Train Etiquette In Asia - and fighting cold germs

Problems On Trains
In the UK the health message has for a long time been: Coughs and sneezes spread diseases; catch them in your handkerchief. This was a government health campaign. Even when it is no longer displayed, people still remember the catchy verse and repeat the mantra to themselves.

However, in Asia it is common to wear a mask. Some British people are averse to masks. In London we have masked figures attacking people, robberies and terrorism.

My experience of the blue face  mask in Singapore is that it is unpleasant to wear. You have a small area of hot air you are breathing out under your nose. You feel like you are sucking hot air in through a barrier.

I said, "I have a cold so it's hard to breathe. This mask is making it even more difficult t breathe in.
My Singaporean friend suggested, "Just cover your mouth, so you don't cough over the car everyone."

If I felt a sneeze coming on, I could pull up the mask. I could pull it down to talk, then pull it up if I felt a coughing fit.

That is to protect people in public spaces. What about at home?

You don't want to re-infect yourself, nor other people. This involves meticulously washing your hands before preparing food,and after sneezing or blowing your nose and handling a damp tissue, before putting your hands onto your computer or phone. Maybe use a wet wipe on surfaces you have touched.

Where To Buy A Mask
You can buy mask from pharmacies. Check first if travelling a distance which branches stock them because they might only be in larger branches. During major emergencies such as a haze, some branches may run out. It could help to enquire when the items are delivered and put out on the shelves. For example, if the new stock were to be delivered at 8 am but placed on the shelves at 10 be am, and sold out by 4 pm, you might be told that there would be a fresh delivery tomorrow, but you 5 would not find any when you set off at 8-9 am, nor when you returned at 5 pm.

One solution is to try every store you pass. Another is to get different members of your family or group to look for them.

Free Masks
I was given a mask by a friend in Singapore - who was upset that I was coughing in a car. He obtained a free mask from a Polyclinic near his home.

I found free masks in a private doctor's clinic in a mall. I didn't know who they were for - for doctor's to save themselves from breathing over us or breathing in the patients' germs? I asked at the desk and the receptionist replied, "Please help yourself." She didn't say whether that meant just one, two, or more.

Masks were also in the national University Hospital.

After you get it home, you might just put it down on a desk, hidden under clutter, or leave it in a bag or pocket so that it with you next time you go out. You risk changing bags and clothes and not finding it.

An alternative is to keep it in the bag or jacket you always wear, and tell the family where you have put it, in case they need it when you are not there or forget. Another suggestion is to keep it in a bathroom cupboard, if there is room, or on a bathroom shelf with a note or photo inside the bathroom cabinet door. Another choice would be to keep one mask, or two, in the first aid kit in your kitchen on the wall or in a car glove box.

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

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www.msn.com/en-sg/news/world/video-fight-breaks-out-inside-mtr-train-carriage-over-man-coughing

Artist items, watercolor paper and cards from the tiny to the not so small

Watercolour postcards 

The American spelling of color tells me they are either produced in the USA or sold to the US market.  Why buy postcards? Because they are a handy size, quick to paint, less scary than a huge piece of paper, far less costly. 

Folded Cards and Envelopes

If you really want something to post, you can invest in a folded card and the supplied matching envelope. I looked at the price. You get a set of ten. If you painted three in an hour in a day, you would soon get through that. If you are not selling but treating art as a hobby (though you could be a bestseller to be like Van Gogh) the cost of the paper matters. 

I looked at the possibility of cutting each card in half, but then it would not fit the envelope. You might be able to cut the envelope in half and seal up the cut side. All too complicated. I settled for the artist cards. I might put the cards with envelopes on my Xmas list.

On the other hand, if you only used one every six months, they would last seemingly forever, a worthwhile investment to add to your stock. 

Artist Trading Cards

Alternatively, if you want something really small to keep in your pocket all day and every day, choose artist trading cards.

Trading Cards

Artist trading cards are tiny sample cards artists can give away as samples of their work, or swap with other artists.

Author

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

Malay word of the day is camera (and more Malay words)

Problem
How will I ever learn to read Malay!

Answer
You learn Malay the same as everybody and everything else. One step at a time. Malay signs are everywhere in Singapore where Malay is one of the four official languages. I now know the Bahaya beware, danger, keep out sign.

I recently noticed another.
Malay - English
Kamera - Camera

Since the camera sign was above, no confusion, no danger of thinking it means room.

A reminder of other common words:

Malay - English
anak - child
anak-anak - children
hotel - hotel
imigresen - immigration
kastam - Customs
klinik - clinic
makanan - food
minuman - drinks
stesen - station
teksi - taxis

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

Hedgehog Pencil Holder For Yourself, For a friend, a Child Or For Christmas

Another item at Overjoyed art shop in Singapore. Hedgehog pencil holder. Not a new item. I've seen it before. Still amusing.

Maybe put it on your wishlist. Or buy it as a gift. Or secret Santa for a Christmas party. 

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. 

Please share links to your favourite posts.

This worked to remove permanent marker from a whiteboard

It is Dettol. Spray on. Kills flu virus says the can. We are more interested in eliminating marks left by a marker. It does the trick. I was worried at first. But since we were given it by the cleaning department, the building management, if it didn't work, or caused damage, I reckoned they had supplied it and would not and could not blame us.

Whiteboard problem

It took three people several minutes to remove this permanent marker.

Oops! You wrote on a whiteboard with a permanent marker!

Problem

You picked up a marker and wrote on the board. When somebody tried to wipe it off with the eraser, no luck.

Answer

A permanent marker can be erased with alcohol, any alcohol, cleaners containing alcohol, failing all else, if you are near a bar, spirits such as vodka - but vodka is expensive so that's a waste.

