Rabbit motifs for the year of the rabbit at the Tanglin club. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
Travel worldwide: UK; hotels; restaurants; museums; vineyards; factory tours; learning languages.
Search This Blog
Popular Posts
-
If an earthquake strikes when you are living in a Spanish speaking country such as Chile, or visiting on holiday or business, you will e...
-
Tweet to @AngelaTheAuthor NB I am not the actress. She does wonderful publicity for our name. We both have a son called Anthony. Linked...
-
I was sitting at the kitchen table thinking: how would you create an emergency sewing needle? I had in front of me on the table a sewing ki...
-
DUOLINGO Try the forums in Duolingo for the languages you like. When you see discussion on a word, have a look. The discussion often moves...
-
Orama is a new Greek restaurant in Hatch End and the name Orama is Greek for vision, as in the word panorama. I was aghast when Van Antoni...
-
I was delighted to see that the boarded up building site near Harrow and Wealdstone station, Waitrose and Homebase has opened with a smart ...
-
When you are climbing up a mountain or trekking, or even taking a trip into town, the less you carry the lighter you feel. Saucepans The l...
-
Problem Where can we get a great meal? Answer The owner of Friends in Pinner left at the end of last year. But one of his old che...
-
New Lebanese restaurant in Hatch End (replacing Serrata). Dishes I recognise include hummus, kebab and baklava. What was new to me is the ...
-
Problem I can't tell the difference between a rickshaw and trishaw and a tuk tuk. Answer A technically minded friend tells me:...
Labels
Monday, January 30, 2023
The Lunar New Year - the Year of the rabbit and cat, and wealth
Astonishing, Agile Lion Dance On Columns, Plus Rabbits At The Tanglin Club Celebrating Chinese New Year in Singapore
Singapore City Street Lights For Chinese New Year
Saturday, January 28, 2023
Anne Frank Sites To Visit in Amsterdam and Around the world
English: Anne Frank lived with her family in a flat at Merwedeplein 37 before they "moved" in their hiding place. This statue of her is standing on the square. The piece of art was created by Jet Schepp. Deutsch: Anne Frank lebte mit ihrer Familie in einer Wohnung am Merwedeplein 37 bevor sie in ihr Versteck im Hinterhaus fliehen mussten. Diese Statue von ihr steht auf dem Platz. Die Statue ist ein Kunstwerk von Jet Schepp. | |
Date | |
Source | Own work |
Author | Citius Altius Fortius |
Statue of Anne Frank with suitcase. Photo from author Maula.
Anne Frank, Amsterdam
Boise, Idaho, statue of Anne Frank looking through a curtain.
Memorial stones for Anne Frank, which appear as a star of David when viewed from the air. In Girona, Catalonia, Spain.Useful Websites
https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/main-characters/otto-frank/
https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/secret-annex/
https://www.annefrank.org/en/about-us/support-us/
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Monuments_and_memorials_to_Anne_Frank
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Statues_of_Anne_Frank
https://wanderwomenproject.com/places/anne-frank-statue-in-new-orleans/
Holocaust Remembrance Day - January 27 - where you can learn more about the liberation of Auschwitz and survivors
This January day commemorates the liberation of Auschwitz in the south of German-occupied Poland, near Krakow, by the Russians.
The motto over the entrance to the camp was Arbeit macht frei. Work makes you free. Those who could not work, children, the elderly, the disabled, were selected and sent straight to their deaths.
I remember reading about a survivor who learned that her parents were sent straight to be killed. I was horrified. I thought she would be upset. On the contrary. She was relieved that her parents did not have to witness the horror of the roll calls, watching people being executed.
Survivors. After six months, children had survived, now well-fed, were brought back to the camp for a photo to show who the Russians had liberated. Whilst they might have been relieved to see each other, I cannot imagine that the children were happy to be back.
