Champagne is on planes, and trains, in airport lounges and even railway stations.
Airport Champagne
You can find Champagne bars at airports. Such as Heathrow in London and Stansted in the UK. To start your holiday in style.
Railway Station Champagne
St Pancras Station in London, England, has the longest Champagne bar, they say. Go upstairs.
Time, tide and weather reports are printed in local and national newspapers. You may be able to read them online on your mobile phone.
Or pick up free newspapers in supermarkets and train stations at your destination. Supermarkets' own newspers will remind you of local national holidays and special seasonal food and drink.
În London, England, look for Metro newspaper
Don't miss deadlines in your lifelines
Omenously I missed my first
So I was born Caesarian
A timed plan B surgeons rehearsed
Our five-year-old learned about time
She demanded a big, pink clock
I am glad to say it arrived on time
But alarmed us with loud tick-tock
Pink kiddie clock from Amazon. Sharot family photo. Edited by Angela Lansbury.
Never in ten past million years
Would I have added pink ears on top
But it works. She watches hands turn
Breakfast, travel to school, bed, stop
She knows about tricycles and bicycles
About big buses and long trains
She looks at pictures of big ships
Cruise liners and big aeroplanes
She asked, 'What is a lifeboat for?'
We don't want to make her panic
No need to tell her of shipwrecks
Rules dating from the Titanic
We tell her, 'You must have plan B
For each eventuality
If your big ship is stuck on rocks
Go home on small boats pulled from blocks.'
Another deadline passed today
My poem missed it yesterday
So it will not be in a book
But it's on here, dear, when you look.
We all know daytime's when it's light
Watches and clocks spread to time trains
We set alarms in mobile phones
To make sure we cstch tides and planes.
-ends-
Summary and general information
1Nationwide timing, instead of each area using sunrise and stars, was needed after railways needed to co-ordinates timetables and clocks.
2 The requirement for ships to have enough lifeboats for all passengers came in after the enquiry into the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.
Travel tips
1 You can use a mobile phone as an alarm clock.
2 In my phone settings, the alarms over-ride my don’t disturb setting.
3 Check your phone to re-set alarms in new time zones.
2 Check your date of arrival as well as time. We once missed a party held in our honour, not realiding that we left Lonfon one day but reached Singapore the next day.
2 Our five year old understands time to get ready go to school and to leave for private and public transport.
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Buildings are badly designed.
Accidents waiting to happen.
1 Some people keep threatening to commit suicide.
2 Others keep threatening to kill other people.
3 Some buildings have a history of accidents, due to poorly designed windows, low balconies.
4 Lack of maintenance - window hinges, loose glass, rusting balcony supports.
5 Cleaners open windows.
6 People climb up buildings after forgetting keys.
7 Drunks climb for a dare, for attention getting videos.
8 People climb out to escape a fire, an intruder, of if drunk, an imagined monster.
9 In Singapore maids cleaning windows fall due to carelessness of the maid or the employer who insists the worker does risky things.
10 Peoole taking photos, or sitting on balcony edges learn backwards and topple, or reach for a hat which blows off, dodge a playful blow, or an insect, or learn to get a better view or photot.
11 Lack of maintenance, lack of repairs, or lack of checking of doors, windows, walls, hinges, supports.
12 Trying to rescue an animal, child, adult.
13 Child, or adult with low IQ, does not understand the danger of climbing out onto a ledge.
14 Too many people on a balcony.
15 People, adults or children, sitting on each other's shoulders,
What can be done for safety?
1 Some developments are stepped, so you can only fall one storey.
2 Trees and bushes can break a fall.
3 Playgrounds have special surfaces beside slides.
4 Some hotels in USA cities have non opening windows. I was shown a hotel like this in San Francisco.
5 Singapore public housing if you own a cat you must have bars balconies to protect cats. And protect people the cats would fall on.
Useful Websites
British favourite chocolate. Cadbury's. Totally different flavour to American Hershey's which to the British tastes stronger, more bitte and wax.