I learned this years ago. I had written on a whiteboard which turned out to be the personal property of the previous speaker which he had left on stage.

My saviour was a lad who had just left a local college. He said, "Happens all the time at my college. You just need alcohol."

Renting a flat or house in England, UK

Angela at Heathrow with a model of the queen.

You can look at where you will be working or where you or your relatives will be studying and draw a line around the distance you are prepared to travel, whether on foot, by car or public transport.

You can reduce the problem by choosing to study in a place where the first year students live in accommodation, or where the workers share accommodation, eg nursing.
You can check out the area on Streetview.

Also if you company has two offices and you are likely to travel between the two, or to be able to request a transfer, decide which venue has a better cultural sporting or social life, or live half way between the two.

If you are setting up a company look at accommodation as well as workplaces.

Typical UK Dwellings
Central London
Price is at a premium in the centre. Notting Hill and Hampstead are trendy as is upcoming Islington. Old Victorian buildings. Terraced housing. Blocks of flats. Check the frequency of trains and cost of travel.

Leafy Suburbs With Semis
In the suburbs you will find semi-detached and detached houses. Edwardian, Victorian, mock-Tudor.

Red brick, typical of London and Southern England. Edwardian and Georgian houses, with sash windows. Dormer windows.  Red tile roofs. A wooden fence around the garden. Chimney pots on older houses.

More rarely, art deco, white with a flat roof.

 Also flats over high street shops. Lively but noisy traffic and passing drunks and people coming out of pubs and restaurants late at night.

Art deco house in Harrow area.

The South London suburb of Richmond, and northern historic Harrow on the Hill are great to visit.

London's new Elizabeth line is being extended. This could change commuting times and house prices and rental income and rental charges.

Property Agents

What Americans call realtors are known in the UK as estate agents. Local newspapers run articles on property prices and areas and advertisements of properties to buy or rent.

If you are looking to buy a converted church, ruined castle, windmill, house of an author, or any such novelty, look at the upmarket newspapers.

Condensation and Mould
A major problem in the UK is condensation. A Finnish tenant told me that in Finland where it is too cold to open windows in winter, all homes are designed with ventilation.

In the UK, you have to open windows every day, especially if you are generating liquid. If you reckon one person generates one pint of liquid, four will generate four times as much.

So one person in a two bed flat and opening the patio door daily to go out and sit in the sun and play Scrabble would not have condensation.

After she moves out, the next tenant has a niece and two grand-daughters, four people. The windows are shut all day.

They are offered a dehumidifyer but it needs emptying and costs them money in electricity bills. They are cooking with kitchen windows shut, water generated by the kettle and casseroles. Four people having baths and showers. Four people breathing and perspiring, means lots of condensation.

If condensation forms on windows, this needs to be wiped off daily, or at least weekly, as otherwise the curtains will go black from mould. Blackened net curtains can be soaked in bucket of cold water, with a little bleach added - read the instructions. on the bleach and on the fabric to be sure this is ok.

Try a corner first. I have successfully revived white net curtains and heavier drapes. However, it takes time, effort and care.

I would not do it with pets or children in the house. You need clear thin bleach, not thick stained blue or green bleach nor strong bleach for cleaning drains. I tried it first on curtains which would otherwise have been thrown away. I reckoned I had nothing to lose except the cost of the bleach and my time. I saved the curtains. They were useful spares. Who needs spares? If you take down your crutains to clean or wash them, whilst you are waiting for them to dry, you have a spare pair to hand up.

Author
Angela Lansbury

Hunting For A Home In The USA

We went from the UK to live in the USA.

USA
Positives - Space
In the USA rooms are larger. Near Washington DC we had large rooms and walk in closets for hanging clothes.

Negatives - Noise
Our main problem was noise from neighbours. The building construction was flimsy, with wooden floors meaning your footsteps were heard by the people below. Even walking normally, your steps were heard. If children ran up and down, the problem was exacerbated.

Working Late
In Asia the Chinese work hard and late at night you can see the restaurants still open. Similar work ethic appplies to East coast America, New York and Washington, DC. We would sometimes go into work at the weekend and the place was never empty. Somebody was always there working. HR and marketing department were phoning, recruiting staff, or conducting interviews.

In the evening, we would pop back to the office to collect papers or check on a programme left running on a work computer. Somebody would organize pizza or something else on expenses to feed everybody. Your colleagues were people you saw day, evening, and weekends. They became lifelong friends.

We lived in Connecticut in a shared townhouse, also Rockville, Maryland in a top floor, third floor flat in what the Americans call a condo. I suppose the addition of a swimming pool meant that it was a condo.

Shared Company House
Whilst we were looking for a place to rent, the company put us up in a house they owned. Somebody had worked out it was cheaper to house three of four company staff members plus overseas visitors in one house, rather than pay lots of hotel fees. Maybe somebody bought a house then went out of town and rented it to the company, or sold it to the boss.

The system worked well. On arrival instead of being alone in a hotel you had friends from the company to advise you where to get a good meal, go out for the day, hire a car, or buy bedding. New arrivals could borrow items or take them from a cupboard of stock left behind.

Small items such as kettle or toasters could often be bought on the company's expense, if it was for shared use. You just bought cheap. You left it behind, or replaced it with a cheaper item, if you had spent above the amount that the Accounts department thought reasonable.

Similarly with the bedding. If you took a fancy to the sheets, you replaced them with something on sale. If not, they went back into stock and you bought new for your new home,or used the stuff which was eventually shipped over.

