Guatemala - gorgeous birds, bird brooches and bracelets

The flag of Guatemala features a blue sky to the let and right and in the middle a bird. The name of the country means place of trees.

The two big bird countries for colourful birds are Costa Rica and Guatemala. Guatemala is in central America. The capital is Guatemala City.

At the World Travel market in London November 2024 the Americas and Central America region featured gifts from Guatemala 

Bird Brooches

Angela Lansbury wearing Guatemala bird safety pin brooches. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Tiny painted models of birds on small gold colour safety pins were laid out for you to pick and choose your favourite colour.

Woven Bracelets

Bracelets made of coloured thread came on a card with instructions. Handy for those learning Spanish because the instructions were in English and Spanish. Tie the threads at one end through the loop. Two wishes for you. The third is what the Guatemalan tourist board wishes you - a trip to Guatemala! I found them online listed as woven cotton friendship bracelets, Fairtrade. 

Good Luck

In a tiny colourful bag  were thumbnail length little dolls like painted bits of toothpicks. Each bag contains four.

You are supposed to tell the dolls your troubles at bedtime, then put the dolls under your pillow. When you wake in the morning, your troubles will have gone away. An amusing mixture of ancient myth and modern self-hypnosis or auto-suggestion.

Three good things from Guatemala.

Go to Guatemala, or if you are in the travel business, to the Guatemala stand at the World Travel Market in London next year, or look online for woven bracelets from ebay, etsy and Temu.

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Wearing Your Advertising Tee-Shirt as you travel

 

Angela Lansbury wearing I am an author tee-shirt, with her books Improve your English with alliteration, assonance and rhyme, and Quick Quotations. Photo by Trevor Sharotl

Buying Author tee-shirts

You can buy similar t-shirts in various colours from at least two different suppliers on Ebay and Etsy. Vistaprint in the UK and others worldwide allow you to upload text or photos onto tee shirts of different colours. You could have I am a plumber, I am a stand up comic, I am a hair stylist, I own such and such a shop, I sell tee shirts like this customised with your message. Or simply your company name, or the cover of your book. Or the name of your sports club. If you buy in bulk you get discounts.

I took a second set of photos, turning my book to face the camera, so the title could be read, and cutting my long hair which was obscuring the message and distracting from the important message about my books.

Useful Websites

ebay

https://www.ebay.co.uk/

etsy

 etsy.com

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Funny Tower Bridge Tee-Shirt in pale blue and 11 more colours

 

From Etsy. Link below

You can buy all sorts of items from the UK with amusing slogans and images of cards, cats and chess, tee shirt clothes, a chess bow tie, a playing card blouse, and sets of pencils with playing cards for friends who play bridge, or whist or poker or casinos or any card games.

Playing card jacket in window of Dojo shop near Bond Street. Photo taken July 1st 2023. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

This jacket has a green background, white background cards, red hearts, red diamonds. black aces, black spades and other circular designs with centres in black, or red, or turquoise. It would do with many colours., black, white, red, a mid green or a blueish green

 turquoise green and could be worn with black shoes and belts and hats and bags or for summer in white, or for jollity and liveliness in red.

The Dojo website tells you that they sell many types of goods as well as clothing. Postage is free. You have 14 days, two weeks, 

as we say in Britain, a fortnight, to return the goods or exchange them.

Check with them for their latest opening hours and online conditions.

Do jo

I remember it as do a good job. Do - jo for Dojo. The word comes from the Japanese dao or way, do-jo meaning place of the way, in other words, place of instruction or learning centre. A dojo used to be a school (for adults?) attached to a Buddhist temple.

Advantages and Disadvantages Of Playing Card Patterns

The pattern might suit you if you want to pair it with red hearts. Or to start a conversation. Or to find new friends or old friends who are also interested in card games such as whist or bridge.

Props and Additions

Playing card designs can be found on tablecloths sold by playing card sellers and card game suppliers. They also sell stationery and crockery with card patterns. In the past I have bought pencils, notepads, cups and saucers, green felt card table cloths, black felt square card table cloths with playing card decoration on the corners.

Playing card design. Elizabethan Staffordshire Fine bone china. England. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Saucer for small coffee cup. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

I bought one set of a tablecloth and cards from a friend whose stepmother had died. You might buy from players who have items which they rarely use. You might buy from or for a club or from an informal group which meets weekly for a card game afternoon or evening.

Chess

A combined card and chess shop has chess items, more chess than bridge and playing cards. Chess clothing includes a bow tie. The Chess company has a shop in Baker Street, not far from Bond Street. For Christmas or a birthday, wedding, or other gift, you could check out both the chess and bridge shops for gifts for your family and friends.

Etsy has numerous playing card blouses, and reasonably priced tee shirts with black or white backgrounds and either multiple cards or one big card.

