Suntec City and the Fountain of Wealth, 'largest in the world' with laser shows

Suntan City is a ring of high rise office blocks containing lower storey shopping malls surrounding the Fountain of Wealth.The Fountain of Wealth was in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest fountain in the world in 1989. At night it has laser shows which change colour. The fountain is surrounded by restaurants, some outdoors and indoors at ground level, others higher up to get a view.

Five office towers are easily reached from the nearby MRTs (train stations). The numbers of each of the towers are in large letters on the side of each building.

Here's the top of the middle block.

Grass and large pots of plants are all around at ground level. Look up. Those two horizontal darker green lines on the block slightly to the left of the centre are trees.Do you see the number five on the block on the far left? The letters ON, almost obscured by the foreground block, stand for ONE and are just visible as you walk towards the distant block on the right.

Can you see the numbers ONE on the block on the left? TWO is on the middle block.  THREE is clearly on the block on the far right.

From underneath one of the blocks you can catch tours around Singapore in buses with guided commentary.

The office blocks and shopping malls all link up so you can go shopping or dining out on the way back home or to your hotel if you are a visitor. Remember which station you started at. I arrived at Promenade on one line, saw a sign to the MRT, went down to the platform, then discovered I was at a different station on another railway line.

Photos by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Signposts and memory aids for photos, souvenir and recommendations

When you come home at night you remember the name of your restaurant and your friends, the nearest station, the city. A year later when you want to caption the picture, or find it, or recommend a hotel to a friend, the name escapes you.

The simple answer to this is to take a photo of the name of the city, the street, the hotel, the restaurant, the taxi number.

What's the restaurant name? Table at 8? Restaurant at 9? After 8 Restaurant? Table at 6 or 7? Table or tables at 7? Ah - Table at 7.

When you want to caption your photo, argue with your family about the name of the restaurant, find out if the place your friends visited the year previously was the one you saw this year, or phone about your lost wallet or umbrella, you have the name instantly, complete with the visual reminder.

Was I in Clarke Quay or Boat Quay? The map shows they are adjacent. My photo tells me.  I was in Clarke Quay. Clark or Clarke? It's Clarke. 

Take the photo on arrival, when you have nothing else to do or are waiting for others to arrive. If it's a place you visit often, the chances are that the first time you visit you will be impressed enough to want to take a photo. By the following day or week it will be raining, or dark. Later, you will be bored, or your family will say, 'Stop - enough photos' or, 'We're in a hurry.

Statues and Landmarks In Sunshine
I remember visiting Nottingham, England on a press travel trip. We passed the statue of Robin Hood. It was sunny and I wanted to stop. The guide said, "You can do it later".

The next two days it rained. On the last day we took a short cut back to the station and didn't pass it. Besides we were hurrying to catch a train.

I've never forgotten. That would have been my landmark statue.


Yes, the tourist board can send a picture. But it's their copyright. The photographer may have rules about entering his name in the caption.

The photo might be a year old. The magazine may have used the generic photo already or not want the same photo that the rival magazine or newspaper is using. Maybe they already have that picture on file. They already covered the story last year.

Why should they take my text? A glance at the accompanying photo will tell the editor that he or she has seen this before.

I always find a new angle. I might want myself, little me, in the picture to show the height of the statue.

Human Interest and History
My face adds human interest. My face added proves that I visited the place. This is up to date and a personal story, not a press release put out by the tourist board, identical to that published in every other newspaper.

But clothes can date a picture. So can cars. And your face growing older. Somebody can look at you and ask, "When was this taken?"

Historic photos are useful. If the building is demolished later. O to show your town through the ages.

I might get paid for my own picture. I can't get paid for somebody else's picture.

If I'm told, "You can do it later," I reply, "I'd rather do it now and strike if off the list of things I have to do." Or I say, "Let's do it now while the sun is just right."

Obstructions
A day later the cathedral is covered in scaffolding. (Umpteen times in England and Europe.)

Two hours later when we walk back past the church with all the statues it is in shadow and a fast food van is parked in front of the church. (That happened to me in Malta.)

Handy Captions
A caption of a hotel or museum is useful. Why did I take that buildings with columns? Is it the hotel where I stayed? Budget b and b? Or five star luxury? Or a national museum?

Signposts
The photo as a signpost to the reader. If it's not visually appealing, use it small as a signpost or opening to your title page on the slide show. It's also a caption writer for you, saves hours of searching though maps and distractions on the internet.

Where was I? River Valley Road.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Foods around the world transformed - angel hair pasta

Angel hair pasta seems to be more popular in the East than in the West. The Italians have many kinds of pasta and so do the Singaporeans who use the word noodles.

The Chinese or Singaporean Version
A favourite in Singapore is angel hair pasta with large shrimps (which look to me like king prawns). I have always avoided it in the past because I've had very bad reactions to shellfish, especially crab and king prawns. However, seeing a delicious looking platter of angel hair pasta, with just a small scattering of the large prawns on top, I wondered whether the seller had simply added a few prawns on top, without adding any sauce, nor mixing sauce into the dish.

