Where To See Popular, Traditional, Modern, Serious, Humorous, and Minority Interest Statues And Monuments

Mr Bean at Leicester Square.
 

Popular Statues

Mr Bean is not a has-been. His videos are loved worldwide. In Singapore when I was teaching my pupils loved videos of him attempting to cheat in exams.

UK Royalty

In the UK statues of Royalty and peers are in London, Nelson's Column in Traflagar Square, Piccadilly, and inside and outside cathedrals and city squares. 

UK Royalty Worldwide

Queen Victoria's statue is in squares worldwide.

Kings, Queens and Bishops are in central squares. Royalty and Presidents are outside Parliament buildings.

Belgium

Famous mythological characters and animals, cherubs and children include Belgium's Mannekin Pis.

Outside parliament and municipal buildings you will find city founders.

Jewish, Spain & Arabic Maimonides

The seated statue of Maimonides commemorates the writer of The Guide For The Perplexed. Maimonides was Jewish, but wrote in Arabic. He left Christian Spain and became the revered physician for a Moslem ruler. He is revered by Arabs and Moslems in several countries as well as by Jews.

Moslem India & The Taj Mahal

Because of the taboo against worshipping statues in the bible, Islamic countries and those with Islamic rulers and communities do not have statues. Instead they have buildings and monuments named after those they wish to commemorate. For example, the Taj Mahal, built by the widower to commemorate his beloved wife in India.

The USA and Pocahontas

Statues of Famous People in the UK, USA, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, HK, Australia, S Africa and more

Statues of favourite, famous people as well as religious figures and heroes and heroines of mythology are all around.  Let's start with where I am now, writing this in London, England.

London, England

You can sit next to comedian Spike Milligan in a pleasant park in Finchley, NW London, or pose beside author Oscar Wilde right in the city centre near Trafalgar Square.

For inspiration see the bust of Einstein in the sculpture section of the Victoria & Albert Museum. On a fine day, see the outdoor statues. On a dull day see Sherlock Holmes outside Baker Street station and the waxworks in Madame Tussaud's.

Statues In 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 in the centre, and  Amy Winehouse in Camden. I have a book just on statues of London.

Sigmund Freud sits in Hampstead near the Freud Museum, London, England.

Photo by Mike Peel and another in Wikipedia.

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

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

Shakespeare's bust is outside the free Guildhall Art Gallery in Guildhall Yard in London. 

Engineer Brunel sits on Paddington station. the other side of the station is a small statue of Paddington Bear.

A statue of Abraham Lincoln is in Parliament Square, London, England.

You can also see a bust of Mandela in London, outside the Festival Hall on the South Bank (of the river Thames).

 The Three Graces by Canova in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England, UK

National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh (jointly owned, moving between these two museums), UK

Statues in England

Up north in Manchester, England, is a statue of Chopin at a piano, commemorating his visit to the city in the last year of his life.

A statue of Queen Elizabeth II with her corgi dogs is in Rutland, England.

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

Another is on York Minster, in York, England.

Manchester England, has a statue of Abraham Lincoln on Lincoln Square. Recalling the support Manchester gave Lincoln in the American Civil war.

The Beatles statue is in Liverpool.

And politician Margaret Thatcher's statue is in Grantham Lincolnshire, by the Grantham Museum, England.

The statue of playwright J B Priestley, who wrote An Inspector Calls, is on Princes Street outside the Museum of Science & Media in Bradford, England, UK. He was born in Bradford.

Scotland Statues

Statues of Robbie Burns who wrote Auld Lang Syne, sung by people all over the world on New Year's eve, are in Ayr, Edinburgh, Glasgow.

Wales Statues

A statue of Gandhi is in Cardiff, Wales, UK.

A statue of seated Dylan Thomas, poet who wrote Under Milk Wood and poem Do not go gentle into that goodnight, is by the Dylan Thomas theatre in Swansea, Wales, UK.

David Lloyd George, statue standing by Caernarfon Castle, Wales. Prime Minister, credited with introducing the National Health Service.

Statue of Aneurin Bevan in Cardiff, Wales, jointly credited with founding the National Health Service.

Australia's Statues

Questacon (Canberra, Australia): A prominent Albert Einstein statue marks the entrance to Australia's National Science and Technology Centre.

Statues In Canada

A statue of Queen Elizabeth II is in Toronto, Canada.

A statue of Queen Victoria is on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

Statues of several Canadian Prime Ministers are on Parliament Path. 

Some statues may have been moved or removed. Check before taking a trip to see them.