Hershey's was designed not to melt in the heat when carried as an energy and mood boost by soldiers.
Cadbury's was always the king of chocolate, supposedly containing calcium filled milk when markets sold cheaper chocolate used by confectioners, and like Hershey's, using a substitute for milk which would not melt in the heat. A flood of memories from childhood.
More memories of holidays in the USA when somebody stole the chocolate from the back window of the car. Then we realised it had melted in the heat.
Check out any city you are visiting for chocolate tours of chocolate factories, chocolate tastings and chocolate making in chocolate shops. In the UK. London and York, especially holidays such as the late May Bank Holiday. And before Xmas. I have been to chocolate museums, exhibitions and shops and events in New York, USA. London, England, York. England, Switzerland, and Umbria in Italy. See my previous posts for mouth-watering pictures.
If you are in London, go via a chocolate shop. In Euston we found wonderful chocolates at Hotel Chocolat. A box of chocolates all different. Sometimes you can make up your own.
A day later we bought chocolates from a Laderach of Switzerland chocolate shop in St Pancras station. My husband asked them for all identical chocolate dark chocolate balls to share with a group when we ordered coffee after a lunch ending with a drink of port. They don't usually do that. Like Hotel Chocolat they provide variety. However, they are customer orientated and provided what he requested, a box of identical chocolates, so everybody had the same, and no delay choosing which one.
They discussed the chocolate content about which my husband was quite knowledgeable and insistent. Once on his birthday., I went to buy him a bar of dark chocolate in my local supermarket. I saw three different percentages of chocolate, hesitated over whether to buy the one with the highest percentage, or two, or all three in case I got it wrong. That proved interesting as we were both able to compare all three. To our surprise, both of us found the very highest chocolate content made a chocolate which we found too bitter. Incidentally Laderach features slabs.
Currently, in May 2026, they have a newsletter offer. Sign up for their newsletter and you are entered into the following month's draw date for a free slab (bar) of chocolate.
Handy if you are in a hurry. I was not impressed by the plain chocolate balls, but my chocoholic friend had no trouble eating two chocolates. The slabs come in nut toppings, white with fruit flavoured swirls and many more surprises. Their locations include several in Switzerland and German as well as Dubai and Orlando in the USA.
The business is run by a family, now in the third generation. The family name is Swiss-German meaning clearing, for people living near a clearing.
They have a museum in Switzerland.
However, if you have time, go to Euston, Hotel Chocolat. A feast for the eyes and tastebuds. Nothing to match the visual appeal or taste, and possibly higher price, but worth it, whether for yourself or a gift, at Hotel Chocolat.
You'll find them on Amazon and ebay but I recommend the Euston shop if you are passing through Euston. Or check online for your nearest physical shop or supplier.
Other locations offer their drinking chocolate in assorted flavours, hot or cold.
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Wednesday in Pinner, the annual fair. But we didn't intend to go there. We didn't even realise it was on. If we had known we would have thought we could not go because we spent all day in central London. We had missed the fair for many years, many times. A train journey diversion sent us home via Pinner. We walked out of the station. Saw the road was blocked by funfair rides, so no buses. We had to walk through the Pinner Fair to the other end to catch a bus. Never mind.
We enjoyed seeing it. This is what we saw.
Fun food. Chocolate strawberries.
High rides.
What can you find which changes colour unexpectedly? 1 Lipstick 2 Wine bottle labels 3 Water bottles
1 Changing colour lipstick. From a green lipstick to a pale pink. This amused my grand-daughter. Only for two minutes. But it amused her. I bought it on ebay. I came across it when looking for pink lipsticks. Under ten pounds. I had to have it.
2 Wine bottle labels which change colour when the wine is the right temperature.
Coors in the USA did this some time back.
https://vinepair.com/articles/coors-light-color-changing-label-beer/
3 Colour changing water bottles and a mug with lid and straw
Children's party favour. Can be reused but might be for one or two events, not necessarily very long lasting.
https://www.etsy.com/market/color_changing_water_bottles
5 Colour changing Mood rings
From Amazon and many others, from cheap ones for girls to fancier ones. Single colour changing band, or silver colour band supporting a shape such as a heart which changes colour. For a novelty, buy two or three for holiday and not worry about losing them.
