Passenger tried to open plane door in-flight to the USA, May 2025

A passenger tried to open a plane exit door on an ALL NIPPON  flight from Tokyo, Japan, to Houston, Texas, USA.  

Numerous comments on the newspaper article pointed out that you cannot normally open a door in-flight, at height.  Air pressure stops the door opening.

On another occasion, another passenger had tried opening the door on or near ground level.

However, even though the recent attempt to open the plane door was not a risk, when at height, it is disturbing having a passenger doing dangerous things which could seem likely to injure others, either in his mind, or other passengers' minds. 

When he cannot open the door, what will he do next? Might he attack somebody else if thrarted by the plane, by a person, a calm person, an angry person, somebody trying to resttrain him, or even somebody trying to simple talk. He might be trying to kill himself or others. He might be having a panic attack. His mood might change. The other passengers themselves might be roused to action, panic stricken or angry.

Second Incident!

The flight was diverted to land earlier at Seattle, so the passenger could be removed. While the plane was an the runway, a second passenger caused disruption and was removed.

The plane was apparently four hours late at the original destination.

Would you fall asleep happily after witnessing that, or hearing about it on your flight?

The person who allegedly tried to open the door was not named nor shown in photos. Everybody risks stress, and financial loss. Maybe missed connecting flights. 

Flight Damage

A list of air rage incidents recorded in Wikipedia includes an incident in which the interior pane of a window was broken by a passenger.

Useful websites

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14746839/passenger-flight-Tokyo-Houston-exit-door-Nippon-Airways.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgmjzlj0g30o

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

https://www.iata.org/en/programs/passenger/unruly-passengers/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/unruly-passenger-all-nippon-airways-flight-tokyo-houston-seattle-divert/

Help - driver going the wrong way on a motorway! Lessons from the UK, USA, New Zealand

California wrong way signage. Wikipedia.

In the UK and USA drivers have gone the wrong way. Causing fatal accidents. Several changes are needed. 

I was shocked. I thought, another one, that's two, one each side of 'the pond' or ocean. When I read the statistics, I was even more shocked. More than 400 such accidents in the USA each year.  Of course, prevention costs money. But imagine the costs of medicine for injuries, car damage, car replacement, insurance reports, insurance company investigations, police and ambulance attending, traffic delays, missed social events and work appointments, even clothes and stress to others, plus, of course, hospitals, enquiries, inquests into causes of accident events, coroner's report on medical findings, funerals, gravestones, memorial services, sometimes prosecutions or private court cases seeking damages, petitions for changes in the law.

I started writing two changes are needed. Then I thought of more and reached five. 

1 One way barriers to exits so only emergency vehicles can enter them.

2 Immediate warning signs to stop to all traffic if a vehicle enters the wrong way on a slip road. 

3 A wrong way vehicle emergency number to summon police if a vehicle is driving the wrong way. Restore hard shoulders so vehicles can pull over and stop if they or another vehicle are driving the wrong way. 

4 Mandatory stopping of traffic if a vehicle is seen driving the wrong way, not just honking and flashing lights. 

5 Lay-bys, or pull-ins, or pedestrian spaces are needed on the fast lane. My vehicle was hit by another and came to rest in the fast lane, endangering me and others. At my request the driver or a large lorry blocked my lane, also the next lane, by parking diagonally, which was an obvious obstruction and unusual position which could be seen for miles back, slowing traffic and prevented multiple rear-enders.

Some measures have already been taken, clearly not enough.

Causes of Wrong Way Driving

Accidental

Near borders and ferries UK-France, drivers where other countries drive on the opposite side. Drivers quickly realise their mistake and usually reverse slowly and re-route. Nowadays more and larger signs warn the British and others exiting from ports onto main roads. 

If you hire a local car, the driver's seat and driving wheel are usually in the middle of the road so he can see oncoming and distant traffic, whilst the front passenger seat is by the (pedestrian) pavement (sidewalk is what Amreicans call it) so that passengers exit safely, not into the road.

Distracted Driving

Noted Causes of Wrong-Way Driving

Driver reading online road maps - (I query, due to poor signage?) 

