April events around the world - 'Friends, Romans, Countrymen'

What a busy month, humorous and serious. It started on April 1st which was April Fool's Day and Easter Monday.

Ramadan dates 2024 and 2025

Ramadan ended April 9th 2024.  However, Ramadan is not in April in 2025. In 2025 it will be from Feb until March for 30 days. Travellers may wish to travel before the date of the start to reach Muslim countries and areas to enjoy evening meals with the family or street markets, or to avoid Muslim countries on these dates if you wish to visit Muslim restaurants. In some Muslim countries and areas you will find other restaurants open to foreigners, eg Chinese restaurants open to Westerners in Malaysia - look for the red lanterns and lights on.

Varied Celebrations & Commemorations

April has brought us Shakespeare and St George's Day in England, Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand, and Earth Day worldwide.

Earth Day

Monday April 22nd was Earth Day. 

Harrovians Toastmasters International speakers' training and leadership club in Harrow was celebrating its 21st anniversary. Inflatable globes decorated with maps depicting the world were on stage. 

Costco Cake Catering

We had a birthday cake which was ordered from Costco on Saturday and delivered on Monday. The icing was delicious. The cost was about seventeen pounds for a large cake.

Guest of Honour, Mayor Harrow

The club had invited the Mayor of Harrow to speak, and his wife the mayoress. The mayor was dressed in red. He entertainingly told us that a little girl aged about six had mistakenly though he was Santa Claus and asked him for a present. She assured him that she had been very good.

Left: The mayor of Harrow, Ramji Chauhan. 

Centre: Toastmasters International, UK South, Club Growth Director, Mo Dawodu.

Right: Angela Lansbury, member of Harrovians Toastmasters Club since 2004.

If you wish to read about the early days of Harrovians, I wrote an account of it which you can buy from lulu.com

Shakespeare & St George

Tuesday 23rd April, all day and every year on the 3rd, is St George's Day. It is also Shakespeare's birthday. A chance to celebrate with quotations from Shakespeare.  

The red cross on white is familiar to football supporters who know the England team's insignia.

ANZAC

Thursday 24th is Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand. Marches start at dawn in Australia. 

Field of Remembrance, Australia. Photo from Wikipedia.

The Anzac Field of Remembrance is wooden crosses for those who lost their lives, planted by the War Widows' Guild, in St Andrews Church, Sydney, Australia. Other events include playing of the sound of the Last Post. Events take place worldwide, Malaysia, Tasmania, Canada, UK.

Decorations on memorials and gravestones in cemeteries in New Zealand. Wiki.

Gallipoli, Turkey. Wikipedia.

Anzac Cove, Turkey. Wikipedia.

Hobart Cenotaph, Tasmania, Australia.

Sabah, Malaysia.

PASSOVER MEALS

Monday 22nd and 23rd this year (following a Jewish calendar with changing days) are Passover or Seder night for the UK Jewish community. In Israel, religious events take place on one day, but in the diaspora they last two days to be sure to align with the time the event is celebrated in Jerusalem.

Jesus's Last Supper was a Passover meal, commemorating the angel of death passing over the houses of Hebrew slaves when a plague swept over Egypt. 

The Discovery Channel programme investigating suggested that wet weather turned mouldy the stored wheat or grain. The wheat was eaten by the richer Egyptians. They gave double portions to the older firstborn son, hence the deaths of their firstborn. 

This food poisoning was known in the USA in a previous century as the cause of St Vitus's dance.  The spring cleaning by finishing up last year's old flour before stocking up with the new season's harvest accounts for the unleavened matzah eaten by Jews and the lent fast including pancake day to use up old flour.

If you have a meeting of a club any time in April you could choose any these events as your theme.

April 20th was Chinese Language Day.

The last day of the month April 30th, this year 2024, is the last day of Passover, April 30th is also National Child Day which encourages reading to children, national Mahjong Day which encourages you to play or learn to play mahjong, and adopt a shelter pet day and therapy animal day, and International Jazz Day. If you want to end with a sweet treat, it is also national oatmeal cookie day and bubble tea day. As Shakespeare said, or rather, wrote, All's Well That Ends Well.

Useful websites

Easter

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/members-area/kids/kids-rule-makes-and-bakes/why-do-we-eat-eggs-at-easter/

Anzac Day

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

https://www.timeout.com/sydney/news/our-guide-to-the-anzac-day-dawn-services-and-marches-in-sydney-042224

Shakespeare

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

St George's Day

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13339457/thousands-brits-call-st-georges-day-bank-holiday.html

https://nationaltoday.com/april-30-holidays/

Please share links to your favourite posts.

 

Prepare your Easter bonnet for Easter or your outfit and greeting cards for Passover

 Rabbits were a theme for Chinese New Year and they pop up perennially for Easter. I have seen rabbit ears headbands hanging on racks outside hairdressers and novelty gift shops and accessory shops.

