How To Make Your Bedroom And Bathroom Look Like A Five Star French Hotel

Photo of George V hotel in Wikipedia under Geroge V hotel. Photo author Claus.

Problem
You come home from a wonderful hotel and within five minutes you have turned your own home into a slum. How can you copy their system, make the bed and do the bedroom in twenty minutes or less, and look like a five-star hotel?

Answer
Just allow five minutes each morning to set your home up like a five-star hotel and you can enjoy it all day.

I remember sitting in a hotel in Wales watching the breakfast room staff laying the tables for lunch. I also watched them setting up the breakfast tables the night before. I thought, "That's not difficult. I could do that!"

Now, here are some more tips about bedrooms and bathrooms from YouTube videos. I've seen many videos on how to make up beds with sheets folded into what we used to call 'hospital corners'.

I also recall the various ways of stuffing a duvet inside a duvet cover. You can turn the cover inside out and grab the top two corners and shake it the right way around. Or push the duvet up to the top two corners. Frankly, I would shake the duvet over the bed, not drag it onto the floor (unless I have vacuumed the floor in advance).

However, the video from the prestigious George V hotel, (pronounced the French way 'Jorge Sank'), in Paris, France, taught me a new way to put a pillow into a pillowcase. I use the duvet method to get the pillow into the pillowcase. But the demo shows you how to fold the pillow in half the long way in order to get it into the pillowcase.

I also like the way the demo shows you to fold back any overhang of the pillowcase.

George V, famous for, VIP guests such as Princess Diana. The George V hotel is in the street called George V. Who was George V?  Remember with alliteration. King George Fifth, first world war, sixth, second world war. Expect a traditional hotel.

If you want to watch the video, and learn how to obtain French chic, here's the link:

Useful Websites
On making beds like a hotel in France
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqtmT_xVqhM

If this is too much effort for you, consider investing in a self-making bed, which has metal bars both sides to seal down the sheet:
https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/conventions/2008-04-02-inventions-fair_N.htm
Or check into the George V hotel and let them make the bed for you.

Tourist visits to France
http://us.france.fr
https://en.parisinfo.com
https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Hotel_Review-g187147-d188975-Reviews-Four_Seasons_Hotel_George_V-Paris_Ile_de_France.html
https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Hotel_Review-s1-g188672-d266424-Reviews-Hotel_George_V-Ostend_West_Flanders_Province.html

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

What's New In Hotels? Firm Favourite: Adjustable Hard-Soft Comfort beds from Sweden's YouBed

Problem
Your hotel bed is too hard or too soft. If only you could adjust it. Now you can. How? Where?

Answer
The adjustable YouBed comes from Sweden. You use a hand controller to adjust different areas of the bed HARD and SOFT for shoulders and hips. The beds are already installed in Europe at Mövenpick Hotel & Resort hotels, in Germany, The Netherlands and Switzerland.

The bed was recently launched in the Middle East. Business Sweden (The Sewish Trade and Invest Council) is helping the company select a suitable hotel group in Singapore.

The CEO and founder of YouBed says they claim it's the world's most comfortable bed.

You won't necessarily get the bed at every room in every hotel in a chain, so enquire when booking. Here are some suggestions:

First Hotels in Scandinavia. 63 hotels. Ask for room category SmartBed.

Haymarket hotel, opened in London, England, in 2016, has YouBeds in rooms in a category called, Sleep rooms.

Have you got a bad back and an old bed at home? Maybe it's your bed causing the trouble. Take a holiday to a hotel with a comfort bed. If your backache goes when you are away and returns when you are at home, the bed could be your answer. (I told a friend this and he later confirmed I was right. He bought a new bed and his problem was solved.)

Useful Websites
http://youbed.com/en/
https://www.movenpick.com/en/stay-save-eu/
https://www.movenpick.com/en/europe/sleep/

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and phtographer, author and speaker.

Should I drink coffee when travelling? How many cups do you drink?

Free coffee for those who have made purchases in Waitrose supermarket, Harrow, NW London, England.

Problem
Who can resist a free cup of coffee? A coffee break? Should I drink more coffee? Less coffee? Dark coffee? Light coffee? Strong coffee? Mild coffee?

Answers
I remember drinking my first cup of coffee. I didn't like it! I was sixteen, at a youth club. As a child I had drunk water. My parents would not let me drink fizzy drinks.

Avoiding and Liking Coffee
My first attempt to drink coffee was not a success. I avoided coffee for a long time. Then one day I was given coffee with milk and sugar. I was hooked.

I had to have brown sugar. I rated a restaurant on whether it could supply 'proper' coffee, with milk and brown sugar, rather than instant coffee with white sugar.

Instant Or Not?
When I went to Asia it was a surprise to find that instant coffee, served with sweetened evaporated tinned milk, was more expensive than the local coffee. I was annoyed that restaurants tried to 'palm me off' with instant coffee, which is cheaper back in Britain. When I saw the locals being served local coffee, when I had been given the unaccountably more expensive Nescafé with condensed milk, I challenged the restaurant owner to explain why.

He explained that cows were rare, milk was expensive, most people drank black coffee. Imported instant coffee was favoured by white Westerners, who were prepared to pay more for the rarity of the added milk. In the tropics milk went off quickly. So tinned milk was kept as a standby. The sugar in it kept it fresher longer. Tinned milk was a treat, and locals liked it, having got used to the sweeter taste.

Sugar In Coffee
Later, back in Britain, I went on a diet. I gave up sugar in coffee.

Finally, I went to a doctor, a GP (general practitioner) in London for a general check up. I admitted that I was not sleeping well. I got up in the night to go to the toilet . Then I felt jittery and could not get back to sleep.