New Zealand changed signage to make it clearer, with fewer signs meaning less clutter. 

Driver texting. 

Driver watching movies! 

(Other types of accidents have been caused by a driver distracted by animals, by children (one notable case of a mother turning to stop siblings fighting, resulting in an accident causing the death of one child), back seat passengers, insects flying in.)

Places

In the USA there are apparently more accidents of this type in Florida, Texas and California.  I suspect the causes might relate, not entirely, but inflated by, the numbers of elderly drivers in Florida (poor eyesight, but in my opinion also Alzheimer's or poor decision making due to it; maybe drugs in California, resulting in poor attention, or thrill seeking. 

Lessons Learned To Avoid Being The Wrong-Way Driver

1 Remember which side of the road to drive on when going from the UK to Europe and Europe to the UK.

2 Have regular eye tests. Carry spare glasses in case you lose them. Check your route and intermediate points. Use speaking satnav rather than one requiring you to look down or away from the road.

3 If you miss your turning, never try to U-turn back against traffic on a motorway.

Avoiding One Way Drivers

Accidents are more likely when there is poor visibility at night or in bad weather. Watch the distance, if you can. Try to get behind an obstruction such as a parked car or tree or pole so that the other vehicle does not hit you head on with full force. In the USA you call 911 (not the old UK number of 999). Be familiar with emergency numbers, have them on a post-it and/or have them listed in your phone contacts.

Safe driving!

Useful Websites

Daily Mail 22 Jan 2025

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14311177/Six-million-Brits-retake-driving-test-campaigners-call.html

Global Statistics On Types Of accidents, which cause most fatalities, geographical hotspots, prevention

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrong-way_driving

In-car Warnings

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrong-way_driving_warning

Prevention When Others Approach Wrong Way

https://caraccidentattorney.com/blog/safety-tips-to-defend-against-a-wrong-way-driver

Please share links to your favourite posts.

Texas Law Makes DUI (Drunk) drivers pay orphaned children child support

Texas flag. From Wikipedia Flag of Texas.

USA flag, the stars and stripes.

Texas today, the USA tomorrow, the world the day after - or the year afterwards.

The law is called Bentley's Law for short.It's full name is Ethan, Haile and Bentley's Law. The law was passed in Tennessee, then Texas.

Ethan and Haile are the children whose parent, a policeperson, was killed by a drunken driver in Tennessee. DUI means driving under the influence. Bentley, and his brother were orphaned when both their parents were killed by a drunken driver in Texas.

Useful Website

 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12475615/texas-drunk-drivers-child-support-bentleys-law.html#comments

Please share links to your favourite posts. And follow me.

How A Book on Marilyn Monroe led to the O'Henry Museum in Austin, Texas

Marilyn Monroe and Lawrence Olivier in The Prince and The Showgirl.

The Story of Marilyn Monroe

The story of unreliably late but mesmerizing actress, Marilyn Monroe making the film The Prince and The Showgirl, is told in the book about her, of the same name, also My week with Marilyn, by Colin Clark, son of the famous art collector and critic, Kenneth Clark. 

Visit Saltwood Castle

Colin took Marilyn to his parents'  home, Saltwood Castle, which was later used as a backdrop in the film My Week With Marilyn. You can visit Saltwood Castle's gardens a couple of times a year on the open days. The castle has a long history, including supposedly being the venue where four knights met before setting of to kill Thomas Becket (inspiration for T S Eliot's The Wasteland).

This book inspired my family to look up the film. That inspired us to check out the list of Marilyn's other films and to start watching them.

She made many films and at first had bit parts. She looks more sophisticated with her hair up. Her high voice fits her later persona as the little girl, the innocent, childlike girl, which she played later. 

The Stories of O'Henry

One of the films in which she played a small part was based on a short story by O Henry. I remembered O'Henry's most famous story, about the girl who sells her hair to buy her boyfriend a Christmas present. 

O Henry Museum

I went back to research O Henry and found that there was an O Henry Museum in Austin, Texas. I have been to Texas many times, when living in the USA and visiting from the UK and Singapore. However, I never went to Austin. The home of O Henry is now on my wish list.

