Statues of Famous People

Statues of favourite famous people as well as religious figures and heroes and heroines of mythology are all around.  You can sit next to Spike Milligan in a pleasant park in London, or pose beside Oscar Wilde right in the city centre.

For inspiration sit beside Einstein in Los Angeles at the Griffith Centre.

London

Nelson's column is a landmark in Trafalgar Square. You need to set your camera to multiply times three to get more detail. 

The world has many statues of Queen Victoria, royals, world famous figures, and local heroes. 

In London we have statues of Oscar Wilde and  Amy Winehouse. I have a book just on statues of London.

A temporary Freddy Mercury memorial picture is on the Spanish steps at Wembley in the autumn of 2026. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy4z8mzx7gwo

A statue of Queen Elizabeth II the her corgi dogs is in Rutland.

Another is in Newcastle-under-Lyme in Queens Gardens.

USA Statues

Visitors to New York are greeted by the giant Statue of Liberty. Other popular places include the Lincoln Memorial. 

Mount Rushmore in South Dakota is well known. A more recent mountain carving is Crazy Horse.

Singapore Statues

Singapore has a statue of Sir Stamford Raffles. Many more statues, a bird, a horse, children jumping into the water. The giant statue of the mythical Merlion spouts water. A plaque honours writer Joseph Conrad.

Worldwide

Useful Websites About Famous People and Statues

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Hall_of_Fame

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2017/05/wheres-statue.html

I searched for statues of Freddy Mercury and Bruce Lee worldwide and AI found me these results.

Freddie Mercury (Montreux, Switzerland): A famous 3-meter bronze sculpture by sculptor Irena Sedlecká stands overlooking Lake Geneva. It depicts Mercury in his iconic 1986 Wembley Stadium live pose. [1, 2, 3]

Bruce Lee (Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina): A notable bronze statue of Bruce Lee stands in Zrinjevac Park, erected as a universal symbol of youth, solidarity, and pop culture neutrality across ethnic divides. [1]

Bruce Lee (Hong Kong & Los Angeles): Famous life-sized statues honouring the martial artist exist along the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, and at Lincoln Plaza in Los Angeles.

America has many statues, as well as carvings of presidents, such as Mount Rushmore.

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The Shed Restaurant in Notting Hill Gate For Fresh Farm Food, A Fun Venue, And Fun Surroudings

 

Delightful Decor

Amusing decor. Brick walls and wooden tables. I supposed the name suggests a cow shed and I sat opposite a picture of a cow. 

Sizes of Tables and Suitability For Groups

The tables are various sizes and shapes, round, oval or oblong. Sizes range from two-seater small round to a giant oval for a group of six or maybe more. There's no private room for small groups, but you could hire the whole restaurant for a big party.

The restaurant has a small front but stretches back and has a mirror at both ends which makes it seem even larger.

Fresh flowers are on the tables and it is a romantic and original place for a date night for a courting couple or a married couple wanting somewhere new and entertaining. It would also be a good place to bring a friend from overseas to show them that British food can be original, fresh and excellent.

Music was playing when I arrived, and I sat near it to avoid hearing a baby or toddler at the other end. By the time the restaurant filled up I did not notice the music, no trouble talking to my companion or the waiter, although my husband considered asking them to turn the volume down. 

Original fresh food. A real chef. The food comes from their farm, according to what is ripe for picking. The menu changes every day, sometimes twice a day.

Make Sure To See The Set Menu

At lunch time and evening there is a set menu which makes a massive saving. I was offered the a la carte menu. I asked if there was any special of the day and was not given the set menu. But my husband who was parking the car, and invested in a three hour higher priced parking, had found the set menu on the website. The main courses were around thirty pounds, a la carte, but so was the set menu of three courses. For two people, a great saving, or could have ensured we tried all three courses, not just one.

The set menu offered two choices of the starters and main dishes, so, although one was vegetarian, and we are not vegetarian, we had one of each and shared both. No choice of dessert, but we were happy to both have the same.

Our walk back through Notting Hill passing dinky little houses with colourful doors was entertaining. 

We had no time to visit Portobello market, which no doubt saved money and clutter in our home. But if you plan on doing this, ensure you order and eat fast or buy extra time on a parking meter. If you are coming by public transport, a bus stop is outside the door, so check your options. 