Conting Cups Of Coffee
The doctor asked how many cups of coffee I drank. About five, maybe more. How come I drank so many?

I counted.
1 One for breakfast - sometimes a double or a second cup. 2.
2/3 One for elevenses (what the British call the eleven o'clock or mid-morning break - a word unknown in the USA).
3/4 Another cup after lunch, which would be my third or fourth.
4/5 Another cup at tea time, about four o'clock. That's number four.
5/6 Another after dinner. That's number five.
6/7 Sometimes another later, especially if out at a restaurant, or visiting friends, or at a club evening meeting, which makes six, sometimes seven if I'd had two cups at any time in the day.

Oh - I forgot. If I woke early, I would start the day with another cup to get me going. That would make seven or eight cups of coffee!

I was drinking between five and eight cups of caffeine-laden coffee a day. I had never counted or noticed how many. Even if I had counted, I would not have noted it as a problem.

Counting Spoons Of Sugar
If I had sugar in the coffee, I would get a boost of caffeine and sugar, then I would sink half an hour or an hour later, needing another boost, feeling jittery. Eight doses of sugar! Eight doses of caffeine! No wonder I felt exhausted and overweight.

Limiting Coffee
The doctor suggested: no more than three cups of coffee a day, and none after mid-day.
One caffeinated coffee after breakfast. One for mid-morning. A decaffeinated coffee at lunchtime, no later than 2 pm (not after a lunch finishing at 2.30, 3 pm or 3.30 or 4 such as Christmas day or Sunday or on holiday, or a delayed lunch at work.

White Teeth
I also went to my dentist for teeth whitening. I looked at the colours of food I was eating. As a child I had white teeth. I drank white milk and washed my food down with a glass of colourless water. I ate white steamed fish, white mashed potato or white chicken.

Dark Foods
My diet as an adult turned into brown curry with staining yellow in the rice and curry, red steak, brown beef casserole. I ended every meal with a dark coffee.

Dye In Clothes
I dyed clothes and noted that after an hour a dark stain would set. Salt helped the dye to set. I had been putting dark coloured foods and salt into my mouth.

Costa - my favourite because of the almond slices.

Travel
When you are travelling, often you have no choice. But many times you do have a choice.

Final thought: When I'm taking a long motorway journey I like coffee to keep me awake. However, I don't like to drink coffee just before leaving, because I will need a toilet.

You don't have to do what I did. But at least you can now consider my reasoning, and your options and your situation.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts. I have several more posts on coffee including King Coffee from Vietnam and Giuliano coffee from Italy.

What's the difference between Wikitravel and Wikivoyage?

Problem
The two sites seem to overlap. What's the difference?
Essentially, Wikitravel was started first. It was bought by a company which added advertising. (Seems to me a bit like TripAdvisor.)

Some of the original people left and started Wikivoyage which has no advertising. Some of the original Wikitravel articles were copied to Wikivoyage. Wikivoyage now has extra material from their contributors.

I have tried to simplify the story. In case I have got this wrong, or you want more detail, check out my source:

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Wikivoyage:Wikivoyage_and_Wikitravel

Now, if I want to add material to Wikitravel or to Wikivoyage, I can take these factors into consideration.

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

What To See in Dusseldorf, Germany: Gehry buildings, and Goethe Museum

Here's Germany. There's a lot of it.

Germany. Ja. (German for yes.) A chance to practise my German.

Problem
Should I go to the ProWein event in Dusseldorf? Wein is German for wine. Any point in combining business with pleasure? Should I extend my stay beyond the event? What is there to see in Dusseldorf? I have about a year to make up my mind.

ProWine / ProWein
Germany (Düsseldorf) - 17-19 Mar 2019. The great advantage of ProWein in German is that I like German wines. From the popular Liebraumilch of Britain in the 1960s to the more expensive Icewines.

It's a pity that the ProWein event is not in the autumn, because a big parade and celebration is in November.

However, regardless of the time of year of my visit, I can instantly select my top three places to see in Dusseldorf:

1 Goethe Museum.
(I think there's another Goethe museum in Nuremberg, but we had just half a day there and it went on the main museum about the more recent WWII history.)

2 The landmark Gehry building.
Twisted towers. I have seen two Gehry buildings. My favourite is the Dancing House in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic. The building is also a wonderful restaurant. It embodies the twisted tower concept. The Dusseldorf building features another twisted tower effect.
The other one was the Guggenheim museum in Spain. This had the twisted roof concept.

Building designed by architect Gehry in Düsseldorf, German.

3 Cartwheel Fountain
Now cartwheeling is unusual. One story goes that a bride riding to her wedding was feeling despondent, until she saw people doing cartwheels and they made her smile.
Nobody else, no other city, has cartwheeling as a theme for fountains and buildings.

A statue of a bride appears on a pillar. Statues of people on pillars are scattered through the city.

Famous People From Dusseldorf
1 Heinrich Heine who wrote the songs and poems beloved of the German people. The university is named after him.
2 The inventor of an ingenious language of symbols, easy to learn by handicapped children.It's simpler than sound languaged, and has simpler descriptions of the parts. Instead of verbs it has action words.

Düseldorf's Food Factory Shop Visit
Go the mustard factory shop and you can taste their strong mustard. It's not all strong, savoury stuff. Flavours include strawberry.

Learning German
If you are considering going to ProWein, or going to Germany in 2019, you have a year to advance your understanding of German. I did the Duolingo free online German course.

Useful websites

http://www.antor.com/members/germany (Tourist boards)

Their website teacheds you: Gute Reise! (Have a good trip!)

www.germany.travel

wikitravel dusseldorf

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Düsseldorf

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Seeking more information about everyday items, and about unusual places. Please share links to your favourite posts.