April events: Easter in April 2023 starting April 7th (to 10th), and Passover starting April 5th (to 13th)

Time to get out rabbit ear headbands. Easter is coming. Rabbit ears alone might look silly on an adult. However, they are suitable fancy dress for run when mixed in with a theme event. You can co-ordinate your rabbit ears with other items such as banners, posters, food, or on Zoom with a rabbit background.

However, to show off the rabbit ear outline, you might need a plain background in a matching paler colour, or a contrast. Clea away clutter in your background if you want t plain background to save bandwidth.

 The Easter weekend in 2023 is April 7th (Good Friday) to April 10th, Easter Monday.

Time for Easter bonnets for Easter parades.

"In my Easter bonnet, with all the flowers upon it," wrote Irving Berlin in 1933. The song was later used in the film of the same name, built around the song.

Food To Buy And Try

Hot Cross Buns

Simnel Cake

Simnel cake from Wikipedia.

Slice of simnel cake from James Petts in Wikipedia and Wikipedia Commons.

Food To Make

Easter bunny biscuit (cookie)

Easter bunny cake

Easter bunny bread

Easter bunny bread and buns

Easter bunny cakes 

Easter bunny cupcakes (in the UK the old fashioned word is fairy cakes)

Hot Cross Buns

Buns with glazed tops and a cross making a pale incision across the top. 

Easter eggs

Rabbit toys and symbols

Chocolate rabbits covered with foil

Events

Easter egg hunts, organized by many hotels.  You can do one at home or in a rental villa.

Easter parade, USA, on Easter Sunday.

Passover, the Jewish festival, also known as Pesach, and starting with the Seder night, in 2023 begins on the evening of  Wednesday April 5th, and ends the evening of April 13th.

Useful Websites

Shopping

UK

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/buylists/easter-treats/easter-eggs

https://www.britsuperstore.com/uk/browse-by-section/easter/marks-and-spencer-easter-eggs.html

Singapore

https://www.fairprice.com.sg/product/marks-spencer-percy-pig-easter-egg-hunt-basket-

https://publicholidays.sg/easter/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_parade#:

Worldwide

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

Please bookmark my book and share links to your favourite posts with your friends.

New Year - celebrations continue in Chinese New Year and Lunar New Year

After New Year, no need to stop celebrating. Celebrations continue. 

Christmas is celebrated in January in several European countries. January 5, eve, January 6 day. 

As for New Year, Chinese New Year in Chinese speaking places and Lunar New Year  - Shops continue to woo customers in China, Taiwan, Singapore and Chinatowns worldwide with decorated shops, decorated malls, sales of treats, things to eat, gifts.

Chinese New Year 

The rabbit is the Chinese zodiac sign which will stay topical all year. 

Easter Rabbits

The rabbit is also a feature of Easter time. The rabbit is a symbol of spring. A leftover from pre-christian pagan times. But we have held onto this symbol of fecundity, breeding like rabbits. As the saying goes, if you can't beat them, join them.  

We already have gold foil covered chocolate rabbits in supermarkets. We shall soon be seeing more and more chocolate rabbits, covered with gold foil, in the supermarkets.

UPDATES (May 2025)

The BBC had a handy list from 1948 to 2025 which got me started. I added previous years and later years. The years are in 12 year cycles.

• Rat 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020, 2032 

• Ox  1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021, 2033 

• Tiger 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022, 2034 

• Rabbit 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023, 2035 

• Dragon 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024, 2036 

• Snake 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025, 2037 

• Horse 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026, 2038

• Goat 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027, 2039

• Monkey 1944,1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028, 2040

• Rooster 1945,1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029, 2041

• Dog 1946,1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030, 2042

• I have updated it as far as 2042, first by checking the next couple of years on the internet. Then I added twelve to the others dates. Then I subtracted twelve, and double checked by seeing that all the numbers in the list were in sequence of successive years. I backdated it to 1944, Monkey, which takes me up to people who are aged 80. If you want people in their eighties, nineties, or aged over 100, just keep adding 12 to the above numbers. 

• 2023 the year of the rabbit. 

• 2024 the year of the dragon. 

• 2025 the year of the snake. 

• 2026, starting 17 Feb, the year of the horse.

• 
  

Greetings to Send For Easter, Passover and other festivities

Easter eggs in Ukraine

 Christian

Greeting

Happy Easter

Festive Days: Good Friday, Easter Monday

Jewish Passover

Greetings

Happy Passover

Chag Sameach

Festive Meal

Seder Night

Wishing Family and Friends Chag Pesach Sameach/ a Joyful Easter/ Ramadan Kareem/ Shubho Nababarsha this weekend.

What to buy in England: Egg cups

 Egg cups are widely available in England in supermarkets and department store china departments. Also from souvenir shops. 

Online you can buy them from Amazon and wish. I have found them in china, silicone, spiralled wire and wood. I refer China although you could ship and break it. It is traditional and solid. 