What is the difference between the USA and the UK and other countries? In the UK you have the real historic place where it has always been and sometimes a reproduction inside a museum elsewhere. 

But in the USA you have the whole house transported to another location, as easily as moving a Monopoly piece around a board. The OHenry house is one of these. The house is authentic, but has moved from its previous location. That changes the view from the windows, as well as the atmosphere, the neighbourhood and neighbours.

Nevertheless, I get the same thrill from seeing the old house where the author lived, the desk, the chairs, the carved wood frame of the bed, the busy wallpaper, the round carpet.

Since Covid-19 it has become difficult to travel because of restrictions, fears, and increases in fares. However, whilst real travel sometimes is more difficult, it becomes increasingly easy to see what you are missing online.

Visiting a museum home online shares advantages with visiting the real home. Photos and objects bring the period of the past alive. Seeing objects makes the stories memorable. What is missing makes you do more research into the lives of the author or other notable person and their family.

O' Henry's Name

One little piece in the puzzle of O'Henry was why he wrote under a pen name. Why do authors have pen names? Many modern authors want to be famous, to make their name famous, to be known. It seems crystal clear to me that he wanted a pen name whilst he was in prison for embezzlement, to conceal his identity. 

He did not write for fame. The only use of fame was to sell more books. He wrote for money, for a living, which is why he was so prolific. As many people have said, if you want money you don't sit around waiting for inspiration. A plumber does not wait for inspiration.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Clark_(filmmaker)

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

https://www.saltwoodcastle.com/

https://www.amazon.sg/My-Week-Marilyn-Colin-Clark/dp/1602861498

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe

https://www.austintexas.gov/department/o-henry-museum

A Child Murdered in Texas. Would A Fenced Back garden have saved her? Gardens, back gardens, back yards, safety, fences and walls in the USA, UK, Australia and Mexico.

Singapore

As you travel from one country to another, one county to another in the UK, one state to another in the USA, you see different styles of housing and security.

Angela Lansbury on a balcony with a high railing in Singapore in a private condominium. Photo by Trevor Sharot.

India

In India a man fell over a balcony wall and was saved by a bystander. The kind of guard above would have prevented the incident.

South Africa

 South African substantial homes are guarded by high walls. The walls have warning signs.

UK

London homes traditionally have fenced front gardens. Middle class homes have high fences. Cheaper homes have cheaper, lower fences at the front and back.

USA Murder

In Texas, December 2022, the worst pre-Christmas ever for one 7 year old child, who was murdered by a delivery driver. The child was in her front yard, the drive, as the Americans say.

My reaction was, why was the child out at the front, after an argument, when she might have run away or done something silly. She could have been in the back garden. Some people say the child should have been sent to her room. 

In my view an upset child, indeed any child, should be kept close to home and watched. The child should not have been out the front. There she was exposed to being knocked down by a car, running away, being hit by an incoming vehicle, attacked by a neighbour's dog, abducted. 

She should have been in the fenced back garden. (Unless it had dogs and unfenced pools and ponds - in which case the dogs should have been muzzled in a dog house and the pond and swimming pool should have been fenced with a locked gate.)

Australia

 In Australia, back garden swimming pools must be fenced and gated. This rule was brought in when it was discovered that the largest number of drowning deaths was not in the sea but in swimming pools.

Singapore

In Singapore, dog walked around a condominium grounds and car parks must be kept on a leash.

Ideally the kitchen window and lounge windows should have overlooked the garden so the parent or guardian could watch children playing. To watch out for deliveries, from a back kitchen, there could be a camera system such as door-ring. 

Singapore Play Areas

In Singapore blocks of flats are designed so that the play area can be overlooked by the surrounding flats, so that a parent can watch. Also the play area is not secluded. Cameras and a dozen eyes are on it. 

Housing can be designed so that front doors are overlooked, which reduces crime. 

Middle East

In the hot middle east and north Africa, houses and blocks of flats are built like a square frame with a sheltered garden in the centre. The women and children can play safely indoors, sheltered from strangers and the sun. Pets and plants are protected from theft.