I decided to risk trying a small portion from the side of the dish. I could always spit it out into a paper tissue. It was fine. Emboldened, I tried some more.

The first time I did this was at a Toastmasters club in Singapore, Brilliant Advanced, meeting near Telok Ayer MRT. I enjoyed my new discovery.

The Version From the Philippines
The second time was at Filcom, a club started for Filipinos, who bring along home cooked Filipino food. This time the angel hair pasts was cooked with a marinade of mixed chicken marinade and other (I think pork). Other meat and fish ingredients mixed in were strips of chicken, small pieces of chicken liver, chopped Chinese sausage which resembles salami but the size of a Frankfurter or hot dog, and black mushrooms - plus the large shrimps which I avoided. I had never enjoyed or remembered the ingredients of Filipino food before, despite visiting the Philippines and trying food at a hotel buffet, but now I have one dish I love and will be encouraged to try more.

If you are looking for a way to vary or expand the ingredients in a dish of angel hair pasta, this is a very tasty dish to try.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Boats and colourful buildings at Clarke Quay

The colourful little boats chug up and down carrying tourist about all day. Always something to watch and photo opportunities.

Seats belonging to cafes are along the edge of the water under shady trees.  Some people seem to sit on the edge with legs dangling over. I would not do that.

The modern shopping mall on one side of the water has a basement where I found a shop which sells see though cubes and oblongs with laser-produced 2D or 3D pictures of set schemes such as a birthday cake, or your own photo.

The cheapest is a 2D key ring. But they are 2D. Once you've seen 3D, you probably want 3D.

You pay for the cube itself plus for each photo. You can have one photo - the eyes follow the watcher as you move. Alternatively pay more for up to five creating an all around look, with a different view on each of the four side and from the top looking down.  You get an all inclusive price slightly reduced if you have five pictures. At these prices you need one of those traditional Chinese people who are good at bargaining.

 The old shophouses on the other side of the water are in lovely colours and contrasting.

On this side the jumping fountains keep the tiny tots jumping up and down and squealing with delight.

Clarke Quay MRT and a taxi rank are on the River Valley Road side. You are just inside the ERP - electronic road pricing.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Learning one word in Mandarin - goodbye

Today I said hello to a Chinese girl. She was at a swimming pool. After a few general remarks about the weather and the pool, I asked if she spoke English as a first language. (To ask if she speaks English as a second language would imply her spoken English was not good.)

She said that English was her first language, but her second language was Chinese. (That means Mandarin. Cantonese and Hokkien and other languages we think of as Chinese are called dialects.)

So I asked her how to say goodbye in Chinese. It sounds like Sigh chen.  Maybe I am hearing it spoken in different ways by people speaking different dialects. The important thing is that I recognize it when I hear it. I am waiting for the day when I shall hear somebody nearby saying it as they leave their friends. Then I shall know they are speaking Chinese. I shall know they are leaving. I shall know I have learned a Chinese word.

I have trouble remembering it. Never mind. I'll get there in the end. I didn't learn 12 x 12 = 144 the first time the teacher told us in primary school. After repeating it every day for months I eventually got it. Multiplication tables. Ingrained. Forever. That's how you learn. By repetition.

How can I get to hear the word for goodbye in Chinese every day? Easy. If I don't want to tire out somebody I see every day, I just ask each new person I meet.

I sit next to somebody on a bus or a train. I start a conversation about some topic of common interest. I have a lovely conversation. As a bonus, when I leave I ask them how to say goodbye in Mandarin. It's my final reaching out to them, their final gift to me, a final mutual project. Smiles all around.

The final step will be when I can say it automatically, without having to be reminded.

I can of course say thank you in Mandarin. I am reminded of it whenever I take the train in Singapore and hear the recorded messages. Shay-shay (Chinese),

(After writing this I got out my Earworms disc, a short form of the Berlitz method.)

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker and language teacher.

How the Hash organises the jungle run trails

You may have heard of the Hash, who do jungle runs and running all over the world. They started in Malaysia in WWII. In Singapore the men run a more strenuous run on Monday nights, mixed sex on Friday,  families with children - just type kiddie hash, at the weekend, and there's a run with dogs.

The Singaporean hashers think they have the best runs, because they go through jungle. On the other hand it's hot and humid. If you are in America or Australia you can join or start a hash in all sorts of climates and terrains.

I asked somebody who runs every week about how the hares set this trail for the other runners. Do they start on one side of a park or field or jungle or area and come back to the same point for the exit or go across it and emerge the other side?

Given a choice, they think it's more interesting to start one point and end at another. But if there's no exit on the other side (eg if its a cliff by the sea, a reservoir, an airfield, a banned military site, or a housing estate or private land, what do they do?