The wooden ones can sometimes be painted. You could paint on neatly a family name. Or different colours for different members of the family in their favourite colour. r

Egg cups are unknown in India and Nigeria and hardly seen in Singapore. A Singaporean friend told me, I had half a boiled egg for breakfast from a shop. they served it on a sucer. I saw an egg cup in Australia. They are traditional. Old fashioned. Like rifles in the army which soldiers never use because nowadays it is all about technology."

On the other hand, my Indian friend over in the USA was astonished and delighted by the idea.  He wanted to know where to see them and buy them.

They make unusual gifts, souvenirs. You might even start a business selling them. They are small to transport and store. can be bought much more cheaply than a complete dinner set. Also little gifts for a birthday, wedding anniversary or Christmas stocking.

You could even put one on a cake, if you fix the base securely. So that it does not topple over. Children can paint them for Easter.

Useful websites

Amazon

ebay

wish

About the Author

Angela Lansbury, born and and raised in Britain, has lived in the USA, Spain, and Singapore. She writes books and blogs.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Angela Lansbury teacher of English (advanced and English as a Second Language or English as a Foreign Language, French and other languages, aspiring polyglot.

Angela Lansbury, speaker. Member of many toastmasters  speaker training clubs and speaking contest judge.

Angela Lansbury, the author of 20 books including Wedding Speeches & Toasts, and Quick Quotations, has lived in the USA, Spain and Singapore. 

She  has several blogs and writes daily on at least two of the following:

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

Please share links to your favourite posts.

How to teach children at home with exam papers like a Tiger Mother

Studying In Holidays For Scholarships
When my son was aged 12, the boys in his school in England were taking entrance exams for a local school. Scholarships were awarded to those with top marks. A family living near us did not have the income to pay the school fees and were determined to win a scholarship.

Most families ordered some past exam papers. The average family made the child to sit down and complete a few papers, over Easter, sometimes in the first and last two days of the holidays.

One family, whose child won the second scholarship (part of the fees) made their son work for five hours a day. Impressive.

The most determined family, whose son won the top scholarship, for all the fees, made their son work eight hours a day, every day, throughout the holidays. After going though all the papers, he went through all the papers again. Their determination paid off. Literally paid.

Singapore follows the British O and A level systems.
You could also try the International Baccalaureat exam syllabus.

Useful Websites
LANGUAGE LEARNING
duolingo.com
You could also use Memrise, youtube and O and A level books and exam papers.
EXAM PAPERS
https://www.amazon.com/Battle-Hymn-Tiger-Mother-Chua/dp/0143120581
Singapore Primary school test papers for free online:
https://testpapersfree.com/
Singapore secondary
https://www.sgtestpaper.com/secondary/
https://www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/assessment-and-exams/sample-exam-papers/
TIGER MOTHERS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_parenting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopter_parent
EDUCATION STYLES &  ISSUES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education
LESSONS & RESOURCES
https://www.yourdictionary.com/articles/4th-grade

About the Author
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, and teacher of English and other languages.

Laos and Lao - what's the difference? Laos or Vietnam or Cambodia?

Laos. Airport.

Problem
Lao - Laos? Which is correct? How do you say it?

Apparently the people are called Lao, the language is called Lao, but the French added the s to the end of the word for the country name. The French, as is their way, did not pronounce the last letter. However, most foreigners do So the polite locals will echo you, and call their country Laos for ease of communication with foreigners and politeness.

Sounds sweet - if confusing. Actually, now I know, it's pretty clear.

Vientiane - quick trip?
We looked at Vientiane, capital of Laos, as a destination in Asia for a short trip at Christmas or Easter. Our research showed a lot of charming temples, plenty of novelty for a weekend trip, but not enough for more than a week, for us.

Longstay Holiday - Vietnam?
If, however, you are going for a longer break of say a week in one place, for example over Christmas and New Year, our preferred option would be a big city with lots of museums and French restaurants such as Hanoi in Vietnam. However, to get away from it all, Laos might be your choice.

Cambodia _ First Choice
I haven't yet been to either, but I have been to Cambodia, which has umpteen temples, each one amazing and different, with huge stone faces staring at you. Stunning. Best place I have ever been to. Tripadvisor also rated Cambodia as tops.

The temple ticket for three days is expensive. However, guesthouse hotels, and trishaw taxis - if you get one for a day instead of taking several in a day, are cheap.

So here's my choice:
First trip to Asia: must include Cambodia's Siem Reap, the temple city. You need a trishaw to take you out of the city centre to the stone temples in lakes and overgrown by trees.
Everybody's popular second or first choice - Thailand, graceful gold-topped temples.
Second choice for a long trip: Vietnam.
Laos - get away from it all.

That's for side trips from Asia. I met Americans doing a four country trip. If you are starting out in life, or don't know how many active years you have left, maybe a multi-centre trip or multi-country.

