Fashion For Travel: Mail Order Holiday Clothes: Cape Blazers and white and pink or black blouses

I saw a girl on the Easyjet plane from the UK to Madeira. She was wearing a white cape blazer. Glamorous. Elegant. She was good enough to tell me where it came from. It was sold in white or black.

A cape blazer has a very strange construction. It's like a sleeveless jacket with a cape on top, fitted across the shoulders, with a large gap under the arms, and the cape extending the length of the arms.

Who do I rate tops
1 MANGO
White Cape Blazer
The Mango shop had only the white. I bought a Mango cape blazer in white in the sale at Funchal, capital of Madeira. When I got home I phoned their customer relations department to ask who had the black version. I eventually found the item available online in the UK, supposedly on sale but dearer than in the sale in Madeira - plus the postage.

I now knew the magic words to find what I wanted, cape blazer.

So I started hunting online on Amazon, eBay, Google, all over.

My verdict: Ten out of ten for style by Mango. Not so good on price, even in the sale. If travelling out of the UK, look for reduced prices in other countries.

Now that I have had other cape blazers, what can I say about Mango? Lined with a satin look lining. All stitching concealed. Hangs neatly, uncreased. Light yet thick. I went back and inspected it again. The reason it hands so well is that cape part is lined, as well as the body fitted sleeveless under jacket.

***

2 LAVISH ALICE
Burgundy Wine Cape Blazer
They also sell a cape blazer dress and split-front trousers (Americans say pants) and a cape blazer trouser suit.

I bought a second-hand Lavish Alice cape blazer from eBay in a huge size in wine colour. It was wonderful. I am now a fan of Lavish Alice Clothes.
A Lavish Alice cape Blazer was advertised at £27 by Asos Aug 30 2018 but out of stock.

It is lined.

It buttoned across the front so it stayed on. It hangs well.


The shoulders are not rounded but an angular design, but with the lining softening the shoulders, it seems to hang okay.
The label says the silky lining is polyester elastane like the main fabric. Do not iron. Do not dry clean. That'll save some people a bit of money.
Wash dark colours separately. Reshape whilst damp.

***

3 MISSGUIDED
White Cape Blazer
Note the name is miss as in Miss not misguided as in the adjective.
I bought a white cape blazer, very inexpensive, from ebay. It was a size 8 and I thought, that's much too small. But the price was cheap. I might be able to alter it.

I bid. I won.

The garment had a matching belt with a buckle. I eventually located the two slots for the buckle, not protruding tabs, slots. This holds the jacket in place, No flopping about. The belt creates a sleeker line - if you are slim. (If you are overweight you just emphasize your large booms. The metal-edged belt holes were generous enough in number to allow me to do up the belt even though the garment is size 8 and I am size 16.

The bodice part is lined, but not the cape. The shoulder is properly inset with curves and pintucks.

***

4 WHITEBIRD
White cape blazer. Large. Unlined. Shoulders with proper curved inset. I cannot find a website. I bought from ebay.


5 RUIYIGE
Pink cape blazer with red flower applique and button at neck.
Also comes in black and white.
The black would probably show the creases less, especially at night.This is sold on eBay by Twenga, Shopper.com and Shoptart.

On my screen the photo looks a slightly blueish pale pink. It's actually a more bright salmon colour.


RUIYIGE
Cape (rather than cape blazer).

I had expected a cape blazer and was initally disappointed with the cut and quality. It kept slipping off my shoulders, so I tied it up. Then I was much happier. Like a cape blazer it leaves your arms free. you might like to wear it with a long sleeve plain white top.

Square or T shape cut on shoulders. Single layer, no lining. You must turn back the two front vertical edges to hide the stitching.

 LILIGAL
Pink and white blouse
I kept typing lilgal, maybe because I am a little (short) girl.

Pink and White Blouse
Pink pintuck colour block blouse, button up.
This has a diagonal line, pink lower half, white sleeves and white pintuck top, pearly pink button with four holes sunk in the middle.
The back is half pink and half white as you can see from the left shoulder, on the right of the picture.

Liligal pink and white blouse with pintucks and pink buttons. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

$31.11 American dollars.
Lovely garment. Plenty room enough, with large sleeves and generous cut.

Not as glamorous on me as on the slim model. A slimmer fitting might have been more flattering. I ordered XXL large because so many garments are too small.

(I've had garments which were too small from China and from Patra in the UK, my favourite. In Singapore I bought satin reversible jackets and had to buy triple X to get them to fit over a sleeved dress or blouse.)

 I tried my Liligal blouse over a sleeveless dress and it still fitted.

The feel was great. Soft and stretchy. I wanted to wear it straight away.
Free returns.

I tried to give a review on their website but kept running into problems so I thought I would review it here.

I am now prepared to order the black version of the blouse, a size smaller.
***
Problems
Will items arrive in time for my holiday? Will they fit and match my other garments? What if I want to send it back?

Answers
These have been some of my recent experiences. Allow time.

Useful websites:
lavishalice.com
liligal.com
mango.com
http://missguided.co.uk
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2018/08/how-could-ebay-improve-customer.html

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
See my other posts covering eBay and Prolady cape blazer, Mail Order, Madeira. Please share links to your favourite posts.

A Warm Welcome In Chile

Problem
Chile is in South America, yes, most of us know that, but - ahem, what more do you know about it?
Looking at the map, the larger country of Argentina (don't cry for me) to the right or East takes up most of the other half of the tail of South America.

On Wikipedia you can click on the national anthm to the right of your screen and hear the jolly music played by what sounds like a brass band with cymbals, and watch the words about the country, including 'embroidered with flowers' and 'refuge from oppression'.

The country's name used to be spelled Chili, but, catch up folks, it's now Chile. The name has several possible origins, most of which are obscure and instantly forgotten. The memorable ones are that it was the word for snow in a local language, or the sound of a bird. Very visual and appropriate for a potential tourist.

Answers
First, where is it? Along the left hand side of South America. Long and thin, north to south. Snake shape country.

Who, what, when, where, why?

Who To Know About
Allende, (Salvador Allende) Marxist President in office for 40 years. Introduced many worthwhile reforms but nationalised copper industry, which failed, and suffered major inflation, finally a truckers' strike brought a crisis and Allende committed suiced (disputed) with a gun given to him by Castro of Cuba. His daughter was called Isabel and so was his second neice, the author Isabel Allende.


I started typing Isobel, found the correct seplling was Isabel, and now easily remember that with the mnemonic or memory aid: Isabel - She is a belle.
Isabel Allende, author of The House of the Spirits.


Chile has:
Allende family - President Salvador, and writer Isabel, whose novels use magical realism.
Andes mountain on the East, some snow-capped and reflected in lakes.
Authors
Democracy
Dictatorship
Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda, Nobel Prize winner.