Denmark Statues

The Little Mermaid, immortalised by Hans Christian Andersen.

A statue of the author Hans Christian Andersen is in Roseborg Gardens in Copenhagen.

Statues in France

The statue of the thinker is in the Rodin Gallery in Paris, France.

Dreyfus statue, Paris, France.

Burghers of Calais, group statues, in Calais France, by sculptor Rodin.

Statues In Greenland

Erik the Red and Leif Eriksson, explorers.

Australian Statues

Captain Cook statues are in Sydney and Melbourne.

Belarus

Statue of Marc Chagall, famous for his paintings, stained glass windows and sculptures. A statue of him is in

Bosnia Statues

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]

Canada - Statues

See a statue of jazz pianist Oscar Peterson seated at his piano in Ottawa, Canada.

A-maze-ing Laughter statue is a popular photo spot in Vancouver.

China - Hong Kong

Bruce Lee Hong Kong: A famous life-sized statue honouring the martial artist stands in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong,

Czech Republic statues

See the statue of author Kafka in Prague. There are several statues associated with Kafka.

Germany's statues

Goethe Monument, Liepsig, Germany.

Walhalla Temple (Donaustauf, Germany): A bust sculpted by Ulrich Uhlig is displayed inside this hall of fame honoring distinguished Germans.

Israel

A replica of the Washington DC monument to Einstein is in the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Jerusalem, Israel. 

Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, Israel): A bronze sculpture of Einstein created by Georgy Frangulyan stands at the Edmond J. Safra Campus, honoring Einstein's role as one of the founders of the university.

Italy & The Vatican Statues

Outdoor statue of biblical David in Florence, Italy.

The Muses from Classical Antiquity (Roman) in The Vatican Museums, Rome, Italy.

Lithuanian Statues & Busts

The Three Muses statue, Vilnius, Lithuana. Situated above the main entrance to the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre on Gediminias Avenue.

Monument to John Lennon.

Monument to Frank Zappa.

Monument to Leonard Cohen.

Monument to the Vilna Gaon. (Child prodigy and later leader of Jewish community thinkers, who had memorised the entire bible at the age of 9.)

Mexico's Statues

Monument to Christopher Columbus in Mexico City.

Parque México (Mexico City, Mexico): A bronze bust of Einstein sculpted by Tosia Malamud stands in the Condesa neighborhood.

New Zealand Statues

A statue of Queen Victoria is in Auckland, on the North Island of New Zealand.

A statue of Captain James Cook is in Christchurch on the south island of New Zealand. I nearly got run over by a tram, as I was trying to photograph the statue, backing across the road to get it all in.

A statue of Burt Monroe, world motorcycle speed record holder, is shown on his motorbike in Invercargill, the southernmost city on the South Island of New Zealand.

Norway's Statues

Henrik Ibsen, playwright, has a statue in Oslo, outside the theatre.

Statues In Poland

A giant statue of composer Chopin in Warsaw is a landmark which you pass, or stop at, in guided tours of the city.

A statue of pianist Arthur Rubinstein at his piano, 

Portugal

Monument to the Discoveries, has Prince Henry the navigator and a series of statues of other famous explorers including Vasco da Gama. 

Christ the King.

Russia's Statues

Statue of Lenin in St Petersburg, Russia.

The Three Graces by Canova, neoclassical sculptor (1757-1822) in The Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia,

Singapore Statues

Singapore has a statue of Sir Stamford Raffles. 

Many more outdoors statues include a bird, a horse.

I love the children jumping into the water. 

The giant statue of the mythical Merlion spouts water. 

A plaque honours writer Joseph Conrad.

In Madame Tussauds on Sentosa Island you can see Lee Kuan Yew.

South African Statues

Statues of Mandela are everywhere, for example, in Cape Town, 

Nelson Mandela in Pretoria, 

Nelson Mandela in Durban.

Nelson Mandela, in Nelson Mandela Square, Johannesburg 

and more. 

Statues in Spain

A statue of seated Maimonides is in Maimonides Square in Cordoba, Spain.

The Three Muses are in The Prado, Madrid, Spain.

Statue of Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, in Madrid, Spain.

Statue of painter Velazquez in Madrid, Spain.

Monument to Columbus, Salamanca.

Monument to human towers, Tarragona, Spain.

Sweden's Statues

In Malmo, Sweden, you might want to see the jolly multi-person parade of statues in the Optimist Orchestra.

Switzerland's Statues

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. 