Exploring the net:
Youtube
Youtube for videos of major landmarks and arial views of mountaintops, places closed this time of year and more places otherwise inaccessible.

Streetview
Streetview for real life views. Streetview will give you time line progressions so you can compare a country you visited five or ten years ago with how it is today and see if it has changed. Has it improved, modernised? Or lost its charm? Is it worthwhile going back to recapture, or see a changed place?

Bargains and For Frankness
Lonely Planet
Rough Guides

Tripadvisor
Umpteen views from the public. Takes a while to read through.

Cambodia
Laos
Thailand
Vietnam

Angela Lansbury

What It Costs To Promote A Meeting on Meetup

Problem
My two Toastmasters Clubs in London get lots of new members, average 2 or more, sometimes 4-6, each of the two monthly meetings. My Singapore club is considering it. But what toes it cost?

Answer
In September 2018 I looked at the Meetup website and found I was offered:

Basic membership for 6 months cost US $9.00 a month. If you have two meetings a month, that's US$4.50 per month.  If you were to advertise more events, it becomes more profitable.

What does basic mean? A limit of 50 members and 4 organizers.  I presume that's 54 in total. That's plenty for a small club of about 20 members which wants to expand.

Fifty members doesn't mean 50 paid up members of your club. I presume it's 50 people on Meetup who signed up to be notified of your meetings. Some of those are phantom members who will never turn up.

I joined a sewing and crafts group meeting in Wembley in London. I never went. It was too far and inconvenient times and days.

If you have two sister organizations you might be able to link them on a mutual Meetup group and share costs. For example, two Toastmasters clubs of the same name, such as the English speaking club and the Mandarin-speaking club which meet at the same venue on different days.

Another option is for a one-off payment of US$14.99 a month, perhaps for one event such as A Christmas party at a restaurant.

You need a treasurer who is on top of cancellations, because as with any monthly payment, if you are inclined to forget, you might end up paying for years for something you no longer need.

If you find it successful, no such problem. You are assured that they will roll over the payment.

If you want to organize a free meeting, instead or in addition you can use Peatix, a company which started in Asia.

In the UK Toastmasters meetings are often booked through Eventbrite. If you are not charging, why bother to issure tickets?

a) At a large event such as a conference in an auditiorium with a popular sepaker you might be sold out. Because of fire regulations you are not allowed to have people sitting on the stairs and standing in the aisles and in front of the fire exit doors. To avoid early arrivals grabbing the seats and latecomers being turned away, the first ones to book are given tickets. Others go on a waiting list.

b) The organizers may want to know the numbers in order to cater with enough food and drink or cups for water, or chairs, or to switch to a larger or smaller room according to the numbers.

c) At the other extreme, if nobody books for an event, because it is not popular, too last minute, or people are away on holiday, you might wish to postpone your New Year, Easter, Valentine's, or Summer BBQ until a week later, or postpone your so-called Christmas party until after Christmas.

If you want to pay, the Meetup system was accepting WePay.

Useful Websites
https://www.meetup.com
peatix.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts with your family and friends and colleagues.

After Easter Online bargains

Problem
What can I buy online after Easter? Given the relentless rain! I'll let my fingers do the travelling. The goods can travel to me.

Answers
Waitrose is offering not just plain hot cross buns but: berry and cherry; cinnamon; lemon; orange; wholemeal.

Tesco had a whole range of interesting items. Some were only available for delivery during the Easter period. But the pictures were still up.

Others appeared to be still available. I like the Easter cheesecake with the silhouette of a rabbit in connamon, with a white chocolate button for the tail.

You could also buy a white iced decorate it yourself cake and make this sort of design or anything else you fancy, using a paper cut out to create your own simple decoration scattering any contrasting colour on top. It would need to stick and not blow away. If you had a white icing top, with no marzipan underneath, you could compensate by buying yellow marzipan, rolling it out and cutting your own design. Add seasonal decorations, simple flowers or leaves, or order an edible photo - the cheapest ones deigned for cupcakes are small, but stick one in the middle of a round cake, or make a repeating pattern of the photo.

Useful Websites
https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/shop/search?&searchTerm=easter 

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/300474423

To visit the UK and book attractions:
visitbritainshop.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Easter Cakes, Hot Cross Buns, Simnel Cakes and Panettone, From England, Europe and Worldwide, Could Survive The Spring Season Sales

Problem
What are hot cross, buns, simnel cakes, panettone? What can we have that's different next Easter, or buy discounted after Easter?

Fruited mini Hot Cross Buns in Waitrose. Photo by Angela Lasnbury. Copyright.

Answers
Hot Cross Buns
Hot cross buns - what are they? Basically, just sweet buns either plain or enhanced with currants plus a seasonal browned top so you can cut a cross in it. Why a cross? Nowadays, in Christian countries and Christian communities, representing Easter.