USA Fenced and Fences Banned

An interesting debate on Quora gives several views on why and where and when homes in the USA have had fences at the front, or none. 

If you are thinking of renting or buying property overseas, whether on holiday or for business or retirement, you can search on street view and check crime levels and local building regulations.

UK

Secluded back garden in London, England, seen from kitchen window. Sharot family photo.

Useful Websites

Indian Incident

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9380921/Indian-man-saved-certain-death-balcony-fall.html#comments

Texas Tragedy

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11497599/Texas-girl-dead-two-days-abducted-FedEx-driver-dropping-package-home.html?login#readerCommentsCommand-message-field

Ring doorbells attach to your phone where you can video

https://sevog.com/products/ring-video-doorbell-camera-3-smart-home-wireless-camera-video-door-bell?currency=GBP&variant=40018486264014&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&gclid=CjwKCAiAp7GcBhA0EiwA9U0mtsFIaLfMsiVKHVLcIKf2gqNn31d_oTPGfU-W78Uvz6QACXK-4k3YphoCj1IQAvD_BwE

RING VIDEO DOORBELLS

https://en-uk.ring.com/collections?category=doorbells

Watch Marty Robbins Sing El Paso and visit El Paso City

El Paso has assorted theatres and music festivals.

Sites within the city limits

Asia exhibit entrance at the El Paso Zoo

• Ysleta Mission is recognized as the oldest continuously operated parish in the State of Texas.
• Cathedral of Saint Patrick erected in 1916 is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of El Paso.
• Chamizal National Memorial
• El Paso Zoo – a 35-acre (14 ha) facility housing 220 species
• Magoffin Home State Historic Site
• Plaza Hotel
• Union Depot
• University of Texas at El Paso The university's distinctive style is a type of fortress architecture, Dzong, found in the present and former Buddhist mountain kingdoms of the Himalayas, Bhutan and Tibet.
• El Paso Zoo with Asia Exhibit

Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Paso,_Texas

Authors' Homes to Visit: O'Henry, Pearl Buck and Noah Webster

O'Henry lead an interesting life. In those days life expectancy was less and the number of childrn was more. He was one of almost a dozen siblings. His mother died when he was a child and his younger sister died.

When he came of age, he eloped with an heiress who had TB (also then called consumption.)



Embezzelement & Prison
He held a job but was suspected of embezzling and fled to Hondurus. But his wife was too ill to travel. When he heard she was dying he returned, and was imprisoned.

Pen Names
He used various names as pen names, possibly, probably, partly to hide his identity whilst a prisoner.

He wrote stories featuring characters he met in prison. His other source was by loitering around hotel lobbies and copying characters and stories picked up from conversation. (Somerset Maughm also picked up stories in hotels.)

Plots And Twist Endings
You can read a summary of three or more of the plots of his twist end stories in Wikipedia.

By the end of his life he was a reformed and respected character. He has been featured on a US postage stamp and several US presidents have tried to award him a posthumus pardon.

Quotations from O'Henry
 ... life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.

• "The Gift of the Magi"

Visit the O'Henry Museum in Austin, Texas.
And it's free!

CONTACT INFO

Phone: 512-974-1398

Email

Physical Address:

409 East 5th Street
Austin, TX 78701

USA

See Map

Opening Hours:

• Wednesday.-Sunday, Noon - 5 p.m.
• Admission: Free
• Parking: Metered street parking

The USA has many homes of authors. When I was living in the USA I visited several. The ones I remember most include the home of Webster who compiled the dictionary with reformed spelling which turned night into nite.

Noah Webster House Museum

• 227 South Main St. West Hartford CT, 06107
• 860.521.5362, USA.

There iz no alternativ.

Noah Webster. (Wikiquote.)

Pearl Buck received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

• 

Ah well, perhaps one has to be very old before one learns how to be amused rather than shocked.