They have a choice. One is to have the start and end nearby. Leave the end few yards unmarked. Bring people back to end within sight of the road (and the parked food trucks with supper which have not been there when the run started at six pm on the dot, but arrived about 8 for 8.30 supper.

You put a sign, on on home. The runners know just to keep running in the same direction to the main road where the end point will be obvious from the trucks and signs of the earlier runners.

You don't want the out and back signs in the same place.

The alternative is for the two or more hares (usually two, three or four) to wait until the runners have set off. Then to add the signs nearby for the return.

For more information look up the Hash in Singapore or the inter hash event and you'll find the general website.

You will find nearly a hundred runs just in Malaysia. You will find runs in west Java in Indonesia, in  Hong Kong and many more worldwide.

Angela Lansbury, B A Hons, CL, ACG, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Packing for the temperature at your destination, sun, ski and cancer

I just checked the temperature in Singapore. The site I tried allows you to toggle between agrees c and f and gives the humidity, which might not matter much in London but matters a lot in Singapore. In April 2016 the temperature in Singapore varies through this week from  29 on Monday to 33 C on Thursday, which is only 86 on Monday but in the nineties by Thursday. Humidity is 75%.

In the USA I used to look at the back page of USA today which gave the temperatures in every state. UK papers are the same.

We would also look at snowfall when planning a ski trip in Europe or the USA.

If going to the tropics, remember to take a large brimmed sunhat or hat with a visor. You can use this for swimming, over your swim cap, just adjust the clip at the back of most baseball hats.

A hat with a neck protector can be bought in outdoor shops, eg a trekking shop in Kathmandu, Nepal, but probably the same in most countries.

To protect your feet agains melanoma, especially if you have white skin which is more susceptible, you can buy swim socks. Most flip flops, apart from being slippery, expose both your toes and the top of your feet.

More Information on Temperature
https://www.google.com.sg/?client=safari#q=singapore+temperature&gfe_rd=cr
More on Melanoma
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/79115.php
Sunscreen Clothes and Swim Socks
http://www.coolibar.com/home.jsp?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=sunscreen%20clothes%20b&utm_campaign=Clothing&gclid=CIe7h-iTqswCFU4faAodYMkPsg
Sunscreen Swim Socks
http://sunprotectivedesignerclothing.com/-p-187.html

Angela Lansbury, B A Hons, travel writer and photographer, speaker and author.

Park Royal Hotel's hanging gardens and waterside seats

I'd driven past the Park Royal Hotel and admired the architecture and outside greenery.

At last I was on foot so I was able to go inside.

The hotel has only one restaurant, Limes, although within it are several corners.

(See my previous posts.)
Can't afford it? You can walk through the  Park Royal Hotel. Wear your smartest, prettiest clothes so you can pose for photos and look the part. Walk around.

Budget $20 for a coffee or cake in elegant surroundings.

This is the Park Royal Hotel on Pickering. The Park Royal hotel group has two other places in Singapore.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Glamorous Entertaining In Singapore: top ten from free to a fling

Glamorous Entertaining
If you are looking for somewhere to entertain a visitor to Singapore - or entertain yourself, these would be my Secret Seven suggestions, in alphabetical order:
Secret Seven Hotels and Restaurants - oops, now it's eight - I'll make that ten.

Clarke Quay where you can sit and admire the view.

Clarke Quay - boats, boat trips, flowers, fountains, riverside restaurants.
Gardens By The Bay - a day out. Expensive restaurants - or simple outdoor eating at a hawker centre is expensive but then it's back to the waterfalls and trees and flowers. Plus souvenirs of clothes or pot plants.
IO - Italian in Hillv2 - go for lunch or a take away or catering or just for the desserts
Marina Bay Sands (Very pricey top to the tower restaurants and bars and must book. We stayed in Singapore with a friend for a fortnight and took him there on our last night.  He was so impressed that when his teenage children visited him from overseas he took them there for one night in the bedroom to enjoy the rooftop infinity swimming pool with views over the city.
Night Safari (on site evening buffet can be booked) see the animals having their supper at twilight.

Colourful Clarke Quay.

Walking around Clarke Quay.

Park Royal Hotel - (Limes Restaurant) (Coffee is $7++ - total about $10 just for the coffee.)
Raffles Hotel - history, shops, restaurants at all prices and delis, Singapore Sling in the bar or just walk around, or stay at the expensive hotel
Sheraton Towers Hotel (dine by the indoor waterfall)
Table at 7 restaurant for dinner (Degustation or tasting menu about $88.) Does outside catering for grand affairs such dinners for ministers - not religious ones I presume but the government(s).
Tippling Club restaurant, where neither the plates nor the foods are names, colours or shapes you have seen before.

Park Royal hotel outside.

Even a glass of water at Table at 7 restaurant is served in style in a fine-lipped glass subtly advertising Aquapanna bottled water

TABLE AT 7 RESTAURANT. Fine flavours.