Useful Websites
HISTORY
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auschwitz_concentration_camp
2023 NEWS
MUSEUMS TO VISIT IN POLAND
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auschwitz-Birkenau_State_Museum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majdanek_State_Museum
Photos
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Konzentrationslager_Majdanek
UKRAINE - Memorial in Ukraine, Babi Yar
UK Holocaust Museum
USA Holocaust museum
https://www.ushmm.org/online/ihrd/2023/
ISRAEL
VENEZUELA
Star of David shape Shoah memorial in Jewish cemetery in Caracus, Venezuela
Holocaust memorials and museums worldwide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Holocaust_memorials_and_museums
A happy story of a survivor and the rescuing family in Belgium
Please share links to your favourite posts.
Thursday, January 26, 2023
How A Book on Marilyn Monroe led to the O'Henry Museum in Austin, Texas
Marilyn Monroe and Lawrence Olivier in The Prince and The Showgirl.
The Story of Marilyn Monroe
The story of unreliably late but mesmerizing actress, Marilyn Monroe making the film The Prince and The Showgirl, is told in the book about her, of the same name, also My week with Marilyn, by Colin Clark, son of the famous art collector and critic, Kenneth Clark.
Visit Saltwood Castle
Colin took Marilyn to his parents' home, Saltwood Castle, which was later used as a backdrop in the film My Week With Marilyn. You can visit Saltwood Castle's gardens a couple of times a year on the open days. The castle has a long history, including supposedly being the venue where four knights met before setting of to kill Thomas Becket (inspiration for T S Eliot's The Wasteland).
This book inspired my family to look up the film. That inspired us to check out the list of Marilyn's other films and to start watching them.
She made many films and at first had bit parts. She looks more sophisticated with her hair up. Her high voice fits her later persona as the little girl, the innocent, childlike girl, which she played later.
The Stories of O'Henry
One of the films in which she played a small part was based on a short story by O Henry. I remembered O'Henry's most famous story, about the girl who sells her hair to buy her boyfriend a Christmas present.
O Henry Museum
I went back to research O Henry and found that there was an O Henry Museum in Austin, Texas. I have been to Texas many times, when living in the USA and visiting from the UK and Singapore. However, I never went to Austin. The home of O Henry is now on my wish list.
What is the difference between the USA and the UK and other countries? In the UK you have the real historic place where it has always been and sometimes a reproduction inside a museum elsewhere.
But in the USA you have the whole house transported to another location, as easily as moving a Monopoly piece around a board. The OHenry house is one of these. The house is authentic, but has moved from its previous location. That changes the view from the windows, as well as the atmosphere, the neighbourhood and neighbours.
Nevertheless, I get the same thrill from seeing the old house where the author lived, the desk, the chairs, the carved wood frame of the bed, the busy wallpaper, the round carpet.
Since Covid-19 it has become difficult to travel because of restrictions, fears, and increases in fares. However, whilst real travel sometimes is more difficult, it becomes increasingly easy to see what you are missing online.
Visiting a museum home online shares advantages with visiting the real home. Photos and objects bring the period of the past alive. Seeing objects makes the stories memorable. What is missing makes you do more research into the lives of the author or other notable person and their family.
O' Henry's Name
One little piece in the puzzle of O'Henry was why he wrote under a pen name. Why do authors have pen names? Many modern authors want to be famous, to make their name famous, to be known. It seems crystal clear to me that he wanted a pen name whilst he was in prison for embezzlement, to conceal his identity.
He did not write for fame. The only use of fame was to sell more books. He wrote for money, for a living, which is why he was so prolific. As many people have said, if you want money you don't sit around waiting for inspiration. A plumber does not wait for inspiration.
Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Clark_(filmmaker)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Clark
https://www.saltwoodcastle.com/
https://www.amazon.sg/My-Week-Marilyn-Colin-Clark/dp/1602861498
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe
https://www.austintexas.gov/department/o-henry-museum
Rainy Weather - Reminder for Travellers, Photographers and Swimmers - handy poem
It rains all the day
It rains all the night
It looks like the clouds
Are having a fight
Remember this thing
It rains in the spring
So let's go to town
When prices are down
Now where can we go
When rain's pouring down?
When waterfalls flow -
Exhibitions in town!
It rains all the day
It rains all the night
It looks like the clouds
Are having a fight
Remember this thing
It rains in the spring.
When you see the sun
Grab camera-phones, run
When clouds scuttle past
You have to act fast
Remember this thing
It rains in the spring.