ProWine Events in China, German and Hong Kong from 2018

Problem
How do you remember what's on where?
Sort by places and dates.

ProWine / ProWein - by Country
China (Shanghai) - 13-15 Nov 2018
Germany (Düsseldorf) - 17-19 Mar 2019
Hong Kong - 07-10 May 2019

ProWine / ProWein by date
13-17 Nov 2018 - Shanghai, China
17-19 Mar 2019 - Düsseldorf, Germany
07-10 May 2019 - Hong Kong

The event is a trade show, mainly business to business. However, while you are in there for one business (in our case wine) you might as a consumer be interested in businesses in adjoining halls in the foodnhotelsasia, where stands deal with both wholesale and retail sales. For example, we are interested in Reidel glassware, as well as olive oil shown on the Italian stands, and all sorts of food and coffee and fruit juices in the adjoining food fair halls and visits to vineyards in Indonesia and a chocolate factory in France.

I am interested in the vineyards which have shops, restaurants, tastings and tours for the public.

Events
www.foodnhotelasia.com
www.prowineasia.com/sg

Travel websites
China
https://wikitravel.org/en/Shanghai
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/

Germany
https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Attractions-g187373-Activities-Dusseldorf_North_Rhine_Westphalia.html

Hong Kong
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/seasia/index.jsp
Follow the Sun-Yat Sen historical trail. (Huge, excellent museum at top of escalators.)

If you are planning on mixing business with pleasure, before choosing a hotel, check which ones are on the shuttle bus route and which hotels are on the railway line from the exhibition centre, plus any concessions in hotel booking, and any discounts at local restaurants and bars.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer, photographer, speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts. Information on Dusseldorf, Germany, will be in the next post.

Bob's book of recipes

Bob wo wrote the book is on the left, Angela Lansbury on the right. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

I was rushing along the crowded corridor of ProWine Asia in Singapore when somebody stepped in front of me and asked, "Do you want a free signed recipe book?" Three magic words, no four magic words, free, signed, recipe and book. I stopped.

So here I am with Bob, who has a tradtional peaked cap, a beards, a nice white tee-shirt, a red sleeveless jacket in red, matching the title Red Mill, and a book for me.

Bob's Red Mill lunches.

The brand features oatmeal. The brand also includes gluten free, quinoa and many more products.

https://www.facebook.com/bobsredmillSG/

https://sg.iherb.com/c/bob-s-red-mill

Author

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

Perfect mild coffee from Italy Giuliano - can you spot the coffee bean?

How many coffee brands can you name? I can think of: 

Nescafe, 

Rombout, 

Illy (Italian); 

Nespresso, 

Cafepod. 

I just added King Coffee from Vietnam. That's six, at least, and any supermarket will show you several more. Now here's another to add to my list: Giuliano. Italian coffee.

Giuliano translates as Julian in English and is a popular first name or surname in Italy. The company started in 1950 when Michele Giuliano Albo started travelling to coffee regions and mixing his own blends to sell to restaurants and coffee bars. The tradition has been continued in this family by his daughter Maria and her husband Federico and by the next generation. (Yes, it's Fed not Fred.)

Giuliano Italian coffee. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

We stopped for a coffee at this stand at ProWine Asia in Singapore. The coffee was a very soothing, soft, mild coffee. I find it hard to get mild coffee nowadays. At our home-offices we used to buy pods from Nescaffe which are expensive. We found Cafepod which were cheaper but they discontinued the mild coffee. Now, a new discovery. Giuliano from Italy. They have been going a long time, since 1950, more than 50 years. 

How will I remember the name? Like Julia. I know. 

I shall certainly recognize their distinctive, attractive green and white cups. I hadn't noticed, until it was pointed out to me by their rep, that the design includes the white G, the initial letter of Giuliano, plus the little coffee bean. To me it looked like two cups.

Here on the saucer you can see the coffee bean design.

Something about the cups makes the coffee taste better.

Note that the French word's spelling is café but the Italian is caffè with the f doubled and the accent the other way around.

Their website shows their shop will have themed coffees, sugar packets, aprons and a matching clock in the same simple green and white style and tee-shirts for the staff.

You can sign up for a monthly delivery of a mixed case of gourmet foods from around the world, different country each month.

Orso Laboratorio Caffè  Via Claudio Luigi Berthollet, 30h, 10125 Torino, Italy.

Useful Websites

http://www.giulianocaffe.it/en/

https://www.facebook.com/Giulianocaffe/

https://magazine.trytheworld.com/12-ways-to-enjoy-coffee-when-youre-tired-of-drinking-it/

https://www.trytheworld.com/pages/the-gift

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts. I have several on Italy, Umbria, and Italian restaurants in London, England and learning Italian.

How To Get A Good Night's Sleep In Noisy Cities

Sound level meter. Wikipedia.

Problem
Short term
Note if a hotel is near a city centre cathedral which rings bells, or a chiming clock which rings every hour, or mosque which has a call to prayer in the early hours of the morning.

HOTEL HONEYMOONS
Usually it is the wedding party in a hotel playing music until minight or 1 am. Watch out for downstairs discos and marquees on the lawn. Ask for a quiet room.

On my honeymoon in Morocco, I remember hearing a tannoy announcement in the night in Arabic. I phoned down to reception and asked if there was a fire or emergency requiring us to leave the room. The receptionist told me it was a 'dawn' call to prayer from the nearby mosque.

Quiet Rooms
When checking in, ask for a room on the quiet side. Don't accept a beroom next to a buidling site. It's unsightly, and it may be quiet when you check in at 6 pm, but the noise could start at 8 am.