Tippling Restaurant. Unusual food. Quirky surroundings. Expensive gourmet.

(See my previous posts.)
Can't afford it? You can walk through the Sheraton Towers Hotel and the Park Royal Hotel. Just put on your smartest, prettiest clothes so you can pose for photos and look the part. Walk around and  budget $20 for a coffee or cake in elegant surroundings.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, speaker and author.

Fruits In Chocolate From America, found in Singapore

One of the chocolate concoctions I tried at the recent food and wine show at Expo in Singapore April 2016 (see previous post) was samples of prune in dark chocolate and cherry in dark chocolate. I eventually folded back the wrapper and discovered their website, www.fruitsincocolate.com.

The website shows three varieties of fruit, prune in dark chocolate, cherry in dark chocolate,  and cranberry. They also do apricots, wild berries and tropical fruit. I must admit that when I picked them up at the show I was very surprised. I have had nuts in chocolate, which works very well, and assortments of mixed your covered nuts and raisins.

From a nutritional point of view, adding chocolate to fruit is reducing their health image of the fruit. On the other hand, adding fruit to chocolate, is increasing the health quality of the chocolate.

My family greeted the fruitsinchocolate with enthusiasm.

I have rushed them back to the fridge. I recall how the history of Hershey's chocolate revealed that a new type of chocolate was needed when American troops went to hot countries. the long-term gain for Americans was their highly successful chocolate, which is a huge success in America and known worldwide.

In the UK I buy fruit and nut chocolate bars because eating a plain bar gives me an overdose of sugar and I like to get the protein in the nuts.

As a chocolate addict, and a health conscious person, anything which adds fruit to chocolate is good for me.

According to the FruitsinChocolate website they are based in New York which is where the manufacturing takes place. They started recently in 2013. Their fruits in chocolate are delivered in heat protection packaging.

More Information from:
Food Show - next one in Singapore 2018
wwwfoodnhotelasia.com

Fruits In Chocolate
www.fruitsinchocolate.com
https://www.facebook.com/FruitsInChocolateWeb

They run a mail order service in the USA and a Facebook page with seasonal offers of discounts on large orders.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Table at 7 by Karl and Eugenia, my latest favourite restaurant in Singapore

A party cum cookery machine demonstration held by two good friends was the place where I had the good fortune to meet Karl and Eugenia, who run a restaurant called Table at 7. The restaurant does evening dinners only, no lunches, and it's chief unique selling feature is the Karl , whose family have a farm in Austria, is in charge of the Western menu,whilst his wife/partner/whatever Eugenia offers Indonesian food.

You can see into the kitchen from the restaurant. The server was very obliging and knowledgeable.

We were considering going for the a la carte menu, but after a long period of indecision, I saw that the set menu included coffee or tea plus a chocolate for each person, so I decided that the set meal at $88 (Singaporean) was the best option. 

I had also hesitated to have it because it contained two dishes including shellfish to which I have an allergy. However, Karl was quite happy to change these dishes for me.

Drinks

I started with a mojito cocktail. It contained flecks of ming.

We opted for a bottle or Reisling which turned out to have artwork on the label (like the bottles of the Rothschild family featured on a poster I bought from one of the Rothschild families in England. That's the first bottle we've bought containing an artwork label, so we saved the bottle and took it home.

I loved the delicately thin-rimmed water glasses.  Alas I don't think you can buy them retail. The glasses are provided free to restaurants by the mineral water supplier. 

I also recognised the lidded tea cups which I had learned were provided free to restaurants supplying Dilmah tea. (I found that out when I asked to buy one at the recent Food and wine show at Expo in Singapore (see my previous post on the show).

Events at the restaurants include music nights. Currently, the paintings on the wall feature musical instruments. The artist changes the pictures every couple of years for the restaurant for a small charge, updating the look and experience.

Everything tasted exquisite, flavourful, different from anything you know and different from the previous dish. Even the chocolates were lovely, with a strong chocolate flavour, soft suckable centre and crispy contrasting hard chocolate shell.

Here is Karl.

Getting To Table At 7

A short walk uphill from Clarke Quay MRT railway station; Motorbike parking opposite the restaurant is just outside the toll taken by the ERP (electronic road pricing). The 54 bus routes you to Newton MRT station on the Downtown line.

The restaurant is easy to find, about three or four shops in from the end of the road.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Art on the Underground at Clarke Quay station in Singapore

Stations in Singapore, particularly the newer ones, have art relevant to the location or history of the area. This mural in Clarke Quay is called The Reflections and is by Chua Ek Kay.  In London we have art on the underground. In Singapore we have ArtinTransit. 

I am very glad I took a picture of the description because I am usually rushing through the station on my way to a meeting and do not want to stop to read. Later on I have time to  digest the information and analyse it. My first reaction is surprise that the mural, which I assumed had just arrived, have been in place since 2001. 