Rosengarten (Bern, Switzerland): A statue located in Bern's Rose Garden park commemorates the city where Einstein developed his Special Theory of Relativity while working at the Swiss Patent Office.

William Tell statue, Altdorf, Switzerland.

USA Statues

Visitors to New York are greeted by the giant Statue of Liberty. 

A statue of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point, was placed in Times Square, New York, on September 10th 2026, the first anniversary of his death.

A statue of Scottish poet Robbie Burns is in New York, USA.

Another popular place, memorable and recognizable is the Lincoln Memorial, a giant statue of Abraham Lincoln seated outdoors in Washington DC in the USA. 

Albert Einstein Memorial (Washington, D.C., USA): Created by sculptor Robert Berks and located at the National Academy of Sciences, this massive, 12-foot bronze statue depicts Einstein seated on a three-step granite bench with a paper displaying his equations ($E = mc^2$, the photoelectric effect, and general relativity).

University of South Alabama (Mobile, Alabama, USA): Features the "Einstein Bench," a bronze sculpture depicting Einstein sitting on an outdoor campus bench.

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

In the USA another statue of Einstein which you can sit next to is in Los Angeles at the Griffith Observatory.

Bruce Lee in Los Angeles: Famous life-sized statue honouring the martial artist is along the Avenue of Stars.

More Statues 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

https://www.reutersconnect.com/item/artist-sergio-furnari-reveals-his-statue-of-turning-point-founder-charlie-kirk-in-times-square-in-new-york/

https://www.stephenshouseandgardens.com/visit/spike-milligan-statue

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

https://www.un.org/ungifts/pianist (About Arthur Rubinstein)

https://www.mayflowercruisesandtours.com/iceland-greenland-erik-and-leif/

See Tripadvisor for top ten monuments or sites in each country, and Wikipedia for statues in each country.

America has many statues, as well as carvings of presidents, not only Mount Rushmore.

-ends-

Spanish Food and Drink Museums, Sherry & Tee-Shirt Souvenirs

 

Spanish food, including some containing sherry, from Camino in London. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

A sherry tasting was held at the Spanish embassy.

Afterwards we had Spanish canapes, including dark, thinly sliced Iberian ham. 

But my Spanish favourites were the tiny brick-shaped yellow, egg tortillas. Filling and satisfying.

The canapes were prepared by a company called Camino. If the name rings a bell, maybe you have in mind the Camino Real (Pilgrim's Way) in Spain, the pilgrimage route. Camino in Spanish means path, pathway or route. 

I looked at the Camino menu online and they have sherry in lots of dishes, the ham, and in peppery sauce.

Sources of Sherry

Where can you buy sherry? Everywhere, 

We buy from the Wine Society which cost only about £40 a year to join and will deliver as little as one bottle for free. Their sherry bottles range in price from under ten pounds for a half or full bottle, to over £100. 

You could hold your own sherry tasting, buying two or three dry sherries, and two or three sweet ones, including the ultra-sweet Pedro Ximenez.

You can also buy sherry vinegar in Waitrose supermarket.

SHERRY SOUVENIRS

Tee-shirts with the word Sherry

Tee shirts sold on line include, 

1 Christmas tee shirts with the message, 

GET MERRY WITH A SHERRY 

Long sleeved, various colours including black, burgundy called maroon, pink and more. 

From Baby Originals Ltd on Ebay.

£18.99, postage £2.99.

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/n8cAAOSwGqFlCa3Q/s-l1600.webp

A short sleeved version is £9.99, eg in red, plus 1.99 postage.

2 2 I love SHERRY

34.55 plus postage.

On Zazzle you can have a design created by somebody else or yourself printed on products including: invitations, mugs, key rings, paper plates, fans, cushions, caps, aprons, bottle openers, pens and tote bags.

3 Sherry, Sherry, Sherry, tee-shirt on Ebay from Tees on tap.

Bottle label which changes colour

 

The bottle label changes colour when the bottle is the right temperature.

The label tells you lots of interesting things. 

Firstly, it is 11% alcohol. So, not too alcoholic, easy drinking.

From La Mancha, south of Madrid, the capital of Spain.

The grape is Albarinyo.

The wine is called Pazo de Mirasoles, meaning place of suns. Bottled by famiglia (family) Parra. Parra means stalk. The company was founded in 1993 by 3 brothers.  Writing this post in 2026, that was 33 years ago.

The business is big. It sells 4 million bottles a year. That sounds like lots of bottles and crates. It is Europe's largest organic winery.