Noisy Coutnryside
Staying in the countryside could be a solution. But not always. You might be able to hear a dog barking from a hilltop miles away. Birds start their chorus at dawn. We were woken for breakfast one day in Scotland. A large cow was mooing outside our bedroom window!

Insect Sounds
And watch out for chocolate wrappers left by your bed. You don't want to hear a gecko (tiny lizard) or any other insect crackling the paper in the early morning.

Sea Sounds
In Florida when a storm whipped up the crashing waves outside our beachfront hotel gave me nightmares about tsunamis. I had asked for a seaview room!

Heating
Clonk clonk, clonk in the pipes. Peple overhead are taking an early morning shower.

Along comes a trolley rattling down the corridor. Two girls on the staff are calling to each other, no doubt some vital information about towels and waking people with Do Not Disturb signs.

Knock knock, "Rooms service. We want to check your mini-bar - are you checking out?"
"I wasn't, but now you have woken me at dawn, please tell management, I'm considering it."

Night Sounds
IF next door are holding a party, nothing worse than four of them drinking from bottles at nigght and alughing at each other's jokes, but you want to sleep. The other side has a TV playing a late night film.

Don't get involved in an argument. Some people are really nice, "Sorry, sorry!"

Better to try getting the night manager to walk around and tap on their door.

QUIET Signs
Some hotels have reminders in the dorridors as you step out of the lift. I recall the first time I aw one at the Greenbrier hotel in West Virginia, USA.

Many pubs nowadays have SH signs outside the front entrance asking you to speak quietly and shut doors quietly in car parks out of consideration for neighbours in nearby houses.

Long term
Nothing worse than renting an apartment in a thriving developing city such as Singapore, or a holiday resort in Spain, and walking up to hear work starting on a building site next door. If you are working from home, or waiting in for visitors, you cannot get away.

When renting, note whether building works or redevelopment works are scheduled.

Great Reduced Rent Deals
On the other hand, if you are overseas a lot, you could get a great rental deal on an apartment if a railway station is due to open within the next three to six months, but currently just a building site and noise. The owners may need to reduce the price. My family did this and were able to arrange a two-year contract next to a new station.

Noise Reduction On Buiilding Sites
I noticed that one building I passed had a sign on the draped padding about noise reduction.

Story About Noise At Night
A family I know told me a story about how a pilot was going to sleep early when noisy building words started at night in their road. She dashed out and told them, "You have to stop making that noise. My husband is a pilot and he needs to sleep."

The foreman replied, "Sorry, madam, we have to dig here because we are repairing a gas connection."

"She replied, 'No, you aren't. This street doesn't have gas. We use bottled gas."

The works manager muttered something and all the foreign workers jumped into an open-sided truck which drove off!

In Singapore police stations such as the one in the Toa Payoh Community Club are open 24 hours.

Noise Remedies
If you wish to sleep soundly, you might consider:
Buying a sound level meter.
1 Playing soothing music.
2 Noise cancelling headphones.
3 Saving ear plugs from your flight, or buying ear plugs in a drug store.

Useful Websites
TRAVEL
DENMARK
http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-26404666/copenhagen-noise-pollution-ruling-in-denmark#
https://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/tourist-frontpage
SINGAPORE
https://www.noisyneighboursingapore.com/articles/singapore-noise-regulations/
visitsingapore.com
UK
visitbritain.com
USA
visittheusea.com

SOUNDS & NOISE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise

EARPLUGS & EARPHONES
You will find ear plugs and earphones from all continents at all prices:
https://www.amazon.com/EarJoy-Noise-cancelling-plugs-Aluminum/dp/B01HDDB816
https://www.qoo10.sg/gmkt.inc/goods/goods.aspx?goodscode=582472686&jaehuid=2026058764
https://www.lazada.sg/products/wireless-bluetooth-noise-cancellation-headphone-ph-5050-bl-black-

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

What happens on Monday 30th April - nothing - your event might be cancelled!

Monday 30th April is the eve of the national holiday in many countries, May 1st. Therefore, any club or event which would normally be scheduled on Monday might be cancelled. Contact the organizers by phone or check the event or club website for the latest news.

How can you check for national holidays?
1 Look at the list in the front of your diary.
2 Look in the date in the body of the diary and read the tiny print.
3 If no current diary to hand, check an old diary.
4 Look at locally printed diaries in department stores and stationery shops.
5 Go online and check the country you are in or visiting.
6 Check on a dates website.
7 Ask a local person.
8 Email a local person at the event a day or two in advance.
9 Put an enquiry on social media. (Imply that it's for a friend or relative or colleague or for another reason. Do not reveal that you will be out of office or leaving your home empty, or travelling if you or your family or business might be vulnerable if this information were to be broadcast.

When buying a new diary or installing a on your phone or iPad or laptop or office computer, check the calendar, note extra national holidays in your home country and any that you are likely to visit during the year for work or holidays, and write or type in the dates.

Check local news outlets for events on the eve of the hksoliday, speeches, parades, free concerts or free food.

INTERNATIONAL
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers%27_Day

NATIONAL
SINGAPORE
http://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/public-holidays
http://www.visitsingapore.com/festivals-events-singapore/
UK
https://www.gov.uk/bank-holidays
USA
http://usafederalholidays.com

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

Please share links to your favourite posts.

New Coffee From The East - King Coffee of Vietnam

King Coffee from Vietnam. A stand at ProWine Asia, an exhibition of food and wine, in Singapore at Expo exhibition hall near Changi Airport. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

As a lover of mild coffee, I was pleased to discover this soothing coffee from Vietnam.