My other question  was how many murals are there. As you rush through the station you might see one or two. The plaque tells you that there are four.

Another question is: how big is the mural? This one is 20 metres, about 200 feet. 

Is it a total imaginary view or taken from an old photo? 

Is the scene current or showing history? it is about the 19th century, or 1800s.

Is it a canal or river? It is the Singapore river. That's easy to remember. 

More to research: the artist Chua (male or female?). Presumably Chinese with a name of  three separate almost one syllable words. Chua is a popular family or clan name. 

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Shakespeare - belated quotations - and intonation for understanding others when travelling

Better late than never (but better never late).

Shakespeare:
I can immediately quote:

1 To be or not to be.
(Hamlet.)

2 Neither a borrower nor a lender be.

3 Oh woe is me, for you are undone.

4 Is this a dagger which I see before my hand?

5 When shall we three meet again.
In thunder darkness or in rain.
(Macbeth, the three witches, opening scene.)

6 Methinks the lady doth protest too much.
(Watching Lady Macbeth.)

7 Out damned spot.

(Lady Macbeth.)

8 Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.

9 If you cut us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh?
The Merchant of Venice.

10 All's well that ends well.
Title of play.

11 Once more into the breach, dear friends.
King Henry's speech.


***
At one point it was suggested that Shakespeare was outdated and should be dropped from the secondary school curriculum and replaced with computer studies.

This caused an outcry. By all means add computer studies. But do not take away Shakespeare. Why?

Shakespeare reminds us of English intonation. In English we usually emphasize the first syllable.
Your ENGlish TEAcher says:
"Good MORNing."

Take the sentence from Shakespeare's play:
When shall we three meet again
In thunder, darkness or in rain.
Emphasis is on the first syllable, and on words which are nouns (naming words or words naming objects or people, animal, vegetable or mineral). Insignificant words such as in, on, the are mostly not emphasised.

Prefixes (additions pre or before the word) and suffixes (syllables added at the end) are usually not emphasised.

In a court of law, you might hear somebody ask: "Are there any mitigating circumstances?"

If you are not speaking English as a first language, and somebody who speaks English cannot understand you, try saying the words again with English intonation. If you are English and a foreigner is asking for a place, try guessing where they would want to go and how it would be pronounced if all the syllables sounded the same weight, or you emphasised the last syllable.

For example, an English person would ask for Paris. A French speaking person would drop the last letter of the word Paris and emphasise and extend the last syllable 'Paree'. Somebody from China, Japan, Korea, or a Chinese speaking Singaporean might ask for Pa - Ris, emphasising both syllables equally.

When saying goodbye, you can quote most of Shakespeare's opening to MacBeth, "When shall we - meet again?"

Angela Lansbury, B A Hons, CL, ACG, English teacher and tutor.

The plants you left at home - Six Secrets About Plants

When I am travelling one of my biggest worries is what will happen to my plants. I want to tell you six secrets about plants.

1 Plants are simple - and easy to please.
I won't go so far as to call them stupid. But they are simple. Easily pleased. You don't need to buy them alcoholic drinks. Just give them a glass of water and they are really pleased. They perk up. They are grateful. They thrive. Just plain old tap water.

2 Plants are simple. Honest souls.
They don't lie. If they need water they sag. They flag and droop. They look miserable. Their leaves flop and drop. Feed them a little water and they straighten up. They look proud and pleased. Just like a dog wags its tail when you offer it a drink.

3 Plants are simple. Survive on very little.
They don't need much to survive. Some plants are survivors. When you deprive them of food and water they play dead. Their flowers fall off. But so long as their roots are living they will recover.

4 Plants are simple. They don't say much.
If you want a good chat, they will listen. They don't interrupt. However, like most people, their favourite subject is themselves.

Talk to them. Say, 'How are you doing?' Which country do you come from? How do you like our weather?

Do you like my house? Are you thirsty? Have some water. It's no trouble.

Are you too hot - shall I give you a blanket to protect you from the frost? Too cold? Is this corner draughty for you?

Would you like to move to a bigger pot? You don't need to buy them fancy pots. You don't need anything. stand up straight, dear.  I'll give you a little stick and tie you to it to help you stand up straight.Are you drowning in water? You want to go to the toilet - you have a wet nappy - all smelly - let me make a hole in  the pot and let out the surplus water.

5 Check up on your plant's background.
Be suspicious of foreign plants. Actually most of them are quite civilised and will thrive. But do a few background checks. Read the label. Their mothers (the shop) will tell you a lot. If you have no label, no information from their friends or previous owners (who gave you a cutting), do your own research. The internet tells you everything you need to know. Is the plant poisonous to you or children or cats. Can you eat or drink any part of it?

6 Plants are friendly.
Plants are like cats. They will often fend for themselves if you put them outdoors. Frankly, you may think the plant is your personal friend, but it likes anybody who feeds it.