Website 

parrafamilyorganic.com

https://www.instagram.com/richmondwineagencies/

https://vinoshop.co.uk/products/pazo-mirasoles-alnbarino-2025

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Spanish Words - Fifty Handy Words For Welcoming, Chatting And Saying Goodbye

Spanish - English (memory aids in brackets) 

Español - Spanish

Inglaterra - England

Inglés - English

Británico - British

Accents simply tell you which syllable to emphasize.

1 ahora - now

2 bar - bar

3 clase - class

4 /5/6 cómo le va / 7/8 qué tal - how's it going 

9 ¿Cómo estás? how are you (upside down question mark starts sentences as well as ending them in Spanish)

19 dedo - finger

20 documentos - documents

21 /22/23 en la escuela - in school (add e before S like the word 

24 España for Spain and

Español  for Spanish 

25 26 27 en un momento - in a moment

28 29 espera aqui - wait here

espera un momento - wait a moment

30 la fiesta - the party

31 32 los insectos - insects

33 (la) invitación - (the) invitation

34 juguete - toy (juggling your toys)

35 36 ese libro - that book (like library)

37 28 39 mediodia - noon (media - middle, dia - day)

40 el oso - bear (Not el orso)

41 momento - moment

42 perdido - lost (perdition)

43 Siéntate - sit down

44 Siéntate aquí - sit here 

45 ven - come (as in the English words venture and adventure)

ven aqui - come here

46 47 48 ven conmigo - come with me (con - with, like Latin cum, mi - me)

You have learned, or already know, 48 words. Add

49 es - is / it is 

50 51 ¿Dónde está? Where is it?

52 Dónde están?- Where are they? (add n, like the m on the English word them for the plural)

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Spanish Place Names Translated (Part 2)

Flag of the USA

 The name Spain is derived from the Ancient Roman name for the area, Hispania. That's why people from the region are still called hispanic.

I wondered why technical articles referred to ancient Roman, when we normally just speak about the Romans. Were they a subsection of Romans, the earliest ones? Then I realised that recent, modern, and current inhabitants of Rome are called Romans. Rome is still there, still called Rome. So it just means the Roman Empire?

Checking Spelling

I thought better check on this. When I was a sub-editor I learned that you need to check on everything, even if you think it is obvious and well-known. Spellings, vary from the UK to the USA. 

Checking Capital Cities

Capital cities are not necessarily the largest cities or the ones with the biggest population. New York is not the capital of America. The capital is Washington DC. Capitals move. The same applies to the capital cities of US states. Also watch out for the capitals of Australia, Indonesia, Poland, and Russia. 

Capitals get moved, because of weather, sinking cities, to be more central, or to please populations who want the capital nearer where they live, especially with rival groups, to depopulate a crowded place or to populate an empty area and provide more work and space. So, the names and locations of capital cities, and smaller cities, will change.

Spanish Place Names in Spain and the USA

Spanish names have stayed and become so familiar that if you don't speak Spanish, you forget the origin. Some Spanish place names are well-known and obvious if you speak some Spanish, or after you have heard about them. 

The Spanish origin names can be grouped into various categories. Some are named after saints or people. Others are named after geographical features.

I have arranged them alphabetically, with the components separated.

Spanish - English Place Names

angeles - angels, as in the Californian city Los Angeles

el - the (add an accent on the letter e to make the word he) as in El Paso

el paso - the pass

grande - not grand ie important but large

los - the (plural, like these and those) as in Los Angeles

Los Angeles - the angels

paso - pass or place where you pass over a mountain or through a border

rio - river

rio grande - big river, or river which is long and wide. The order of the name reminds you that in Spanish the adjective comes after the noun. 

sacramento - sacrament

San Francisco - Saint Francis

Useful Websites About Capital Cities and place names

This post is being compiled. Come back later for more.

Spanish Place names translated (Part 1)

Spanish - English

Costa - coast

Costa Del Sol - coast of the sun (or sunny coast)

de - of

del - of the

el - the 

entrada - entrance

salida - exit

sol - sun

Plaza Mayor, Madrid - main square, Madrid

Valentine's Day Feb 14, or July 6 or July 30th

Hand heart. Carmen Fiano - https://www.flickr.com/photos/53812099@N04/14763863277/

The hand heart was made popular by Korean pop groups, and was a sign of friendship made when the north and south Korean leaders met and were photographed together on a mountaintop. It costs nothing, creates no litter, and is a good international sign because it is universal so you don't need to speak another language.