Useful Websites on Colour Changing
https://vinepair.com/articles/coors-light-color-changing-label-beer/
https://www.thoughtco.com/mood-rings-thermochromic-liquid-crystals-608013
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I have been invited to a fine wine lunch where all the food is matched to alcohol. That is good for me. I don't like drinking wine on an empty stomach.
I asked what the drinks would be. The meal ends with dessert and a glass of port.
As most wine lovers and visitors to Portugal know, and others might guess, Port comes from the port city of Oporto in Portugal.
Strong Port
But Port is a strong wine. too strong for me. Most strong alcohol is made into cocktails, or just mixed with water, like whisky or tonic water, like gin and tonic. That lowers the alcohol content, making a mixed drink which it safer and more digestible, also cheaper and larger, a long drink, instead of a tiny shot.
I searched online for cocktail recipes with port. Port can be drunk as part of several cocktails. Ignoring those described as dry, sour or needing too many ingredients, I chose from a list on the website below
1 Port Coffee Martini
Port + espresso + Baileys
2 Sangria
Port + sparkling water + chopped fruit
3 Port And Tonic
Port, tonic, rosemary (take from home) and an orange slice
The Portuguese for health is saude, (accent on the U for emphasis).
I am sticking to viva, because that is easier to type and say.
More Portuguese speakers live in Brazil than in Portugal.
My husband claimed that his bottle of precious port was too expensive and delicious to be diluted. Cocktails should only use poorer quality port.
However, he discovered a bottle of tonic water lurking in our fridge at home and gave it to me to mix with my helping of port.
Useful Website On Port Cocktails
www.insanelygoodrecipes.com/port-cocktails
Portuguese Words for saying cheers
https://portugueselearn.com/archives/3145
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contento - happy
correcta - correct
divorcio - divorce
fantasia - fantasy
festival - festival
momento - moment
parque - park
popular - popular
romance - romance
serio - serious
texto - text
tomate - tomato
uniformes - uniforms
in my home - en mi casa
translate google
wikivoyage Spanish phrasebook
-ends-
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Spanish - English
creativo - creative
crisis - crisis
dificil - difficult
exacto - exact
foro - forum
horrible - horrible
ilegal - illegal
ingredientes - ingredients
manera - manner
minutos - minutes
monumento - monument
perfectas - perfect (feminine)
raton - rat / mouse
serio - serious
social - social
simbolo - symbol
in my home - en mi casa
translate google
wikivoyage Spanish phrasebook
-ends-
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Post box topper in Pangbourne Drive, Stanmore, Middx, North West London.
Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
I have other posts on postbox toppers in London and worldwide. You can see more in Wikipedia and on Facebook.
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When I was on holiday in France my family went skiing but I had a cold so I stayed behind and went to hire a film, looking for a documentary or, failing that, a film about a true story, I was offered the Titanic. Yes. Which version? The shop had three. Since I was home all day with nothing else to do, I watched all three, none of which contained the well known facts.
What about other famous characters, and incidents which never happened, love stories introduced to make films more appealing?
That statue of the native girl nicknamed Pocahontas, meaning playful, apparently never married the man whose life she apparently saved. She married somebody else. But she was a real person. She did marry and go to England. You can find the full stories of the characters behind the popular films of The Titanic, The Sound of Music and Pocahontas in Wikipedia, which cites various sources, and in the BBC bitesize summary, or the BBC full length version.
Statues and Sites To Visit
1 Statue of Pocahontas in Jamestown, Virginia, USA
2 Statue of Pocahontas in St George's Church, Gravesend, Kent, England
2 Titanic Museum in Belfast Northern Ireland
Ireland has two museums connected with the Titanic. England has a few. More in France Sweden and Australia. Plus exhibitions which pop up. The owners of the shipping line are featured in the UK. You might also find stories about people on the Titanic in other museums, such as Jewish Museums in the USA. Famous people on the Titanic included famous families, whose survivors, or those who inherited from them, had their lives affected. And every time you go on a ship or ferry and look at the lifeboats you are affected by legislation brought in after the loss of the Titanic which did not have enough lifeboat seats for all passengers.