Museums and historic houses

Pearl S. Buck's study in Lushan Pearl S. Buck Villa

Several historic sites work to preserve and display artifacts from Pearl's profoundly multicultural life:

• Pearl S. Buck Birthplace in Hillsboro, West Virginia
• Green Hills Farm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
• The Zhenjiang Pearl S. Buck Research Association in Zhenjiang, China [1]
• Pearl S. Buck House in Nanjing University, China [2]
• The Pearl S. Buck Summer Villa, on Lushan Mountain in Jiangxi Province, China
• The Pearl S. Buck Memorial Hall, Bucheon City, South Korea^[46]
• Pearl S. Buck International, 520 Dublin Road, Perkasie, PA 18944 USA,215-249-0100

Useful websites
http://www.austintexas.gov/department/o-henry-museum


visittheusa.co.uk
Texas
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/authors/search/?query=Henry,+O.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_S._Buck
Connecticut
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_Webster_House
https://noahwebsterhouse.org/

About the Author
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and blogger, and writer of short stories. Please share links to your favourite posts.

New Underwater restaurant in Norway and Underwater Views Everywhere

Under is the name of the new underwater restaurant in NORWAY.  In Norwegian under means under and wonder.  It's Norway so in Europe it is relatively nearby. Depending where you are in Europe.
the largest in the world.

Underwater sightseeing is not new.

VIEWING UNDERWATER
AQUARIUMS


Underwater Aquarium - Australia
I took a bus from Sydney to Manly to enjoy the beach, but round myself by the aquarium. I walked through the underwater tunnel seeing fish and other sea creatures nad wafting plants overhead, beside me and all around in Manly Bay, Sydney, Australia. I was impressed by the size of the great white shark swimming towards me. I just hoped it would not bang on the glass and break it, showing me with water. I have a vivid imagination.



UK
A popular day out from London is to the seaside south at Brighton. The main attraction is the exotic The Royal Pavilion. However, for families the Aquarium is another attraction.
Another underwater tunnel is in the UK in Bristol Aquarium.

BY BOAT
Boats
You can see underwater in glass bottomed boats. In the USA they are in California , Texas and Miami.



Underwater Views - Israel
Go down to a viewing platform underwater in Israel - yes it's real.

EAT AND SLEEP WATCHING FISH OR SWIMMERS
Lunch beside a glass panel - USA
Sit having lunch in an underwater restaurant in Disney, Florida.

Description	English: Inside Ithaa restaurant
Date	1 July 2007 (original upload date)
Source	Taken by Alexey Potov - Noblige
Author	Alexey Potov - Noblige

Underwater Hotel On An Island - the Maldives
Sleep in an underwater restaurant on an island beginning with M, the Maldives. Watch others creatures dive whilst you dive into your food on the Maldives

Underwater Hotel Planned - Dubai
Another, first underwater hotel, Hydropolis, has been planned for Dubai, (See Wikipedia.)

Just in case you get muddled up, as I do, between the Maldives, Mozambique which just (sun 28 April 2019) got in the news because of bad weather, and Madagasgar, here is a quick guide to what is where.
MALDIVES - underwater restaurants
The place with the underwater restaurants is the Maldives, in the Indian Ocean, south of India.
MOZAMBIQUE - E Africa
Mozambique, hit by bad weather, is on the East coast of Africa, down south, far south of the Maldives.
MADAGASCAR
A big island of the coast, offshore from Mozambique, again, far south of the Maldives.

The Maldives, food features fish, see Wikivoyage. Great if you like eating fish and coconuts. Yummy. Ideal destination if you are Muslim or against alcohol and eating pork. To be sure of complying with local laws and being up to date on safety, check out the descriptions of what you can and cannot do in Wikitravel and Wikivoyage and your country's foreign office travel advice.

WATCHING HUMANS SWIMMING

JAPAN'S FAKE POOL
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3393808/Don-t-worry-not-drowning-fake-swimming-pool-creates-illusion-visitors-submersed-nine-feet-water.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Pool,_Houston

See also infinity pools.

Useful Websites
NORWAY Under Underwater Restaurant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_(restaurant)
www.under.no
In websites the ending no stands for Norway.
https://www.visitnorway.com/

AUSTRALIA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manly_Sea_Life_Sanctuary
australia.com

UK
https://www.bristolaquarium.co.uk/displays/amazing-underwater-tunnel/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Aquaria_in_England
http://www.brightontourist.com/Brighton_Sea_Life.html
visitbritain.com

USA
https://www.aquariumrestaurants.com/aquariumNashville/dining
visittheusea.co.uk

MALDIVES
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Maldives
https://wikitravel.org/en/Maldives

DUBAI
Al Mahera underwater restaurant, Burj Al Arab hotel complex, Dubai, UAE.