Singapore Valentines - Be Prepared

SPRINGTIME

Februa is Latin for to cleanse, or to clean. Spring cleaning.

In the old calendar mid February was when some birds started courting matching, nesting and mating and work started in the vineyards.

In ancient times in Israel girls would wear white dresses and dance in the vineyard where boys would be waiting to propose marriage.

But marketing has amazing success. If you can create greetings cards, fill restaurants, sell jewellery and gifts and cookie cutters and cups with messages about Valentine's Day or hearts, you will sell them to children and adults, the young and the old, the single and married, anybody who wants to part with money for a message or a product with red and hearts.

ITALY, ROME & VALENTINE - La Festa di San Valentino

In Italy you wish Somebody Buon San Valentino.

More than one Christian called Valentine, a popular name was martyred, and various churches claim to have bits of the saints bodies. 

February14 is the day associated with Valentine's Day by Roman Catholics. the Eastern Orthodox celebrate In July 6th or 30th.

At the Central London Wine Society on Feb 11th Three Valentine's Day wines come to the UK from Europe, notably from France, Italy and Spain. Let's start with Italy.

ITALY

In Italy keys are given, representing the key to my heart, unlocking.

February is is named after the Roman God Februas and was the spring cleaning month.

ITALIAN FOOD

The Italian for biscuit is biscotti.

FRANCE

In France you might celebrate Valentine's Day with dinner, or a dinner on a boat on the Seine in Paris, or a helicopter ride. Your celebratory wine would be Champagne, from the Champagne region.  

Macaroons.

SPAIN, Tapas and Turron

Feliz San Valentín - Happy Valentine's Day. Feliz dia de San Valentin.

In Mexico they say, Happy Valentine's and friendship day.

Delicious Drink

The Spanish white wine equivalent of sparkling Champagne but cheaper is Cava, originally from cellars or stores in caves.

Favourite Food

Turron - Sweet

A Spanish gift might be turron, which is nougat, made from almonds, honey and egg white. A modern version is chocolate covered.

Tapas - Savoury

The Spanish food served in bars with wine is tapas. Originally supposedly tiny pieces of bread or sliced meat put on the top of glasses to keep off the flies. Or to keep off sand blown from the beach, says another story. The translation offered is lid or cover. To make an alliterative reminder, I think of the word top.

We ordered tapas in a bar in summer 2025 in Bilbao, the ferry port on the northern coast on the east (Santander is on the west). We thought it was expensive and would be the bite or two size of cocktail party canapes, but it was a large portion, as filling as a hamburger. Maybe pintchos (pintxos, which is plural, from pinchar to stab) not a pinch but sometimes skewered horizontally or toothpicked vertically to hold it all together.

You can also get dessert tapas.

UK

Chaucer, an early influencer, wrote a poem about Valentine's Day to celebrate the anniversary of the engagement of the 15 year old King of England.

In the UK Cadbury's introduced heart shapes boxes of chocolates. 

Nowadays the innovation is that the chocolates themselves are heart shaped.

|Valentine's Day is big business in the UK, the USA and Singapore which has four languages mainly English, also Chinese, meaning Mandarin. 

IRELAND

|Dublin in Ireland has a church with a relic and those without any love can pray to find love.

WALES

The Welsh celebrate on January 25th, recalling the tragic story of Welsh princess

You can make a heart sign with your thumbs and first fingers.

Happy VALENTINES DAY

Italy

Shakespeare's Ophelia mentions St Valentine's day in the play Hamlet.

AMERICA

American Valentines In Schools For Schoolchildren
When I went to live in America our son came home from school with a birthday card for Mummy, and he wanted to make a card for his teacher, which he said all the schoolchildren were doing. I was surprised, because in those days in the UK Valentine's Day cards were only for the unmarried and courting. 

Search online and you can find recordings of Valentine's day songs for the age of toddlers upwards. In America children give friendship cards to teachers. Finland also has friendship days.

ASIA

Valentine's Day month. I recall being in Singapore for the month of February and visiting several Toastmasters International Speakers' clubs. At the first Valentines theme club meeting I attended,  the table topics master asked, What would you do on Valentine's Day? What is the best restaurant for Valentine's Day? Where would you go, what was the best gift, and so on. She/he - I forget which - was looking for ideas.

In Malaysia Nowadays The Muslim movement has opposed valentines day, because it is western and encourages sex outside marriage, fornication, adultery and immorality. To counter this view, Valentines Day is  being promoted as a time for married couples to celebrate with date nights, buying expensive champagne, boxes of chocolates, and flowers. Plus of course clothes with hearts, and large cards.