Titanic Museum, USA
Two storey museum in the shape of the ship, the illusion made memorable, complete with a piece of white iceberg.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z9g2khv#zjkhqyc
Titanic Museums Worldwide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Titanic_museums
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocahontas
Other articles on films about her.
statues
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocahontas#/media/File:Pocahontas_gravesend.jpg
I am learning Spanish using Duolingo to prepare for a holiday in the Spanish speaking Canary islands. I have already filled one A5 lined notebook with Spanish words, mainly from Duolingo. I then tried adding words to an A5 diary, but the diary page filled up too fast and I want to keep my Spanish words separate. So I have now started a new A5 notebook. This will be too big, bulky and heavy, to carry in my carry on luggage on the plane, and on outings, hiking, but I shall make a second smaller notebook for my pocket when out and about. I shall note down words from bilingual signs.
From the bilingual sign above I have noted these words:
I have included the common words I already know. In fact, I find it easier to start with words I already know. It gives me confidence, motivation, enthusiasm, gets me started on the task.
para - for
peligrosa - dangerous (feminine adjective ending in a to match a feminine noun ending with a, like Maria or Mama, or e like the French madame)
resaca - rip tide / rip current
S-Z
seguridad - safety
si - if
solo - alone
su - your
una - a / one
y - and
for - para
if - si
L-R
never - nunca
of - de
rip current / rip tide - resaca
S-Z
safety - seguridad
(to) swim - nader
the - la (feminine) el (masculine)
very - muy
water - agua
your - su
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The tragedy of three sisters drowning on Brighton Beach, a popular resort, has stayed in the headlines through May 2026 with speculation about the causes, and questions about prevention. Brighton attracts tourists all year, especially in summer. With hot weather, more are going for a dip. Foreign students take English language courses in Brighton.
Brighton has many attractions.
1 The Indian style former royal residence with its Chinese interior.
2 The nearby Sussex university. Alumni return to see their old uni, attracted by free talks by famous people, followed by paid for lunches for those in your year at uni, put on by the authorities for fund-raising.
3 The dinky little shops in the lanes.
4 And restaurants serving seaside food, both basic and gourmet. Fish and chips and oysters.
What's not to like?
1 The beach is not sandy but pebbly.
2 Less known is the fact that it shelves steeply., underwater.
3 If you suddenly find yourself caught out of your depth, in up to your chest instead of your ankles or knees, there is a current called a rip tide.
The 2026 event was that three sisters who were on the beach late at night were found drowned next day, wearing their clothes and shoes.
Later, it was revealed that their mother had drowned in a lake in Birmingham, England. Suicide.
This raises at least three questions for the public, especially holidaymakers, teachers, and parents. As well as for the local authorities, and governments.
1 How to ensure everybody can swim.
2 How to teach yourself, your family, and others to cope with riptides.
3 How to prevent people entering dangerous water.
I would add a fourth question:
4 How to safeguard the minds of children, and families, of suicides.
Ensure children of suicides have meaningful, creative careers.
Put up signs for help services, police, coastguard, Samaritans.
In the USA, at a bridge which was notorious for suicides, they installed catch nets but also signs saying, need to talk to somebody, any time, day or night, no money needed, call this free helpline.
They installed an emergency phone.
1 Swimming Lessons To Ensure Everybody Can Swim
You can teach babies to float. You can demand or ensure that schools teach swimming. You can teach yourself by watching videos, and learning in a swimming pool with water no deeper than chest height, from a trained, qualified instructor.
Make ability to swim part of the entry qualification for schools. Teach everybody at school how to swim. Add it as part of the school-leavers citizenship course.
Then teach how to swim with a rip-current until it lessens.
2 Learning To Cope With Riptides / Rip Currents
You can learn about coping with riptides from Wikihow, and Youtube videos by lifeguards.