7 Be Kind to plants.
Plants give you pleasure day after day. It's mean to let them die if you are on holiday or in hospital or are sick or terminally ill. Give your favourite plant as a loan to somebody else until you feel better and can claim it back. If it's a plant which makes cuttings, give cuttings to all your friends. Then, if you ever move house or are away and lose your original plant, you can get back a clone from the cutting. Worst case scenario, after you are dead your plant will live on in the home of your friend or family member or acquaintance and the new owner will remember you (and your generosity) every time they look at the plant.

8 People are a mix of stupid and clever.
Put labels on your plants. Write large and on a coloured pretty card. Give the plant's name and what it likes (shade or sun) how much it drinks and how often.If you give your plant to a family, chances are that even if one person is to busy, another will look after it.

9 Don't fret about dead plants
You can usually buy or borrow or take a cutting of another.

10 Always say hello and goodbye to plants
That way you can keep them happy and check on them and remember to water them.

11 Plants aren't fussy
They will live in broken crockery, on saucers with a chip turned away so nobody can see it. They grow in gardens in odd corner.

12 Every country has a few 'bad apples' - Clean up.
Watch out for weeds that breed. You might want to turn an old house or cemetery into a jungle so it is forgotten and lies undistributed for centuries hidden by plants. But some plants seed and breed and you will consider them weeds.

13 Make Big Problems Small Ones
A plant grown too large can often be cut down into a matching pair, mother and baby, or an avenue.
As with any other problem you have three choices:
a)  Spring Clean. Blitz - new year and spring clean. Once a year throw out what's dead; and buy in new.
b)  Daily Routine.
Just check everything for one minute a day so it's never a burden, easy to remember, and takes little time.
c)  Delegate.
Find out what to do but don't do it yourself. Employ somebody else (friend, family member, maid, friend, gardener, and check what they are doing, praise them, thank them, tell them they have green fingers.

14 Money Talks
If all else fails, invest in a watering system. Every garden centre will have suggestions. If they don't, you can cut up a plastic bottle and make a small hole at the bottom to drip feed and a large hole at the top to fill.

15 Free Advice
If your plants won't talk to you, visit a gardening club, or chat to anybody who owns or looks after a grand garden. Start by praising the garden. Then ask how they manage it.Ask where you can buy or order one of their plants. They will probably tell you. They might even give you a cutting.  If nobody is around, take a photo, and while you are there or later search the internet for a match.

16 Persuade People to Water Plants
I made a mistake. I never taught my toddler son to water plants. Now he is in his thirties it is a long battle to get him to water plants when I am away. If I get grandchildren I will train them to water plants and people. I will say, give your visitors a glass of water. Now give the plant some water. (Only if it wants the water.)

17 Invest in Self-Watering Or Hardy Plants
If you are out at work all day, or away weeks at a time, you need somebody to look after your children, animals, and plants. Some plants will last longer without attention. Buy plants which need little attention.

Did I say six secrets? Like a plant, my blog grew.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Travel Quotations on travel, food, drink, wine, cities, countries

What can you do with these quotations? Write one or more on your travel notebook or diary.

Frame one for your second home or holiday home.

Print them on a tee-shirt to start conversations with people when travelling.

Hum them along to put yourself in a good mood and pass the time when waiting.

Write a travel quiz for the children or family to keep everybody quiet and busy when waiting in a restaurant.

TRAVEL
It is better to travel in hope than to arrive.
R L Stevenson
Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye (WWII)
We'll meet again (WWII Vera Lynn)

FOOD and DRINK and DINNER
If this is tea, bring me coffee. If this is coffee, bring me tea.
American President Abraham Lincoln

WINE
Life is too short to drink bad wine.

CITIES
USA
New York, New York
Take me back to San Francisco
Chicago - my kind of town
Galveston Oh Galveston
All my exes live in Texas - That's why I leave my hat in Tennessee (Country song)
There is a house in New Orleans
I get my kicks on Route 66

COUNTRIES
USA
I want to be in America
Song from West Side Story

MONEY
Money makes the world go around
Song from musical

WELCOME
Wilkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome
Song from musical film Cabaret

Angela Lansbury, B S Hons, author and speaker.
Author of
Quick Quotations
Who Said What When.

Packing Tips - My Favourite is Filing

Packing like a professional. I wish I had a packing service. I've heard of hotels which have valets who unpack and re-pack for you.  My dream is for a pre-packed suitcase. You tell the supplier your sex and height and wight or clothing size, which sports (such as swimming or skiing, tick a box for all the times you want included. Along comes a wheeled backpack which doubles as a seat if you are in q queue at the airport.

Meanwhile, time to stop dreaming and start packing.

Filing
Save space, save time, no ironing and no frantic searching!

Alternative Systems
I looked at the system of folding clothes by letting them hang over the edge of the suitcase and interleaving them.

