About four minutes from East Dulwich Station which is about 15 minutes from London Bridge station.
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Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Dulwich wine bars with wonderful Portuguese wines
London Bridge Station
- London Bridge logo. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
Quite a walk.
Shops including Hamleys toys
Attractive, colourful murals of London landmarks. The Royal Albert Hall. Liberty's department store.
We met a mouse. It ran very fast.
Useful Websites
https://bugwomanlondon.com/2023/04/07/mice-on-the-underground/
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Spanish words which sound similar to English
I have been re-learning, revising, Italian which I learned two years ago on Duolingo, but using Spanish as which I have been learning for 6 months, as the instruction language. A huge number of words in Spanish sound similar to English. Once you have learned the correct translation, the Spanish words is easy to recognize.
Here are the ones I have found.
Spanish - English
acerca de - about (think of encircled by)
ahora - now (now is the hour, as the old song said, on the hour)
allegra/o - lovely
amatista - amethyst
ascenso - ascend/rise
asi - so (ah - see, so)
borrar - delete (brush off, rub out)
clic - click
descenso - descent
describir - describe
division (accent on the o) - division
empleo - employment
escribe - write/inscribe
estado - status (in Spanish the letter e often goes before s at the start of the word, like the name of the country, Espana, escuala - school)
felicidades - congratulations (felicitations)
gramaticales - grammatical
impresionante - awesome/impressive
legas - leagues
minutos - minutes
perfecta - perfect
practicar - practise
reportar - to report
terminos - terms
utilizar - to utilize
zona - zone
verdad (Spanish)/vero (Italian) - true (like the English word verify)
Spanish and Italian, which is which: e and y and io sono and yo soy
Spanish
Spanish has the letter y for and. I am is yo soy. The letter y appears in both words.
Italian
The word for I starts with the letter i like the word Italian. io sono. Io sono di Italia. I am Italy (from Italy). The letter i after d, di, in Italian, which starts with the letter I and has the letter I twice.
Useful Websites
duolingo
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Rainfall and Flat Rooftops - A Global Disaster
I can see the problem in the picture of a local council building in Harrow, NW London. The local councils in London allow sub standard flat roof homes - when the annual rainfall is getting worse.
Flat Rooftops And Rainfall
The flat rooves leak and make mouldy housing. The sick people are draining the NHS.
Landlords and householders are bankrupt fixing leaking rooftops. So rents rise.
Official websites say that a properly designed flat roof should not leak - if it has a slope. A slight slope. But nonetheless a slope.
The advertisements for remedies will tell you the problems.
I have experienced leaking flat roofs in Singapore and the UK. It's not just a recent problem. It has been known for years. You can see that houses in medieval and Victorian times - the ones which lasted, have gabled rooftops.
A slight slope is not good enough. We have a conservatory with a supposedly see through ceiling with a slight slope. Leaves and moss gather on it. They don't roll off.
Useful Websites
Rain in the UK
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2026/why-has-it-been-so-wet-this-winter
Flat Roof Defects
https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Flat_roof_defects
Flat Rood drainage
https://www.buildingregs4plans.co.uk/guidance_flat_roof_drainage.php
More rain in Australia
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15586039/sydney-melbourne-weather.html
Monday, February 23, 2026
Spanish words you already know
Most adult English speakers already know these words. It is amusing to note how many words you already know of another language. I teach English, so for the benefit of children and people whose first language is not English, such as Chinese speakers, I have added some handy translations.
casa - house
macho - strong man, strong not just physically but verbally
poncho - cape without arms
sombrero - hat with a big brim worn in hot countries such as Mexico and Spain
villa - large house, often with grounds, elegant and grand
Rarer but well known words
albino
armada
armadillo
mosquito
Wine Words In Spanish
From wine, my husband knows
vino for wine,
blanco for white,
tinto for red like tinted (rosso is Italian).
Useful Websites on Spanish
https://springlanguages.com/learn-spanish/spanish-words-used-in-english
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Words which are the same in Spanish and Italian - and almost the same as English
English - Spanish - Italian
art - arte - arte
bank - Spanish el banco - Italian la banca
book - libro - libro (memory aid: library book)
centre (center in the usa) - (el) centro in Spanish - (il) centro in Italian
coast - costa (as in Costa Brava) - costa
if - si (Spanish, without an accent)
minute - minuto - minuto
music - musica - musica (in Spanish la musica is music but el musico is a musician)
no - no - no
note - nota - nota
one - uno - uno
problem - problema - problema
serious (adjective) - serio/seria - serio/seria
shy - timido/timida - timido/timida
stop - stop - stop (road traffic sign)
theatre - teatro - teatro
valley - valle - valle
The same in Spanish and Italian
song - canto - canto (like the English word cantor meaning singer)
Useful Websites On Translating Spanish And Italian
AI / Google search
translate Google
Lingo
https://lingo-apps.com/same-words-spanish-italian/
chat gbt
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Spanish and Italian - which is which?