Pinochet (took over from Allende in mitary coup)
Speak Spanish. A chance to practise your Spanish, or plan to learn Spanish.
Wines!

What Next
Two well known Pacific islands controlled by Chile might interest you:
Easter Island with its weird statues of primitive looking people.

Robinson Crusoe Island where Alexander Selkirk was marooned, whose story was one of several which inspired the novel Robinson Crusoe, although the author set his story in the better known Caribbean.

(Come back for more later today or at the weekend.)
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Branding And Improving The Image And Reality of Chile and other Countries for Tourists

The BBC ran an article about branding countries to tourists and investors. Yes, Chile's mountains reflected in water look beautiful. But so are the Lake District in the UK, the fjords in Norway, and the mountains in New Zealand.

Unique Selling Point
What's unique about Chile? The mountains reflected in water are lovely. However, the giant cacti are an equal or better unique selling point.

Image Improvement
Reading the BBC news article about branding countries including Chile, my opinion is your image does not improve by making your logo a new colour but by having something special and different to see.

But even that won't work when crime makes the headlines. It's no good having a pretty logo when the news says that somebody just got killed in your capital city and the crime rate is not going down but up. Don't invest your time and money in hushing up the crime. Invest in catching criminals and reassuring tourist that they are being protected.

Priority Spending
Also, not investing and donating overseas but in fixing crime and danger and inconvenience in your own country. We learned when the Americans stopped coming to the UK during a crisis that the tourist industry, the hotels, depend not so much on ten packpackers but as on one elderly couple booking the hotel suite for their holiday of a lifetime.

If your nearest and dearest got mugged in a city you don't go back, however pretty the logo. See Naples and die - supposed to mean it's on your bucket list. Unfortunaely might have another conotation.

Top Tourists
A few high payers make a ten per cent difference to the profit which was the difference between profit and loss. (Admittedly, the middle aged elderly couple in the three, four or five star hotel may be there to watch over their student offspring or boy scout nearby at a hostel or in a tent in a field on a cheap summer trip.)

What Needs Fixing
The UK and USA need to stop sending money overseas and fix their own crime and social deprivation. In the UK we have roads, the NHS, crime and pensions which need fixing before dealing with everybody else's problems. Fix your family first, your country second, the world third.

Brexit Bother
Brexit is proving a huge waste of taxpayers and ministers' time and money. We are importing criminals and imprisoning them with nothing to do but learn new crime methods from each others when they should be trained to perform useful work and sent home to help. We need full employment worldwide so everybody can make their own clothes, and shoes, grow and cook food and build and repair their own houses - to safety standards.

Internet Advantages
The internet is doing a good job spreading health advice and great ideas and we have both children and adults working on inventions and projects such as bringing toilets and wind-up radios to schools and remote villages.


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

Bite remedies And Where To Buy And Get Advice

Problem
I went online and researched all the possible home remedies for bites. I read about make a past of oatmeal or using apple cider vinegar, or baking soda.

I tried.
The basic remedy for soothing is calamine lotion. I also considered doing some late night hoovering to get rid of any nesting places or food for insects.

During a trip to Morrisons supermarket I asked an assistant for help. I was already at checkout at closing time (10 pm) so I carried on checking out whilst she ran to find something for me. I shouted, "Anything for bites and stings - the smallest and cheapest!"

It's handy to have small lotions and potions when travelling. Less to carry. Less problem at security. Less cost to replace when it goes out of date.

She brought back Anthisan. I typed antisan thinking of anti insect. Then I noticed it started ANTH with an H and corrected my typing.

A few mornings later the bites were still stinging.

I considered going to the doctor. But I didn't have an apointment and didn't want to wait a day. They will put you in as an emergency, first thing, or in a gap or cancellation, but I don't want to do that if I can avoid it. If you keep inundating them with last minute 'emergencies' they will be less inclined to help you and others.

I looked online for NHS direct. I went through their initial question, which included, do you have any exiting medical condition. That was useful. It reminded me about allergies. I might be allergic to some medications, if they contained aspiric or penicillin.

Next I was asked to make a contribution of £5. hm. I was expecting a free service. This is what I saw:

https://my-secure.justanswer.co.uk/newquestion/depositfunds/

If I were calling from the USA, I might think that good value, but am I going to be asked for more as a subscription. I hae already paid through taxes on income for the NHS which is free to all in the UK.

What's more, signs in the window of the UK pharmacies and online encourage you to try your pharmacy first, before taking up the doctor's time. I'd rather wait five minutes in the pharmacy than half an hour at the doctor. If the pharmacy thinks it's serious, I can go to the doctor without worrying that I'm wasting their time.

UK Pharmacy
So I go to the pharmacy. He looks at my leg and says, "It's not too bad."

Wonderful. Not as bad as I thought. A good pice of NLP too. That's neuro linguistic programming. Forget the N. Linguistic programming. Positive language. Tell the patient they are getting better and they will get better, or at least they will feel happier.

Hurray for the NHS. Hurray for the pharmacy. Now that the bites are going down, it seems like a bad dream, a fuss. But at least I have the photos as evidence.

The moral of the story is"
1 You can get over the counter medication late at night from a late night or all night supermarket.

2 You can get information about minor and major health concerns on the internet.

3 You can get advice on the internet - but check against scams before parting with money.

4 Pharmacies in Britain will give advice. You are not being a nuisance. The government wants you to do this rather than wasting a doctor's time for milder ailments. The pharmacy will be glad for you to go in and get familiar with their shop. They are paid for dispensing medicines. They also make a profit if you buy something. You might buy something today. You might come back another time and buy something once you know them and feel at home and friendly towards their friendly staff.

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

I've been bitten! Prevention and cure ideas

Problem
Outdoors, I was bitten. Red skin. Irritation. Distraction from work. What is it, midges, poison ivy, nettlerash, wasp, gnat, mosquito, horsefly?

Answers
I was bitten after going into the garden at dusk to collect flowers and fruit. I didn't think to cover up. Even if I had thought, my second thought would have been that if I delayed any longer it would be too late, getting dark, and I would not want to be stumbling around in the dark, disturbing night life.

Foxes
In gardens in the UK we currently have lots of foxes in London, England, (not London, Canada), three foxes in one garden this year (writing in 2018 - in case you read this years later).

Fox in garden. Photo by Angela Lansbury, copyright.

The reason for the poor quality of the photo is that it has been blown up. I took it from a very safe distance. Besides, as soon as you go near, the fox will run off. See those ears. It's listening. And watching.