In Japan women workers give chocolates to their co- workers, and a month later the men reciprocate by giving chocolates to women.

INDIA

The Hindus are against pubic displays of human affection. Instead, they tried to introduce hug a cow day. This strikes me and struck many others as an against the animal rights of the cow to refuse, besides being impractical and sometimes downright dangerous activity. Cows are too large to hug and do not necessarily reciprocate nor cooperate.

Useful Websites

February 

https://www.almanac.com/how-did-months-get-their-names

Valentine's Day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day

A neat summary about Valentine's Day

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/z6wjrmn#z6jqcxs

ITALY

https://mominitaly.com/happy-valentines-day-in-italian/

To make your own heart shaped biscuits, heart shaped cookie cutters (biscuit cutters we would say in the UK

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/4433235888/heart-set-cookie-cutters?

SPAIN

https://www.tasteatlas.com/tapas-vs-pintxos-vs-cicchetti#modal

Spanish turron

https://www.bascofinefoods.com/1880-chocolate-and-dulce-leche-turron/

Christmas Day worldwide - open presents December 245h, 25th, or in January?

Santa Claus is calling? When?

In the UK we used to say Father Christmas.

 In England, Christmas presents are opened on Christmas Day, December 25th. According to the Gregorian calendar. A neat number, although the day of the week varies. In 2025 Christmas Day is on a Thursday. 

German Christmas Traditions

The Germans open their presents on Christmas Eve. The British royal family stick to this tradition, which came from Queen Victoria's husband Albert.

But does Christmas eve start at sunset the day before?

Sunset Evening

Starting the next day at sunset is the way that it would have been for Jews at the time of Jesus, and how Orthodox Jews today still start and end the Sabbath.

But when does the next day start? According to modern thinking, at midnight. 

Midnight Mass - Europe and Roman Catholic

Another European tradition in Catholic countries and Cathedrals is Midnight mass. We went to Midnight mass one year in Prague. Midnight of course is the start of the next day.

When we went to live in Singapore, Christmas ended at midnight on December 25th. No Boxing Day.

Angela Lansbury happily holding the Singapore flag. Photo by Trevor Sharot. Taken in August, on Singapore National Day, circa 2022.

Christmas in Singapore and Asia

I had a Christmas message from Singapore from my friend Jaya, who is Indian with a Chinese wife. He called me at 9 am UK time which was 5 p.m. in Singapore. He told me that he is going to work on Boxing day which is a normal working day for him. His wife is a teacher in a European school so for her Christmas is a long holiday, extending over New Year, January 1st.

The Chinese who are the majority in Singapore will be having their big New Year celebration at the time of the Chinese New year, which other Asian countries call the lunar New Year, which varies according to the lunar calendar.

When I was a teenager my parents could avoid giving Christmas presents and the inconvenience of no public transport on Christmas Day by going for a beach holiday to Spain to enjoy warmer weather.

Those who want to celebrate twice could stay in the UK for a British Christmas, then hop across to Europe to a country where Christmas is celebrated on January 6th, known in England as 12th night, celebrated in the Christmas carol, the twelve days of Christmas. 

We are still sending or giving Xmas cards in the uk. Although whatsApp messages and gifs aee taking over.

Jif forwarded to me by an Indian friend in London.

What about the USA?

USA

American flag. Picture from Wikipedia.

The Americans say Happy Holidays, which covers Christmas and New Year, those who celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday as well as those who don't.

In restaurants and malls in the UK and other countries you hear English language carols, as well as the bilingual song, in Spanish and English, Feliz Navidad. Easy to recognize, like the words felicity, happiness, and nativity, birth, as well as to remember as the song keeps repeating the refrain.

So, to everybody, everywhere, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year. and Happy Holidays.

Useful Website On Christmas and The Birth Of Jesus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_of_the_birth_of_Jesus#:~:text=Based%20on%20this%20winter%20solstice,held%20on%20the%20same%20date.

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Angela's Seasonal Xmas Quiz for travellers

 Where will you find a black cake at Christmas? What does Feliz Navidad mean? 

Do the quiz and check the answers to compare the number you get right with other members of your friends and family.  Learn the answers, and get all completely right by doing the quiz again.

See how many points you get. I hope it is not pointless.