Many words are almost the same in English, Spanish and Italian. This makes it easy to translate back into English, but harder to remember the foreign words. In Wikipedia you can find lists of words. You can also look at Wikipedia in another language and note mentally or write or type a copy of words which are the same as English.
English - Spanish - Italian (reminders)
and - y - e (The Spanish is y, like the y sound in mañana)
cost - costo - AI found me this from Collins dictionary
"cost" is costo or coste in Spanish, and costo in Italian. Both languages use these terms to represent expense or price. Common related phrases include "¿Cuánto cuesta?" (Spanish) and "Quanto costa?" (Italian) for "How much does it cost?
One thing I kept muddling was which word ended in o and which in a in quanto costa. Then I remembered that they are different, different endings. oh no what a cost ah. quanto costa.
explore - explora
shop - |Spanish tienda (where you tender money to buy) - Italian negozio (where you negotiate or bargain)
market in English is mercado in Spanish, mercato in Italian.
Yes - si - yes in both Italian and Spanish. But having an accent on the i makes a difference, meaning YES! Without the accent, in Spanish si means if.
supermarket in English is supermercado in Spanish, supermercato in Italian
Useful Websites For Translations to and from Italian and Spanish
duolingo
translation
wikipedia
Wikipedia en español
Wikipedia in italiano
https://italian.joyoflanguages.com/podcast/Si-in-Italian
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Spanish and Italian - 23 words which are the same - and often the same as English
I learned Italian one year, Spanish the next. I am now keeping up my Italian using Duolingo, but get confused. When reading either, I find it easy to translate back into English. But going the other way, from English, how do I remember which is which? I made a list in an A5 size notebook.
At the top of each page I listed words which are the same in all three languages. I then looked them up in google and AI.
The technical term is perfect cognates, words which have the same spelling and meaning. Here they are in alphabetical order. You can also find lists in Wikipedia
Words which are the same in English Spanish and Italian
English - Spanish - Italian
agenda - agenda - agenda
arena - arena - arena
banana - banana - banana
bar - bar - bar
blog - blog - blog
diva - diva - diva
gas - gas - gas
hotel - hotel - hotel
idea - idea - idea
Internet - internet - internet
judo - judo - judo
karaoke - karaoke - karaoke
ketchup - ketchup - ketchup
no - no - no
opera - opera - opera
or - o - o
patio - patio - patio
piano - piano - piano
pizza - pizza - pizza
puzzle - puzzle - puzzle
radio - radio - radio
solo - solo - solo
stop - stop - stop
taxi - taxi - taxi
video - video - video
yes - si - si
Useful Search Words
cognates, loan words
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Sunday, February 22, 2026
Pills which can be torn off
Tear off pack for Alendronic pills. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
Good news for anybody in your family who takes regular or intermittent pills.
That enables you to see at a glance how many pills you have taken. And when to call your doctor or pharmacist to re-order, and collect more pills.
When travelling, even just for a few hours, you might want to tear off a pill and put it in your purse or pocket or pill container.
Meanwhile, I use a flip box for my Levothyroxine. You can buy all shapes, colours and sizes in your local pharmacy, or some supermarkets, and online.
--ends-
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If you are looking for an amusing book to read, something you can dip into and out of, buy my latest book, Embarrassing Moments.Please share links to your favourite poems.
About Angela Lansbury - my books of poetry
Poetry Pets & Pests
Angela's Alarming Animal poems
Poetry Workbook
My latest book, Embarrassing Moments, is on Amazon, at a bargain price of well under ten pounds
My books are on
Amazon.com,
Amazon.co.uk, and
Lulu.com
Take a look. You might like to buy one for yourself or a friend.
See my other blogs on Travel, Wine and dine, and Dress of the day Angela. Please share links to your favourite blogs and posts.
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Saturday, February 21, 2026
Spanish and Italian Restaurant words - part 1
Spanish is one of the easiest languages, as well as requiring the least number of hours to learn. But you find more Italian restaurants and food. Pizza, Prosecco, spagetti, Ferrero Rocher.
I learned Italian for a year on Duolingo. Then I switched to Spanish. But I had started to forget the Italian. Should I go back to learning Italian? Duolingo offered me Italian for Spanish speakers and Spanish for Italian speakers. Since I am learning Spanish now, I chose Italian for Spanish speakers. Here are some handy words in both languages.