Years ago we had an adder in the garden in Stanmore. Actually a pair of adders, a fat pregnant one and the male protecting and writhing alarmingly when caught with a hook and plonked in a glass box by snake-catchers to take off to a zoo. My parents moved house shortly after. "Nothing to do with the snake," my mother claimed. If she had not made a conscious decision, I think she made an unconscious one.

If you can see a snake or a fox, you can retreat or avoid it. But insects - pesky things. They sneak up on you. Nettles and ivy, you can wave at them, shout and curse as much as you like. They won't move away.

Braving all these imagined and remembered alarms, I tripped gaily down the proverbial garden path. Ignoring irritation I finished the job. I came back itching and scratching.

Singapore
In the UK I tend to uncover, unless I'm off to hike for a day. In Singapore I am much more careful. Signs on buildings warn of outbreaks of Dengue. A friend of mine has dengue. Malaria lasts and recurs for years. You don't want that.

My family told me they bought:
Germolene from any branch of Boots chemist, including in and near airports and railway stations in the UK;
Johnsons baby powder.

I tried the Germolene and was disappointed that it didn't seem to have instant effect in the first half minute. However, an hour later I had forgotten all about the bites. A day or two later the bites had compeltely gone.

So that's my experience. What's yours? You can reply to me on Facebook.

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

Cover your skin or uncover in the sun outdoors, when travelling, in airports: practical points

Problems
Should I uncover or cover up when out and about? in snow, sun, public places?

Answers
When travelling through an airport I have these considerations:
My answers are that you might learn from my experience.

Airport Clothes
When packing I often have too much luggage and try to wear layered outfits, two thin jackets instead of one heavy coat, so I can remove one layer going from a cold country to a hot one.

Outer Layers?
I also like to wear a jacket to conceal pockets in another sleeveless jacket. the solution, if you can afford it, is to by pickpocket proof clothing.

Wearing double layers means you run the risk, of leaving something behind. Any time you take off your outer jacket in a cafe at an airport or anywhere else, you might leave it behind on the chair. A passerby might take something from a pocket. (That happened to us in Prague.)

Removing multiple layers of clothing delays yourself and everybody else. Only do this if you plan to get to the airport in good time, not when running late.

At security checks you need to be able to remove shoes and coats, then going through metal detectors, you have to remove accessories, especially metal belts and pendants which set off alarms.

Why Cover Up?
Covering up protects you from over-exposure to sun (and skin cancer). You keep off insects. I have bad bites or nettle rash from going out in the garden for only a few minutes to cut fruit and flowers.

Exposure To Sun
I covered up too much. The doctor did tests which showed I was short of vitamin D. The remedy? Could be get out for a walk every day.

So, balance up your needs according to your circumstances and experience and learn from mine.

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

How Could Ebay Improve Customer Satisfaction? Prices, Pictures and Prolady Cape Blazer

Problem
I love ebay. I'm an addict. I find bargains, wonderful items.

When things go wrong I am doubly outraged that my trusted and reliable service has fallen short.

What could be improved? Allow more space for realistic and detailed comments on products. In the early days, most items seemed to be one-off items sold second-hand by individual sellers, never to be repeated so there was no point rating the quality of products, only the service. However, increasingly,  I find I am buying regularly stocked items from shops which can sell an identical item to me and other customers.

Prices
Make prices match products. Websites show a 'cape blazer', but prices jump from £2-5 to £8-12 when you select size & colour; timewasting.

Pictures
Makes pictures match what is being sold. Some pictures are so out of focus, you cannot see whether the item is good or bad.

Capre Blazer
I bought a cape blazer from Prolady who shows a model in a curved jacket, but the one I received was angular. Angular designs are neither flattering to one's figure, nor soothing, unlike curves.

Stop clothes sellers showing a manufacturer's model wearing a brand new item, in a different colour, when the item being sold is thirty years old and frayed and faded and a totally different colour. (Sellers don't show another shoe or cup!)

They sent a cape, not a blazer, no underlayer bodice with armhole. Photos of parts of the real garment are now added, but the misleading model picture is still shown on Prolady and other sites.

The item I received was inexpensive and was probably worth the money. It creases badly but I can wear it around the house.

I tied the hanging front pieces to stop it slipping off. It's thin for casual summer wear summer daytime in a hot country. Don't expect it to look ultra-elegant or be warm at night in air conditionting or cold weather in winter.

It just isn't the glamorous outfit I hoped would transform my life. It won't make me look gorgeous like the girl in the picture. It won't turn me into a TV star, impress a millionaire and make him and the whole world fall in love with me and praise my extraordinarily elegant outfit.

Despite this I am still addicted to dBay and cape blazers. Like a gambler, always expecting the next purchase to be 'the one'.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. For articles on cape blazers in white and pink, see my later post. Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.

Zufa Lebanese Restaurant, Northwood Hills - make it a date!

Picture of date drink from Wikipedia.

Problem
What does a Lebanese restaurant serve? I need time to learn my way around the menu.

Answer
Go on to Zufa's website and you can read all about it. If you are not nearby, or can't wait, you can download their app and order online.

Starters include
Hot and Cold mezze
(A huge choice; a mixture of dishes)
Soups

Main course
FISH
Sea bass
King Prawns

MEAT OR CHEESEInclude chicken, kebabs, lamb, salad, cheese, rice, wraps.

Drinks
Dates drink - Jallab
Yogurt Drink - Aryan
Juices
Colas

Desserts
We'll start with the familiar:
Baklava. It says nuts, without specifying which nuts. Before ordering, I shall ask.

Blinis
Well, I know these. Russian and East European restaurants from the Middle East and more.

Miracle Cake
Belgian chocolate cake.

Useful Websites
orderdirectly.biz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jallab

Date drink
I already know what I want, the date drink. But I once went to a restaurant specially for a speciality and it was not in stock. So I shall check first and ask them to save one for me.
If they have a date drink, I'll definitely make it a date.

I think I'll make one at home first, then see how theirs compares, and what extra ingredients they have to enhance the flavour.

Zufa Lebanese Restaurant
1-3 Joel Street, Northwood Hills
HA6 INU
tel: 01923 840192
www.zufarestaurant.co.uk

Open Monday to Sunday from around noon until around 11 but check because I was confused between the restaurant opening times and the food ordering times and when I checked a second time they appear to have different opening times on different days of the week.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See previous post on Zufa restaurants in Northwood Hills and Hatch End. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Mosfilo Restaurant, Hatch End, Pinner, Has Closed. A New Lebanese Restaurant Is Opening

Zufo Restaurant, Hatch End. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Problem
First, the bad news. Mosfilo Greek restaurant is closing, alas. Second, the good news.

Solution
A Lebanese restaurant is opening. At least Hatch End is not losing a restaurant.

However, Hatch End already has a Lebanese restaurant, Latakia, although the name Latakia, is from Syria, beloved of one of the owners.