When you see the sun
Grab swimsuits and run
Don't wait 'til its late
Or you've sealed your fate
When you see a discount
You will if you look
Tomorrow it's gone
So be quick and book
Remember this thing
It rains in the spring
It's autumn elsewhere
In this globe we share
Just open your eyes
It is no surprise
Remember this thing
It rains in the spring.
-ends-
Poem by Angela Lansbury. Jan 2023. Copyright.
You may quote a couplet which is fair use in the USA and refer back to the original post.
Remember post-Christmas discounts, Chinese new year offers and decorations and celebrations.
What to see in China, Singapore and Chinatowns in the Uk and USA - see my previous posts. Please share links to your favourite posts.
in whatsApp and on your blog posts.
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Slovenia and sites in the capital, Ljubljana
Slovenia
Slovenia is surrounded by Italy, Austria, Hungary, Croatia. The Slovenians speak more languages than residents of other European countries.
To the west are the cave complexes of Postojna and Skocjan. The letter j is pronounced like an i or y.
Towards the centre, Central Slovenia, is the capital city, Ljubljana.
The capital is Ljubljana.
One landmark is the triple bridge.
A notable landmark is the Valentin Volnik square. See the statue of the poet, his house, and his tombstone. The tombstone and a coin bear his words
Collections[edit]
The Academy holds more than 13 million objects including costumes, costume sketches, film reels, posters, props, and screenplays dating back to 1927.[1] In May 2020, the museum purchased the May Queen dress worn by Florence Pugh in Midsommar (2019) for $65,000, as part of a charity auction held by A24 to benefit COVID-19 relief efforts.[16]
Some key objects in the Museum's collection include:[citation needed]
- Dorothy's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz (1939)
- Shirley Temple's tap shoes from The Little Colonel (1935)
- Typewriter used to write the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960)
- The only surviving shark mold from Jaws (1975)[17]
- Tablets from The Ten Commandments (1956)
- The Aries 1B spaceship model and a space suit worn by Keir Dullea from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- The costume of the amphibian man from the Guillermo del Toro’s’The Shape of Water (2017)’’
- From the 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial an E.T. Prop is displayed.
- A cape used by Bela Lugosi in Dracula (1931)[18]
- The yellow dress worn by Emma Stone in La La Land (2016)
- Pillars named for historical significance in motion picture history including Rita Moreno, Cher, Barbra Streisand, and Hattie McDaniel.
Exhibitions[edit]
The second and third floors of the museum will feature the opening exhibition "Stories of Cinema".[19] The inaugural temporary collection of the Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery is devoted to Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.[2][20] The exhibition opened on September 30, 2021, and was on view until June 5, 2022. This was the first time Miyazaki’s work was featured in a major retrospective in the United States. The collection also displayed pieces on public view for the first time outside of Japan.[21] The 11,000-square-foot exhibition features more than 300 objects, including original image boards, character designs, storyboards, layouts, backgrounds, posters, and cels. The exhibition’s curators, Jessica Niebel and assistant curator J. Raúl Guzmán worked with Studio Ghibli and the Ghibli Museum in Japan to gather all the materials. There are also interactive installations displayed throughout the exhibit, the “Mother Tree,” Skyview, and Magical Forest, to name a few, each inspired by a different Miyazaki Film.[22]
Following that will be an exploration of the history of black cinema through 1971.[1]
Galleries in the museum will be dedicated to a variety of topics. Inaugural galleries will cover:[1]
- Pedro Almodóvar
- Citizen Kane (1941)
- Climate change
- Black Lives Matter
- Blackface, redface, and yellowface
- Labor relations
- Bruce Lee
- Spike Lee
- #MeToo
- Oscar Micheaux
- Racism and sexism in animation
- Real Women Have Curves (2002)
- Thelma Schoonmakeroet
The country has the oldest vine, 400 years old.
Useful Websites
Slovenia
Ljubljana
Poet Valentin Vodnik
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentin_Vodnik
Please save and share links to your favourite posts.
Movie Memorabilia At The Academy Museum, Los Angeles, USA
The Academy Museum, Los Angeles, has plenty to inform and entertain both children and adults.
It starts with a history of films (movies) going way back.