Spanish - Italian - English
adios - arrivederci - goodbye
amigos - amici - friends
buenas noches - buonasera - good evening
de nada - prego - you're welcome
donde esta el bano - dove il bagno - where is the toilet
gracias - grazie - thank you
uno does tres - uno due tre - one two three
Perfecto - perfetto - perfect
por favor - per favore - please
Yo soy de - io sono di - I am from
English - Spanish - Italian
friends - amigos - amici
goodbye - adios - arrivederci
I am from - yo soy de - io sono di
one, two, three - uno, dos, tres - uno, due, tre
perfect - perfecto - perfetto
please - por favor - per favore
Thank you - gracias - grazie
you're welcome - de nada - prego
good evening - - buenas noches - buonasera
where is the toilet - donde esta el bano - dove il bagno
Italian - Spanish - English
amici - amigos - friends
arrivederci - adios - goodbye
buonasera - buenas noches - good evening
donde esta el bano - dove il bagno - where is the toilet?
grazie - gracias - thank you
io sono di - yo soy de - I am from
prego - de nada - you're welcome
per favore - por favor - please
perfetto - perfecto - perfect
uno due tre - uno dos tres - one two three
Useful Translations, dictionaries and Websites for Spanish and Italian
duolingo
google translate
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Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Delightful Food and BYO Deal At Michelin Restaurant - Cornus
What was the most memorable dish at the Michelin starred restaurant, Cornus, near Victoria station? The pavlova. Soft and creamy. The perfect end to the Michelin meal.
The starters were pretty good too. In addition to the bread made in house, we had several bites of amuse bouche to keep us constantly entertained.
The main courses were small, after so many mini morsels. In fact, the amuse bouche were better than the main course, which I have forgotten.
At
Cornus Restaurant, London. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
Prices
To enjoy the Michelin star restaurant at lower prices, you have several options.
Go at lunch time.
Have the set meal.
BYO - bring your own wine.
Why Pay Extra For Wine Glasses
You might have to pay extra for hiring wine glasses, for example, if you held a wedding reception, or company Christmas dinner for forty people. You might need eight different wine glasses per person. Who needs that many glasses?
Why Have Many Wine Glasses?
You might need many glasses for a wine tasting. That could involve small servings of many wines.
Or for a special celebration such as a wedding, ruby wedding anniversary, or 80th birthday party. That might involve extended family and many people over many hours.
Why not just two glasses? That is done sometimes. But for a seated dinner, you might have a water glass. Two glasses for white and rose Champagnes. Two white wine glasses with fish. Two red wine glasses with meat. A dessert wine glass with dessert. An after dinner port glass. Plus juice glasses. That is ten.
Useful Websites
https://cornusrestaurant.co.uk/
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Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Costa's Large Cup For Cappucino or latte
Large cup with two handles in Costa. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
This cup is used for massimo, maximum or large size drinks. In addition to coffee, options include hot chocolate.
I noticed the huge two handled cup used by the person next to me in Costa under Sainsbury's in Hendon, NW London. The cup is for a large drink. Massimo. Favoured by people who want to occupy a table for an hour or two or more. Whether for meeting friends, or, more usually, working at a laptop.
Why? Some people may be working from home, but to get away from distractions of family, noisy children, crying babies.
Or out of the office. Or between meetings in the area. We were waiting for deliveries. Or for appointments with tenants and letting agents. Or to wait for cleaners to finish cleaning a flat.
You can buy these cups on line. The one from Costa was on ebay, used, at about twelve pounds. Several more at that price, in heavier porcelain. Lots of cheaper ones in light weight plastic. For invalids, or the elderly. On Amazon.
I also spotted a smaller two handled cup for only about four pounds. Maybe for a child, or for a novelty.
Useful Websites For Two-handled Cups
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Handled-Drinking-Coffee-Tableware-Released
Many styles, two handle holders for one handle cups, practical affordable styles, as well as elegant and expensive porcelain:
https://www.mobilitysmart.co.uk/daily-living-aids/drinking-aids/two-handled-cups
ebay two handled mugs under five pounds, plus postage:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/298029458555?var=0&shprz=EBAY_GB
Costa Coffee Shops:
https://www.costa.co.uk/stores/sainsbury-hendon
https://www.costa.co.uk/behind-the-beans/our-story/history
Costa, Starbucks, Cafe Nero and others worldwide:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_coffeehouse_chains
Info On Mug Sizes Compared To Coffee and Tea Cups:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mug
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Saturday, February 14, 2026
Valentine's Day for Wine Society
Angela Lansbury at the Central London Wine Society meeting.
We told the story of St Valentine, quoted Chaucer and Shakespeare on the subject.
We tasted wines whose labels featured Romeo & Juliet, Champagne Jean Valentin, Sanct Valentin, and Château Valentin.
My latest book, Embarrassing Moments, is on Amazon. Have a look at my books.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Valentine's Day Feb 14, or July 6 or July 30th
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/53812099@N04/14763863277/
The hand heart was made popular by Korean pop groups, and was a sign of friendship made when the north and south Korean leaders met and were photographed together on a mountaintop. It costs nothing, creates no litter, and is a good international sign because it is universal so you don't need to speak another language.
Singapore Valentines - Be Prepared
SPRINGTIME
Februa is Latin for to cleanse, or to clean. Spring cleaning.
In the old calendar mid February was when some birds started courting matching, nesting and mating and work started in the vineyards.
In ancient times in Israel girls would wear white dresses and dance in the vineyard where boys would be waiting to propose marriage.
But marketing has amazing success. If you can create greetings cards, fill restaurants, sell jewellery and gifts and cookie cutters and cups with messages about Valentine's Day or hearts, you will sell them to children and adults, the young and the old, the single and married, anybody who wants to part with money for a message or a product with red and hearts.