The premises of the old Mosfilo are the other side of the road, and the dining area and number of seats, I imagine, would be much larger.

If you are looking for Lebanese, then you will have a choice of two in Hatch End. I was told that the new owners already have another successful enterprise in Northwood Hills. I looked at their website and phoned them up.

The Northwood Hills restaurant is near Northwood Hills railway station. Pay and display parking by day, free after 6.30. (I'm quoting their website. Please check the latest.)

The Northwood Hills branch is run by three brothers. One of them, Emil, told me, "The new restaurant will be the same, same quality, with a few new, extra dishes. We hope to see you soon."

They expect to open the Hatch End branch at the end of September. You can see people working busily inside as you pass.

The new restaurant will be
Zufa Lebanese Restaurant
The Broadway
308 Uxbridge Road
Hatch End
Pinner
Middlesex
HA5 4HR
England
UK.
Tel (Call their other restaurant until a new number is available.)
Near Hatch End Railway station.

The signs say:
Zufa
Opening soon

Zufa
Now hiring

If you can't wait, or want to compare the two restaurants, try:

Zufa Lebanese Restaurant
1-3 Joel Street, Northwood Hills
HA6 INU
tel: 01923 840192
www.zufarestaurant.co.uk
Open Monday to Sunday from around noon until around 11 but check because they have different opening times on different days of the week.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my next post on the menu in their Northwood Hills branch. Please share links to your favourite posts.

How to remember to take or pack pills

Problem
I am in such a rush on travelling days, or any day, I often forget if I have just taken a pill.

Answers
A large seven day pill box. That is too large except for a very large pocket. You might want to buy jacket with a larg pocket, or sew a large pocket onto a garment, or wear a neck bag or cross-body bag on the plane.

I don't like pills kept in a jacket pocket next to the heat of my body or the heat of a recently used laptop, because the packet tell you to keep the pills cool.

A small four day pill box for a pocket for a weekend away or while travelling. (A pill needs to be in your pocket when your airline breakfast tray arrives, not in the bag in the overhead locker, when theaaisle is blocked by the breakfast cart.

Ordering Pills
Order pills for your entire stay away and a day or two extra becuase:
If you are travelling overnight you need another pill on the day of arrival.
You might decide to extend your holiday.
Your flight might be delayed a day, or longer.
You might want one pill packed in a bag, but a backup in your pocket in case even your backpack or wheel on cabin bag could go missing.

Records
You need a record of your pills and the prescription. Why?

You know it's medication. The people in security checking 500 people a day or a week or a year have to be sure what that white liquid or powder or pill really is.
1 To show it's required personal medication and not something you are selling (which would be illegal in another coutnry or your own if you are not a doctor nor permitted to do so).
2 To prove it's medication (and not some poison you are planning to drop in a stranger's drink!).
3 To show it's actually medication and not something else (such as gunpoweder or an explosive).

Packing
Singapore Airlines and other people tell you not to pack your medication in luggage.
Why?

Your luggage could be delayed.
Your luggage could go missing.
Rain could damage your luggage.
Impact could break your luggage and any bottles.
Your luggage might break open and things could fall out.

Thieves could take out your medicine to save themselves money or to sell it on. Who?  Passers-by in the airport.  Staff in luggage handling.

Chancers could collect luggage from the carousel at the other end.  Nobody would notice if a stranger grabbed your black bag. Easy for them to do. If challenged, they would just say it was a mistake and looked like theirs.

Noting Pill Taken
So you have packed your pills in your pocket or bag, but you are rushing to the airport. You took today's pill - or did you?

You arrive at the other end, jetlagged all week, sleeping until noon. You took this morning's pill when you got up to go to the bathroom and clean your teeth when the alarm went off. Or did you?

If your bags are still locked, or if your pills are in the fridge, you could still be confused. I have devised two systems.

1 Each time you take a pill, whilst it is still in your mouth, or before you put the box away, write the date you have taken the pill. Keep the record on the fridge secured with a magnet.

2 I used to check the bin for the mpety pill packet. However, could I be sure the one at the bottom of the bin was today's, fallen down, not yesterday's.

Alternatively keep the empty pill wrapper out visible on a work surface until after lunch or until bedtime. Write down the date on a piece of paper under the wrapper by your drinking glass on the dining table or by the kitchen sink.

I hope this helps you. If you have any other suggestion, write to me on Facebook referring to this article and teh date of the article. I have written several articles on pills, packing, destinations and other subjects. Please bookmark and, if you have a favourite post, share the link with your friends.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and phtographer, author and speaker. I can give you an entertianing talk or workshop about travel, tailored to the interests and needs of your group. Contact me by email or through Facebook.

Sports and Ski Insurance - Check the date limit - and explore these solutions

Problem
If you plan ahead, no problems. Of course, there are problems, but you will have time to sort them out, the clothes, the equipment, the travel, the accoomodation - and the insurance.

Photo courtesy of Elves Hideaway in Finland.

Why plan now? You book your holiday to go skiing, and later check the annual or short trip insurance. Why am I talking about this now? Because at the end of August in 2018 we were already discussing this year's trips, Christmas, and next year's Easter. Will we be together at Christmas, New Year and Easter? One person wants to be in Asia in the tropical weather. Another wants to book Scotland for New Year for Hogmanay. Another wants every season to be off to somewhere with snow - skiing!

Planning ahead is relevant to keen skiers, those who always plan ahead and those who don't but know from previous experience that they must to get the best deals, or indeed to get any group chalet in fully booked resorts.

My family has gone skiing all seasons. We have spent, in Europe's and America's summer, time down under in New Zealand (Queenstown) or Australia where the seasons are reversed. Then, at Christmas or Easter we were in the USA. In Asia, as a side trip from business, we were in South Korea, at a resort whose name translates as nine dragons - minus fifteen - very cold!

Restricted Days
On one occasion we found that insurance only covered seven days of skiing at Easter. But our holiday was ten days!

After a day thinking and worrying about this, we wondered if we needed to give up a day's skiing. We realised this was not necessary. When we took off the day travelling out, arriving at the resort too late to have time to get to the resort, book the poles and paraphernalia, we would not start skiing until day two. The last day was taken with travel.

We were already planning to take a day off in the middle to go sightseeing. If we went sightseeing on arrival, or postponed sightseeing until after the week's skiing, we would only need the ski pass for one week, not two. We were actually on the slopes only seven days. Saving on the ski pass, and saving on the insurance.

We told the company that although it was a ten-day holiday, we were skiing only seven days, with a five or seven-day ski pass.  They said that was fine, The ten-day insuruance would cover us for ten days including travel, of which only seven days were skiing. We had that confirmed in writing. We kept our receipts given on arrival for the week's ski hire and ski pass, just in case we ever needed evidence later that our insurance was not invalidated.