Dubai's Projected Hydropolis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydropolis

Reviews and Roundups
mentalfloss.com/article92880/9/-amazing-underwater

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

Abilene, Texas - What More Is There To See: statues galore and museums, literature,

Problem
Abilene, Texas is a two and a half hour drive from Fort Worth. Last time I was in Texas I did a two cetnre tour of Dallas and Fort Worth. Is it worthwhile going to Abiline to the Ciliex Museum. If there's more to see should I stay overnight, or make a long weekend of it?

Answers
https://www.nccil.org
Firstly, the Childrens Art and Literature museum is closed on Sunday and Monday, so you want to be going up on Friday, or starting very early on Saturday if you are driving over.

Is it worth a special trip? Most people love it.

A few were disappointed to see an exhibition on only one author/illustrator.

Bookshop
Some loved the bookshop which contains a few signed books. Others thought it was small.

The exhibitions, usually three a year, concentrate on all the illustrations from a book or books by a particular illustrator. The drawings are often larger and more detailed than they appear in the final version of the book. If you live in the area, and many do because Abilene is larger (in population - more populous is the correct term), then you may find that visiting a free museum three times a year is worthwhile and satisfies your desire to learn about more than one author/illustrator.

Multiple Authors?
If you want a museum which covers lots of authors and books, consider the Museum of American Writers in the USA. It opened in 2017. It was inspired by the writers' museum in Dublin, capital of Eire. (That's only about Irish writers).

Back to Abilene. What else might you include on your trip?

Texas and Pacific Depot, Abilene, Texas, now Tourist Information Centre. Photo by Billy Hathorn in Wikipedia article on Abilene.

Pick up a map at the visitors centre in a converted, restored old railroad building. By the railroad on the South blvd is Everman Park.

 Or print off a map which can be found online.

Look for six Dr Seuss statues on N 1st.and statues of Guardians, 3 Little kittens, 3 Little Pigs, Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little and quotations from books.

Storybook Garden
Adamson-Spalding Storybook Garden, 1008 N 6th Street, number 1098 Abilene, Texas 79601 5151.
Also see the giant dinosaur. Plus the VW Beetle on the Grace Museum.

Buffalo
My favourite statue is the big buffalo at Frontier Texas, 625 N 1st Street. (Oddly, the statue of the bull at the Bullring in Birmingham, England is also rated highly, though the nearest beef is in supermarket sandwiches.)

When to go? Festival Time!
Second week of June every year. CALF, Children's Art and Literature Festival.

Military Museum
The military museum got very favourable reviews. People loved the tank at the back (Americans say out back, which to me sounds like the Australian phrase Outback, which means not the back yard, but the wilderness).

Parents and grandparents said children loved the area of the toys for children to play with. It's all family friendly, except you are warned that in the WWII section the Holocaust room might not be suitable for children of all ages.

Discovery Centre
The Discover Centre is not like the Discovery centres in many other cities which are based in science.  This takes the bible as a starting point. Abilene takes its name from the Hebrew bible. See reviews on TripAdvisor. You might discover that others don't believe what you believe.

Abilene is nicknamed The Key City, and The Friendly Frontier. Now you know why.

Useful Websites For Travellers
www.visittheusa.com
https://www.traveltexas.com/#/
visitbritain.com
http://visitbirmingham.com
http://www.abilenevisitors.com
https://www.visitdublin.com
https://www.ireland.com/en-gb/
https://www.nccil.org

Author, Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See my other reviews on Abilene; Birming, England. Please share links to your favourite posts.

My Latest Discovery - Children's Illustration Museum in The Storybook Capital of America, Abilene, Texas, USA

Problem
What to see next and where?

Answer
I love literature and art.

I also love anything that's free. In addition to free admission, they have free fun art workshops for children on Saturday. Here's a free museum, in a place I have never visited. Abilene.