 A The word croissant means

1 Crescent, in French

2 Cooked, in French

3 Cross shaped in French

4 Crescent in Italian 

B Spumante means

1 Sparkling in Italian

2 Sparkling in French

3 Spilled in Spanish

C Rosé means

1 Rose coloured in French

2 Rose shaped in Spanish

3 Rose perfumed in Italian

D Whiskey

1 Comes from Scotland

2 Comes from Ireland and America

3 Comes from Native Indians

E Whisky

1 Comes from Scotland

2 Comes from Ireland

3 Comes from Antarctica

F Christmas Pudding

1 Traditionally contains only a silver sixpence

2 Traditionally contains a three penny bit, sixpence, pea, bean or thimble

3 Traditionally contains a gold coin or gold foil wrapped fruit

Xmas crackers

G Christmas Crackers

1 Are named after the sound they make when pulled

2 Are named after the two creases

3 Are named after their appearance when pulled apart

H Christmas Crackers were invented by 

1 Tom Smith

2 Tom Jones

3 Billy Bunter

I In England at Christmas at tea time you eat

1 Christmas cake

2 Mince Pies

3 Christmas cake or mince pies

J The Yule Log comes from

1 England

2 Scotland

2 France

K Stollen comes from

1 Germany

2 Russia

3 Canada

L Panettone comes from

1 Spain and Italy

2 France and Portugal

3 Australia and New Zealand

M At Christmas in Belize they eat

1 White cake

2 Black cake, sometimes with Yellow cake

3 Green cake 

N Champagne comes from

1 France

2 Spain

3 Italy

4 France, and the USA under license

O Cava comes from

1 France

2 Spain

3 Italy

P Prosecco comes from

1 Spain

2 Italy

3 Portugal

Q Sherry comes from

1 France

2 Spain

3 Madeira

R Madeira comes from

1 Spain

2 Madeira which is Portuguese

3 Italy

S Christmas Day is Dec 25

1 In the lunar calendar

2 In the Gregorian Calendar

3 In the Julian Calendar

T Dec 26 Is

1 Boxing Day only

2 St Stephen's Day only

3 Both Boxing Day and St Stephen's Day in different countries

U A hanukiah is

1 The same as the menorah - 7 branches, for 7 days of the week

2 Has only 8 branches, for the 8 day festival

3 Has 9 branches, 8 plus the helper candle to light the others

V

Champagne is 

1 The shape of the bottle

2 A region of France and name of the drink

3 The name of the man who invented the bubbly drink

4 The name of a grape

W The Star of David (Jewish star, also called the seal of Solomon by Moslems)_

1 Has 5 points

2 Has 8 points

3 Has six points

4 Has any number of points

X Feliz Navidad is Spanish for

1 Happy Birthday

2 Congratulations

3 Happy New Year

4 Happy Christmas

Y Traditionally in the UK you kiss under

1 Holly

2 Mistletoe

3 The Christmas tree

Z What is the official name of the UK royal broadcast on Christmas Day

1 The Queen's Speech or the King's Speech

2 The Christmas message because the Queen's Speech or King's Speech opens Parliament

Answers

A1 B1 C1 D2 E1 F1 G1 H1 I3 J2 K1 l  L1 M2 N1

O2 P2 Q2 R2 S2 T3 U3 V2 W3 X4 Y2 Z2

-ends-

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The Museum of Honey and Trying Honey & Jam Pots in Hotels, not just Marks, Helios, Bon Maman but many more to try

 At breakfast in hotels you often have the opportunity to try out new brands of honey and jam and marmalade.

Some people immediately discover their old or new favourite brand. I often find that if I go to two or three hotels on a tour, by hotel three I have forgotten the name of the brand from day one. All I can remember is that the last one was better, or this one is better.

Now I have started a new system. I photograph the small pot. Then I Whatsapp it to myself with my description of the good or bad features. I give it marks out of ten. 5 is good enough. 6, ok buy if no alternative. 7 Yes, buy some if you see it. 8 is go and hunt for some. 9 and 10 I stock up, buy in bulk, hunt for it to eat regularly at home.

Bonne Maman

Great blackcurrant jam.

In addition to the lovely jam, the jars have a ten sides shape at the lower half, and a tartan lid.

Notice the picture of cassis, French for blackcurrant.

Now, my honey, let's move on to honey. (Americans say honey to people, the Brits say, sweetie, sweetheart, darling, love, dear.)

Honey

I like solid honey. My husband likes runny honey. My preferred honey is more expensive.

Helios

Helios mniature honey pot lid. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Notice the little honey bee on the label.

I recently tried Helios runny honey. I found it a bit gluey. Good enough. But even better was the next one.