You might find a different insurance company which specialises in this type of insurance, cvoering sports, outdoor activities, skiing. How do you find one? Ask every insurance agent you speak to on the phone. Research it yourself, for example, the tour organiser of all-inclusive ski holidays, an agent, a brochure, an online website may have a ski insurance partner. Or simply google ski insurance. I've even seen travel insurance ads on the underground station and in the trains in London, England.

Happy travelling, stay safe - and insured!


Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. If you would like to hear a talk about travel, or read a book about travel, or oganise an after-dinner speech or workshop, please contact me by email or through Facebook. I have many more entertianing and useful posts about travel, such as the Elves Hideaway. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Signing away your rights when travelling

Problems
1 I read in the online newspapers that girls are being taken to Hong Kong and tricked into marriage by being told to sign a marriage contract in a mock wedding which they are assured will later be void.

2 An even more serious case was the girl who claimed she was asked to play a series of pranks pushing something in a stranger's face for a TV show, ending with a stunt in an airport. She ended up on a murder charge.

When travelling you are often faced with signs saying at your own risk, or documents you have to sign before boarding a vehicle.

Answers
Before travelling, consider which activities you are likely to undertake, such as skiing, skiing off-piste, skiing for more than five days, surfing and snowboarding, bungee jumping, riding in a helicopter to go whale watching, taking boats and ferries, canoeing, white water rafting, riding on a water slide or rollercoaster at a theme park, riding off-road vehicles. Check whether your insurance covers these. Ask their customer relations department in advance if their insurance covers you and get the document.

As a traveller I have been in the following situations:
1 I go to a launch of a cruise ship which stays in dock. At the entrance I am told I have to sign a document saying I don't hold the company responsible for any accidents.
I call the PR and ask why. He has a chat and comes back and says, because their insurance only covers people booked on cruises. I should have been told in advance that I needed to take out my own insurance and that entry was dependent on my signing that waiver.

Another way around this is to send a company in advance a statement that you must be informed of any such waiver document in advance and will only undertake an activity which is safe enough for the company to be granted insurance. The insurance company has a department checking deaths and accidents. If they find an activity has a bad accident history, you may find that sufficient evidence not to go. On the other hand, drivers in events such as Formula one may either be so well paid that they are prepared to take the risk and use their money to take out a high premium insurance, or fund any medical costs arising.

I have had similar situations with companies trying to send a standard form buying all rights to a short story. On one occasion the story had already been published elsewhere. In another I was planning to use it in a book. I found that the editor was quite happy on both occasions to change my contract with the magazine regarding those stories. However, when I received the cheque, the back was stamped with all right, this must be signed. My boyfriend of the time was a solicitor who said the endorsement was not legally valid and the bank would not even glance at it. just pay it in.

I was not convinced by what he said. So I signed the back, after crossing out the printed statement and writing - terms as on previously signed contract. Neither the bank nor anybody else ever queries what I had written.

My short story was published and paid for and I don't think the company or I or anybody else ever went on to publish it elsewhere anyway. However, I do know that if want to publish my complete works when I reach 100 years old, or a descendant or agent of my family wants to produce a book of my collected works a year before the copyright ends, no long-forgotten publisher will suddenly appear waving a contact saying: you gave us all right back in 19 whatever.

Insurance For Sports, Transport And Activities
You might find that an insurance company will happily add a clause covering your activity, or will charge a tiny premium of, say, under £10, to cover you for the extra days or activities.

Don't take my advice or anybody else's. Ask about the laws in your country and the law in the country you are travelling to at the time of your journey.

I am writing this in one country and on a specific date. By the the time you read it or act on it, circumstances may have changed. I am just telling you this to alert you to the situation in which you may find yourself, who to consult, and how you must consider your options.

Avoiding Trouble
For example, in any of the more serious situations, you might want to refuse to do something which would cause you trouble later, as I have suggested.

On the other hand, you might decide that the consequences of antagonising others in a remote place would be worse. If you think you could be abandoned, or endangered, better to pretend to agree, or to agree, and live.

If you are a short story writer, like me, you could devise endless numbers of plots with endless numbers of characters. What would be the consequences of refusing, worst case scenario? Our heroine, our first heroine, lose a holiday, learns from experience to be cautious, the second girl, her sister, could lose a job, the third, a new friend and colleague, ignoring the experienced and sensible heroine's advice ends up married - and has to be helped, rescued!

Her enraged boss could plot to kill her. His bodyguard, seeing the deal not going through, thinking he might not get paid, might lose his temper and try to push her over the cliff. The fake groom might save her. She might be so grateful that she marries him anyway. I am getting sidetracked here.

I really threw that in because I didn't want to say this is what could happen to you. To present my imagined scenario as what could happen to you was over-dramatic and depressing. Instead, dressing the drama up as a short story was merely amusing. To a practical person, it sounds like a fictional side-track from facts. However, you have gained five minutes extra entertainment.

How do you avoid getting into trouble and signing away your rights, or having your signature copied and forged?

This is long enough. See my next post, later, telling some of my travel stories.

Interesting websites:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-45338985#_=_  
Headline: "Hong Kong woman marries stranger after being tricked by work

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. For an entertaining after-dinner speech, or a workshop on travel, or story writing, or turning your travels into fiction, contact Angela Lansbury by email or on Facebook.

How to remember I, you, he, she and it in Indonesian

Problem
Indonesian is easier than other languages because he ahse and it are the same word, dia. However, how do you remember that dia is he, she or it?

Answer
I made up the memory aid: my dear friend (the man, the woman, the dog, the object - my favourite object such as a teddy bear. Dia is he, she or it.

Saya is I, so say I.

 u ending eith the letter u is you. If I see an Indonesian word ending with a u at the start of a sentence, and it isna't saya 0 I, nor dia, my dear friend, he, she or it, then ithe wor must be you.

But when translating from English how do I remember the first three letters? I have a friend called Kamlesh. Alternatively, think of the phrase: "Come here you!"

Indonesian - English
saya - I
kamu - you
dia - he, she or it

English - Indonesian
I - saya
you - kamu
he, she or it - dia

Author, Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, teacher of languages. If you want an entertaining talk or workshop on learning languages, please contact me.

Why you need to hear Indonesian, English, Scottish and any language when learning it

Problem
When you learn a language from a book or the internet without hearing it, you miss three things:

1 The sounds you don't have in your language and when to say them, such as a rolled r in Indonesian - and a gutteral ch in the Scottish word Loch

Scotland - where the word loch ends distinctively

2 Which suyllable should be emphasized. Some language have accents to tell you which syllable. But you have to take notice of the accents and reember how the word sound.