More information from:

http://www.tnikingcoffee.com/en/king-coffee-the-pride-of-vietnamese-coffee-6f757270-662.aspx

https://www.facebook.com/kingcoffeeglobal/

https://www.amazon.com/TNI-Vietnamese-Coffee-3-17oz-Sticks/dp/B06XZ9DCZH

http://coffee.wikia.com/wiki/Coffee_industry_of_Vietnam

https://wikitravel.org/en/Vietnam

Author

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

Best Farm Food? British. Best farm visits? Australia.

Broad Oak Farm Sausages
I tried a teeny slice of sausage from the stand of Broad Oak Farm, at ProWine Asia exhibition at Expo in Singapore. The sausage was so good I snaked back past and took a second piece. Highly recommended. Tasty. Just the right amount of meat and more.

Afterwards I looked at their leaflet and business card and saw that it features a broad oak tree.

If you are looking for sausages for a deli pub or restaurant, their sausages are great.

But what if you want to visit a farm? Most countries have a system for farm visits or farm stays. In Europe there are farms and petting animals corner in London, England.

Wales
More farm visits and farm holidays in Wales.

Italy
Stay on small farms in Umbria in Italy and learn about growing herbs and making dried flower arrangement and cooking with herbs. The agrotourism association will find you a room in a guesthouse.

Singapore
In Singapore I went to a crocodile farm - have they banned them now? They grow salads in the air.

In Singapore at ProWine Asia, Australia was advertising a collective website which looks really handy. Australian tours from Sydney take you past Granny Smith Apples' origin, places for sheep shearing in season, up close to a koala, for a photo, so cute, but mind the claws digging into your shoulders.

Australian Milk Farm Finder

http://www.fruitpickingjobs.com.au

Angela Lansbury

How to get a seat on a train, and fewer steps at stations

You can book a seat on intercity trains such as the GWR (Great Western Railway) going West from Paddington in N W London usually via Reading to Wales.

On other trains with first come first serveld seating such as the MRT. In Singapore I watch the queue all the way along the platform and join the shortest queue. Then as the train flashes past as it comes in I watch to see if the far end carriages have more spaces. I might have time to run along the platform or I might just jump in the nearest carriage and walk along inside a train until I find a seat.

Stations with Easy Changes
London, England
From London underground you can get a list of changes with step-free access for wheelchair users and people with sticks or just not keep on walking.

Singapore
On the Google maps get directions website in Singapore I was able to choose 'least walking' options. A similar choice is on the London, England underground and bus travel websites.
Some stations have very easy changes. It's worthwile marking them on your map for future use. In Singapore MRT I found a very easy change at McPherson. City Hall is a popular interhcnage. It's worthwhile noting whether your best option is changing at City Hall or Raffles Place (depending on which line in which direction).

I know from experience that on some stations the lift (elevator to Americans) saves you a lot of walking. But on other stations the lift is in the middle, so you walk beyond the base of the escalator, then come out behind the top (Newton MRT in Singapore).

A little nifty forethought, and you can save time and energy.

Useful websites
Visitbritain.com
Visitsingapore.com

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
I have other posts on trains and railway stations. Please bookmark and share links. Thanks

Umbrellas to buy in hotels in Asia

Umbrella display at ProWine Asia. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Luxury umbrellas

What gorgeous summery umbrellas. I love umbrellas. You can buy these in major hotels. Look carefully and you will be able to identify the triple towers of Marina Bay Sands hotel with its infinity swimming pool on the roof depitcted on the umbrella on the far left.

A practical souvenir.

Cheap and Cheerful Umbrellas

If you are looking for a quick buy of a cheap extra umbrella in a downpour (many afternoons), look in the chain pharmacies or drugstores such as Guardian, which you will often find on railway station concourses in Singapore.

Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Safeguarding your jewellery whilst travelling

i. Just lost a silver bracelet. I looked down at my wrist and realised to my horror it was gone.

The design is hard to describe. I wish I had taken a photo.

Lessons learned
Take photo of jewellery before leaving home.

When arriving at an event, ask about lost and found department location.

Check your possessions at every change of venue.

If you love an item and it costs under £10  and you have two homes, leave one at each home, wear it at home, and don't travel with it.

Angela Lansbury

Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

A notebook, a gift for helpers

I received a notebook as a thank you for visiting Nee Soon East to evaluate a speech. One can never have too many notebooks. As a writer, traveller, speech writer, and speech evaluator and contest judge, I can never have too many notebooks.
Thank you to Nee Soon East Toastmasters Club.

If you are a member of Toastmasters International you will be welcomed as a guest at many clubs worldwide. To volunteer for a role as a speaker or evaluator, it's a good idea to contact them a week or more in advance. However, sometimes I turn up on the day and offer to be a backup speaker or evaluator and another member drops out, perhaps because they are needed at work.

If you want to visit a club go to Toastmasters International Find a Club website. 

Kosher wine and halal drinks

Problem
What's kosher and what is halal where drinks are concerned?

Answers
I was at a series of winetasting tutorials at ProWine Asia in Singapore. A session on Austrian wines ended with a kosher sweet dessert wine, the only one in Austria. (Not the only kosher wine in the world. You will find kosher wines made by Rothschild in France and several from Israel, available in Jewish delis and in supermarkets in London, England.)

Kosher Wine
When it came to question time, I asked, "What makes a kosher wine? Does it have to be blessed or checked by a rabbi, or is it something to do with egg whites which the Spaniards use for carifying, or the heat treatment?"

The answer was:
1 Yes, it has to be checked by a rabbi. He is making sure that the rules are followed in prductions which are:
2 No products which are from animals, birds nor fish, which includes no egg whites.
3 The clarification is achieved by time. (We had a lot of puns about the herb thyme and time. Eventually I was told not the herb thyme but time, waiting time.)
4 The wine is heat-treated, very briefly.

