readers) for your journey.
If your vehicle breaks down, get out of the road and phone for help. A stationery or slow-moving vehicle is a danger to the occupants, bystanders - and the occupants of other vehicles which may drive into it.
I was knocked down by a car in Corsica after the coach taking my group to the airport broke down. Yes, I should have been thinking about the traffic and not the problem of getting to the airport and retrieving my camera from the coach. Yes, the vehicle which came over the brow of the hill should have been driving slowly enough to stop before hitting a pedestrian. But if the coach had not broken down in 1984, I would not be scarred, standing lop-sidedly, and feeling aches in my bones today.
One thing I always try to do, make sure I won't run out of petrol.

Silent videos needed when home and travelling

Can you make videos like TV programmes so one can watch them silently with subtitles?
I'm often reading in places or at times when I can't play sound. At night at home if I'm up late or early. In the daytime sometimes others are working from home and I'm reading emails which send links to videos.
When travelling, I'm often jetlagged and awake while others sleep when away on holiday or business in a different time zone. 
In public places I don't want to disturb others. Or reveal what I'm watching.
It would be handy if video makers could provide the text separately.
I'm sure the solution is simple. The video maker can play back into a text conversion programme and then correct the spelling. Businesses and charities would at first do this only with their keynote speech. But eventually the technology and price will come down so that it's standard. It will be a real boon for travellers.

Template for business card showing multiple names needed

I am trying to print a club contacts address card like the ones I am given by all clubs in Singapore, four columns on reverse headed appointment, name, tel, email. Toastmasters International current template card allows only one person's details. It's cheaper to print one card for everybody. Committee, members and guests then have everybody's details on one card. Please ask a designer to do a template for card like this. See reverse of business card from Toastmasters Club of Singapore, or Toa Payoh, or Tampines Changkat. Thanks.

Wrong body in coffin? Does it matter?

Feb 9 2013 I read in the Daily Mail that a funeral home delivered the wrong body to a crematorium in Gateshead.
I avidly read the readers' comments.
I agree it's better to have the lid off the coffin so you know who is in there. If nothing else, it saves that uneasy feeling that maybe the person is actually alive. Stops wishful thinking of widows who are in denial.
You might need to exhume a body over a claim that somebody was murdered, whether the case is brought by family or police or insurance company. You might want evidence of cause of death for medical research. Or DNA to prove claims by descendants for inheritance from the will. If you are not looking after your relatives from cradle to grave, you might as well say goodbye to everybody whilst they are alive, and get rid of cemeteries and put everybody down the rubbish chute. Mourners want to cling on until the last moment, keep something. It's shutting the door after the horse has bolted, but for many its instinctive to try to hold on to the body or help the dead person and preserver their memory.
As for donating to medical research instead of cremation, unfortunately many old people die of cancer or infections and the bodies are not suitable for transplants and not wanted for research.

New Cancer Cure Success

Delighted to read about TIC10 and TRAIL added to our stockpile of weapons against cancer.
People who say there are no cures from pharmaceuticals are wrong. Survival rates are higher nowadays.
My husband was cured of a cancer. I know another woman who had breast cancer and survived.

Different cancers have different rates of survival. Depending on how easy the cancer is to spot and how quickly you treat it and whether you take care of yourself. Each factor is important in tipping the scales.
Some people don't want to take precautions. They carry on smoking after being diagnosed with lung cancer. They go out sailing in the sun after getting skin cancer. I'm very glad they have a new weapon in the fight against cancer.

How to get volunteers to attend a club event? Your most exciting location.

We need to work out what's pushing and pulling people. Depends on their age and family and work situation. In my club people told me why they won't come. First new members don't understand why they should care about the abstract idea of a club getting 'points'. Instead of being the incentive, telling them the club needed points actually made one member of my committee change her mind and not come.
What else? They don't want to give up visiting their gym/swim session to maintain their health.
They don't like missing meals. For example,  the home club people eat lunch at home, not caring that others have left home at 11 am, missed lunch, driven two hours to be presented with a cup or coffee and wait for hours to be given no meat and two veg, only chocolate bars at tea time when they are diabetic!
Nor not seeing their children. They have too much work, it takes up too much time. It's a long, stressful drive at the weekend when they want to relax.
So they will come if it's an exciting hotel or restaurant, offers networking or socialising, great food - or at least food for those travelling a distance. How about activities their family will like at the same or nearby venue?
Or telling them the event will help them learn workplace skills. Or management and internet tips which save time at work. Or get club business done quicker leaving more time for work. Or skills to help you find a job or start a business.
Get people who went last year to tell what they gained. Not only do they convert others, it reminds them why they should come back!
Add an exciting VIP speakers before or after your dull event.
Location, location, location!
I've been to club training in St Albans at a hotel with a wonderful leisure centre. I sat in a dull committee room all afternoon. We weren't even told what the refreshments were. No idea whether we'd end up eating two lunches and ruining our diet or starving all day. Most of my club did not turn up. If we'd had a pool party, or lunch on the lawn first, or drinks or tea in a penthouse suite with views over the city, wouldn't that have sounded more exciting!
Or an optional trip round the city's cathedral museum? At least we'd have read the press release.
I have been to Toastmasters events in Singapore at the Sheraton Towers and Shangri-La hotels. Not a whisper to the foreign tourist that the hotel has a waterfall and gourmet restaurants and an exquisite gift shop. Nor that before or after the meeting we can go off to socialise in a cheap and cheerful hawker centre drinking freshly squeezed watermelon juice for only three Singapore dollars.

Which author Burnett?

Ivy Compton Burnett wrote the children's book The Secret Garden.
Frances Hodgson-Burnett wrote books for adults full of comic dialogue.

Harrow and Humorous Writer Frances Hodgson-Burnett

I've been researching Harrow authors for a book on local authors and speakers. We have lots of plaques on walls in Harrow-on-the-Hill, where poet and story teller Byron and speaker and writer Churchill went to Harrow school.

Frances Hodgson-Burnett was born in Pinner below the hill and her books sound really good. Mostly in dialogue.

I looked up some quotes and they are hilarious. 

'Daughter: It is too cold to sit. 

Father. 

Why must you sit. Why don't you stand. '

I sent this to a local book group and got the reply:

I don’t see what’s funny about that Angela. Am I missing something?

G

I replied 

What's funny?

Typical man/person of his type. He is totally unsympathetic to her feeling cold. Probably unsympathetic to everything. 

Clearly not going to do anything about heating. 

She is not actually debating how to keep warm in a cold room, but saying that the room should be kept warm and usable so that one has a choice of activities.

He tells her to stand. Presumably she wants to sit and read, not stand nor run on the spot. 

He is a control freak. Directing whether she sits down or stands up. 

He is evading the important subject of the sentence - cold - and diverting to the irrelevant part - sitting, attempting to confuse and outwit her.

He is taking her literally, it is too cold to SIT, when she means it is too cold to do anything.

One should be able to sit down in a reasonable temperature. She is not going to win this argument.

You can tell his character from half a dozen words, short and sharp, aggressive and negative - why must you ..., why don't you .... 

Four word sentences. Two of them. (She says one six word sentence.)

He sounds logical and reasonable. But really he is being totally absurd. 

He is blaming her, making out that she is being awkward. But he is being awkward.

Now she doesn't know what to do. 

She is scared to continue because her perfectly reasonable request for a warmer room is likely to lead to a worse confrontation about why she should not be sitting.

She still has a cold room - AND now she also has a cold father.

Love

Angela

Reply:

Blimey – you are far too clever for me!

G