3 Silent letters. I have heard Singaporeans say the past tence of an English verb pronounced the ed and Ed as in Edward. He walke-ed. The effect is very strange.

England where the final e is not pronounced in drove or love.

I was using Duolingo and often forgot to click on the sound symbol to hear the word. The same applies to the use of online dicitonaries, and place names in Wikipedia. Take the trouble to click on the symbol and listen to the word.

When I clicked on the sounds for the first time when learning the first few lessons of Indonessian using Duolingo, the free internet language learning system, I was shocked to hear that the word for wter, spelled air, was not pronounced like the wrod air in English but with a rolled r at the end, The ri is a bit like drawing your tongue back to say three. The same appled to the Indonesian word for red, merah.

Useful Websites
duolingo.com
memrise.com

Duolingo is my favourite. It seems the easiest and gives me a sense of achievement. However, some people prefer Memrise which adds memory aids.  Some language teaching systems use videos of people speaking. 

I have tried them all. But when I have five minutes to spare and want a break from work, I go back to Duolingo.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, teacher of languages. I have many more posts on languages and destinations. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Aretha Franklin and The African American Museum of Detroit

Problem
I can't get to Detroit to see Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, 'A Natural Woman' as one of her songs said, in her 24-carat gold-plated casket, in August 2018. She was born in 1942. What a singer.


What a life. In 2009 she sang at President Obama's inauguration.


She lived to the age of 76. Her body, glamorous from head to toe, with red lipstick, a red lace dress, and red shoes, arrived at the museum in a 1940 vintage white Cadillac hearse. Crowds of Aretha Franklin fans lined up, wearing black tee-shirts the words in white I (red heart for love) Aretha, and tee-shirts with multiple pictures of her. Flowers and balloons and messages of tribute were along the outside wall.

The private funeral on Friday 30th is at greater Grace Temple, where those invited include singer Stevie Wonder, who will sing, and former US President Bill Clinton, who will speak.
 Her final resting place is Detroit's Woodlawn Cemetery.

Answer
Never mind. I'll put it on my wishlist. The museum is sure to display a picture later. The museum was also the place for the display of Rosa Parkes in 2005.

Front entrance of the museum. Photo author Quick Fix. More details on copyright and permission in Wikimedia.

I remember going to see the Hitsville USA building in Midtown New Center museum to look at other singers of the day. I was interested in the girl groups from the Sixties such as The Supremes.
I was asked if I would like to meet Berry Gordon. Unfortunately, my driver insisted we had no time and must push on.

Wikipedia has this to say:

• Photo of Motown Museum released into public domain by Blob4000. For more details on copyright wee Wiipedia under Motown Museum.
• 
  
• 14 Motown Museum / Hitsville U.S.A, 2648 W Grand Blvd, ☎ +1 313 875-2264. T-Sa 10AM-6PM. "Hitsville U.S.A." is the nickname of Motown Records first headquarters. It was purchased by Motown founder Berry Gordy in 1959, and converted into the record label's administrative building and recording studio. All of the early Motown hits by artists such as Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, The Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell, The Temptations, The Supremes, Martha & the Vandellas, The Jackson 5, and The Four Tops, among others, were recorded in the studio at Hitsville. Since 1985, The Hitsville U.S.A. building has been the site of the Motown Historical Museum, dedicated to the legacy of the record label, its artists, and its music. Owned and operated by Esther Gordy Edwards, sister of Berry Gordy, the Motown Museum contains exhibits featuring costumes, photos, and records from Motown's success era. Also featured are Motown's "Studio A" and Berry Gordy's upstairs apartment, decorated to appear as they did during the 1960s. $15 adults, $10 seniors & children.   edit

Where Next?

Also see the street named after her, Aretha Franklin Way, Detroit, Michigan, USA.

See her five point brass star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Useful Websites

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-45329576 (About the display at the African American Museum)

Video of the inside of the museum with her on display:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHhreTtwaSQ

thewright.org (Museum website)

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

What to see on Maui, Hawaii - in a nutshell and my attempts at whale watching

Molokini cater, Maui. Accessible only by boat. If you don't manage to take a boat there to look for fish, never mind. You've seen this picture.  Photo by Forest and Kim Starr in Wikivoyage.

Problem
Hawaii is not one island but eight major islands. We narrowed it down to three to see in one trip, flying to Hawaii from America.

Hawaii is American but not American, if you see what I mean.

What is there to see on Maui in Hawaii? Surely you'd fly to Honolulu first? Yes, and take in another island or two. That's what we did.

Maui is the best they say. Conde Nast praised it highly.

Chief attractions include:
Beaches, (black sand)
lavender farm,
turtle town,
volcanic craters,
waterfalls,
water sports,
whale watching,
an evening luau - buffet with Polynesian music and dancing.

I did lots of whale watching, from a hotel balcony. I believed the brochure. We never saw a whale in Hawaii, despite watching. On the other hand, I'm pretty good at attracting rain, even in places which claim they never had any until I got there.

Note the whale watching maths if that matters to you. Some whale watching trips promise to take you on another trip if you don't see any whales. But you can only go on days when they are running a trip and if you are not booked to do anything else. So go as early as possible on your holiday if you think you might avail yourself of this good offer.

What's local /inevitable:
Banana bread, fruit smoothies, beach mats, Hawaiian shirts and clothes.

LANGUAGE
Handily the language is simple:
Aloha is hello and goodbye.
Lua pronounced loo-ah! means toilet.

USEFUL WEBSITES
https://wikitravel.org/en/Maui


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

Supermarkets and Businesses which delivery groceries, fruit, fish and veg worldwide

Problem
If you are an overseas visitor or a British one and forgot to order food for a bank holiday in the UK, a weekend, an unespected visitor or working from home - or out at work want to order fro the family at home. What if you want to eat breakfast, buy a sandwich or do a shop?

Answers
UK
You can google the trade name of the supermarket, (such as Aldi, marks & Spencers, Morrisons, Tesco, Tesco 24 hours, Tesco Express, Waitrose). Check your nearest branch. Go to opening hours (if not already displayed with open or closed today and today's closing time and tomorrow's opening time.

I checked on a branch of Morrisons and found that on the day I looked it was open 8-6 but the cafe closes earlier and the garden centre might open later or close earlier. Once before I thought I'd do my shopping and then stop for a coffee and cake or sandwich or even a hot meal at the end, but the cafe was already closed.

Mysupermarket.co.uk enables you to choose from assorted branded and unbranded goods and compare the prices at various supermarkets.

You can order British food worldwide from British Corner Shop.
Canyougo promises to deliver grocery shopping wihtin 90 minutes, from £3.95 within the M25.

SINGAPORE
Then I started looking for Singapore and stores worldwide.

