Malay words - English
air (proounced ay-er) - water
ais - ice
barli - barley
gula - sugar
laici - lychee
sagu - sago
sirap - syrup
sirap rose - rose syrup (note that the adjective comes after the noun in Malay)
teh - tea
English - Malay
barley - barli
ice - ais
lychee - laici
sago -sagu
sugar - gula
syrup - syrap
tea - teh
water - air (pronounced ayer)
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The Clock
The clock is a round clock projecting from the wall above you. It appears to have a man inside it, wiping the glass.
We looked at it, mesmerized by the movement, and asked each other, "Is that a real man.
The Question
It looked like a real man. We debated this. "Yes, it's a real man."
"No, it can't be."
"Yes, it is."
We went off to lunch, other matters on our minds.
A Second Look
However, when we came back from lunch two hours later, he was still there. We stopped again.
Then we decided it was not a real man.
"A real man could not have spent two hours on the same bit of glass. So what is it?"
"It must be some kind of optical illusion, or joke!"\
Determined Research
The image stayed in my mind. Hours later, I looked it up.
I searched on Google. Paddington. Clock, Man in clock.
I was rewarded with an instant result. Straight to the website of the creator of the clock.
The designer of this clock, a Dutch man, lives in the Netherlands,.
The Clock Creator's Name
His first or given or personal name is Maarten. That is Dutch for Martin. The origin of the name is Mars, the Roman God of war and fertility, from who we get the name of the month of March.
His surname or family name is Baas. That is a Dutch or north German name meaning boss or overseer.
Maarten - He has made more than one of these clocks continaingfigures. You can clooks on his website.
Grandfather Clocks
He also does a series of grandfather clocks. He inserts the realistic face of grandfather behind the clockface as if the old man is inside the clock.
Amusing. A bit distracting from the time shown by the hands. But something to brihten up your day.
Memory Lasting All Day
By bedtime we were still debating about this phenommenon.
"How was it created?"
"Easy. Just a projected film."
"It has to be 3D, of a person wiping, a window cleaning.'
"But, the person leans forward to inspect the glass and beomes larger.'
Long Lasting Image
What keeps a memory in your mind? A question does. A whodunnit. News stories about unsolved murders. For the same reason that people do crosswords. Our minds are geared to solve puzzles. Magic shows, Stunts.
The unusual. Ideas you cannot yet classify. The midn does not know where to store them. It's like the unusual item which could be a bomb on the underground station. The signs remind, you, have you seen something suspicious. See something, say something.
I went to sleep with this surprising, slightly unsettling man in clock image in my minds.
Positive Thoughts
However, it was unsettling in a good, charming way. A jolke. A urprise.
Why did I like it? It was intriguing. Not so much a clock as a work of art. A moving, kinetic work of art. totally new and orinal. Baffling like a maagic trick or whodunnit.
But positive. The man is busy working. Cleaning up the world. The invenotor of the artwork has created something totally new, thinking 'outside the bos'. In this case, inside the clock.
Finally, I typed in the question, how did Baas create his clocks? This time I was sent back to good old Wikipedia which revealed more. Each clock is different.
the man ic creating or removing the hands. He is painting them on the Schipol clock in Amerstam in the Netherlands.
Picture from Wikipedia which gives more details.
Useful Websites
https://maartenbaas.com/products/real-time-paddington
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Time_(art_series
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We were looking for a Malay food restaurant in central London for the twice a year reunion of expats from Asia. They now live in England and meet up in London at a Malay or Indonesian restaurant.
It has to be within an easy walk of an undergraoudn sation as one or two of them are elderly, getting on a bit, as we say politely in London. Or they have problems walking.
As a result my husband Trevor and I take a tip to central London to try out ethic restaurants to find out about the food, and the practicalities.
We had a delightful lunch at Tukdin, near Paddinton undergraound and overground railway station.
The restaurant is a straightforward wal along the main road past lots of introguing and interesting restaurants and shops. It is obviously a ppoular tourist area. You can tell from the voices of the people you pass on the pavement or sitting on the pavement cahirs outside London restaurants in summer.. Those pavement chairs proliferating are the result of non smoking rules in restaurants, and Covid meaning people wanted to be in circulating air, not sitting cooped up indoors beside others. It has created a lovely atmosphere. Poeple sit outside in winter, braving all weather, in order to smoke or because they are in the habit of sitting outside and watching passers by. But in sumer weather in sunshine it is London at its best.
The Nalay restaurant is named after the man who started it, named Tukdin. Any pun on tucked in is just a happy coincidence.
The place is small enough for you to immediately catch the eye of the people in charge. The menu is full of authntic malay dishes which are fondly rememberd with enthusiasm by those familiar with Asian food.
You have two menus. One is the savoury starters and main courses. THe other is for drinks and the sweet dessert. We went without starters because I had my ee ont he dessert.