Cross?
The two factors are the cross on top and serving them hot with butter, because Easter can be a cold time of year, so it's nice to have a hot bun for tea, with your tea.

The cross is not usually a T- shape or cruciform but like a plus sign or X, depending which way the bun is placed on the plates. It can be seen as a religious symbol if you like, especially at Easter. However, why waste a good bun the day or days after Easter.

However, if you wish, you can make a lop-sided cross which looks more like a cruciform. I think it just looks untidy. Traditionally, just a neat, even cross with fur even sides is acceptable to those whether religious or not.

During Easter or afterwards it can be served to people of other religions or no religion, or other times of year. The cross serves as a convenient marker for dividing a bun up into four. Why divide it? For four children, or two or three or four adults watching their figures - meaning diets or budgets.

Round Buns Or Square?
You could buy or make square buns or round buns. If you like to think of it that way, the round shape is also a pagan or pre-Christian symbol of the renewal of life in spring, so a circle is seasonally appropriate for springtime. However, there's no law banning eating eggs, or having rabbits and others items which are symbols of spring at other times of year.

Bargain Buns
It's just that the shops have overstocked on these items at Easter, you might be able to pick up a bargain after everybody has spent time and money on the holidays and the shops want to go onto the next week's novelty.

Waitrose Easter Simnel cake. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Buns, bargain are not, are a cut-price item, even at full price. If your budget stretches to cake, at checkout I found Simnel cake.

Simnel Cakes Ingredients
Simnel cakes in Waitrose were 'spiced fruit cake with citrus peel and topped with marzipan. They had me when I read 'made with marzipan' topping, my favourite. Icing is just sugar with water, bad for the teeth and diet and too much makes you feel ill. However, marzipan is ground almonds mixed with sugar, which gives you some variety of flavour, some protein, and is less sickly. Yummy.

Other research tells me that a traditional simnel cake can have a central layer of marzipan. That sounds better.

Easter Decorations
Easter cakes can have twelve (or unlucky thirteen!) knobs of icing or marzipan or iced marzipan on top representing the twelve disciples, or twelve disciples and Jesus, like the markings on a clock face. Unlucky thirteen comes from thirteen around a table being believed by the superstitious to be unlucky as it is a reminder of the Last Supper, which was a Passover meal.

Another view is that you should have eleven knobs, minus the one for Judas. Oh, dear. The good news is, if you buy a cake and it has only eleven pieces of marzipan on the top, you have not been short-changed, and the person making the cake didn't try to sneakily eat a bit of the decoration hoping you wouldn't notice. Since Easter 2018 is already over, you can bake your own cake with however many decorations you fancy.

On the other hand, over in Europe, the Orthodox Easter comes later, and you still have a chance to buy traditional foods from their bakers, or be served some in a coffee shop, restaurant, hotel or a home.

Superstition, Symbols and Christian and Jewish Numbers
Jewish? Yes, Jesus and the disciples were Jewish, worshipping one God, unlike the Romans and Greeks and pagans who had many Gods. The number twelve was also a symbol of the twelve tribes, and twelve in the Jewish temple known in the Greek language as a synagogue or meeting place, from the Greek words sun, meaning meeting, and again, bring together.

Twelve, like the old British shillings and pennies, was easily divided into four. It is easy to cut a cake into twelve slices. Every guest gets a piece with the decoration.

No greedy person cake take an over-size slice or double portion without being noticed. That includes you, when guiltily finishing up the leftovers.

Conversation and Cake
If you wish your cake to be a seasonal symbol, to please or entertain your guests, who enjoy entertainment or history and other cultures, you have plenty of conversation to go with your cake.

Instead of Simnel cake, or in addition, another novelty cake is Panettone.

Easter Panettone in Waitrose. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyrigtht.

Panettone For All Seasons
Panettone was once exclusively found in Italy, Spain and Latin American countries, such as Venezuela, especially as the Christmas cake. However, it has appeared in supermarkets in the UK in the last decade. Now the British buyers and the English speaking buyers are accustomed to Panettone. I have seen it sold in supermarkets and Italian restaurants and cafes worldwide.

Panettone has been stocked in Tesco and other supermarkets in the last two or three years in London, England, and in Singapore. At first there was one full size plain Panettone. Then small medium and large. Then plain or chocolate. Then budget, medium price and expensive, in thin card wrapping, with a small ribbon bow or a fancy gift tin with wide ribbon and a huge bow.

Panettone lasts forever in a tin, especially if still sealed in the inner wrapper. I was eating one a year later.

After two years, another panettone, stored in the heat overhead, was dry or tasteless even when dunked in coffee. When I was coughing and stuck in with snow outside I discovered my old, dried-up panettone in a tin. In desperation, I made it into a mock layered trifle with yogurt and jam. It depends how fussy and desperate you are. My family flew in from overseas, like knights to the rescue, frowned at the last dried half inch, looked at me as if I was a lunatic, and threw it in the bin.