WORLDWIDE
Some of the American and UK based stores have branches in several other countries. But if you want German, Spain, or Japan, you will find lots of unfamiliar local names so it's worth just checking, especially if you want only one product. For example, such as deliveries of fresh flowers, which is common in Singapore, a city with lots of busineses and restarantas and htels and expats who enterain in flats without gardens.)

Many pizza delivery services also have cooked potatoes, vegetable dishes, vegetarian pizzas, juices and fizzy drinks, and garlic bread.

TripAdvisor has questions from readers in several countries on forums with replies.

Useful Websites (alphabetically by shop name and country name):
ABEL & CO (Organic fruit and veg)
www.abelandcole.co.uk

ALDI
www.aldi.co.uk

AMAZON
amazon.co.uk

AMAZONFRESH
amazon.co.uk/Fresh
USA (Some US states, log in from the USA to find out); UK London; Japan Tokyo;Germany Berlin, Hamburg, Munich.

ASDA
groceries.asda.com

BOOTS (Sells pharmaceuticals, food and drink. Ships Worldwide but not Singapore.)
https://www.boots.com/wellness/food-and-drink

BRITISH FOOD WORLDWIDE
https://www.britishcornershop.co.uk

CANADA
https://www.walmart.ca/en/grocery/

DISH THE FISH (Fresh fruit, vegetables and fish in Singapore delivered)
www.dishthefish.com.sg/collections

HELLOFRESH
www.hellofresh.co.uk

ICELAND (Frozen food specialist)
groceries.iceland.co.uk

JAPANESE STORES IN JAPAN Seiyu, Daiei, Ito Yokado
http://netsuper.kakaku.com/netsuper/

LIDL
www.lidl.co.uk

MARKS & SPENCERS
marksandspencer.com/c/delivery-and-collection

MILK & MORE
milkandmore.co.uk

MORRISONS
morrisons.com/storefinder
https://groceries.morrisons.com/webshop/get

MYSUPERMARKET UK
mysupermarket.co.uk

OCADO
www.ocado.com/Grocery/Fresh

ORIENTAL IN UK
www.orientmart.co.uk

POUNDLAND
onlinepoundstore.co.uk

POUNDSHOP
www.poundshop.com/£_items/essentials
https://www.poundshop.com/food-drink
I noticed coffee, tea, chocolates, mustard, peanut butter and lots more.

SAINSBURY'S
sainsburys.co.uk/shop/groceries/discover
sainsburys.co.uk/webapp

SPAIN
Carrefour
www.carrefour.es


El Corte Ingles (The name means English Corner but it's thoroughly Spanish)
elcorteingles.es

Hipercor
https://www.hipercor.es/supermarket/

Mercadona
www.mercadona.es

Tu Despensa (price comparison)
https://www.expatica.com/new/es/living/household/online-supermarkets-108765/
MoneySaverSpain.com

SINGAPORE
coldstorage.com.sg/Supermarket/Delivery
phttps://giantonline.com.sg
https://redmart.com/frozen/japanese

SUPERDRUG (Deliveries include NHS medicine and items which must be kept in the fridge.)
https://onlinepharmacy.superdrug.com/delivery-information

WAITROSE
https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/serviceselection?storeId

WONKY VEG DELIVERY IN LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
www.oddbox.co.uk

UK
See Aldi, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose, deliveroo.co.uk   (meals from restaurants); canugo.co.uk (supermarkets; whatever you request).

UK and Europe
https://americanfizz.co.uk (Food and drinks.)

WORLDWIDE
For sending gifts such as flowers, birthday presents of Champagne, and Xmas hampers, many companies operate a worldwide service seasonally (eg at Xmas and New Year when they stock special lines) or all year.

Many more speciality shops offer to post or deliver, one-off or on a regular basis:
birthday cakes,
birthday gift boxes,
chocolate, or
fruit and veg,
organic fruit and veg
meat, or
nappies (Americans say diapers),
party food,
Wedding cakes,
wines and wine glasses for parties.

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

Travel Holiday Competitions - Good or bad?

Problem
I am emailed with details of a contest for a holiday. Marie-Claire, well known magazine, trip for two to Maui, plus airfare. I loved Maui, Hawaii. I love the scenery, the music, the dancing, the people.

However, I am initially suspicious. It could be somebody else trying to impersonate Marie Claire.

I click on and answer two questions. One is about my age, so they are sure I'm not a minor, I presume. The other is my location. I am immediately told the holiday is not available to anybody in Europe. Why didn't they say so in the first place? I thought Marie-Claire was French. What's wrong with Europe?

However, I try again and this time I get through. Was it a glitch that stopped me entering? Or a glitch which allowed me to enter? The latter. As the eligibility conditions reveal.

The competition was open only to Americans. Why? The sender is in America.

Out of curiosity, I keep going, so I can tell you what I learned.

Here's what went through my mind:

Is it a scam?

What do I gain?
A fun holiday? Free entertainment? Free meals? And drinks? Spending money? Airfare?

 Is the prize worth my while?
Can I afford hidden extras? Does the holiday include all expenses? Will the free holiday cost me a lot in air fares, meals at an expensive hotel or destination? What about the cost of getting to the airport and back? This could be £30 each way in a hire car, split between two not so bad if you are both wage earners, a lot if not.
Even if it's a free flight, is it an awkward time so I have to pay for a taxi to the airport and back because the trains aren't running or overnight at an airprot hotel with a shuttle bus to the airport.
Does the hotel's shuttle bus run at the hours of the flight?
Can I afford the time?
Do I really want the destination?

First scams
You can contact
1 The Organisations supposedly offering the holiday
2 The resort supposedly offering the holiday
3 Go to scam and holiday for general information or scam and the name of the people offering the contest for specific information.

'All expenses'
All expenses was a fixed price allowance. Up to so many dollars.

What are the conditions/ What do you have to give if you don't win? What do you have if you don't win?

Why only America? To limit the cost of the air ticket, or because the sponsors have a deal with an airline which does not fly to Europe. Or because they want repeat business from the winners and the losers who are in the USA and likely to go to a nearby destination and respond to advertising from associated companies based in the USA.

What do they want and gain from you?

You provide your email and agree to be sent mail shots from a group of associated companies.

As the small print says, your chances of winning depends on the numbers replying to enter the competition.
Useful Websites
https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/types-of-scams/unexpected-winnings/travel-prize-scams
You will find several more helpful sites on similar themes.
https://www.mauicounty.gov
wikipedia maui
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maui
wikivoyage/Maui


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

PS I keep correcting the labels, with a small a for airport, and a capital M for Marie. I update. But some internal system keeps turning my corrected version back to the original.

Why you should label family and travel photos

Problem
The day after my mother died I started going through family photos to find a nice photo of her to display at the funeral, and put on the dining room table for the prayers and meal at home afterwards.