Shoes and Socks
I already knew the tricks of placing socks inside shoes, wrapping shoes in plastic bags.

Toiletries and Sewing and Stationery
I already use zip up plastic bags. (I also use re-seal plastic boxes for food, drinks, sewing kits,stationery for conferences, and toiletries.

Back to Filing
However the new idea which most appeals to me is the 'filing' method which enables you to see each item packed separately and withdraw it without disturbing the rest of your packing.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3553356/The-ultimate-packing-hacks-revealed-military-roll-help-prevent-pesky-creases-save-space.html


Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Language, Quotations, Symbols and Titles Which Sell For Travel and Gifts

How times have changed. In the Sixties anybody who wore an advertising tee-shirt looked like an elderly, white haired, obsessed or depressed prophet of doom parading Oxford Street with the banner The End Is Nigh or New Shop Opening. Not illegal, not immoral, but definitely either nuts or so poor he had to accept money to walk up and down carrying advertising.

Now the trains are full of people wearing slogans, religious people wear religious symbols and quotations for holy books, national flags appear supporting football teams, witty quotations, motivational quotations.

You can wear a symbol such as a gold cross to advertise attachment to Christianity. Tee shirts and charms on bracelets or pendants to show you are a guitarist or rock band, their supporter. Skis and souvenir shirts from ski resorts show you are a skier. Scissors show you are a hairdresser or dressmaker. Wine bottles and grapes show you are in the wine business. Anybody at a trade show wears a tee-shirt advertising their business whether they are sitting down on the stand or walking about looking at other people's stands.

You can write books on language and grammar, serious books teaching English, or funny books explaining or making fun of mistakes and dialects such as books on Let's Stalk Strine or Singlish.

I bought fine bone china with card patterns to serve food at bridge parties.

I bought clothes with grape patterns and jewellery featuring wine bottles to wear at wine dinners.

I bought tee-shirt with the sayings and photos of Oscar Wilde and Edgar Allen Poe. I also nominated as birthday presents bracelets, rings and items on Banned Books.

I ordered from the Vistaprint site a bag featuring one of my books, a hat and a tee-shirt to match, business cards and stickers.

Looking at the Singlish cushion I thought, I could make and sell all sorts of products with my caricatures or sayings, or others which are out of copyright.

In medieval times the architect would sometimes the faces of his sponsors on public buildings; he might include his symbol or self-portrait or a caricature of a person he disliked hidden in the statues of a cathedral or the gargoyles.

Hitchcock gave himself a walk-on part in his later films. In the film When Harry Met Sally, the older lady who says to the waiter in the restaurant after the actress fakes an orgasm, "I'm having what she's having" is a relative of the film maker.

On this mural in Singapore the artist has included himself in the notes on local characters at Cooking Pot Bay, which is the translation of the name of the MRT (Mass transit railway station) and area, Telok B l a n g a h. 

Many authors use their books as a picture on Facebook. I have my own self-advertising.

If you want to buy a book from me, and get a signed copy, I am usually carrying either a book of quotations or a book of children's poetry or a story for and about children and a talking dog.

Angela Lansbury, author of;
Quick Quotations, and
Who Said What When
Larry the talking dog
, ten books by mainstream publishers and ten self published, more in preparation.

Singlish turned into a cushion

This c u s h i o n was on sale at the Danish Seamen's Church fair in Singapore. The seller has a Facebook page. The cushion's colours are grey with yellow piping and the word Singlish in yellow or a rather jolly and unusual turquoise.

Price for the cushion (in April 2016) was $60. I think that is just for the cover, with another $5 if you want the cushion filling. 

Why would you want the cushion cover with no filling?  To transport home on public transport when shopping at a fair.  To pack in a suitcase to travel by air to another country. So you can use a flatter filling to match other cushions or as a chair back or cushion seat. to seam two together to make a bolster.

Why would you want it with the filling? To save trouble and use it immediately. To save the time of buying a filling elsewhere. So it looks better as a gift and does not get forgotten and stuck in a cupboard. To be sure you do not buy a cushion which is too small. Not every cushion in the world is a standard size.

More details from

Meredith Davis

Little Red Dot Cushions

Irdcushions@gmail.com

tel:(+65) 8387 1050

Plus six five is the phone code for Singapore, not needed if you are in the country.

Predictive Text

The predictive check and spell checker are working hard to turn my blogs into something I did not write. S i n g l i s h turned into singles. C u s h i o n turned into f u s i o n. If, despite my efforts, without warning, you read something strange, please use your powers of deduction to work out the original, or email me through feedback. Thank you. 

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Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Underground cellars and cities - here's one of my favourites

Underground cities - I first read about them in the childhood story book, The Princess and Curie.How many countries have underground cities? How many don't? What do you need?
1 Rock which can be cut.
2 A way to shore it up.
3 Access to air and food.
4 Something or someone to hide.
5 A preference for the temperature below.