Condo Or Flat?
The Americans use the word condo exclusively for a complex with extra facilities. They use the word flat for a simpler dwelling. The Brits simply use flat to mean one storey dwelling rather than a two storey house.

That's the reverse of the American yard and the British back garden. To the British a yard is hardly more than a yard, a few feet of paved area for storage at the back of a terraced block. A yard in Britain is small. No flowers nor trees. In Britain we would say,"It doesn't have a proper garden, only a small yard."

I remember my shock when a visiting American in the UK told me, "I like your yard."

Story and storey
Americans also say story for storey. For Brits a story is a tale with a plot. A storey is a level in a building.)

Points to consider:
View
Size of rooms
Noise from outside
Noise from neighbours and below and above
Likelihood of neighbouring land being built on
Cost of heating or aircon - or both
Nearness of swimming pool or gym or on site

With Streetview you can now check the outside and outskirts of the streets and buildings.

Author
Angela Lansbury

How to choose a flat overseas, comparing Singapore

Singapore flag hung from balcony on National Day.

Singapore
A friend of mine in Singapore lives on the 25th floor.

I asked, "Do you like that?"
He replied, "I love it."
I asked, "You mean the view?"
"No the breeze. We don't need the aircon."

I have lived in the UK, USA, and Singapore.

USA
In the USA rooms are larger. Near Washington DC we had large rooms and walk in closets for hanging clothes. Our main problem was noise from neighbours. The building construction was flimsy, with wooden floors meaning your footsteps were heard by the people below. Even walking normally, your steps were heard. If children ran up and down, the problem was exacerbated.

Points to consider:
View
Size of rooms
Noise from outside
Noise from neighbours and below and above
Likelihood of neighbouring land being built on
Cost of heating of aircon
Nearness of swimming pool or gym or on site

Advantages of Swimming pools

In Singapore most residents lived in the government run HDB housing blocks. An expat who has married a Singaporean may be eligible for an HDB house. You can usually find a public swimming pool nearby. 

An expat with a reasonable income will be expected to rent, or buy, in the private sector, where condos such as this one have a central shared swimming pool.

Noise

You are likely to want to have your windows and patio doors open (unless you can afford to run the air conditioning all day). You will probably hear echoing from swimming pool (even parents, grandparents and the swimming instructors shouting across the pool to children learning to swim). You might also get noise from the playground, people enjoying barbecues, nearby traffic, nearby schools.

I met one family where the wife went home to her country because the buildling work noise adjacent to her block was intolerable and the water was cut off for thee days. She had children and sleepless nights from a baby and wanted to take afternoon naps. If you are at home all day, or working from home, and cannot tolerate noise, this could be a nuisance.

The short-term solution is to go out for the day.

On the other hand, if you are the sort who sleeps through a thunderstorm which wakes everybody else, and are working away a lot, you could get a good deal of low rent on a block which other people won't take.

In the early days in Singapore, we lived right in the centre. Our employers' package included a car and we had a tiny flat, a brand new block, poor outlook, with only cold water in the kitchen taps, and no windows in the brand new kitchen, just grilles. I hated it.

We then moved to a huge old-fashioned top floor flat, stifling hot with a magnificent view over Singapore in both directions with balconies both sides.

We were shown all sorts of time-wasting places. One flat had no blaconies and high horizontal slit windows so as not to overlook nearby VIP government minister housing. Another flat with no balcony and small windows reminded me of a prison cell. Despite reasonable sized rooms it was claustrophobic.

Although we had asked for a flat near a station, we were taken to see suburban house just in case we liked it. It was built against a near vertical hillside, with only just room to walk around the back and the view straight into the hillside yards from your face from the windows in dark rooms. Big and cheap, fine for a single parent or couple out travelling or entertaining every night in restaurants, leaving behind small children and a maid, not for us.

Australia and Australians
In Singapore, Australians like to live on the East coast near the beach. You can run along the shore and have sundown parties at seafood restaurants.

Singaporeans like Australia because it is a chance to buy, with freehold. In Singapore large numbers of freehold properties are only 99 years. In the second half of the term, the re-sale value of the property can drop a lot, maybe as much as half, because you can your children can live there but you have nothing to leave to your grandchildren, neither the place to live nor the financial value.

Singaporean companies run by the Chinese tend to work longer hours. The Singaporeans will work evenings and weekends and expect you to work late and work Saturdays or Sundays.

Similar work ethic to East coast America, New York and Washington, DC.

In Australia, you are more likely to leave work at 5 pm for a drink or a swim.

Success!
In Singapore we moved into a remote suburb where the local railway station was still being built. Scheduled for six months later. We got a reasonable rent, after hunting all over Singapore for something we could afford. In purely financial terms, the cost of taxis was offset by the saving in rent. I spent part of the first six months in the UK anyway. When we finally settled in, we loved out new place and the rent was fixed for two years.

TRANSPORT
Nearness to bus and train
Being on the line to work or social activities
Near the airport if you travel - but what you save on living further out could pay for a lot of taxis.

In the USA being on the route and near the stop for the yellow school bus service.

Your checklist:
First make your one must have factor. With me that is a swimming pool.

1 Location
2 Bedrooms: Number of bedrooms - visitors, study etc.
3 Facilities: gym, swimming pool, social activities.
4 Shopping - nearness to shops, shop on site.
5 Heating or aircon.
6 Cost - does the agent say it's negotiable. Maybe the householder asked a high price because there was a chance somebody would take it; also they were afraid they would get lower offers than their asking price so they raised the asking price. A huge block may have two or three units at different prices. See them all before deciding.
7 Noise. Ground floor or low floor is better in a fir or when lifts (elevators won't work). High floors are above traffic noise and give better views.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer

Pandan birthday cake - how to welcome visitors to a club with a birthday cake

Pandan cakes are made from the pandan plant. The green colour may be natural or enhanced with food colouring. Many pandan cakes are plain, dry sponge but this birthday cake was different. As you see it has a moist edging like a blancmange.