Signs told us it was halal. The two jolly ladies serving had head coverings. My husband immediately suspected, rightly that alcohol would not be served. That meant that our expat group would not be able to either drink, or bring their own alcohol. 9It sounds odd, but we had previously, only last week, enjoyed an Indian-Pakistani=-Bangladeshi style meal at a restaurant which had no license, but advertisied the fact that customers were welcome to bring wine, with no corkage chagre. However, not here.
If you are religious, or don't drink at lunch time, for you it will be no problem.
So, our serach for a restaurant for our reunion must continue. Meanwhile I enjoyed a very nice lunch, as part of my sampling of Malay and Indonesian restaruants.
My drink, a virulent, exciting, enticing dark pin, was not the least synthetic but a strong and delciious rose flavoour. Wonderful. I would happily have ordered another, but I had my meal ahead.
My main course was
Instead of a starter I started with a drink as attractive as a cocktai.
The place has an echo. However, I soon stopped hearing the baby on my left and listened to the conversation of the ocuple in the window. They gave me a complete guide to Europe.
Then along comes the main event. I like chicken. I am allergic to shellfish. The server showed polite , promised to convery to the chef that I was allergic to shellfish, was happy with anchovies, and would not be bothered by a possible crossover of shellfish being prepared int he same kitchen, so long as I did not get a huge prawn, like appeared, corectly in my husband's Char kway teow. concern for my well being
I loved the coconut rice. So often I have had rice which barely tasted of coconut. But I defeinitely tasted coconut.
The restaurant was happyk keen to wrap up our leftovers. I could see other tables had made the same request.
I had enough food for half of it to be saved to take home. I was saving myself for dessert. Was I right!
The menu had only three desserts, but that was plenty. ice cream, well, I have 36 flavours, constanty changing , at my local ice cream shop in Hatch End (Baskin Robbins). So I passed on that. My eye was on the first dish.
We shared. Sago. Spelled sagu. With cane sugar.
Delicious. I had half. The restaurant broguht two bowls in addition to the main one containing the dessert. Highly recommended.
Afterwards we still wanted coffee and went next door. I shall describe that separately.
Two great places in one visit. Maybe there's a nearby put if you want a drink. I didn't see one. But I don't normally drink at lunch time anywhere.
Would I go back? Yes, yes, yes.
Toilet Decor
Lastly, I must mention the toilets.
Down a steep staircase, with a hand rail on one side. But a reward at the basement. A clean Ladies Toilet with plentifu soft toilet paper. And delightful deor. A domed roof. and sparkles in the material.
The serving desk has an orchid and the restaurant address cards.
Not grand. Homely, in the positive sense, of being like home, with mother looking after you, but with nice touches.
Useful Websites
www.tukdin.com
First, it is not open to the public. Oly the trade. However you can look at in online and see their Facebook page.
The Drinks Britania section features English and Welsh wine. There's also Scottish whisky.
This is for the trade, wine writers, promoters of wine brands, tourist boards promoting wine regions. Sommeliers and buyers of wine and organizers of wine tastings and wine holidays.
Who is exhibiting? Well known wine regions. Masterclass tastings. Authors of books on wine. Writers of newsletters on wine. Writers of newspaper columns on wine.
Global warming is opening up areas of England to the opportunity of vineyards. Although London is famous for its clay soil, reulting in houses built of London red bricks, around the south of England and others parts of the UK we have a swathe of the same chalk under the surface soil as the Loire valley and the Champagne region. That's what the vines love. We have vineyards across England and Wales.
Who will you bump into, or arrange to meet? A whole range of people, different ages, classes, nationalities.
Fiddler on the roof statue, Netanya, Israel.
Fiddler on the Roof, Netanya, Israel. Wiki article on Fiddler on the Roof.
You probably already know a few Yiddish words. Chutzpah (cheeky, showing effrontery, brazen and bold action).. Shpiel (game or long story). You may have picked up a few words from the Film Fiddler On the Roof, written by Sholom Aleichem (a pen name meaning peace to you).
Shtetle means small village.
I have picked up an assortment of greatings and exlamations.
Oh veh - oh my goodness.
Mazel tov - good luck, good fortune, congratulations.
Good shabbos. (A mixed language greeting, good sabbath.)
Mixing two languages is called code mixing or code switching.
But why learn more?
Why learn a language?
1 To gain control of your understanding of the world.
2 To communicate you needs for transport, food and accomodation when travelling.
3 To understand the grammar and structure of another language in order to clear confusion and avoid embarrassing mistakes.
4 To sell and make money, to buy proftably, and then possibly sell on later at a profit.
5 To connect with elders and ancestors
6 To write a novel, psrinkling it with phrases, proverbs, idoms, aphorisms.
7 To understand the structure of English contrasting it with other languages.
8 To get a job in the hospitaliy industry or by translating live, or for websites selling goods, and packing for consumers.
