End to Elvis at Orama, Converted to Fire and Ice Lounge with Halloween and a Secret Garden

Fire and Ice Lounge, Hatch End, photo by Angela Lansbury.

Orama Greek restaurant in Hatch End with Elvis nights and hen parties and plate throwing is no more. Instead, you will see Fire and Ice Lounge. It is a cocktail bar with food. 

Outdoor features include the back garden, enticing called the Secret Garden. Their website says it has a retractable roof so it is used for the manager's organized events open to the public as well as for private events, rain or shine.

Upcoming events include Halloween celebrations. Boozy brunch. Saturday October 30th. 

At the front is a glassed in area.

Where? Easy to locate and convenient for those who don't want to drink and drive. Just down the road from Hatch End station, on the same side of the road. 

Alongside the Wetherspoons pub which offers more and cheaper drinks but a different atmosphere.

You can read a small number of reviews on Tripadvisor.

By day the bar looked deserted to me. 

But you might expect that sort of place to come alive at night, or at weekends, or if you go there in a large convivial group.

Useful Information

www.fireicebar.co.uk

Fire & Ice

tel: 0208 191 9256

email info@fireicebar.co.uk

Tue-Thu 5pm – 11pm
Fri – Sat 3pm- 1am
Sun – 1pm – 11pm
Bank Hols  – 3pm – 11pm

About the Author

Angela Lansbury has about twenty books on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk and Lulu.com

Titles include Embarrassing Moments, Quick Quotations, Poetry Workbook.

Australia's Secret Garden - See It Near Sydney Harbour

The garden was created by Wendy Whiteley, what a lovely alliterative name, a widow who had lost her husband Brett, a famous Australian artist, and her daughter who later died of cancer.

The Secret Garden. Picture from Wikipedia article on Brett Whiteley.

For years the garden overlooking Sydney Harbour was a secret. Now it is known and public but the secret is that it has nooks where you are surprised and can sit in secret.

What did I learn from reading their life story (in the BBC article)? First, what's in it for you as a tourist to Sydney? That on the hottest day in Sydney, you have an alternative to sitting by the sea and sipping cold drinks. You can get exercise for the body and soothe your soul by walking in a secret garden.

Second, what are the life lessons?

Obvious lessons which should not have to be repeated but before reading this article I read about a girl who was a member of the Kennedy family who appears (to me from reading just one article) to have suffered from drugs and depression.

Which came first, the drugs or the depresssion?

People are deluded when they think they can crack addiction to drugs. It eventually gets you.

Drug adicts are told it is dangerous. They are told by experts, experienced people such as doctors who see not just one person but large numbers of people.

The family would rather have you alive than dead.

The lady who created this garden, Wendy Whiteley, (notice the name starts White, and has a second e) seemed to have everything. She and her husband Brett had fame and money. She had looks, fame and a family. Daughter Arkie who became an actress. Why did they need drugs as well? Many people think to themselves, if only I had looks, or money, or fame, or love, or a family, I would be happy.

She lost her husband to drugs.

The final conclusion, the final lesson, is that instead of drugs you can find yourself a project. She did not have land. She did not have a garden to visit. From a wasteland which was not hers she created a garden. It was railway property, public land.

Through her initiative she persuaded government officials to preserve it for the people of Sydney, for everybody. Why is it preserved for only thirty years? Why not in perpetuity?

Never mind. For the next thirty years, if you ever visit Sydney, you can visit the Secret Garden.

She lost her husband, she lost her child, she looked out on wasteland, but she created a garden. Now it provides employment for gardeners and opportunities for volunteers and pleasure for many.

If you want more pleasure in your life, you can create a garden. Or just enjoy one created by somebody else.

Check out the Secret Garden festival. And sculptures by Brett and the Brett Gallery.

TO VISIT CHECKLIST
Global Whiteley Artist Trail

AUSTRALIA
 National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, art by Brett
Secret Garden, Sydney, Australia.
Brett Gallery.

UK
The Tate Gallery in London and 

USA
Museum of Modern Art in New York.