The covering was solid enough for a candle to be placed on top. The cake came with a small chocolate oval decoration.

It was served to a group of members and visitors at a meeting of Toastmasters International in Toa Payoh. This group meets at either the HDB hub (an easily found skyscraper a short distance from the Toa Payoh MRT (Mass Transit) railway station.

Many of the Singapore groups serve a birthday cake to members who have a meeting that month or fortnight or week, depending how often the group meets. A second popular location for meetings is the Orange Tee building. This is a lot easier to find if you recall that is is facing the public swimming pool, because when you ask the way, more people can direct you to the swimming pool.

One group I visited had found that with only one meeting a month, they almost always had a member with a birthday. Sometimes two or three members had a birthday the same month, if a club had a membership of twenty to sixty.

The cake was brought out, happy birthday was sung, and the cake was divided into sufficient pieces for everybody.

If you are all alone on your birthday, as is often the case with expats abroad, if your partner is travelling, join a Toastmasters club - one where they celebrate birthdays.

You might be concerned not to reveal your birthday or a member's birthday to strangers - even if you trusted the entire group,  the photo may be used on social media. In that case, you can simply celebrate birthdays of people who have a birthday that month.

I was asked by somebody, Is your birthday actually today? On another occasion, a friend in Asia wanted to know my birthday so she could do my horoscope.

So plan  your answer.

In any case, even if it's not known that it's your birthday, you will get a piece of cake!

Apart from the security issue of revealing somebody's birthday, clubs are divided on celebrating brithdays. Soem club committee members don't want the extra expense of providing a cake. They argue that celebrating a birthday has nothing to do with the purpose of the club.

Other clubs feel that it makes members feel welcomed. One of the policies recommended by club advisers called in to help clubs with dwindling membership, is to have parties at Christmas and on other occasions, and to meet evey month or week outside the usual meeing for a lunch or dinner or coffee, or a sporting activity or other social event, just to increase the feeling of belonging and commitment to the club and members.

To Singaporeans a pandan cake is pretty normal. However, to me as a person brought up in Briatin, where an iced heavy fruit cake is the standard, green pandan brithday cake is a novelty, a welcome surprise.

Mango drink from Fruit Tree, Grass Jelly, White Chrysanthemum

Here is another choice.

When we first moved to Singapore we bought one of each and decided that my favourite was still mango. However, now my taste bud are more accostomed to Singapore flavours, I might have a change of opinion. 

If you are not a drinker of alchcol, or even if you are, you might invest ten Singapore dollars in eight to ten of the local drinks and compare them.

One of my favourite drinks in London, England, was grass jelly with rose flavour. You can buy rose flavour in a small bottle from Mohammed Mustafa's 24 hour supermarket. 

Author, Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Here's another brand of canned drink, Oishi, 'ice lemon' and more flavours of drinks

Green Tea. By the brand Oishi. How do they cool it?

If you are asked if you want iced lemon tea of ice lemon green tea, they mean it.
Swasons brand makes ice lemon tea and ice lemon green tea.

See my previous post on Yeo's flavours.

Why You Should Wear A Mask When You Have A Cold In Asia

Problem
I had a cold, slept all afternoon, and went out in the evening, still sneezing.

My Singaporeans friends told me, "You should wear a mask when you have a cold."

"Why?"

"Because it stops the droplets going everywhere when you sneeze or cough."

You can buy face masks in the drug stores.

I have seen masks on faces in Singapore and Korea and other Asian countries.

I had previously moved seats when people alongside me were coughing and sneezing. Now I see whey you should wear a mask.

In England, a health campaign went: Coughs and sneezes spread diseases. Catch them in your handkerchief.

An alternative is to catch them in your mask.

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

Greek Language Meetup In London, Mandarin, Spanish and More Worldwide

Language meetups are happening all over the world. When you are going on holiday, it's good idea to try speaking the language.

You have several options for learning languages. These include:

Going to a restaurant
Book a holiday in the country of your language choice - or another country which has an area or population speaking that language. So to Practice French you could have a summer holiday in France and a spring break in Belgium or Switzerland.

Book a language course as part of your holiday, or make a residential language course your holiday.
Go onto Facebook in another language and make friend in the area you will visit.

Go to a Toastmasters International group.
For example:
Spanish speaking groups in North America and an online group.
French speaking Francophone Toastmasters in Singapore.
Bilingual French-English Toastmasters group in London.
Mandarin and Tamil speaking Toastmasters groups in Singapore.

A meetup Group in London in Greek just sent me an alert. You could start your own meetup group.

If you want to practise on your own, try the free internet language system Duolingo.

Useful Websites
Meetup
Toastmaster International Find a Club

Author
Angela Lansbury
Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker

More news on Blue World Voyages - the health and fitness cruise

I reported earlier on the new cruise with lots of healthy food and sports aboard.
The PR agency has replied to my queries:

Wow lots of questions – that’s what we like!

So the first voyage is set to sail late summer 2019, the Blue World Voyages team have found a ship which they will be completely renovating.

The ships will sail around the Mediterranean. Details of the itineraries are still tbc.

A week’s cruise in one of our standard suites will be priced from $ 3,500 plus port charges (airfare not included). 

Blue World Voyage cruises will be aimed at adults (youngest age permitted is 16) who are interested in living a healthy active lifestyle – whoever that may be!

Wifi is included on board 

See my previous post for more details. 

Angela Lansbury.