Didn't you love illustrated books as a child! I bet you still do.

It has changing exhibitions so you are sure to find something new. And a bookshop.

The idea for the place started with a meeting with the then Mayor and the illustrator, William Joyce, of a book set in Abilene. William Joyce is a co-founder of the museum.

See statue depicting the children from Santa Calls, "Childhood's Great Adventure" by Rick Jackson, downtown.

More statues are added every year in a ceremony.



By the way, the song Abilene is about another Abilene, in Kansas, which has an Eisenhower Museum.

National Centre For Childen's Illustrated Literature
Children's Illustration Museum
102 Cedar Street
Abilene
Texas
USA
79601

• Tel:+1-325-673-4586

Open 10-4 Tues-Saturday.
Closed Sunday and Monday.
One block away is the Grace Museum, which has lots of interactive activities for children. Also see the zoo.

Abilene Zoo. Photo in Wikipedia.

USA

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g30138-d12677273-Reviews-Adamson_Spalding_Storybook_Garden-Abilene_Texas.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Center_for_Children%27s_Illustrated_Literature

https://www.nccil.org

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

www.visittheusa.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and phtographer, author and speaker.

This Week's Wish List: Perot Museum, Dallas, Texas

From Wikipedia.

Problem
What is it and where is it and how can I upload the video from Facebook?

Answer
On Facebook I saw the most amazing video. A double door opens to reveal what looks like the inside of a gleaming gemstone in purple from the Lydia ... Gems Hall. As you can see on their website, they have eleven halls which include a Children's Hall and a Sports Hall.

Story
Why did I not see it when I visited Dallas, Texas? Although Dallas had various museums, this one was built and opened to the public in December 2012. It is named after the Perot family who raised the funds.

What is unusual about it? The greenery roof. The unusual things you can see and do include recording your own heartbeat.

Practical Tips
If you buy The Dallas City pass it includes admission to this museum.

The online gift shop sells a fifty year calendar and a Fibonacci necklace.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perot_Museum_of_Nature_and_Science
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=perot%20museum (See the amazing video of the gem hall)

Perot Museum of Nature and Science,
2201 N Field Street
Dallas,
Texas,
75201-1704
USA
tel: (From Europe +001) 214 428 5555.
https://www.perotmuseum.org


Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Grapevine In Texas, near Dallas - Hop on and Off

Grapevine - with the symbol of bunches of grapes. I had to stop and ask about it. That's what Americans do so well, marketing. The symbol of the town says what it is. The man stands up to greet you and tells you the main feature of the town. Ask a question and you get an answer.

First, where is it? Half way between Dallas and Fort Worth, five minutes from the airport, around the airport. Why is it called Grapevine? Because in the good old days the area was covered in grape vines. Then what happened? The airport was built and you could get more money selling your land to the airport.

So what is left of the old days? An historic town like in the old cowboy films, where you ride or drive into the main street and see the buildings down one main street, including the old style hotel with a bar below, rooms upstairs and a balcony.

What is left to remind us of the old grapevine days? You can hold a conference meal Delaney Vineyard which has a ballroom for events with big wine barrels. What if you are not on a big conference, just a couple of tourists on holiday? You can go wine tasting in several places.

Can you eat there, like in South Africa, where vineyards have restaurants? One wine tasting place has a restaurant alongside, but most of the tasting rooms are just tasting rooms, but the place has family-owned restaurants, not chains, all around you.

So, if you were visiting Dallas and Fort Worth and wanted to do a tour or three day trip, which way round would you go? Grapevine is by the airport. So you could get off your place and have a rest in Grapevine before going off to see the big attractions of Dallas and Fort Worth. Alternatively, do Dallas and Fort Worth, then spend your last day or half day in Grapevine, right near the airport.

In Grapevine you don't have to worry about transport. Your hotel will collect you from the airport. There's also a hop on hop off bus going around constantly, costing about 5 dollars a day,
so you can go from the airport to your hotel and any other main attraction, or reverse from your hotel to a attraction and then to the airport.