Amusing Toilets

You must see the toilets which are highly amusing. The two cubicles are decorated differently with colourful wallpaper, and cartoons on the toilet lid and seat.

The manager was Italian Giovanni (Italian for John) who speaks perfect English, with a slight almost imperceptible accent, told us that the restaurant is owned by three brothers and they have six restaurants all over London and elsewhere. With a changing menu, you could visit it many times. Or try another of their restaurants for a change of venue. 

Useful Websites

https://www.theshed-restaurant.com/

https://www.theshed-restaurant.com/private

Humorous Speech Contest, and Celebration with Cake, at HOD Speakers' Club in Harrow. All welcome.

 HOD Toastmasters International Speakers' Group members are having a contest including humorous speeches and table topics (impromptu speeches) on Thursday October 1st, meeting starting promptly at 7.30. 

Later that busy month we are celebrating the club's 25th anniversary on Tuesday October 27th in the evening. Expect to hear from past presidents about our past successes, present opportunities and plans for the future. Of course there will be cake! 

Our usual meeting date is a Thursday evening twice a month, but the celebration will include past and future members, lots of guests, so we have a bigger room. Please contact the club if you want to come to one of these events or both 🍰 so we have enough food and chairs, and maybe a speaking slot for you.

Useful Links

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/hod-speakers-club-107921320861

toastmasters.org/find-a-club

HOD on the Toastmasters International website

https://www.toastmasters.org/Find-a-Club/00002326-00002326

Souvenirs of London - Silly, Jovial, Royal, or Classical Paintings Or Authors, Or Railways

 Suitcase with underground railway stations, tee-shirt, and many more items. Royal family.

From a large shop called Gift Box beside Embankment underground railway station.

Suitcase with a London Underground map at the Gift Box, by Embankment station, under the archway. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Gift Box Britain shop by Embankment station. Photo by Angela Lansbury. 

Their goods from their huge souvenir range at all prices is only sold only in the physical shop. A website at their address sells a smaller number of dearer personalised souvenirs such as key rings and wallets.

Lots of stuff on royalty, and jokey items with waggling heads in souvenir shops such as this one all over central London, around Baker Street station and Green Park station.

Maybe your friends would prefer a famous painting on a tee-shirt, rather than a silly slogan. You will also find large shops offering souvenirs based on classic culture at art galleries and museums and entertainment venues. For example, the Barbican, the Tate Gallery, the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the South Bank. 

You can usually find the entrance to the shop without going into the museum or exhibition, for which there might be a charge or a queue.

Famous People - Sherlock Holmes, Dickens 

For specialised souvenirs, consider the shop at the Sherlock Holmes museum near Baker Street station. Of course, Sherlock Holmes was a fictional character, although said to be based on a real person.

Consider souvenirs from another home of a famous person such as an author, for example, Dickens. 

Entertainment Venue Shops

You can also find souvenirs at entertainment venues. For example, at Ruislip Lido there is a miniature train you can ride on. For railway enthusiasts shops at both ends of the track, more stuff at the Lido end including buckets and spaces sets for toddlers. This stuff is sold only at the physical site. Their website currently only gives links to other people's websites selling books on the location and history of Ruislip.

If you can't visit, or don't have time for the shop and want to buy souvenirs and gifts after you get home, many attractions and museums have shop websites which are fun to browse. Today I discovered at the South Bank, Genius Playing cards at just under ten pounds sterling £10, showing four categories of writers, and a similar set showing movie stars.

London Themes

More London theme items are available from the London Museum, and the London Transport museum.

The London Transport Museum has tube lines on Tote bags, an umbrella, and even a fan.

Useful Websites

Personalised Items

https://giftbox-britain.com/

Arts and Culture Souvenirs

https://shop.southbankcentre.co.uk/collections/new-in/products/writers-genius-game

London and transport souvenirs

https://shop.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/shop-all-clothing

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Memory Aids for German Words, Swiss German, German/Swiss Hotels and Attractions

Where can you use German? In Europe, Germany, Austria, Switzerland.

The word Bruck means bridge as used in the Austrian city of Innsbruck. Salzburg in Austria means salt city.

Furt means ford, as in the German city of Frankfurt.