Oriental canned drinks in Singapore, Yeo's coconut, mango, and more

I spotted one of my favourite drinks, coconut, in a rack of canned drinks in a machine. I started looking to see what else was available. I thought the record would be handy when I was asked what do you want to drink in a hawker centre (food court). I prefer freshly squeezed juices, or slices of fresh fruit, and to sit down and eat. But there are times when a canned drink is quicker and cheaper.

YEO'S coconut and iced tea lemon.

See my later post on Oishi.

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

Overjoyed art shop

These are the items I bought in the Overjoyed Art Shop. I bought small Artist Trading Cards and the stacking water colour painting set. This is the lady who served me.

The shop is near Rochor station, one along from Little India, in Singapore.

Useful Websites

www.overjoyed.com.sg

Artist Trading cards

www.strathmoreartist.com

Travel Tips

Art shop in Singapore:  Overjoyed

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2018/11/overjoyed-at-overjoyed-art-supplies-shop.html

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2018/11/overjoyed-art-shop.html

visitsingapore.com

Singapore Airlines: singaporeair.com

Author

Travel writer and photographer, Angela Lansbury 

Illustrator and caricaturist name shortened to Angella.

See my posts about artists on the train, artwork displayed at Beauty World MRT, Singapore.

Please bookmark and share your favourite posts.

Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

'Come back latter' - odd spellings you read

You see lots of strange instructions in Singapore.

I saw this sign in Singapore in November 2018.  Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Add an r to the word late and you get later. Latter means the last of two or more.

When I first came to Singapore, I was unnerved by signs which instructed: Pedestrian this way! In England the sign would have read: Pedestrians this way.

In England, signs address all of the pedestrians, not just me.

 I felt like I was being watched on a CCTV camera to see if I obeyed the instruction.

I started learning Bahasa Malay. (That means Malay language - you put the word bahasa meaning language in front because adjectives go in front of nouns and they don't have the word Malaysian, just Malay language and Malay people). 

Esperanto follows the simple system of spelling and grammar.

How do you work out what muddled messages, particularly on restaurant menus, might mean.

1 Try to guess what the writer was likely to be saying.

2 Look at the other language or other notice for a clue.

3 Look for similarly spelled words. (If you play Scrabble, or have a scrabble word hunt programme, this can help.)

Author, Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. 

Overjoyed at Overjoyed art supplies shop

Near ROCHOR MRT and the art college LaSalle this ground floor shop has an enticing window with dinky compact travel painting sets. 

Go downstairs to the entrance and you will be in heaven.

I was looking for the Koh-i-noor stacking paintboxes, tiny artist trading cards, only 6.35

x 8.89 cm which fit in any pocket, and putty rubbers.

You can also get 3D doodle sets.

My cheapest gift was the trading cards at $2.90.

I was looking at the small size small price items thinking they would be suitable for Christmas stockings and Secret Santa gifts light enough to carry in your pocket to a party.

Angela Lansbury

Travel writer, photographer and caricaturist.

Travel Tips

Art shop in Singapore:  Overjoyed

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2018/11/overjoyed-at-overjoyed-art-supplies-shop.html

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2018/11/overjoyed-art-shop.html

visitsingapore.com

Singapore Airlines: singaporeair.com

Author

Travel writer and photographer, Angela Lansbury 

Illustrator and caricaturist name shortened to Angella.

See my posts about artists on the train, artwork displayed at Beauty World MRT, Singapore.

Please bookmark and share your favourite posts.

Checking fire safety in your restaurant, hotel or home in Singapore, London or New York

I was sitting in a restaurant in Singapore with my friends. A buffet was provided for a visiting group, with lights keeping the food warm. I retreated to a distant table away from the noisy crowd. Looking at my distance from the front door and the fire exit, I wondered whether near the front door, away from the kitchen, would be the safest place to sit.

I recall a fire destroying The Swan Peking Chinese restaurant in Hatch End. Restaurant staff are taught not to throw water on burning oil.

When my son was a student, one of his classmates was in a flat where the oven caught fire. Nobody had cleaned the oven. Eventually the build-up of grease caught fire.

In Western and Italian restaurants, another fire danger is candles on the tables. For birthdays, you see cakes carried in with lit candles on top. An Italian restaurant owner in Harrow, London, told me that he has an average of three birthday parties a night.



Over in Singapore, my friends who live in an HDB block were discussing fire safety comparing Singapore with what happened at Grenfell tower block which caught fire in London, England. I remember in New York on a guided tour being shown the factory where the fire caused the change in the law so that all New York buildings required external fire escapes.

 But that's no good when you are told by the fire brigade to stay where you are, and we are coming to rescue you, when the fire brigade knew they could not do so.


The people who died in the Grenfell fire were told to stay put. The theory is that a fire is contained to the floor where the fire broke out. If you leave, you might encounter smoke in a stairwell, or obstruct the fire personnel coming up.

This idea was new to me. Every other fire instruction I have seen, for example, in a hotel, tells you to leave immediately.

However, in Grenfell, the flames were leaping up the outside cladding, as photos and videos show.

Photo by Natalie Oxford, from Wikipedia.

I have seen pictures of suggestions for quick evacuation from tall buildings using a pole, like the ones fire stations use to get the firemen out fast to the fire engine. I have also seen what looks like a large tube descending.

My friends sat over lunch, discussing, 'Is Singapore, safer, or less safe than London and New York? Safer than in previous years?"

Do we still make a point of staying in low rise motels in the USA instead of high-rise hotels?  

Two of us used to do that, but have stopped doing so.

Three different families all lived in high blocks in Singapore for part of the year or all the year.