Reduced Price Panettone
Anyway, you can see that last week's panettone, at a reduced price, could come in handy - especially if you are a survivalist. Americans are familiar with a history of disasters, ranging from earthquakes in California to the notorious Donner Party (stranded in the snow, trying to go overland to California, mostly died and suspected of murder and cannibalism).

Leftovers For Survivalists On Strict Budgets
Survivalists are realists or pessimists, depending on your point of view. Survivalists believe in be prepared, like boy scouts. Survivalists are determined to survive disasters. Survivalists are people who stock up with food and drink for nuclear war, flu, flood and fire. Not to mention seige by terrorists, government, the plague - which is still prevalent in Africa, plagues of locusts, collision with a falling star, aliens who can be bribed by cake, such as panettone, whatever.

Waitrose, this year, 2018, stocked a different Easter version of Panettone. Be prepared. Buy panettone. Not one. Two.

How Do You Spell Panettone?
At first I had trouble remembering how to spell panettone. I had to check back on a packet each time I typed the word. Now I have made myself a memory aid. I think of panet and tone. Panet-tone. Panettone.

Only one n in pane and only one n in one. Pane-tt-one. Panettone.

One and Ane. Ane and One. Pane-tt-one. Panettone.

So there you have it, three 'Easter' delights to buy or make any time of year, buns with crosses or patterns on top, marzipan topped simnel cakes, and panettone, the high cake.

All suitable for Easter, discounted after Easter, but enjoyable all year.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have several more posts on foods for Easter and Christmas, English and ethnic food, as well as destinations in English speaking countries and Italy and Spain and Portugal and learning to speak Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and other languages. Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.


Update

Books by Angela Lansbury
How to be the best man. (Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Wedding Speeches and Toasts.(Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Unforgettable British Weekends.
Poetry Workshop Workbook.
The Tailor and the Spy. (Lulu.)
Larry The Talking Labrador. (Lulu.)
Writing Poetry for fun.

Quick Quotations

Who Said What When

Easter Parades, Passover and Seder: how does this affect me as a traveller, shopper, souvenir hunter and gourmet?

Problem
First - when is Easter?
Second - when is Passover?

Answers
YOUR DIARY

Most diaries list this year's Christian and Jewish and other holidays as well as next year's. No need to thumb through the pages of your diary looking for the dates of Easter and other holidays in tiny print. You probably have a list of Religious Festivals at the front of your diary. (If you don't have dates in this year's diary, last year's diary has this year's dates.)

Five-year diaries don't have dates of festivals. Cut out the religious date pages from last year's diary and tape them into your five-year diary.

EASTER 2018
Christian Western
2018 Good Friday, March 30, 2018, then Easter Day Sunday April 1st, 2018, followed by Bank holiday on Easter Monday, April 2 2018, making a long weekend.

Eastern Orthodox - Easter Day April 8th, 2018

Jewish Passover, 1st day, Saturday March 31
(Some people will have a second seder night outside Israel to be sure they are always celebrating on the same day as they would if they were in Israel. The second seder is often at the home of the mother or daughter or sister or sister-in-law of the first day's hostess, to share the work, and using up any leftover food from the first day on the second day.) If you are visiting or entertaining Jewish people during the festival.

The Discovery Channel did a programme on the origin of the story in the bible and set various detectives on discovering possible origins of the story of the ten plagues which caused the Pharaoh to think God was punishing him and that he had to let Moses and the Children of Israel depart across the Dead Sea or Red Sea (various mis-spellings - too long to explain) to the Promised land.

One set of modern detective findings was that the smiting of the firstborn could have been the same as the origin of the St Vitus' Dance in the USA and Europe, symptoms caused by poisoning by mouldy infected grains stored in a very wet storage house. Hence the custom of throwing out last year's crop before harvesting the spring crop of grain - leading to matzoh made from unleavened bread or cracker, and pancakes using up the last of the stored grain made into flour, on pancake day.

Another story you are likely to hear is that the group left Egypt in such a hurry that they had no time to allow the bread to rise.

It's possible, and it the most likely theory which I have heard.

Why should you care about all of this?
HISTORY -
very interesting for history buffs.
CRIME SCENES -
very interesting for archaeologists and detectives.
RELIGIONS -
seeing how religions relate and develope.
ART -
the last supper, showing Jesus and the disciples around the table with wine and bread would have been a Passover meal.
TRAVEL -
with two festivals coinciding, flights are likely to be booked up in countries celebrating either Easter or Passover or both, and airlines travelling to, from or through those countries on those dates.
HOTELS -
hotels are also likely to be booked up by holidaymakers, both the religious ones holding celebrations or going to particular countries, and secular families and families of other religions simply booking travel during school and work holidays.
CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES
Religious - Passion plays: Oberammergau in Bavaria in Germany, in 2020, booking now.
Secular - Easter Parades.
Israel and worldwide - a chance to be invited to a family Seder night.
Jewish Orthodox hotels will have big events.
Families of mixed marriages might like to go to communal seder night held at liberal synagogues.