The interactive exhibits keep you entertained.
I have merged information from different sources in Wikipedia and elsewhere.
Collections
The Academy holds more than 13 million objects including costumes, costume sketches, film reels, posters, props, and screenplays dating back to 1927
Objects in the Museum's collection include:[
- Dorothy's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Ruby slippers
Because of their iconic stature, the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the film are now among the most treasured and valuable film memorabilia in movie history.[ Dorothy actually wore Silver Shoes in the book series, but the color was changed to ruby to take advantage of the new Technicolor process.
Five known pairs of the slippers exist. Another, differently styled pair, not used in the film, was sold at auction by actress Debbie Reynolds for $510,000 (not including the buyer's premium) in June 2011.
- Shirley Temple's tap shoes from The Little Colonel (1935)
- Typewriter used to write the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960)
- The only surviving shark mold from Jaws (1975)[
- Tablets from The Ten Commandments (1956)
- The Aries 1B spaceship model and a space suit worn by Keir Dullea from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- The costume of the amphibian man from the Guillermo del Toro’s’The Shape of Water (2017)’’
- From the 1982 film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial an E.T. Prop is displayed.
- A cape used by Bela Lugosi in Dracula (1931)[
- The yellow dress worn by Emma Stone in La La Land (2016)
- Pillars named for historical significance in motion picture history including Rita Moreno, Cher, Barbra Streisand, and Hattie McDaniel.
Exhibitions
The second and third floors of the museum will feature the opening exhibition "Stories of Cinema". The inaugural temporary collection of the Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery is devoted to Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki.The exhibition opened on September 30, 2021, and was on view until June 5, 2022. This was the first time Miyazaki’s work was featured in a major retrospective in the United States. The collection also displayed pieces on public view for the first time outside of Japan. The 11,000-square-foot exhibition features more than 300 objects, including original image boards, character designs, storyboards, layouts, backgrounds, posters, and cels. The exhibition’s curators, Jessica Niebel and assistant curator J. Raúl Guzmán worked with Studio Ghibli and the Ghibli Museum in Japan to gather all the materials.
There are also interactive installations displayed throughout the exhibit, the “Mother Tree,” Skyview, and Magical Forest, to name a few, each inspired by a different Miyazaki Film.
Following that will be an exploration of the history of black cinema through 1971.
Galleries in the museum will be dedicated to a variety of topics. Inaugural galleries will cover:
- Pedro Almodóvar
- Citizen Kane (1941)
- Climate change
- Black Lives Matter
- Blackface, redface, and yellowface
- Labor relations
- Bruce Lee
- Spike Lee
- #MeToo
- Oscar Micheaux
- Racism and sexism in animation
- Real Women Have Curves (2002)
- Thelma Schoonmaker
Within walking distance are two other major museums.
Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Museum_of_Motion_Pictures#cite_note-28
Please share links to your favourite posts.
Albanian's Capital Museum Cafe and wineries - 40 words of Albanian
Photo author Klejdi Shtrepi. From Wikimedia Commons. |
Arriving in Tirana, the capital, at Mother Teresa airport, you might make your first stop the museum cafe, Komiteti Kafe Muzeum. Not a cafe turned into a museum, but a collector who opened a cafe to attract people to see his collection. Items from all eras include embroidered felt dresses. the word Komiteti means committee.
They say you can see Tirana in a day. Which means a two night stay. (I couldn't.) After that, it's off to the wineries.
Albania has lots of wineries, all over the country.