Colmenar De Las Donas

I loved colmenar de las Donas.I had a lovely flavour. Not over sweet, 

I tried it on brown seed bread which was a waste as you could not taste it of suck it and get the taste and that sugar strike at the bck of your throat.

Here is a list of where to see bees by country.

SPAIN

Colmenar in Andalucia, near Malaga in Spain, has a museum of honey. 

UK

You can also see live bees behind glass in several museums in the UK. For example, 

The Horniman museum in south London, 

The Oxford University Museum of Natural History, 

LITHUANIA

The Ancient Beekeeping Museum of Lithuania.

Useful Websites

https://en.andalucia.org/listing/museo-de-la-miel/

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

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Cava - what do you know?

 First, Cava is from Spain, best known for being from the Barcelona region.

www.cava.wine

My favourite of seven

Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Pink wine in a pretty bottle. Vilarnau Rose Delicat Reserva 2021. Casa de Guarda Superior Reserva. The grape varieties are 85% Garnacha (one of my favourites, known to me by its name grenache

) with 15% Pinot Noir noir meaning black from the dark colour of the skin, adding colour and flavour). Price only fourteen pounds sterling.

Some handy translations from Spanish to English, from bottle labels and brochures

English technical - daily English

coupage - blending

diurnal - daily or daytime

Nocturnal - night-time

vintage - aged (usually with the year given)

Spanish - English

brut - dry 

Brut nature (naturally dry with no added sugar)

d' - of, de with the e dropped before another vowel

de - of

del - of the

D.O. - designation of origin (place where the wine came from).

familia - family

mar - sea

san - saint (as in San Francisco which means Saint Francis)

sant - saint

sup - abbreviation for superior

reserva - reserved or saved (not sold but stored, good quality, or will become even better when stored to mature and develop more flavour)

The word cava comes from cave, as the original wines were kept in cool caves.

More information from Useful Websites

www.cava.wine

Find my phone, my car, friends, my baby in my car!

 Always check your car before leaving it. A jacket on the back seat might cause somebody to break in. What if there's nothing in the jacket. They don't know that. Finding nothing, disappointed, they might smash all your windows - leaving the car undrivable. That happened to us in Spain.

If everybody always looked around the inside of their car before leaving it, they could not leave a baby in it.

How about attaching find my phone to a child. Then both parents can check on the child.

You can install on your phone a device for fining your phone, your friends, your pet, your location.

Useful Websites

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14063525/One-year-old-boy-dead-hot-car-left-father.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Find_My#Background

Taberna in Toro - surprising little place, hiding a 200 year old winery

Toro sign. Photo b Angela Lansbury.

 You drive uphill from the empty plain, past vineyards. At the top are the town square, deserted. We went down a few one way streets which got too narrow. We had to back up a steep uphill. A maze of streets too steep and narrow.  

Scary. I was alarmed. I was cross.

I wanted a drink. I wanted a toilet. 

We stopped at a bar with a couple of barrels outside the entrance. 

Don't judge a book by its cover, they say. I was hot and tired. I was not happy flicking away flies at the entrance. The six backless seats were already occupied,  beside barrels, already occupied by others' drinks. I frowned and decided not to go in. But my husband had already set off. Inside, he hailed the barman, and ordered a glass of wine.

La Vina Del Abuelo

Toro. Spain. La Vina del Abuelo. Photo by Angela Lansbury

Bored, I walked inside away from the flies at the entrance into the cool interior in search of a ladies toilet. 

I found it. Refreshed, I emerged.

Indoors, I looked around and I was rewarded with a fine arch of bottles. 

I saw a intriguing surved staircase. I wondered what was upstairs. I asked if I could look upstairs. The barman happily agreed.

Secret Upstairs

At the top of the stiarcase was an elegant balcony restaurant. I stepped forward towards the far picture window. I found it overlooking what seemed to be a church. 

Secret Downstairs Wine Barrels

I went downstiars. My hsuband had got talking to the barman, who opened a couple of old doors. Another secret revealed.

He revealed an entire winery of giant old barrels, all still in use. Abuelo is Spanish for grandfather. Historic. Grandfather's wines from grandfather's winery.\

Wine barrels. Toro. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Secret Shop

The final surprise was another doorway, revealing a well stocked little shop with food and drink and souvenirs.

Secret History

Their website reveals that the winery was 200 years old.

Abuelo means grandfather. Vino is wine but vinya  (the diacriic above the n make it into ny) is vineyard.

Useful Website

https://www.abuelovino.com/?locale=en

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