Useful websites

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1446983910/playing-card-bridge-ladies-t-shirt?

Card patterns

https://retaildojo.co.uk/collections/all-clothing

Playing card trays from a company called Nauticalia which gives you ten percent off when you sign up.

https://nauticalia.com/products/playing-card-trays?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dojo#:~:text=The%20term%20literally%20means%20%22place,Japanese%20name

Chess Patterns

https://chess.co.uk/collections/chess-t-shirts/socks

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A Buttonhole Napkin For Travelling

 

Angela Lansbury wearing a white dickey. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Photo taken at the Tanglin Club, Singapore.

To support a buttonhole napkin I am wearing a white dickey (a decorative collar without any shirt, just a shirt front). The dickey has buttons which enable me to pin on the napkin to the top button. An alternative would be a brooch or pendant with a chain so you can tuck in the napkin.

Whenever I dress for a dinner out, especially in summer and light evenings, I look for something light, a change from the funeral blacks of winter. But I then consider that I might stain my lovely outfit with food. 

I don't want to have clothes hung up and never worn. What a waste of money - and wardrobe space. (Americans say closet.)

Tanglin Club buttonhole napkin.

The pink napkin will not go with Trevor's shirt.

You can buy two white dinner napkins for just under 15 collars (plus postage) from Etsy from suppliers in the USA. Others on Etsy offer sets of six at proportional prices. From EmbroiderybyLinda and DapperDiner. The napkins can be supplied in cotton or polyester. 

Cotton or Polyester

Cotton, for a softer feel? To match your tablecloth. To wash on high heat to get rid of stains and bacteria. Or polyester to repulse stains. 

You can take one with you on holiday. Make sure to pack a blouse. Or make a tie with a button to hold the napkin. Just sew a small inconspicuous button which fits the button hole onto something which won't be pulled out of shape but is strong enough to support the napkin.

The dickey is perfect for adding to any top which does not have a button. I travel with two dickeys, one in white, the other in black.

Two in white cotton for ten pounds, plus about 14 pounds postage to the UK.

DIY buttonhole napkin

I could make a buttonhole napkin from an old white or coloured shirt whose collar and cuffs have frayed or stained, if the placket is still in good condition. Cut a diamond shape (square) with the east or right hand point over one buttonhole. Use an existing table napkin to test the right size when hanging from your neck. 

Masks and more

 

This is from Etsy.

You can buy tie-dye tee-shirts with matching masks.

Several video show you how to make masks from fabric or cutting pieces our of garments. 

Useful Websites

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/910393660/happy-hanukkah-face-mask

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html

About the Author

Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, fashionista. Please share links to your favourite posts or one or more of the blogs

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

Online Shopping While Travelling - Your Options

Problem
When you get home from a trip  you are super busy opening your post, collecting items which had to be signed for from the post office or the neighbours, hunting around the house for where your family have hidden parcels, bills and important items which arrived for you.

Answer
Years ago I used to post my films to the developers and find the first half of my travel trip photos were already on my doorstep. This was really handy when I was a travel writer. I had photos to send off with my articles. I could label the photos. Now I can calculate when to get things sent to my assorted addresses.

If you have two homes, or a second business office, at some point you start wondering whether to have your mail address changed to the new place. this can involve several changes.

What might you want to change? Amazon and ebay deliveries.

Sometimes if I order a lot just before going away my family at home complain about the number of items which have arrived too late for my trip. "Mum - I'm working from home - I don't want constant interruptions," or, "I'm out working in the day. I don't want items arriving for you in your name and having to take identity with a  photo and to find utility bills in your name or mine to prove I live here and to take two or three trips to the post office which keeps funny hours for the part which has items you can collect."

Another solution is the boxes where you are sent a code to open the box.

In the UK we have click and collect. Locations include Argos and small supermarkets.

In Singapore the collection boxes are in malls and also in HDB blocks (subsidized public housing tied to your income, in which most of the local population lives - but ex-pats are mostly not eligible).

The other thing you need to note is that as you change country your computer or mobile phone bring you in offers from the location where you are when you view the ad.

Today I looked at a mail order firm for a useful travel scarf with a zipped pocket. The item was listed in US dollars with prices for shipping to a USA address. In addition to changing my home address, I had to change the currency and the shipping options. This was quite simple, just scroll down the list.

Aha! The cheaper price I discovered had been quote in US dollars. When converted to another currency the price shot up above the rival company's offer.

USA and UK
In the USA and UK and worldwide you might want to be on Amazon.com and ebay and etsy. In the UK I am also on Amazon.co.uk

If you have two phones you can install local companies.
From the USA
Amazon
Etsy
Wish (you can check them out on Wikipedia)

 In Asia:
alibaba
Qoo10
Redmart

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.