ITALY, ROME & VALENTINE - La Festa di San Valentino
In Italy you wish Somebody Buon San Valentino.
More than one Christian called Valentine, a popular name was martyred, and various churches claim to have bits of the saints bodies.
February14 is the day associated with Valentine's Day by Roman Catholics. the Eastern Orthodox celebrate In July 6th or 30th.
At the Central London Wine Society on Feb 11th Three Valentine's Day wines come to the UK from Europe, notably from France, Italy and Spain. Let's start with Italy.
ITALY
In Italy keys are given, representing the key to my heart, unlocking.
February is is named after the Roman God Februas and was the spring cleaning month.
ITALIAN FOOD
The Italian for biscuit is biscotti.
FRANCE
In France you might celebrate Valentine's Day with dinner, or a dinner on a boat on the Seine in Paris, or a helicopter ride. Your celebratory wine would be Champagne, from the Champagne region.
Macaroons.
SPAIN, Tapas and Turron
Feliz San Valentín - Happy Valentine's Day. Feliz dia de San Valentin.
In Mexico they say, Happy Valentine's and friendship day.
Delicious Drink
The Spanish white wine equivalent of sparkling Champagne but cheaper is Cava, originally from cellars or stores in caves.
Favourite Food
Turron - Sweet
A Spanish gift might be turron, which is nougat, made from almonds, honey and egg white. A modern version is chocolate covered.
Tapas - Savoury
The Spanish food served in bars with wine is tapas. Originally supposedly tiny pieces of bread or sliced meat put on the top of glasses to keep off the flies. Or to keep off sand blown from the beach, says another story. The translation offered is lid or cover. To make an alliterative reminder, I think of the word top.
We ordered tapas in a bar in summer 2025 in Bilbao, the ferry port on the northern coast on the east (Santander is on the west). We thought it was expensive and would be the bite or two size of cocktail party canapes, but it was a large portion, as filling as a hamburger. Maybe pintchos (pintxos, which is plural, from pinchar to stab) not a pinch but sometimes skewered horizontally or toothpicked vertically to hold it all together.
You can also get dessert tapas.
UK
Chaucer, an early influencer, wrote a poem about Valentine's Day to celebrate the anniversary of the engagement of the 15 year old King of England.
In the UK Cadbury's introduced heart shapes boxes of chocolates.
Nowadays the innovation is that the chocolates themselves are heart shaped.
|Valentine's Day is big business in the UK, the USA and Singapore which has four languages mainly English, also Chinese, meaning Mandarin.
IRELAND
|Dublin in Ireland has a church with a relic and those without any love can pray to find love.
WALES
The Welsh celebrate on January 25th, recalling the tragic story of Welsh princess
You can make a heart sign with your thumbs and first fingers.
Happy VALENTINES DAY
Italy
Shakespeare's Ophelia mentions St Valentine's day in the play Hamlet.
AMERICA
American Valentines In Schools For SchoolchildrenWhen I went to live in America our son came home from school with a birthday card for Mummy, and he wanted to make a card for his teacher, which he said all the schoolchildren were doing. I was surprised, because in those days in the UK Valentine's Day cards were only for the unmarried and courting.
Search online and you can find recordings of Valentine's day songs for the age of toddlers upwards. In America children give friendship cards to teachers. Finland also has friendship days.
ASIA
Valentine's Day month. I recall being in Singapore for the month of February and visiting several Toastmasters International Speakers' clubs. At the first Valentines theme club meeting I attended, the table topics master asked, What would you do on Valentine's Day? What is the best restaurant for Valentine's Day? Where would you go, what was the best gift, and so on. She/he - I forget which - was looking for ideas.
In Malaysia Nowadays The Muslim movement has opposed valentines day, because it is western and encourages sex outside marriage, fornication, adultery and immorality. To counter this view, Valentines Day is being promoted as a time for married couples to celebrate with date nights, buying expensive champagne, boxes of chocolates, and flowers. Plus of course clothes with hearts, and large cards.
In Japan women workers give chocolates to their co- workers, and a month later the men reciprocate by giving chocolates to women.
INDIA
The Hindus are against pubic displays of human affection. Instead, they tried to introduce hug a cow day. This strikes me and struck many others as an against the animal rights of the cow to refuse, besides being impractical and sometimes downright dangerous activity. Cows are too large to hug and do not necessarily reciprocate nor cooperate.
Useful Websites
February
Valentine's Day
A neat summary about Valentine's Day
ITALY
To make your own heart shaped biscuits, heart shaped cookie cutters (biscuit cutters we would say in the UK
SPAIN
Spanish turron
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Feb 10th is Teddy Bear Day - With Museums and Statues Worldwide
Teddy Bears And The USA
Teddy bears, named after President Teddy Roosevelt, who, one version of the legendary story goes, was on a bear hunt in 1902 in Mississippi, when he saw a baby bear and declined to shoot. This story has been disputed, but, as the saying goes, why let the truth get in the way of a good story.