First, I asked, "Are there fire extinguishers in your HDB blocks?"

Jay, who is a pessimist, said, "I've never seen any."

His wife, 'Ray,' said, "I am sure there are some."

She googled it. She found a picture of coiled red fire hoses attached to a water pipe.

He objected, "But who knows how to use those!"

Another friend commented, "You have to read the instructions."

On the wall above the fire hose was a list of instructions. I said, "It would be a good idea to read the instructions in advance in order to act quickly when you are needed."

The instructions included warnings not to leave goods obstructing access to the hose. 

Then we discussed obstructions in corridors and stairwells.

I said, "When I first came to Singapore, in the 1990s, I remember seeing an HDB block with a menagerie of rabbits which I presumed were pets."

"No!" said my Singaporean friend, Jay. "People moved into the skyscraper blocks from villages with farmyard and land where they used to keep pigs and sheep and they moved in with their animals and kept them outside the block of flats or inside in the corridors. They kept chickens to eat and rabbits to eat."

I thought, 'Oh no - not the rabbits!' 

The government website on safety shows very clearly how people obstruct walkways with plants, storage boxes, clothes on drying racks. Lines with measurements show how wide the area is to keep clear and why. Pictures show an ambulance official trying to wheel a person in a wheelchair along an obstructed corridor, an open to the air walkway typical of many government HDB blocks. 

So now you know that obstructions are officially forbidden. And why - so that wheelchairs and emergency services can make their way unobstructed along the corridors - in an emergency. (And any time!)

Fires In Flats
My late father insisted on burning a memorial candle all night, the 24 hours on the anniversary of my mother's death.

Later his flat was rented out. The Hindu couple performed a fire ceremony in the living room. This involved setting a fire in a large barbecue bowl indoors on the dining table, and circling the table seven times. They had hardly started when the smoke filled the room and the fire alarms went off.

The elderly blind man upstairs heard the alarm, opened his front door, and smelled the smoke! He raced down the stairs, falling and hurting himself on the way out. He was very upset So was his wife.

On one of my inspections I watched an old lady's stick of incense curl over at the top and fall.
In London we used to keep goods in the electrical cupboards. Signs went up asking residents to remove their belongings from cupboards.

After lots of objects and reluctance, we and others found places for out goods within the flats instead of the outside cupboards. Eventually when I had a gas and electricity safety check I asked why the cupboards had to be empty. I was told, "The master switch turning off the gas and electricity is in that cupboard. Seconds count.

Fire In A Garden In Harrow
I know that is so. In another area of London, I saw a neighbour's garden plants catch fire. The flames shot up from a weedkiller, to a low plant, the bush, the tree, then along the whole line of trees! Fortunately, I and two other neighbours rang the fire brigade with the number of the house. The side gate was opened to let the firemen and firewoman in with their huge hoses. After wards I spoke to the firewoman. She said after all the trees caught fire, within another two minutes, the two neighbouring houses would both have caught fire and burned to the ground. (The neighbour's granny had been inside watching anxiously, mesmerised, from the kitchen window at the back of the next house. Another neighbour advised her to get out of the house.)

Blocking Doorway
I then saw one of the flat renters park her stroller outside the door of the cupboard. She said, "You only had to knock on my door and I could remove it in a minute."

But you don't want to waste a minute waiting for her to come to the door, fold down the stroller, and move it out of the way. In a minute the flames can jump from the chip pan to the curtains and destroy the whole kitchen and force everybody to move out, for weeks whilst they wait for the insurance assessors, estimates for repair, workmen to arrive and replace the kitchen.

Friends' House Fires - Followed By Divorce
Other friends of mine lost their home to a kitchen fire. They had to move out.

This was followed by a divorce.

Animal Attack
A second family, who I knew well, lost their entire house to a fire caused by hibernating animals waking and chewing electricals. The home owners were away on holiday. Neighbours had the key but sensibly did not risk their lives going inside. As soon as they saw the fire, they called the fire brigade. The fire brigade put out the fire.

The fire damaged very little. However, the entire house was uninhabitable. First the residents had to stay out for a week to be sure nothing was smouldering unseen and likely to burst into flames at night whilst they were sleeping. Secondly, every room was full of soot from the fire, and water damage from the hoses.) They also divorced.

No lives lost, just the family home, and the marriage, so they don't even figure in the statistics of fatal fires or fire injuries.

Two sorts of fire extinguishing devices can be bought.

The Moral - Get Out Fast
Now you know why getting out fast is important. And why you should not block corridors, nor allow others to do so.

Famous Fires
UK
Charlotte Bronte's work of fiction, Jane Eyre, includes a fire in a bedroom, inspired by the incident of a fire caused by her brother Branwell.
Grenfell.
USA
The home of my namesake, Angela Lansbury the actress, in the USA.

To find out more look at the illustrations and comments on:

SINGAPORE
Scdf.gov.sg
US FIRE ESCAPE INSPECTION
https://maximumfireescapes.com/
A look at poles and slides (like the ones used on planes)
http://www.firecurtains.co.uk/unusual-fire-escapes/

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

Architects please copy colours on seats

When Waterloo Centre was built on Waterloo Street in Singapore the coloured floors and matching seats must have looked amazing. They still do if you look closely and ignore the dust and dirt and disintegration of time. To judge by the notices, this complex has the threat or promise of refurbishment or redevelopment. 

I hope they will preserve the coloured marble floors and seats. 

I prefer seats with backs. I find wood more friendly than hard, unshaped flat seating. No backs on chairs and benches means people tend to slump and get round-shouldered. Glance around any public area with backless seats and you will see what I mean. Slumping can cause neck and neck pain. 