SECRET GARDEN
Secret Garden
Lavender Bay
Sydney
Australia

Useful Websites
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-48456259
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Garden_Festival
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Whiteley
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/brettwhiteley/

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Alice in Wonderland, Columbus And Other Literary and Historical Statues in Central Park

Problem
Where to go first in Central Park, New York - it contains so many statues.

Answers
Over lunch in England, a friend told me about visiting Central Park where she saw a statue of Alice in Wonderland.

I went online to find out about the Alice in Wonderland statue and was amazed by the number of statues. To name just a few:

Alice In Wonderland

Hans Christian Andersen



Beethoven.

Christopher Columbus

Simon Bolivar.











Robert Burns.

Romeo and Juliet.


Schiller.








Shakespeare.

Sir Walter Scott.

Lovers of literature and childhood books will also be interested in the statues representing The Secret Garden.

For details of photographers and copyright see Wikipedia article on central Park statues. (This post will be updated later.)

My friend visited Central Park because she heard its creation was inspired by a park in the North of England.

Now that I know how many interesting statues there are in Central Park, I shall put it on my list.  I have been to New York several times, but missed out on photographing these statues. Never mind, handy Wikipedia has out of copyright images I can use.

Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sculptures_in_Central_Park
visittheusa.co.uk
https://www.newyorkpass.com/

Author, Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See next post for more statues.

What to See in Seoul, South Korea: Museums show Handbags, Teddy Bears and Turtle Ships

What to see in Seoul?
Classic and Historical Sights

Two Korean Palaces and
The Secret Garden where royals were hidden.

Seoul, South Korea.

Landmarks :
1 Seoul Tower

2 The Namdaemun Gate

3 Statue of Admiral Yi Sun-Sin, at Sejong no, Seoul, South Korea.
He was the national hero who designed the turtle ships, early defended ships to protect the country.

Statue of Admiral Yi Sunsin by Author HNC197, in Seoul, South Korea.

See models of his ships in the
War Memorial Of Korea Museum.

Lotte World Folk Museum.
The Lotte World Folk Museum was hard for me to find. It was in the basement of the Lotte World Department store, maybe undergoing renovation. Now it has the latest technology to show you the scenes of Admiral Yi Sunsin fighting. Plus a wedding venue, and other historical and cultural scenes

Two Funky, Modern and Unusual museums:
1 The Teddy Bear Museum
If you want real life bears you should go to America or Canada or Romania. If you prefer the fantasy kind they are all here, in snow scenes and kitchen. Some are small size and others are life size so you can have a photo of yourself with a teddy bear chef.
In the shop you could buy a blue or pink teddy bear.
You can buy a combined ticket for entry to the Teddy Bear Museum and the next door Mirror Museum, cheaper than the entry fee for the Teddy Bear Museum alone.

2 Simone Handbag Museum

My favourite bag is the one designed like a red telephone. Another oddity is the football.

Another memorable novelty is the bag shaped like a dog. I remember when these were all the rage as unique Christmas gifts in New York.

This is not the only handbag museum in the world. If you are going to Europe there's another handbag museum in Amsterdam, Holland, The Netherlands. (Holland is one area of The Netherlands.)

Luxury Souvenirs:
Amethyst, ginseng, Han Bo traditional clothes.

Alternatively buy fridge magnets in traditional clothes.

Fridge magnets showing men and women in traditional dress. A gift from a Korean family. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

In shopping malls, the expensive restaurants with waiter service are at the top of the building or upper floors. The cheaper places are in the food courts on the ground floor or basement. That's the same as in Singapore.

What's the best bargain? A cup of Ginseng tea. And in restaurants no tipping is necessary!

What else can you do? Karaoke, singing.   Or Tae Kwan Do martial arts.
For an unusual event, there's the Korean Mud (slinging) festival in mid-July.

Useful Websites
www.SimoneHandbagMuseum.co.ko
http://blog.funtastickorea.com/teddy-bear-museum-teseum-mirror-maze-seoul-review/
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/index.kto
https://www.koreanair.com/global/en.html

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