In the USA I stayed at the Hotel Colorado, Colardo Springs, in the US state of Colorado, which is Spanish for coloured, where Teddy stayed in 1905 during the incident where he was given a toy bear.
Paddington Bear in London
In London you can see a statue of Paddington Bear on Paddington station and be photographed alongside.
Photo by ScheWo in Wikipedia under Paddington Bear Statue.
In England you can visit the World Of bears shops.
Teddy Bear Museums
Teddy Bear Museum, Dorchester, Dorset, England
Stratford upon Avon, England, UK - moved elsewhere.
Useful Websites on Bears and Teddy Bears
https://www.worldofbears.com/product-category/last-chance/?meta[_price
wiki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_bear_museum
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=bear%20birthday
https://collectinsure.com/2024/05/30/guide-to-teddy-bear-museums-and-accessories-worldwide/
Teddy Bear, USA
https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/encyclopedia/culture-and-society/teddy-bear/
Padding Bear, UK
https://paddington-experience.london-tickets.co.uk/
Pooh Bear, E Sussex, UK
https://www.emp.co.uk/fan-merch/winnie-pooh/
ebay - buy bears
Expect to see teddy bears in toy stores and museums of childhood.
For a bear theme birthday party, DIY, Amazon sells bear balloons, bear paper bags for going home goodies and presents, paper plates and banners with bear themes and cake toppers.
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Monday, February 9, 2026
Spanish Words For Today
Countries where Spanish is an official language. Map from Wikipedia.
Spanish is a useful language to learn. It is widely spoken as a first language in several South American countries. It is spoken as a second language in much of the USA. In Europe it is spoken in Spain and Spanish speaking islands. Portuguese and Italian are similar to Spanish.
I am brushing up - beginning again - my knowledge of Italian. I was learning Italian on Duolingo a year ago. This year I am learning Spanish. So I am doing Italian for Spanish speakers, which enables me to learn Spanish at the same time as learning Italian. The instructions are in Spanish, mostly only one to three words, often similar to English words. Because they are repeated even the unfamiliar words gradually get drilled into my mind. You could do the same with any two languages from the most common ones learned by speakers of your second language.
I note down new words in my A5 notebook (book size). I create columns quickly by folding each page in half vertically, making two sections, then again to make four creases. To write more neatly without overlapping columns to crush in long words and phrases, I draw a line vertically with a pen or pencil, using a ruler or anything else straight nearby on the desk.
I head the columns Spanish-English. An alternative would be to use the right hand half of the page for English-Spanish. Or to use the right hand page for English-Spanish.
Spanish - English Easy Words
adios - goodbye . The English is from God be with you. Adios comes from to God. a - dios, to the deity
buen - good (like French bon as in bon voyage, good journey)
buenos noches - good evening / good night
continuar - (to) continue
errores - errors
excepto - except
medala - medal
Perfecto/a (adjective matching masculine or feminine noun) - perfect
perfil - profile (both words have the letters p r f i l in that order. The e in the Spanish jumps to the end of the English word.
veloz -/velocity/speed/time
voz - voice
What is the difference between a medal and a medallion? The shorter word is for the smaller object. A medal is attached to a ribbon and worn as an award for an achievement in a military battle or a sports contest. A medallion is larger, a souvenir of an important occasion and displayed on a stand on a shelf, and given or kept in a box lined with colourful contrasting shiny satin, if made of silver or gold bought as an investment.
English - Spanish
(to) continue - continuar
except - excepto
good - buen
profile - perfil
velocity/ speed / time taken - veloz (starts with the same four letters)
voice - voz (starts with the same two letters and ce and z sound similar)
Wikivoyage phrasebook explains pronunciation and origins of words, and similar sets if words
- Spanish - English (The first pronunciation is from Spain, where the language originated, the second is from Latin America.)
- círculo (THEER-koo-loh/SEER-koo-loh) → circle
- circulo (theer-KOO-loh/seer-KOO-loh) → I circulate
- circuló (theer-koo-LOH/seer-koo-LOH) → he/she/it circulated
- estás (ehs-TAHS) → you are
- estas (EHS-tahs) → these
- origen (oh-REE-hehn) → origin
- orígenes (oh-REE-hehn-ehs) → origins
- ciudad (thee-yoo-DAHD/see-yoo-DAHD) → city
- ciudades (thee-you-DAH-dehs/see-yoo-DAH-dehs) → cities
- A Spanish restaurant with a Spanish guitarist in Manila, the Philippines was called Circulo.
- I have listed them in reverse and underlined the syllable you emphasize
- English - Spanish
- circle - circulo
- I circulate - circulo emphasis on the middle syllable, the same as the English
- he/she/it circulates - circuló
- city - ciudad (thee-yoo-DAHD/see-yoo-DAHD)
Accents show words which are pronounced the same but have different meanings: Eight words, sixteen meanings.