I stayed at my father's home to comfort him and went through my father's photos. He's with my mother and somebody else. "Who's this?" I asked. "Where was this? When was this?"

Dates, Places, People's Names
Some of the photos had nothing written on the back. Others had one word such as Venice, or a date, such as 1999. From the one word, helped by the pictures, he was able to identify many of the photos. From the date, he could identify a place. From a place name, he could identify a date.

He could identify family, friends, and strangers. I added as much detail as I could. "Aunty Carrie? What was her surname? Who was her husband? Your aunty or mother's aunty? Did she have any children?"

If she had children, I wrote the children's names. I might want to call them later, or recognise them on a genealogy site such as Ancestry.

I didn't bother to write childless. I should have done. It would save time searching for possible descendants, who didn't exist.

Writing Carefully
I wrote carefully behind the white frame of each photo, careful not to indent the photo, especially not the faces. When I worked at a photo agency, we typed out the captions and stuck them on the back of photos. You never wrote on the back of a photo. However, with a funeral to arrange, I didn't have time for such neatness.

Now, go back to your family's wedding photos. Add as many names as you can, and dates, and the place where the photo was taken.  When you have time, type it all up neatly. Stick the label on the back. Add a caption inside the glass of any framed photo.

If you have just got married, or recently married, type out a label giving the date, the venue, the people in the main wedding photo, and another sheet listing all the guests. Years later you will be saying: "What was the name of the people you used to work with? What were your parents' neighbours called?"

I have an old wedding photo taken in around 1910. I have no idea if it's a family wedding or one they attended. I don't recognize any of my relatives in the picture. I wish they had written the date on the back, and the name of the bride and groom.

 I went back through my family history to see who would have married then. The only people were my late mother's parents in 1910. But they are not the couple in the photo.

Now that another ten years have passed, I am starting to wonder whether I had mixed up photos from my family with my husband's. Could it be somebody on his side of the family?

When you write your family history or memoirs, you will want captions in the book, giving the names of every person in the photo, the date and place.

Please label your photos.

You can thank me, later.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Writer of family histories:
My Secret Life Revealed.
The Mad Musician - a musical by Angela Lansbury.
This is your life Pearl Sharot.
Soup and Sympathy.

Filing Photos By Dates - why label, keep or use old photos?

Problem
How to find photos you took years ago, or at an unknown date?

Places And Useful Labels
In my photos system, I have a section called places. This can be very handy. I used to leave my photos unlabelled. Now I tag them with every tag I can think of.

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

It's obvious that the Eiffel Tower is the Eiffel Tower, is in Paris, and that Paris is in France. However, if I have a moment, I will label it, with all three pointers. The reason is that, a week or year later, if I am writing about Paris and want a symbol, I can find one quickly.

When you have several photos it is handy to have as much detail in labelling as possible. For example, I might have two dozen photos of a famous building, or even my own garden or balcony. I can see if one picture is a sunset or a daytime or nighttime photo. I can see if it is lawn (green grass), or a rose, or even a tree.

A Rose

Cut Red Rose on table.

But these labels will be handy hours, days or weeks later if I am looking for a picture of a rose, contrasting drought or weeds with green grass, or comparing the pine trees of England with the palm trees of Singapore.

I could label my rose as flower, or rose, or red rose, or red rose in vase or flower container, or red rose on table, to contrast with pink rose in garden.

Pink rose growing in garden in London, England.

 I have to search only one file and everything is in date order, the date of the email. In photo storage, the photos are stored when they were taken.

Downloading Photos
So If I download a free photo from Wikipedia, which was taken at the Notting Hill Gate Carnival in 2017, I would have to recall that it was taken in 2017 in order to find it.

Queen Victoria. Where?

I once downloaded a photo of a statue of famous composer and the photo instantly disappeared. I thought it had failed to be downloaded from the server to my computer.

The Statue of Liberty. When?

For weeks I did not realise what was happening. Then started looking for another Photo and found my statue picture. I finally twigged that my photos were being stored under the date they were taken. The solutions?

Important Dates
Firstly, to notice when the picture was taken from the detailed description in Wikipedia. I never used to take much notice of dates. Now I make a point of noticing every time.

I used to hate out of date pictures. Who needs a picture of their own high street or a shop from five years ago or ten years ago. For a travel writer, an out of date photo, even six months in a four-season country is a waste of time. A snowy scene is useless when you are writing in summer. Unless you are writing about booking a ski holiday for next Easter.

As a travel writer, I used to be selling stories immediately I came back from a trip. I had up-to-date photos and experiences.

Photographer?
You want to label the phtographer to give credit. I also want to know whether a photo was taken by me or by soembody esle. I might prefer to have a statue with a live person beside it.

Angela Lansbury standing by statues in Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Statues by railway station in Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Statues in Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Old Photos - Out of Date?
Now I can see the point of the old photos. You can show before and after photos. Has the new decor of a restaurant improved on the way it used to be a year ago? Will I or you or another reader be able to see that the place they remembered and didn't like has improved for the better?

I was at a meeting of travel industry people at the annual World Travel Market in London. One member of the audience complained that Tripadvisor kept old reviews. He said any review more than a month ago was irrelevant. The chef might have changed. The seasonal menu would have changed.

I disagreed. I had been to a hotel which has a broken window in a bedroom. The owner told me it had just happened and he would fix it. Should I believe him? I went online and discovered that people had been complaining about that and similar problems for years. Nothing got repaired or fixed. If I had only had this week's complaint, I might have thought it was one off. By carefully analysing all the reports over the years, it was clear that those people in the renovated top floor rooms gave the hotel glowing reports. Those in the middle floor rooms were all complaining.

Another interesting point. If all rooms in a hotel are the same size, you don't know whether you will get a good room or a bad one. Since the rooms were different sizes, you could see at a glance that a three-bed family room on the top floor was in good condition. So, you had to ask for and only book if you could get a three-bed family room.

You might think, if the place is run down in some areas, surely you should not give them your business at all. However, if you didn't want to pay twice the price for bland chain hotel room which could be in any country of the world, the hotel with the piano-playing owner, statues in the garden, board games for children, a clientele of bohemian and off-beat visitors to talk to, might be just thing - provided you got the renovated room and not the one with the broken window.

The other point is that I hesitate to say anything bad about a hotel or restaurant. What I think is a small portion might be just right for somebody else. Better to show a photo and let the viewer judge for themselves. My family can't agree on a meal. We have totally different tastes.

The old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words, holds true. An old picture showing the place is just the same, or tally changed, may be very useful.

But how do you find the old picture? We have come full circle.

Author
Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, Angela Lansbury. Please bookmark your favourite posts and share links with your family and friends.