Halal
No such thing as halal wine, I was told. No halal wine.You can buy sparkling juices which resemble sparkling wines without the alchoholic content.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. (More details and photos may be added to this posts and others during the next week.)

Competition in South Africa

Every year, twice a year, you can enter a competition to win a holiday. The competition is run on the side of a juice carton in South Africa. Since I like buying juice anyway, I thought it's a good idea to keep a lookout for this competition.

Gingerbread houses and chocolate biscuits to decorate

Problems
Where can I get cookery kits?

Answers
You can buy seasonal gingerbread kits for children and adults to decorate biscuits or build houses at Christmas, Halloween and all year.

The different types include:

Biscuit To Decorate
Simple biscuits for you to decorate. This quick and easy kit makes a Christmas stocking filler, or an activity for a birthday party.

Biscuit houses
Biscuit houses come in two types. In one kit you stick and build the biscuits together to make the house. Then decorate the pieces. The second system is a ready-made house. You simply have to decorate it. no construction.

Trains
I liked the train. Lots of people have gingerbread houses. I know they are a novelty for children. Put one in the centre of the table.

Sometimes you have forgotten and the next year you find it seems novel again. But if you like to keep a photo album showing something different in year two, for a change, make a train. Or, maybe a house at one end of your table or buffet display, and a train at the end.

I had a similar kit bought in England on sale in January after Christmas from a small local branch of Tesco in London, England. I looked at the use by date and the item lasted until a family birthday. I gave it to a family member for a birthday. It made an impressive centrepiece for a dinner party. The kit did not re-appear the following year. So it's good to know that you can find a gingerbread kit in the USA.

You can buy these kits all over the USA. Probably in Canada, too, which is where they come from.

Consider whether you want to eat your house straight away, or leave it out on display. If you leave it out, it may not be at its freshest when you come to eat it. You might have the biscuits for eating and leave the house intact for a second day or two. (You could make two houses.)

You'll find recipes and directions for making gingerbread houses from scratch from the BBC and all over the internet. (Yes, if you've got time.) Kits are useful if you want to be sure of a display for a party, if you are short of time and energy, if you need somebody else to help you get started.

Did I say Thanksgiving, snowmen biscuits? Much more.
From
Give and Go Prepared Foods Corp, Toronto, ON Canada, M9W 1E7.

Useful Websites
visitheusa.com

Author
Angela Lansbury

What Might Help Your Painful Heel

Problem

I had painful heels, most specifically my right heel. I self-diagnosed and went to a UK GP for confirmation. After being stuck indoors for a month in the UK during snow the problem cured itself. 

However, I had two pieces of advice. One was from the GP to use a rolling pin under my foot. 

Back Pain

I had a painful back and she said it was referred pain from my neck, and she recommended using a backpack instead of a heavy bag carried on one side. So the two problems were related, leaning to the right. I often sit with my right arm resting on the desk as well, as my family observed.

Look at other people sitting at desks in offices at work and at home, at benches in restaurants, or walking along the street. You can see straight away that some people lean to one side or lean forward, putting strain on one side of the body. 

If you have a problem, see your doctor. But you may be able to prevent a problem, or stop it getting worse, by checking your own posture and that of your family.

I have an additional problem from years ago. My collar bone which broke in a pedestrian accident in Corsica never set properly.  

New Tennis Ball

I asked a friend who had an old tennis ball in his car if I could have an old tennis ball. He said, "Not that one. I throw it to the dog to bring back, so it's been in the mud and in the dog's mouth. I'll give you a new one."

The tennis ball has not had much use because I seem pretty much cured. However, if I get worse again, I know the different people to approach, their likely answers, and objects which might help.

Author

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

What Fogging To Kill Mosquitos Looks Like And Sounds Like

Anti-mosquito Fogging In Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
You hear a loud droning sound. What is it? Fogging. If you are in a block of flats, the sound echoes around. The white mist rises up.

Out in the street, the man moves along with a trail of white billowing behind him. The local people don't stop to look. For them it's a regular occurrence.

What can the citizen do to help? Remove stagnant water. Remove items which could collect stagnant water such as trays under plant pots on balconies which collect rainwater.

Citronella plants are popular in Singapore to repel insects.

Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

More information from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito#Control

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

The Line Restaurant At The Shangri-La Hotel

Co-ordinated colour scheme of orange. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

On a Saturday morning we had to queue five minutes for a table. The manager was efficient. We did not get a window seat near the gorgeous gardens and pool but by a blank interior wall with no decoration. Moral - go early for a table with a view.

The server rushed over and swept the crumbs off the table with a cloth. I prefer the system of brush and crumb container, so no risk of crumbs falling onto the floor underfoot.

I expect if you are at the hotel for two days you are used to the system. I found it confusing. My two companions sent me to fetch juice. The place is huge and no map. I went past the yogurts.

Copious food from the buffet. You can see Indian breads, fruit, baked beans and potatoes and lemon. Lively orange colour table setting. Photo by Angela Lansbury.  Copyright.

The food looked great: Indian food, the pastries. No indication of where to find plates and bowls - which had run out.  I asked for a bowl, waited five minutes The Chinese food.

 I spent ten minutes hunting. Finally, I found the juice. A sign said sparkling wine. I asked. Waited. Eventually a bottle appeared. Prosecco. My favourite.

But I nearly missed the sparkling wine.  My two companions had missed the Prosecco. They would never have found it if I hadn't turned up with it.

I went back for a plate. Then for the eggs and sausages and baked beans.

I didn't find the water until later.