But I can understand that this simple design is less prone to wear and tear than painted or varnished surfaces. 

I love the colours. What are the colours, Cream and green and rusty, orangey red.

Colourful seating in Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Spelling note. The spelling colour is British. Color is American.

Please share links to your favourite posts with colleagues or family and friends.

Artwork on the underground and In the Streets Around Singapore

This is at Bencoolen, Singapore.

The artwork is called Making Memories.

Holland Village with a windmill.

I like the touches of red which enliven it.

Useful Websites

https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltaweb/en/public-transport/mrt-and-lrt-trains/art-and-architecture/art-in-transit/gallery/dtl.html

Artwork on MRT station Bencoolen and along Waterloo Street

One of my favourites.

I passed it on Bencoolen MRT underground railway station in Singapore, just around the corner from the Singapore Art Museum. I went down the escalator because I was in a hurry to get to my destination but the escalator was short, so I thought, it will only take a minute to go up again and take one photo. I took five photos.

The Plaque
Then, as I took the escalator down a second time, I noticed the plaque to the right of the artwork, presumably like those I had seen on other stations, describing the work and the author.
You are not short of viewing art in this area. One giant artwork in front of the Art Museum, shops which resemble art galleries, and then this mural on the underground.

I thought, never mind about the description of the author. I can probably find that on the internet in a section on Singapore stations.

Private art galleries (shops) are along the street where you find Bencoolen station entrance. 

Artists on a mural in the underground MRT station Bencoolen in Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury.  Copyright.

I checked the lta (Land transport authority) for the title of the artwork. It is called Tracing Memories. Looking at my photo again, I notice the reflections from the spotlights behind me are intrusive. On the other hand the spotlights above each figure are very effective in drawing your attention and giving importance to each person. 

I assumed that the figures are all one person. But her outfit is different colours, red, blue, yellow, red again, blue again.

Comparing my version with the one on the lta website, I note that their photographer has taken the Mural from the right and close up. That way you can get the nearest figure larger, the others receding into the distance. I backed away until I could get in the whole camera using a simple smartphone.

Useful Website

https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltaweb/en/public-transport/mrt-and-lrt-trains/art-and-architecture/art-in-transit/gallery/dtl.html

visitsingapore.com

singaporeair.com

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

When you don't feel like travelling, McDonalds

If the mountain won't come to Mohammed, then Mohammed must go to the mountain, says the saying. However, if the visitors have come to you, or it looks like rain, McDonalds will come to you.
McDelivery or
GrabFood

In Singapore
https://www.mcdelivery.com.sg/sg/browse/menu

In the USA
Apparently 5000 or more McDonalds locations combined with UberEats.
://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/mcdelivery.html
https://www.businessinsider.sg/mcdonalds-delivery-growth-2018-

Author
Angela Lansbury

Grab Food-order food for delivery by bike - or be a driver

Your food arrives by bicycle. Brilliant idea for local deliveries. Bicycles can go faster than you think, nipping along/

Useful websites
https://www.facebook.com/GrabFoodSG/
To be a driver:
https://www.grab.com/sg/driver/food/

McDonalds open until 2 am and delivery and more outlets

That is handy. If you are working late, or want to work on a project. Or a late or early flight. Or Romeo and Juliet. Or missed the last bus home. It is near Beauty World station on the Downtown line.

I looked up their Facebook page and was astonished to discover they have more than 200 outlets in Singapore.

Useful Websites

https://www.facebook.com/pg/McDonalds.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCaf%C3%A9

visitsingapore.com

singaporeair.com

YMCA teddy bears for Christmas time or any time

YMCA has good gifts for yourself or a friend.

Christmas Tree at YMCA

In addition to the Nativity scene the YMCA has a large Xmas tree in the hallway.

I like the baubles in gold and blue. Around the base are little people and parcels in gold wrapping paper. If you are looking for a gift, the YMCA sells small teddy bears and useful items for travellers.

The YMCA has many activities which are open to men and women. The YWCA is around the corner.

Author, Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See you other posts on the YMCA. Please share links to your favourite posts.

The nativity display in the YMCA

Just inside the entrance ground floor, or, as the Singaporeans say, level one. You can't miss it. Don't miss it.

This branch of the YMCA is near Dhoby Ghaut MRT (underground train) station. Just by the church.

.Around the corner slightly uphill is the YWCA.

Where To Find 24 hour McDonalds

Singapore has several 24 hour McDonalds brnaches. This one is a McCafe. At Springleaf Tower. My motorcycling friend says the Springleaf district is around Upper Thomson Road.

Another 24 hour McDonalds is at Toa Payoh near the library, on a corner. Also near the church, and the police station in the Community Club. Near Toa Payoh MRT station.

Check the key to your bathroom or bedroom door handle

This key should be supplied. The landlord may have lost it. When you get a new key, label it. Then you know what the key is for and which door it fits. You can also do a count and see if one is missing.

How To Unlock A Circular Door Handle

You should be able to release it here.

If granny or a visitor or a child cannot work out how to open the door with the central pushbutton, or if they faint or are injured, this is the point where you insert something to release the lock. Unfortunately it didn't work for us. The lock was broken. (See previous post.)

Door handle release point. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

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

Please share links to your favourite posts. 

Locked in the bathroom! How do you get out?

Problem
I was locked in the bathroom of the rented property. I say bathroom but it was a shower room. I shouted for help but could not be heard.

Answer
Luckily I was not alone in the dwelling. Somebody in a nearby room heard the rattling of the bathroom door and realized I was stuck.

Lock Rescue
You should have a key to go with the hole on the outside of the door.

No luck. My helper tried to put a wire through the release hole the other side. No luck. It was jammed, broken.