SHOPPING
Easter goods:
UK and European shops and supermarkets will be stocking chocolate eggs, flowers, Easter greeting cards.
Some cities will have Easter parades.
Fifth Avenue, New York. Bring your camera and your bonnet or hat.

Passover goods:
Supermarkets and shops will be stocking:
Kosher for passover wines, matzos and foods.

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2019
Christian Western
Good Friday April 19, 2019
Easter Day April 21, 2019

Christian - Eastern Orthodox April 28, 2019

Jewish Passover 1st day April 20, 2019

Useful Websites
To send a greeting card:
123
http://www.123greetings.com/events/passover/thank_you/
Jacquie Lawson cards
https://www.jacquielawson.com/card/feast-of-freedom/h-0/3352802

Gifts For Your Family Or Your Host's Family
Amazon has loads of stuff including books which you can look inside:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Passover-Coffee-Quotes-Jennise-Conley/dp/0615787053/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1522077264&sr=8-2&keywords=passover+gifts&dpID=51fLcUJbMFL&preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch
http://store.chabad.org/catalog.asp?dept=2001
Chabad have a questions page, Seder gifts, and all sorts of suprising and amusing things including a  7 branch candelstick holder with each candle held by a different cat.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
I have many other posts on religious and secular holidays around teh world, Israel, Chinese New years, educational, enlightening and amusing. Please share links to your favourite pages. You can also contact me with your questions and comments through Facebook.

Easter and The Beast From The East - How To Dress And Eat On A Trip

Car mirror in snow. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Problem
 I have friends and family travelling from Singapore and Asia to London, and most years we used to try to get together in the school holidays, sometimes sending a son travelling in the opposite direction. With one free flight each, and one we paid for each, we could get everybody in one country for Christmas by spending one or two of our flights. When we had grandparents in England, we would spend Christmas in England, flying back from the USA or Asia. If you are Jewish, you might fly to join the older generation for Seder night, or to Israel.

If you go ahead despite the weather, will you find that the events you hoped to attend are cancelled? That might depend on whether the events involve public transport, ungritted side roads, family living on hills, slopes, remote places, northern areas more subject to snow.

Plane flight to a new season. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Changing flights involves three questions.

Can I get through easily to cancel the flight? (Plus hotels, taxis, tours, restaurants?)

Will I get a place on another flight at the last moment?

Will I get my money back?

If you rush in to change your flight, predictions may change yet again. Another cancelled flight will cost more in admin time and money.

If you book a non-refundable flight in advance you cannot change direction or date if the weather is bad. If you stick You risk getting delayed.

With many airlines, you can change your flight for a fee. If you are a top grade frequent flyer you will get priority for available seats at busy times.

Easter
This year Easter is predicted to be snowing in London, England and maybe Europe and North America, too.

Snow on the March flowers in London, England. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Travel Dress
The rule is, dress for your destination. However, you don't want to be wearing a skimpy dress when leaving in the snow. The solution is to wear layers, However, you might want light or easily removed clothes for quickly undressing at security.

I go for wraparound skirts and dresses and coats. Or caftans. You might prefer separates so that you can remove your top and jacket, or keep them in hand luggage and wear them later.

Labelling clothes
I also label all my hats and jackets with my name or put an address card in the pocket. If you have time, you can sew on labels with your name. If you have time to order labels but no time for sewing them on, they can be temporarily fixed with a safety pin. Sew them on when you are waiting in a hotel room.

You can make large name cards in advance to stick onto anything you buy. Or look for a large bag, so that your coat and newly bought souvenirs are all together and nothing gets left behind.

Don't Look, Make Lists
In theory, in the old days when you had fewer possessions, it was simple to find your alternative season clothes and shoes. You had one suitcase for winter clothes and put that in your attic or basement or top cupboard. Change of season, holiday overseas, bring down the suitcase.

Nowadays we have skis and ski boots and poles, long coats, long boots, warm hats and gloves. In addition, in winter and snow, we need de-icer for the car. We have loads of stuff, kept all over the place.

I have one system - the vital stuff is far right or far left. Imagine that your shelf runs from January on the left to December on the right. So the de-icer for the car is on the far left in four-season England or the USA, whilst the fly-killer for summer is on the far right.

The same goes for underwear. The thongs and hot weather clothes and bikinis go on the left. The fur or imitation fur hats and gloves go on the right.

(If your cupboard has one side more accessible, keep the current season clothes nearest, the other season clothes at the far end.)

Label Stored Clothes
Also label every suitcase on all six sides and the handle with the contents. Just type the contents once,  copy it six times, use sticky tape to attach the printed word to stickers and a label for the handle.

Instead of worrying about how your life is control, keep busy and in control. You reap the benefits and save time later.