9 To undnerstand danger and talk our way out of trouble.
10 To follow conversations so as not to feel left out, and establish rapport.
I have two reasons for learning Yiddish.
1 I wish to add phrases to my novel series starting in Ukriane in 1880 and moving on to Londo, England.
2 Yiddish is the last language I need to present on slides in my introduction to languages for LILT only languages club. LILT for Languages for Inteerest, Learning and Travel.
3 A few Yiddish words are used in the USA.
What is Yiddish?
Yiddish is mostly German words, written in the Hebrew alphabet. It was the language used by Ashkenazi (Hebrew for German) Jews. The German name for Yiddish is Jewish German.
Useful Websites
https://openairtheatre.com/production/fiddler-on-the-roof?
Learn German, Hebrew, Yiddish
https://www.duolingo.com/learn
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Suruchi means happiness and that is what we felt at this Indian restaurant in London. Near Canonbury station.\
Pleasing Price
Firstly the price. On Tuesday, twenty pounds a person. (Minus 5 pence. Price in May 2024. Service/tip not added but optional.)
Decor
The placec is small but the decor is delightful Big orange and multicolour paintings. Up comes
Candle on the tables. The man in charge immaculately dressesd. White cloths on the tables and white cloth apkins.
Drinks
I splurged an extra fiver on a mango lassi.
We brought bottles of wine to match Indian food tne the restaurant supplied glasses.
Unlike many places which offer liited choice in set meals, you seen to be able to order anything from the relevant section.
The setup for the bargain evening is you can order one starter, one main dish, a side of vegetabels, rice or naan, and that includes peshwari naan, my favourite.
Starter
I opted for a mied mea auderves. Filling and good value.(My husband's choice was not as good.)
Main Courses
Candle, my pehswari naan, shared and swapped for half my husband's rice. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
Starters - Success, and Surprise
I enjoyed a mixed starter of meats.
Starter Warning \
My husband mistook bhel-poori, for poori. Pur or poori is a fist size iece of puffed bread like a aquahsed balloon, in which you place your suced or dips and food. But bhel-poori is puffed rice, tiny pieces, praswn size of ovel bits. I didn't like them and neighteh did my husband.
I oped for chicken korma,which a creamy sauce. And a peshwaaari naan with a filling. My favourite. Instead of rice.
My side dish was aubergine, to make a change. (I usually have potato and spinach, aloo gobi, in Indian restaurants. The aubergine was chopped into dice sized piece. It did the trick.
No Desserts\
They don't serve desserts, which is probably good for my teeth.
Charming Chocolates
But the meal does end on a sewwe not with a chocolate for each person in a gold foil wwrapper and white encasing. It tastes of chocolate orange.
We looked for a place for dessert and coffee on our way back to the station but passed. Just as well.
Leftovers Wrapped
No problem asking for food to be wrapped. A tin foil box appeared on the table for us to spoon in our leftovers thad the staff members helped. Up comes a plastic bag to hold the alinium box.
The toilet is on the ground floor. Small but adequate. Not sure how somebody three dress sizes larger than me would get past the door and basin. Just as well there was no dessert. After my meal, my loose skirt fits me like a glove.
I hope to go back. If I lived in the area, this would be my regular. My friends go there every Tuesday.
My husband sumarized, "For ninetten ninety nine we had a fest and soe leftovers.Extraordinry good value."
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At a toastmasters international meeting of Singapore International Dynamic Club the Vice President of education organized a zoom meeting during Covid travel restriction for the President of the online club. She sent him a chocolate birthday cake and asked us all to get ourselves a piece of chocolate birthday cake and a candle to light. We also had a birthday congratulations back ground.
At the online Zoom meeting interval, the birthday boy, (a man) was asked to light his cake and we all showed our backgrounds and sang happy birthday online. We ate our piece of cake whilst he had a piece of his cake.
The well-organized event was original and amusing. It made him feel special, made us feel privileged and excited by the novelty and camaraderie.
You could do the same or something similar for a birthday party which is all or partly online. At least go online or share pictures for the cake cutting.
No Blowing Out Candles
Nowadays, for health reasons we no longer blow out candles, or at least not over cakes. No breathing on cakes which others will eat. Maybe not even over something you are going to eat.
Instead, you can have a visual blowing out of candles. AI can do that for you. Be inventive.
Photo Montage Or Videos
A picture of previous birthdays could be good. For example, all the previous birthdays of a five year old child. And even the birth! The newborn! You can also show a video, as is done at many weddings, when you have three ceremonies, one at the country were the couple are living, one for her parents, one for his.
You can do the same with parties for children, with adults online from overseas. Or two parties online one for children, online guests sent small toys like going home gifts.\
Useful Websites
https://www.temu.com/ul/kuiper/un9.html?subj=goods-un&_bg_fs=1&_p_jump_id=894&_x_vst_scene=adg&goods_id=601099546469247&sku_id=17592344037912&adg_ctx=a-5
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