3 Install Or Improve Warning Signs
Multi-lingual boards. Coloured flags, red for danger.
4 Install Barriers.
Barriers across beaches at night would both prevent holidaymakers walking into the sea in the dark, when they cannot see nor be seen.
It would also help discourage unauthorised landings from immigrants and intruders.
Lock beaches at night, like parks, because you can't patrol them.
5 Have Volunteer Lifeguards.
6 Install Have Beach Surveillance Cameras
Useful Websites
https://www.wikihow.com/Survive-a-Rip-Tide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_current
USA Information Service
https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/ocean/rip-currents/rip-current-safety
USA rip current prediction service
https://www.weather.gov/safety/ripcurrent-forecasts
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Spanish - English
arreglar - to fix
candidato - candidate
capitulo - chapter (not capital letters)
chatear - to chat
comunicar - to communicate
conciertos - concerts
en persona - in person
escritor - writer (like the words scribe, and script and manuscript)
firmar - to sign (confirm)
gol - goal
grupo(s) - group(s)
historia - history
libro - book
novela - novel
politica - political
problema - problem
vegano - vegan
English - Spanish
book - libro
chapter - capitulo
to sign - firmar
You fill in the rest.
duolingo.com
translate google
wikivoyage Spanish phrasebook
-ends-
Please follow m
Spanish - English
antes - before (like a.m. which is Latin for before mid-day)
un buen fin de semana - a good weekend
cable - cable
celular - cellphone
chatear - to chat
contactar - to contact
creativo - creative
en mi casa - in my home
fin de semana - weekend
enorme - huge / enormous
momento - moment
salud - cheers
volver - to come back (like revolve)
English - Spanish
before - antes
cable - cable (pronounced car-blay)
to chat - chatear
cheers - salud
creative - creativo
to come back - volver
cellphone/mobile - celular
to contact - contactar
huge / enormous / huge - enorme
moment - momento
weekend - fin de semana (finish of the week, similar to French semaine for week, but the French say bon weekend)/ a good weekend - un buen fin de semana (like the English words final and finish)
duolingo.com
in my home - en mi casa
translate google
wikivoyage Spanish phrasebook
-ends-
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Spanish - English
(la) clinica - (the) clinic
en - on
formularios - forms
instaler - to instal
internet - internet
juegos de video - video games
mi - my
programa - program (plural los programas)
tableta - tablet
pagina web (upward accent for emphasis on the first a) - web page. The adjective comes after the noun usually in Spanish.
video - video
videojuego - videogame
English - Spanish
clinic - clinica
forms - formularios
instal - instaler
internet - internet
my - mi
on - en
program / s - programa / los programas
tablet - tableta
video - video
videogame - videojuego
web page - pagina web
duolingo.com
translate google
wikivoyage Spanish phrasebook
-ends-
Please follow my blogs and share with friends, family and colleagues the links to your favourite posts.
Use a dictation machine to type because it is quicker than typing.
Compare this year's sales with last year.
Use AI to do basic tasks.
One of many sessions at the London Wine Fair, a trade show.
One hour north of Venice is the Prosecco region.
Rive means ridge in dialect.
At the London Wine Fair, a trade show held at Olympia May 18-20th 2026.
At the London Wine Fair, 2026.
The Prosecco we tried cost recommended retail price R.R.P. of 33 pounds sterling a lot more than the cheapest in my Tesco supermarkets. So what are you getting for your family to enjoy or for a gift at a dinner party or special occasion?
So, what are you getting from old vines?
How old is an old vine? A minimum of 35 years. In Chile only 30. In Spain's Rioja region, 35, 50 in the USA.
Prosecco is from the VENETO REGIONaround Venice in the North of Italy.
Romantic red from Mendoza, Argentina. 100% Malbec. The guest speaker told us her grandparents met at school, and their teenage love letters still exist.after granny died in a car accident her husband planted a field of flowers so he had flowers all year to place on fer grave. The bottles of different wines are named after different members of the family.