Dorf, like the English word thorpe, means village. You see that is German towns like Dusseldorf, and in the English attraction, Thorpe Park. 

 English - German memory aids

Duck - Ente (the duck enters the water)

kite - Drachen  (which you drag along)

German - English memory aids

Drachen - kite

Ente (plural Enten) - duck (ducks)

Words which are the same in German and English

German - English

Disco - disco

Hunger - hunger

Park - park

so - so

wow - wow

Words which are the same English and German

disco - Disco

hunger - Hunger

park - Park (remember capital initial letter for nouns in German)

so - so 

wow - wow

German And English Words Which Look Similar

German - English

Haare - hair

Karten - cards

Musik - music

Selten - rarely (seldom)

English - German Words Which Look Similar

hair - Haare (ha ha, what a lot of hair, remember double a)

(to) help - helfen (help me by putting an f in helfen, en for infinitives, oh f... I need help, from anyone)

cards - Karten (I cart my cards about it the carton Karten, en for plurals)

Matching Word Endings German-English

Der Drucker - the printer

eine Pause - a break (a pause)

English - German Document Ending

document - Dokument

the end - Das Ende

end - Ende (written alone at the end of a document)

In London you can practise your German in Austrian restaurants, with names like schnitzel! Some names are easy to remember, the English alliteration, German Gymnasium, and Schnitzel Heaven, and Engel Bar. Engel means angel.

Albert's Schloss in Soho serves Bavarian Beer. Schloss means castle.

I asked Gemini to translate into German, the castle shop is closed, and I was told,

"Der Schlossladen ist geschlossen." geschlossen = closed (You can also use zu, as in "Der Schlossladen ist zu" for a more casual phrasing).

Since I am planning to visit German-speaking Switzerland next year (2027), I asked for standard German and the variation. The Swiss German sounds simpler and easier, like an English-speaking person trying to remember German.

Ask Gemini told me:

 Here is how to say it in both Standard German and Swiss German (Schwiizertdütsch):

1. "The castle shop is open."

• Standard German: Der Schlossladen ist geöffnet. (or Der Schlossladen ist offen.)

• Swiss German: De Schlosslade isch offe.

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2. "Is the castle shop open?"

• Standard German: Ist der Schlossladen geöffnet? (or Ist der Schlossladen offen?)

• Swiss German: Isch de Schlosslade offe?

Useful Websites

Languages - learn German using Duolingo online for free with advertisements, or pay to have the lessons without ads. 

duolingo.com

Attractions in Germany

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Amusement_parks_in_Germany

German restaurants in London - actually Austrian

https://www.thefork.co.uk/restaurants/london-c665790/german

I asked AI for German hotel groups, expecting to get one or two names but it gave made this extensive list:

Major German Hotel Groups

Motel One Group: A leading budget-design pioneer known for stylish, high-quality furniture, central locations, and fixed pricing. [1, 2]
H World International (formerly Deutsche Hospitality / Steigenberger Hotel Group): Operates upscale and luxury brands like Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts alongside IntercityHotel and Jaz in the City. [1, 2]
H-Hotels AG: A major family-run German group managing brands like H4 Hotels, H+ Hotels, H Residences, and Houstel.
Dorint Hotels & Resorts: Operates classic upscale full-service hotels and resorts primarily across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. [1]
Novum Hospitality: A fast-growing Hamburg-based group managing numerous midscale and economy properties across Europe, often via franchise partnerships.
Lindner Hotel Group: A traditional upscale hospitality group offering business and resort properties, now partnered with JDC/Hyatt. [1, 2]
Maritim Hotels: A well-established German chain specializing in large conference hotels, city-center properties, and classic beach resorts. [1]
Prizeotel: A design-budget economy brand founded in Germany and later integrated heavily into the Radisson portfolio.

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  Lindner Hotel Group

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  Maritim Hotels

  Maritim Hotels | Book now for the best price!

  Maritim Hotels have locations in: * **Germany** * **Worldwide** * **City centers** * ** Airports** * **Beaches** Some Maritim Hote...

  
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  Horwath HTL

  Germany Hotels & Chains Report 2022 - Horwath HTL

  Accor: Remains the market leader with 362 hotels and 50,147 rooms. Accor's portfolio includes a wide range of brands across differ...

  

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