- él (he) el (the)
- té (tea) te (you [object])
- tú (you [subject]) tu (your)
- mí (me) mi (my)
- dé (give [present subjunctive]) de (of/from)
- sí (yes) si (if)
- sé (I know) se (one [pronoun])
- más (more/plus) mas (but)
Useful Websites For Learning Languages
Spanish Phrasebook in Wikivoyage and Wikitravel
Italian phrasebook in Wikivoyage and Wikitravel
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St Albans Wine Club and Wines From the French Loire Region
Left Trevor Sharot, member of the Wine Writers |Association. Right Thibault Lavergne, of The Wine Story Club based in Little Hadham, Hertfordshire.
During the meal you are entertained by a talk about the wines. The cost of a meal with a chance to taste half a dozen or more old wines which have had time to intensify their flavours, wines at prices which some of the people attending would only pay for wines for special occasions.
My husband is a wine educator and a member of the circle of wine writers. I have only level one of the WSET but he has level four, the diploma, the highest level you can take unless you are in the trade such as a sommelier, wine shop worker. We drive out of London to Welwyn Wine Society, St Albans' Verulam club, and events at the Wine |Society's huge shop with an upstairs restaurant in Stevenage, as well as the Civil Service Wine Club meeting in London and other events such as the London Wine Fair.
On Saturday Feb 2026 we met for the Verulam Wine Club's monthly meeting and looked forward to a seated meal, tasting ten wines, along with cheeses, salads, olices, bread and pate, all for only £18 per person. Plus an entertaining talk about each of the wines.
How do you manage to stay awake and sober enough to drive home? You can appoint one of your group as a designated driver, and he can just sip the wine and spit it out into a spittoon. Usually spittoons are provided, for you to tip out leftover wine after sipping it, and the water used to wash out the glass.
In theory the organizers could ask the speaker to supply a couple of low alcohol or no alcohol wines among the selection but this is rarely done, except at huge wine fairs and conferences where those items are promoted by the manufacturers and distributors and advertising agencies and supermarkets.
Alternatives are to take a taxi home, call a family member to pick you up, or stay at a budget hotel overnight, booking early to allow time to shop around for a good rate.
On February 7th 2026 the guest speaker was UK based Frenchman Thibault Lavergne, of The Wine Story Club based in Little Hadham, Hertfordshire.
I like sparkling and sweet wines. and as usual, we started with a sparkling wine which as usual was my favourite until the last wine, a sweet wine, which took top place in my list.
We were supplied with a sheet about the wines, with space to write comments on the colour, aroma, flavour, and finish (whether it left a lip-smacking after-taste in the mouth).
I also enjoyed all the cheeses including French brie. And chutney dark red like strawberry jam but slightly savoury. The large olives were unusual. I should have asked the club's volunteer organizers where the olives were bought.
The Evening's Entertainment
Each table of the three long tables was given a laminated map of the Loire valley in northern France where all the wines came from.
Chinon is associated with author Rabelais, who lived about a century before Shakespeare and his name in French equivalent of Rabelasian, means epicurian, a lover of wine and food, French food and wine of course.
The local stone is carved out into caves which are cool for storing wine.
You can stay in an underground cave, an A and B.
My wine of the night was Coteaux du Layon.
As usual the prices were only revealed at the end. That way you have an unbiased view of the wines. (we'd previously at another recent event had a comparison of Lidl and Waitrose wines, where about half the room preferred (voted for by a show of hands) the Lidl wine at under ten pounds.) However, tonight we had an opportunity to taste more expensive wine and most of the wines were about £29.
As usual the speaker offered a discount of ten percent off the wines he had displayed to those attending the event.
Budget Events For the Public
If you want to attend a wine club event, or start one, you can link up with events in your area through Meetup and Eventbrite. Social clubs sometimes hold evenings of affordable wines.
If you are organizing a special event such as a birthday, wedding, anniversary, Christmas or summer party, you might be interested in going to a dinner as a guest or member, or starting your own club.
Clubs for financiers and investors, bankers, lawyers, university alumni, and trade associations, and wine educators and students, offer a chance to watch slide shows and enjoy tutored tastings of more expensive wines at more expensive events, which are free to wine suppliers, distributors, sommeliers, and those big buyers from supermarkets and others with big budgets working in the trade.
Raffles For Wine Bottles
At the Verulam Wine club at the door on entry you can buy raffle tickets for one pound. Half a dozen bottles were raffled, some being leftovers from the club[s previous events, Mostly it's a bit of fun and we don't win. But this time we won a bottle, which added to the jollity of the occasion.
Prize Bottles And Gifts
You can also ask the organizer or speaker to arrange for the supply of bottles for the raffle. Or present a bottle as a gift to an organizer, speaker, or somebody celebrating a birthday.
The Wine Story Club. 2 Hadham Hall, Little Hadham SG11 2AU, Hertford.
Wine Tasting Clubs & Wine (Buying) Clubs
Wine Tasting Clubs enable you to meet others to enjoy educational tastings.
Wine Sellers have wine clubs which offer subscriptions services delivering cases of wine each month. Some of them also organize wine tastings in shops.