Here are some examples:
Tunnels - Channel Tunnel linking England and France.
Tunnels for wine and Champagne caves near Rheims, now an attraction for tourists.
Vietcong tunnels now a tourist attraction in Vietnam.

More Information From
http://www.hithenews.com/the-basement-wall-with-an-incredible-secret-beyond-453-page2.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_city

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Henderson Wave Bridge, Singapore, the Danish Seamen's Church and Sun Yat Sen

Singapore has so much to see - on our way to the Danish Seamen's Church we passed the dramatic Henderson wave bridge, a pedestrian bridge which is literally the high point of a hiking trail connecting two parts of Singapore.

We took the MRT train to Telok B l a n g a h (stop number CC28), last stop but one on the Circle line going toward Harbourfront. 

Chinese Temple

The bus stop was on the same side of the road in front of the exit from the station. I spied a lovely Chinese temple which I wanted to photograph close up. However, we had an agenda, visiting the fair, buying from a friend, so we didn't stop. You might like to allow time to see the attractive and colourful Chinese Temple.

Henderson Bridge

Our bus journey was only two stops. We looked at the Henderson Bridge on Henderson Road on the map, intending to cross the road using it to get to a sales fair at the Danish Seamen's Church.  

However, when we got off the bus the bridge was way above us.  Instead we crossed the road on foot (which I hate doing). 

A zig-zag route up about four sets of steep steps took us to the top of the cliff face. About two thirds of the way up (or one third down) you can see the bridge through the trees.

Danish Seamen's Church
The Danish Seamen's Church supports sailors from Denmark who arrive in the busy shipping port of Singapore. The circular tower with its horizontal stripes of wine red and white can be seen and admired from the nearby road. It was built more recently than you might imagine, in 1984.The organisation has churches in London and around the world. (See the article in Wikipedia.)

Den Danske Sømandskirke
10 Pender Road
Singapore 099171
Tel.: +65 6274 6344 Fra DK ring 7734 7412 til dansk takst
Fax: +65 6272 9123
Send email til dkchurch@singnet.com.sg 

Here is the attractive church bell. 

We caught the bus back to the MRT station. This time we were the other side of the road and we crossed on an overhead pedestrian bridge which gave me a chance to photograph the Chinese Temple from afar and show you how near it is to the bus stop beside the MRT station exit.

Chinese Temple - 

The temple was built in 1923 (or earlier) according to the oldest date in a document.

Statues of the Eight Immortals stand on the front of the building.

578 Telok Blanch Road

Singapore

Telok B l a n g a h 

On the way back into the city centre we stopped to admire the mural in the MRT station of Telok B l a n g a h (spaces inserted because spellcheck prefers Blanch).

Cooking pot bay is the translation of Telok B l a n g a h. It is so named because of the shape of the bay. 

Close up you can see interesting references to Singapore's history and VIP characters who visited the island, such as Sun Ya Sen who lived from 1866 to 1925.

All photos by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

More Information From:
http://www.yoursingapore.com/see-do-singapore/architecture/modern/henderson-waves.html

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Why your travel video won't upload to your blog

After uploading a video to your blog it is a good idea to go to view and see what your audience is seeing. I loaded up a video and no video displayed, just an icon for a video but when you clocked on it nothing happened.

With the help of a friend, I looked at the HTML (text coding which tells you what is happening in detail). This simply confirmed what we already knew, that no video was showing, just the logo for click here.

I then remembered what had happened once before and realised my mistake. My photos and videos are all stored in one place when downloaded to my laptop from my mobile phone. The photos and videos all go into a photo album.

However, if you look at the top of the blogger editing page, you see two symbols, one for uploading photos and one for uploading videos. I had clicked on photos, then opened my laptop photo section and clicked on choose on the video.

So I went to edit blog post and deleted the photo of the click for video symbol not linked to anything.

Then I went into the blog post and clicked on the video symbol. You have to wait a while for the video to load up. I didn't dare to interrupt it.

However, I was too impatient to wait. So I opened file open, new window, to write this post as a reminder to myself and a help to you and others.

When I went back to edit, I clicked on update. When I went back to View, I could see the progress bar under the video symbol. I moved the slider under the video. I now have the video on the blog. Hurray!

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Light Delight in Orchard Road, Singapore

Every trip around a city, day or night, reveals something new. Here are exciting lights near Orchard MRT, on Orchard Road in the centre of Singapore. I took a photo of the blue lights. I delayed to listen to a sinter. I turned around and realised the lights had changed colour. The lights are on steps where you can sit.

Lights on steps seemed to be blue.

I turned back and the steps' lights changed to pink.

Statues Photo Opportunity by the Ion multi-storey underground shopping mall linked to Orchard MRT stationed Wisma Atria

Video of lights at night.

Statues on the steps provided a photo opportunity for tourists wanting to pose next to the statues.

Photos of lights in Orchard Road, photos by Angela Lansbury, copyright.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.