The door was a flimsy, hollow type. In this situation, that was an advantage.

"Stand back!" shouted my rescuer.

I retorted, "Don't hurt yourself!"

To get me out, my knight with shining screwdriver had to put his shoulder against the door. I thought the door would shatter. It didn't. The lock fractured. Bits of sharp metal fell on the floor. The door was open.

I was out!

Then it was time to ring the landlord and say the lock was broken.

I got to thinking about what I should do If I were on my own.

I would not want to keep food in the bathroom because it attracts insects. Maybe a pot of mint?

You should not put phones in or near water. But I could take in a phone and hang it behind the door.

A friend of mine was stuck in a bathroom with a broken lock when he was alone. He eventually got out by shouting through the window. A neighbour heard.

The neighbour did not have a spare key but called the security guard. It was a big black of flats and houses. Some places keep the keys. Others would ring the landlord and have records of all the relevant numbers. Others have a roaming handyman on site who can do everything from opening doors and windows to dealing with other emergencies.

Maybe the vital things to do to prevent such an emergency are to keep your phone with you in the bathroom. Also put in the phone numbers of the landlord or security guard.

Stay safe!

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Please share links to your favourite posts. More photos of the lock and keys in next posts.

Recommended Restaurant - Le Bistrot du Sommelier - for perfect potatoes, lovely lemon cake and Chadonnay Fruit Juice!

Problem
Where to go for a fine, bun farewell lunch or dinner in Singapore?

Answer
We opted for Bistrot du Sommelier on Armenian Street in the heart of the business and museum district in Singapore. A sommelier is a wine expert in a restaurant.

Restaurant Table Choices
This restaurant is in three parts, up a steep staircase to the bar with a view down over the streets. The cosy restaurant indoors. Or outside.

Other diners chose to move outside after dinner. We presumed because one or more wished to smoke. Or they wanted to stand up after a heavy meal (to reduce hours spent sitting - as sitting all day is supposed to be unhealthy).

 If a group has had a lot to drink and is talking loudly, it is a good idea to move away from cosy twosomes muttering sweet nothings or talking confidential business. If you are the ones not wanting to be overheard or disturbed, you might choose to be outside, because of despite of noise from traffic or construction works.

Delightful Decor On Wine Theme
We opted for inside. I was immediately impressed by the interesting decor. When they say sommelier they mean it. All the waiters are quietly confident and knowledgeable about wines.

Everything is wines.Two grand chandeliers are made of a stack of inverted wine glasses. On one side were tables for two. On the other side, banquettes, with wine cases used to make the banquettes backs and base facades.

Wooden Platters
The platters for the food were wooden pieces with wine names, too, not rough and mis-shapen with cracks like in many restaurants, but framed oblongs neatly-sealed and gleaming.

Chardonnay Juice
When it came to ordering food and drink, the first pleasant surprise was the alternative to wine for a non-drinker. I had a grape juice made from Chardonnay to accompany my fellow diner's chardonnay wine.
 I was surprised, a bit disappointed, that it came out of a bottle - made in France. I suppose I assumed it would be made from grapes thrown into a blender, like most juices in Singapore shopping malls.

But, a good idea. I shall try that next year with the tiny amount of Chardonnay grapes we grown from one vine in our garden in London, England. We had previously allocated them for wine-making, ore eating, but making grape juice is a third use for garden grapes.

We also have friends in Singapore who grow a vine on a balcony. We could ask for some grapes, and give them half the juice we make, at very least a glass or two to drink with us, as a thank you.

A visit to a restaurant serves two purposes, no, three, more. To enjoy food you don't buy or don't have time and expertise to make at home. To benefit from the knowledge of the waiter or chef or sommelier. To get out of home. To have time to talk, without worrying about buying groceries, cooking serving or washing up. To eat out when working or visiting museums and attractions away from home. To enjoy funky decor. To enjoy smart toilets with flowers and music.

 (In Bistrot de Sommelier wien theme and flowers. For music go to Sheraton Towers hotel in Singapore. Actuallly the downstairs toilet door needs attention, if a customer is fussy about such things. I am.)

To go home with ideas for your own cooking. To learn the ingredients of wines and dinner dishes so you are more enlightened next time you go to a restaurant or talk about food to family and friends.

The three-course set menu was good value.

Duck Terrine
The bread was good, with a crunchy outside. I wasn't enamoured with the duck terrine, and felt its flavour was eclipsed by the pickled cucumber.

Chicken In Garlic
However, things improved exponentially with the main course. I had poultry with cooked garlic cloves.

The pommes dauphinoise came up in a separate little round pot, with perfect cheese topping. How do they find such good potatoes!

Lovely Lemon Cake
Finally, the perfect lemon cake. Moist and very lemony. Like sucking a lemon. Strong flavour.

Christmas List
We left with their list of foods and wines you could buy from them for dinner at home. Looking at other customers at weekday lunchtime, (a small survey of only three tables midweek) I could see, that guess, hear from phrases echoing around he room as they raised their voices, that other customers were in finance or property or entrepreneurs so I imagine they are not short of money and are into working lunches. For them, entertaining whilst sealing a business deal, the Christmas prices would be good value, cheese with truffle at much more than it would cost from even a speciality cheese shop.
Not so tempting for us, but could be a good deal for you or somebody you know.

Thinking more about it, a restaurant can make more money by selling foods for Christmas at home, as well as satisfying customers who might have wanted to eat at the restaurant, if it closes (or charges high prices at Christmas) or is fully booked for the busy Christmas period, to keep the customers happy with an alternative option from their favourite reliable restaurant and stop them going out for dinner somewhere else.

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