Useful words for maps and street signs
The double dot is like the German unlaut
I copied it once, then used paste to put it in all the words where I needed it in the dictionary or glossary list
Albanian - English
rruga - street (like the French word rue)
Similar words, hotel, menu, toalet (toilet) restaurat (restaurant)
Kafe is coffee
bar kafeje is coffee bar
kafene is cafe
bar-rostiçeri - snack bar
ushqime të shijshme - delicatessen (meaning delicious foodliterally provisions of delicious)
ushqim is food, ushqimet is foods
English Albanian
1-10
alcohol - alkoolit
bay -gjiri
beach - plazhi
bill - fature
breakfast - mëngjes
bridge - urë
castle - kështjellë
cheap - i lirë
closed - mbyllur
dinner - darkë
11-20
drink - pije
entrance - hyrje /exit - dalje
expensive -shtrenjtë
no entry -ndalohet hyrje
hill - kodër
hotel - hotel
house - shtëpi
left - majtas - right - djathtas
straight (ahead)/to drejt (starts with the letter d, later letters re, and ends with t, like the English word direct)
lunch - drekë
main street/high street - rruga krysore . rruga e lartë
21-30
menu - menu
mountain - mali
museum - muzeu
new - i ri
north - veriu
old - l vjetër
open - hapur
park - parku
parking (lot, or car park) - parking
please - ju lutem
31-40
restaurant - restorant
right
road/path - rrugë
sea/salt water - deti
south - jug
square -katrore
street / path - rrugë (or spell it rruga)
thank you - faleminderit
toilet - tualet
breakfast/lunch/tea/dinner - mëngjes / drekë / çaj / darkë
Address
Rruga Fatmir Haxhiu, Tirana, Albania
Useful Websites
Museum Cafe In Tirana
https://thebalkanista.com/2018/02/28/komiteti-kafe-museum-one-favourite-spots-tirana/
Find the e to copy into Albanian words in the right size here in Wikipedia from German or from the word reëntry under the side heading English"
Chinese New Year in Singapore in January - and Chingay Parade in February
Photo by Angela Lansbury.
每条大街小巷,
每个人的嘴里
见面第一句话,
就是恭喜恭喜
恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀,
恭喜恭喜恭喜你
měitiáo dà jiē xiǎo xiàng,
měige rén dè zuǐ lǐ
jiànmiàn dì yī jù huà,
jiù shì gōngxǐ gōngxǐ
gōngxǐ gōngxǐ gōngxǐ nǐ ya
gōngxǐ gōngxǐ gōngxǐ nǐ
On every street and in every lane,
On everybody's lips,
Whenever people meet,
The first thing they say is "Congratulations."
Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you
Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you
冬天已到尽头
真是好的消息
温暖的春风
就要吹醒大地
恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀
恭喜恭喜恭喜你
dōng tiān yǐ dào jìn tóu,
zhēn shì hǎo de xiāo xī
wēn nuǎn de chūn fēng,
jiù yào chuī xǐng dà dì
gōngxǐ gōngxǐ gōngxǐ nǐ ya
gōngxǐ gōngxǐ gōngxǐ nǐ
Winter has come to an end,
That is really good news,
A warm spring breeze is
Blowing to wake up the earth.
Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you
Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you
浩浩冰雪融解,
眼看梅花吐蕊
漫漫长夜过去,
听到一声鸡啼
恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀,
恭喜恭喜恭喜你
hào hào bīng xuě róng jiě,
yǎn kàn méi huā tù ruǐ
màn màn cháng yè guò qù,
tīng dào yī shēng jī tí
gōngxǐ gōngxǐ gōngxǐ nǐ ya
gōngxǐ gōngxǐ gōngxǐ nǐ
The icy snow has melted,
See the plum tree blossom!
The long night is past,
I heard the rooster crow.
Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you
Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you
经过多少困难,
历经多少磨练
多少心儿盼望,
盼望新的消息
恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀,
恭喜恭喜恭喜你
恭喜恭喜恭喜你呀,
恭喜恭喜恭喜你
jīng guò duō shǎo kùn nán,
lì jīng duō shǎo mó liàn
duō shǎo xīn ér pàn wàng,
pàn wàng xīn de xiāo xī
gōngxǐ gōngxǐ gōngxǐ nǐ ya
gōngxǐ gōngxǐ gōngxǐ nǐ
gōngxǐ gōngxǐ gōngxǐ nǐ ya
gōngxǐ gōngxǐ gōngxǐ nǐ[3]
After experiencing so many difficulties,
Going through so many ordeals,
How many hearts are looking forward
To the news of Spring!
Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you
Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you
Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you
Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations to you
Chinese New Year | |
---|---|
Traditional Chinese | 春節 |
Simplified Chinese | 春节 |
Literal meaning | "Spring Festiv |
春
天
节
日
Chūn
tiān
jié
rì