A waitress bringing coffee couldn't find the adjacent table who had ordered another coffee. I suggest tables marked with numbers, like in British pubs. Even if the tables are not marked with numbers, the hotel could have a numbering system on the waiters' notepads. We were distracted because we thought it was our coffee and she was looking for us.

When we asked for the bill, and then the machine for credit card, she disappeared with our bill. Maybe she had not understood or was afraid to ask.

I was so busy hunting for bowls and plates and spoons and knives and forks and water - hardly any time to eat and speak to my friend. Our friend was catching a cruise so she was impatient to check out. We hailed the manager who instantly brought back the bill and the machine.

For the money we paid, $100 for two, you might think wonderful value as the sparkling wine and coffee were included. However, in a historic flagship hotel which proudly proclaims it entertains prime ministers I would expect better decor and service and the Prosecco on arrival, like at a wedding, not just a typed note saying sparkling wine which most people missed.

Nobody said goodbye and thank you and come again.

'Efficient and clean, 'says my husband.

Huge food choice and if you are not rushed and get a window seat I bet you'll be very satisfied. Lots of good things to say. Most people were happy.

However, all in all, an interesting experience.

Shopping
After breakfast, what next? Shopping. No shop. Just a cake shop. Nowhere for our friend who had arrived late last night to buy a Chinese dictionary, guide to Singapore, sarong, swimsuit, orchid jewellery or any Souvenir of Singapore before catching the shuttle to her ship. I suspect the hotel guests in the VIP wing think it's great. See my other posts about the shopping and the Orchid.

After all those calories, a walk around the grounds. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Wonderful 'Orchid'
Make sure you see the Orchid in the grounds. See my other posts on the Shangri-La hotel.

Useful Websites
http://www.shangri-la.com/singapore/shangrila/dining/restaurants/the-line/
visitsingapore.com

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

House-Hunting and Flat-Hunting Overseas - Which One Should You Take?

Balcony in Singapore with protective rail. Somebody overhead has hung something to dry in the breeze. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

A bird comes to perch on a plant on the high-rise condo's balcony. The plant is aloe vera. Photo by Angela Lansbury, copyright.

Problem
What are the advantages of ground floor, middle floors and top floors?

Answers
Stairs
I hate stairs. I fell down stairs as a toddler. My mother moved from a semi-detached house with steep stairs to one with a U shape staircase, then a house with a U shape staircase, on to a bungalow, finally a flat. Elderly people tend to prefer bungalows (Americans call them ranch houses) or flats.

In England a flat is simply a one level dwelling, which estate agents (called property agents in the USA) describe as apartments to sound grand. However, in the USA and Singapore, words have more specific meanings.

Studio Flats and Small Flats
A studio flat is a flat with a living room and an attached kitichenA flat is a simple one level dwelling or residence in a multi-storey complex, usually with a kiopen plan or galley kitchen and a separate bathroom. Disadvantage of a bedsitter, with a bed converting into a sofa, is that you don't have a confortable sitting area. Your visit is on a bed and you have to hid away the bedding and make up the bed at night. You have to by tidy. In Victorian times you had a living room ns a spearate sparse dining room or parlour where you could show visitors. No clutter and nothing to steal. Any display was in a locked glass cabinet.

This plain window gap is found in both public (HDB) and private apartment blocks, in the common areas. Here a guard rail has been added. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Apartments
An apartment has more facilities, such as two or more bathrooms or shower rooms, one or more of which might be en suite.

Condos
Condos have gyms and pools. A taxi driver told me that as a PR I could rent an HDB more cheaply. As a PR I can't buy an HDB, but he thought I could rent.

Fire Escape?
What about living high? First question, is there a fire exit? Has the owner blocked it? Have you blocked it. Is the key handy.

Fire Extinguisher and Smoke Detector
In the UK we have smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in our own home, and any home we rent out.

When renting, do you have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen? Smoke detector or smoke alarms?

Bargaining and Insisting
If you are a CEO taking a job abroad and are in a bargaining position, you should demand all these safety features. If you get told 'it isn't necessary' just tell them, 'It is necessary for me, because my insurance company demands it. They won't pay out if I am not covered by a fire alarm.'

Tell The Agent
If you see a lovely apartment and then find it has no sprinklers, it's hard to turn it down. Easier to specify that you want to be in a modern block with sprinklers.

If you are arranging accomodation for staff, building accommodation, or renovating accommodation, consider making sprinklers mandatory.

You will also want fire extinguishers, fire blankets and carbon monoxide detectors. These should be checked every year to see they are still in date. For more information, check the government's regulations of the country you are in, and the fire services, landlord associations and other sources of advice.

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

Seat Belts Why You Should Buckle Up

Woman using seatbelt. Author State Farm, Flikr, from Wikipedia.

Problem
If you get told 'it isn't necessary' just tell them, it is for me because my insurance company demands it. They won't pay out if I am not covered by safety precuastions.

Taxis
I sometimes get the same message from drivers in taxis. 'No need to do up the seat belt.'

Tuk-tuks
If you are in Cambodia, and your hotel sends a vehicle to collect you from the airport, it could be alimo, or the local tuk-tuk. Our open-sided tuk-tuk, with a motorbike up front, was open sided. My immediate fear was of losing my hat which kept lefting in the breeze. Despite the lack of seatbelts, when we returned to the airport, in the relative safety of an ordinary car with seatbelts, I was a little disappointed.

I see no taxi. That tuk-tuk is our taxi! Cambodia. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

So, it is quite a relief to be in a taxi with a seat-belt. I am wary of riding without seatbelts. My friend was in a car accident. She was seated in the middle with no seat belt. She was thrown forward. Whose insurance was going to pay up?