The club cannot order wine at wholesale prices and sell them on to members at retail prices without getting a trading license. However they could buy a case at wholesale prices to serve at events such as a Christmas party. And they can serve tiny tasting measures without the license needed for selling or serving full size bottles. If you need or want to know, check the latest regulations in your building, area and country.
Event Alcohol Bans And Permission
In addition to legal requirements, some premises such a churches, temples, and schools, may forbid the serving of alcohol on their main premises and hired rooms, annexes and outbuildings. This could prohibit serving wine at a Christmas party, wedding reception, or a visiting speaker offering the audience glasses of wine. Check alcohol permission to be sure the fun and informative event you envisage will be allowed.
Useful Websites On Wine Clubs
The Wine Story Club
Cave Hotels
Verulam Wine Tasting Club
Organizing Wine Tasting Wine & Food Quantity Versus Networking/Dating Meetup
Legal Wine Measures
Wine Measures
British Heart Foundation & Bottle and Glass and Measure Sizes
Wine Selling Clubs
Please follow my blogs (on travel, wine and dine, dress of the day, writing comic poetry, save by bookmarking and share links to your favourite blog posts.
Angela Lansbury is the author of twenty books and ebooks on weddings, toasts, quotations, poetry and writing poetry. The latest book about travel and teaching and public speaking problems is called
Embarrassing Moments.
Sunday, February 8, 2026
Swiss and Iraq fires - lessons learned
To prevent tragedies, you need prevention and cure. Major fires have happened in the USA, Ireland, Iraq, Brazil. What lessons can be learned?
Iraq Wedding Fire
Pyrotechnics at a wedding in Iraq in 2023 killed more than 100. The world should have learned from the videos of that.
Prevention and Cure
The first thing you need and easiest to fix is fire extinguishers.
They should not be locked away, which renders them useless. It should be a criminal offence to use them when there is not a fire.
Following the instructions, we fitted a smoke alarm in the corridor between the kitchen and the bedrooms.
The idea is to alert you to a fire at night. You should not be leaving food cooking unattended in a kitchen. You set an alarm to remind you to check on it and turn it off. You check all switches are off before leaving a room.
What is the ease of setting the alarm? Some alarms have a button you push. If the ceiling is low, you can reach up. You might think of standing on a safe stool, rather than on a chair, with somebody else to steady you, steady the chair, and check you don't fall, or catch you. Another way is to push up with a broom handle. This means keeping the broom nearby.
Some alarms have a cover which can be removed to check batteries, after the base is screwed to the ceiling.
Portable Alarms
An alarm which changes colour for carbon monoxide, and sticks on, can be taken with you and affixed in a rental property. Stick it on the flat surface of a cupboard. Write yourself a note or set an alarm to remind yourself to remove it after your last meal, before leaving the property if you are temporarily overseas.
Got a gap year? Want to increase your skills? Retired? Take a course in plumbing or electricity and qualify. This could be a source of employment and income. Save you time and money.
If you are not qualified to do the work, you can still save time and money by briefing the workers. Enable you to check that workers are doing the right thing. Help you to choose suitable equipment. Youtube has loads of videos on how to fix simple things like smoke alarms.
Below are what I have found. Not items I have tried and recommended. But useful links so you can start your investigation quickly.
PS
Rather than only being alerted to a fire after the event, consider fire prevention.
What to avoid? As we have learned from the tragic fire in Switzerland at New Year 2026, keep flames away from anything flammable and if possible, avoid using candles, incense, indoor and outdoor fireworks, pyrotechnics, furniture without a fire label (and don't remove the labels).
Clean Oven To Prevent Fire
The oven should be cleaned regularly. When my son was a student, a group of boys share a flat. None of them cleaned the oven. Eventually the grease built up and the oven caught fire.
If you have a dishwasher, some of the removable fittings can be washed in the dishwasher. If it does nto clean them completely, after one or two long wash cycles, you may find that the warmth of the dishwasher has loosened the grease well enough to make it faster and easier to clean by hand afterwards.
Useful Websites on Fires
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Portable-Monoxide-Detector-Rechargeble-Working/dp/B0DP2DDTPK/ref=s
'Which' UK consumer guides
Wikipedia
Wikihow
Youtube
https://www.britishfireworksassociation.co.uk/
https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/fireworks/
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Saturday, February 7, 2026
Beautiful and Controversial Stations in tourist cities, London's Paddington, France, Spain and Finland
Paddington station passenger - this passenger waiting for a train is a statue of engineer Brunel who built the railway, bridges and even the ship to take passengers on from the end of the line to the USA and back. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
On another platform is a cute little statue of Paddington Bear.
Upstairs is the statue of the lovers saying goodbye. Or is it hello?
Baker Street's Sherlock Holmes theme
The statue of Sherlock Holmes is outside the Euston Road entrance. On the platforms are murals of tales from the short stories.
1 Charing Cross Station has several murals. You can see the portrait of Shakespeare. And several more historical characters.