I hate having to hunt for thermal underwear and warm hats.

I keep a list of where I have kept my winter gloves and hats and ski boots.

The other items which have caused us to hunt in the past have been smart suits. All of a sudden we are invited to a wedding. Where is the suit? In theory it should be far right of the cupboard in the bedroom. But it isn't. Is it in another country? Has my husband's suit been borrowed by my son?

First, what is the dress code? Flying off to another country for a wedding means a new set or rules. In the UK it used to be the case that brides wore white (copying Queen Victoria), so everybody else wore other colours, not black which was for funerals.

We discovered that in Israel you can wear shorts with a silk shirt to a wedding, and I saw children and adults in skimpy summer clothes in a synagogue.

Neck Warmers
Neck warmers are light and small to carry. Great for winter and travelling.

Scarves
The solution is to ask. Despite all, I carry on three large thin scarves, one black, white and one brightly coloured, for a quick cover up for all occasions.

Cover-up For Revealing Summer Clothes
Some temples say you must wear proper clothes, not just cover-up scarves which might slip and reveal cleavage and arms. However, if you fix scarves with safety pins and waist belts you have an instant outfit. A high-neck lace blouse dickey is another handy item.

Food containers
I take my own small insulated water bottle. You can drink or empty out the water just before going through security. Refill at the other end.

Now all I have to do is email my family and friends and ask them to check in which country they have their warm clothing.

Research Clothes Buying
If you don't have a large luggage allowance, and might need to buy clothes for a change of weather, check shops in advance. Allow time for postage to your home for the last minute packing. Time is money. You can get overnight delivery if you are willing to pay.

Another piece of research you can do before leaving home on a trip is check which conveniently located stores at your destination stock cheap ski gloves or cheap swimsuits.

Night Clothes and Light Clothes
I have also found that night clothes need to adapt to temperature. I like to have one lightweight nightwear and one cover-up. You might think that skimpy outfits are sexier or less to pack. However, in hotels, I have found a revealing sexy outfit is not ideal when answering the door to the waiter with the early breakfast or late night dinner tray.

Hotel Cover-ups
I also thought I was not expecting anybody to call at my hotel room. On checkout day we were woken by ringing at the door, the unexpected hand delivery of the bill on the day you leave. That was followed by the person checking the bar. Finally, room service wondering when we were leaving so they could make up the room and change bedding and towels for the new arrivals. "What time are you checking out?"

I have also made the mistake of thinking that a sleeveless nightdress would be right for the tropics. With air conditioning on full blast, you can get quite chilly. With mosquito nets over the bed in Bali, worse still the sound of a mosquito zooming past after you open the bedroom door, you will be glad of nightwear which covers you from head to toe, and down to your wrists.

Author
Angela Lansbury

When Are Easter And Passover And How Might This Affect My Travels?

Card from St John's Ambulance - with a request for a donation.

Problem
When are Easter and Passover?

Easter Sunday in 2018 is April 1st. How will it affect you?

Driving
In London, England, you should find less traffic on the suburban roads during the morning and evening rush hours because parents are not driving their children to school.

Main roads out of London and into London are likely to be busy at the start and end of Easter as people head out of London to holiday resorts, such as Devon and Cornwall.

Stately homes and national trust properties which had closed for winter or had reduced opening hours will now be open later.

Clocks in the USA went forward on March 11th in the USA, and in the UK on the last Sunday in March, so more daylight hours for driving and enjoying the outdoors in the evening.

Flying - Passover
Flights are busy during and just before the Easter and Passover periods, especially to Israel for Passover, although there may be extra flights. Hotels will be offering special meals and special packages involving accommodation and meals, so expect more crowds and entertainment, higher prices and some places fully booked.

Restaurants

Shopping
Shops and supermarkets in the UK feature a lot of flowers and chocolate, especially traditional English chocolates in boxes and Easter eggs. The chocolate boxes will be reduced after Easter.

Morrisons has just delivered homes in the London area notices about their Passover range in stores from 12th March to 3rd April 2018. Goods include:

Chopped herring
Chopped liver
Chrayne (or chrain) horseradish when white, purple when beetroot is added
Falafel
Fish Balls
Grape juice
Ground almonds
Ground walnuts - that's something I don't often see
Houmous
Matzos (crackers)

The leaflet says Happy Passover and Chag Pesach Sameach. Chag Sameah translates as happy holidays.

Flowers
Flower prices will go up at Easter and come down afterwards. You will already find flowers in gardens in London, England, yellow daffodils and white ones and narcissi.

Daffodil from garden in London, England. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Walking Around London
Just walking around London is a pleasure in March when the spring flowers are out. The trees are starting to grow their buds and blosssoms. A visitor from France told us: "I had no idea that London and England were so pretty and full of flowers!'

Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_greetings
https://www.duolingo.com/course/he/en/Learn-Hebrew-Online

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.