Insurance
If you were an insurance company agent, you would be saying your company would not pay out for injuries caused by no seat belt. In some countries the driver is held responsible if passengers don't do up seatbelts and the car makes an irritating noise.

You do the seat belt up in the back for four reasons:
1 It protects the back seat passenger from  injury.
2 It protects the front seat passenger from injury when the back seat passenger rams into the front seat - which can kill the front seat passenger. See end note a).
3 It saves endless hassle ith insurance companies which won't pay up or reduce the payout because the passenger is deemed to have contributed to the extent of the injuries.
4 You can lose friends over disputes about the fault leading to the injury.

a) Wikipedia gives this evidence:

1.  Ichikawa M, Nakahara S, Wakai S; Nakahara; Wakai (January 2002). "Mortality of front-seat occupants attributable to unbelted rear-seat passengers in car crashes". Lancet. 359 (9300): 43–4. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(02)07279-3. PMID 11809187.

Seatbelt sign warning light on dahsboard of vehicle. Photo by F Sultana in Wikipedia.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photogapher, author and speaker.

Why You Should Dress To Impress When Travelling

Problem
How do you travel prepared for the dust and dirty of travel, but also something smarter for a conference or special occasion? I was sitting judging a speech competition and heard a section of a speech on the familiar theme of Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover.

Dress To Impress has become a catchphrase we use in conversation, but I think you would have to be careful about using it for business it's actually a copyright phrase for an established business.  The two popular sayings seem to contradict each other.

When a speaker at Toastmasters International is on stage at a contest, they have usually a 5-7 minute speaking slot. I sat looking at the clothes of the speakers.

The master of ceremonies (at the event I attended called contest chair) was wearing an elegant but subdued outfit, dark coloured, tailored, perfect.

Two or more contestants wore smart shirt with jeans. I was distracted from what they were saying as I mused on the contrast. It looked as if they had dressed in front of a half length mirror, not a full length mirror.

Others wore three different colours, such as a blue shirt, black jeans and borwn shoes. If you have black hair and pale skin, you might choose black shoes to match your black hair.

The French used to have a simple system. You have one colur for your season's clothes, such as navy or red, or white, your bag and belt and shoes are in another colour, black or brown or navy.  (For ladies or dram the cotnrasting colour could be either subtle 'autumn' colours, light and bright spring colours, or vibrant summer colours.) You could match with your hair colour, eye colour or skin colour.

You might think that the same colour fits the same person always. However, if you change your skin colour, by getting a suntan, that changes which colours suit you. So does a change of hair colour. Bornw hair might suit purple. However, blondes might look better in bright red. Redheads might want pink or orange listick, depending on their skin tone and whether they have blue or green or brown eyes. I love red, red lipstick, red clothes, but red spectacle frames do not suit me, nor does red hair.

Shoes and Socks
The old rule used to be that socks should match shoes for the office. At one time you wore white socks with black shoes. That creates an odd, outlandish effect if nobody else wears the same style.

If you don't have shoes to match your outfit, maybe you should match your outfit to your shoes. If your black shoes are smart, or your brown shoes are comfortable, work upwards with socks and trousers and a shirt or blouse to match or co-ordinate.

Mix and Match Books
Their outfits reminded me of those mix and match books you are given as children, showing people in various costumes, with two halves, or three parts, divided horizontally at waist or knee height. You flip the top or lower half to create different characters, but often totally incongruous.

The moral of the story is, don't just wear a smart shirt. That might work in a restaurant when you are sitting down. However, if you are on stage at an event, do not wear a smart shirt with torn jeans. Wear a co-ordinated outfit.

I am horrified by the number of websites offering shirt and tie sets with two patterns, one on the shirt and another on the tie. They don't co-ordinate. They mesmerise your eyes. They shout confusion.

Tailors
When I find some suppliers of smart shirts and ties, with cotnrast collars, I shall note them. Some of the people who I asked said they had their shirts made to measure with matching ties. In Singapore and Hong Kong many companies offer outfits. They also visit London. I am wary of comitting to a tailor who wants the money for a complete outfit.

Dress Suit Outfits
A shop which sells wedding outfits will have suits and shirts and ties - compelte outfits. They often have seasonal sales, last year's lines or ex wedding hire outfits. Just one example is Impeccable, in Hatch End, NW London England.

All Black Or Not?
Some people, men and women, wear all black. Easy when buying, no trouble matching. However that can create a morque look. Do you look depressed or ghoulish?

All black works well if the clothes are smart and new and well pressed. However, if you have dark skin, and black hair, and dark eyes, such as Indian Or African American, you want to consider a white shirt or a lightening effect.

If you are on stage or on TV, find out the colour of the curtains. A well known optical illusion is to make somebody disappear by having them wear black clothes against a black curtain. To get attention to your face, you want to be sure your eye white and white teeth stand out with a frame or halo. Try out a white hat, white shirt, a cravat, white tie, or bandanna, or white background caftan. If that looks too dramatic or absurd, try cream colour, or a colour, even white and gold.

The important thing is that the effect is pleasing, gives you confidence, and makes others admire you.

Useful Websites
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Muddle-and-Match-Adventure-Monsters-Jungle-Imagine-4-Mix-Match-Board-Books/162983697951?hash=item25f295de1f:g:3TAAAOSwCERaxtgz
https://www.qoo10.sg/ad?keyword=Button%20Down%20Shirt%20Men&jaehuid=2000180829&__ar=Y
http://www.marksandspencer.com/3-pack-easy-to-iron-shirts-with-tie/p/p60126538?image=SD_03_T11_2206B_E4_X_EC_90&color=BLUEMIX&prevPage=srp&pdpredirect

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and phtographer, author and speaker.