2 Baker Street - for Sherlock Holmes in murals on the platforms. Also see his huge statue outside on the pavement. (Americans say sidewalk.)
Sherlock Holmes statue. Red London bus in the distance. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
Euston StationThis historic arch was due for demolition during renovations which caused an outcry. The members of the public who loved history were slightly mollified by having a modern mural which depicted the old arch.
Sculpture of plane overhead in Terminal Two Heathrow, departures for Singapore. Photo by Trevor Sharot. 
On the platform of the Victoria Line at Euston station. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
London, England
London is famous for art on the underground.
The Elizabeth line is most modern.
Charing Cross Station By Trafalgar Square
Historical murals
Bank Station
Hyde Park Corner has sloping walk-in and walk out entrances which are lined with many the historic panels along the walkways.
Hyde Park Corner underground railway station, descending approach walkway. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
Once inside, you meet another internal corridor, going left and right, with more murals. The story of the battle of Trafalgar, and Waterloo. Learn about, and the queen who established the park. Queen C.
Above Hyde Park Corner station is Number one, London, Apsley House, home of the Duke of Wellington, who won the battle of Waterloo. Photo by Angela Lansbury.
Other stations which have won praise from passengers include Battersea, Canary Wharf, London Bridge, and Nine Elms.
On one of the panels you read reveals that Wellington admitted that Waterloo was a close-run victory.
4 Leytonstone Station - Alfred Hitchcock memorials
A depiction of an Alfred Hitchcock film, in the station. The site of the place where he was born also has a mural.
Out in the suburbs:
5 Northwick Park - for the artwork on both sides of the stairs. As the trains enter and leave towards the centre of London, you see the floodlit Arch of Wembley stadium. Wembley Stadium, where the band Queen performed, as you can see on the biopic.
6 Rayners Lane, art deco exterior to admire as you walk or drive past. Opposite is another fine art deco building which has changed hands several times, becoming a religious centre, then a gym.
Finland
Helsinki station. Art Nouveau. See the picture in Wikipedia.
France
The latest controversial station is the ultra modern one in a paris suburb, the Villejuif-Gustave Roussy. It descends from ground level down nine stories. The see through roof sheds light on the escalators and a Sundial below.
TGV station at Lyon, named after author and hero Antoine de St Exupery
Singapore
Most of Singapore's stations are wonderfully modern. Glass walls encase the platforms. The trains pull alongside the doors which open after the train stops. Nobody can delay the train by dropping anything or anybody on the line.
Regarding timing: Trains on most lines run every five minutes or less. A notable exception, oddly, is the diversion the the airport which delays for about ten minutes between trains those who are rushing to catch planes and standing around dragging luggage.
Singapore's Statues
Botero's horse.
Spain
Madrid
Bilbao city railway station mural
Useful websites on railway stations
French Stations
https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/worlds-most-beautiful-metro-station-paris-bhmwwm332
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Denis%E2%80%93Pleyel_station
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villejuif%E2%80%93Gustave_Roussy_station
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Friday, February 6, 2026
German Language Insight, Useful in Austria, German and Switzerland -Schubert and other names
Flag of Germany
Names starting with Sch
Schubert, the family name of composer Franz Schubert, means shoemaker or cobbler. Schubert was German speaking, as you might guess from the spelling of his name. He was actually Austrian. German is spoken in Germany, Austria, and parts of Switzerland.
Schneberger
I started researched names starting with Sch because I have a blouse with the label Schneberger Gruppe.
Schneberger Gruppe Classic Clothes
It is vintage and I found blouses, jackets, long jackets or coats, dresses and skirt suits, with this label on ebay at prices from affordable seven pounds to twenty pounds and upwards.
Berger - Meaning Mountain
The name berger means person from a berg or mountain. This ending comes from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Schnee - Snow
Schne could be a variation on or shortened form of schnee which means snow. That might help you to remember or recognize the company name and to type it correctly.
Bürger - Citizen
Not to be confused with burger with the unlaut or double dot over the u. That spelling is a word which means a citizen or city dweller. It can also mean freeman, or free man.
Think of two brothers. One lives on a snowy mountain. The other lives in a city. You meet their two grandsons. The family names indicates where their ancestors used to live.
These translations help you to remember the names of new friends or business contacts or shopkeepers or travel guides you meet on your travels, as well and shop names and street names.
German SCH
When typing, also remember that in English we use the letter combinations sh and ch, but in German they use sch.
I looked up names starting with Sch and found several more, some of which were famous people.
Schwarzkopf - black head
Schwarzkopf meaning black head, was a name often given to people with black hair, and was the family name of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, who was an opera singer.
Schmidt - Smith
The family name smith is derived from the German word for smith which was given to a blacksmith.
Schneider - sewer
A schneider was a sewer, a seamstress, a tailor.
Learning And Speaking German
I learned German on Duolingo. A quick guide to everyday phrases is in wikivoyage under phrasebook. You can copy it and print it off, or bookmark it on your laptop.
Useful Websites
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