I counted nine wineries on Tripadvisor, including a museum, plus a brewery. Every year there's a festival featuring Texas wine plus one other state's wines and one other country's wines. Last time they had Texas wine plus California and South Australia. What is there to do besides tasting wines. Join in or watch activities such as grape treading.

Last time the event lasted three days and was free on the first day.

I lived in the USA as well as visiting Texas on press trips. I have been to Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston. Still on my list of places to visit are Amarillo, and I've just added Grapevine.

More Information on Grapevine
www.grapevinetexasusa.com
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attractions-g55930-Activities-Grapevine_Texas.html#ATTRACTION_LIST
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapevine,_Texas
https://twitter.com/GrapevineTXCity?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, photographer, author and speaker.

More on Oysters, crabs and prawns

 I'm allergic to shellfish so all my information is from family, friends and restaurants and websites.

Oysters differ from different areas.

So do crabs which are different in different areas of the world, such as Alaskan king crabs, Sri Lankan crab.

Prawns vary. Pacific Prawns which are much larger - than the little shrimps in the favourite first food of the restaurant meal of the Sixties, prawn cocktail.Why was I able to eat prawn cocktail, then violently sick after my first meal of Pacific crabs? Some say its something in the water, that the tiny creatures eaten by the Pacific fish leave a residue in what eats them.

American Oysters
American oysters come from the East or West coast (as well as the south, Texas).

European and French oysters
The European ones are another group.  The French ones are Belon named after the French river.

English oysters
From England the Colchester oysters are bigger with some say a better flavour.
Photo updates from London, England shortly. I have them on a thumb drive and am trying to find how to upload them into iPhoto and then the blog. More later today, I hope. Come back and follow my posts.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Oysters in England, sizes 0-5

Jonathan Swift said, It was a bold man that first ate an oyster. But Carnegie said, the first man gets the oyster, the second man gets the shell.

You may ponder this is you contemplate starting to eat your oysters.

Now, November, is the month when oysters are in season. They grow in summer. You can't eat them May, June, July, August. Wait and watch for when there is a R in the month and you are allowed to eat them.

Oysters are graded in size from the largest, size zero, to the smallest, size five. Restaurants are likely to serve you sizes 3 and 4.

I was invited to an oyster tasting event at a bar in London, England, by my family. How interesting. But I didn't go because I am allergic to shellfish.

Names to look for:
Colchester oysters.
Rock oysters.

Souvenirs

I did ask if somebody could bring me back an oyster shell or two. I could use an oyster shell for a pendant, by making a hole for a ribbon.

Alternatively I could stick shells on a box. I'm all for recycling.

I'd also like any pearls which happen to be rolling around, like lost buttons, looking for a new home. Round pearls, or squashed shape pearls, I don't mind. If the pearls are free I'm not fussy.

I am not allergic to pearls and mother of pearl. However, that hopeful idea was scotched with the caustic comment, "Farmed oysters won't have pearls".

I have my friendly photographer out in London and later I hope to add some photos of oysters at an oyster bar.
Back to the oysters.

Apparently a Roman commended Colchester oysters by damning with faint praise. He said, 'They were the only good thing to come out of England.'

Oysters served in England could come from England, Ireland or France. Huitres is French for oysters.

If you are in the USA, great cities for oysters are San Francisco in California and Houston, Texas.
http://houston.eater.com/maps/12-restaurants-for-eating-raw-oysters-mapped

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Souvenirs - Local Quotations - JFK and places in the USA

I like to collect quotations from every country I visit. When writing a travel article or blog you can attach them to places associated with famous people.

An error is not an error unless you refuse to correct it.
John F Kennedy

You could attach this quotation to a story about The Whitehouse in Washington DC, or Dallas, Texas, or the museum in Boston, or a car museum with a Kennedy car.

Angela Lansbury BA Honours, author, travel writer and speaker.

Music Museums & Statues by Country A-Z

An A-Z of Musicians' statues, monuments and museums, by country, so you can see what's in the country you are staying in or visiting.

AUSTRALIA
Giant guitar statue outside museum of Australia's country music singer.

Kylie Minogue statue

AUSTRIA
Vienna
You can buy Mozart chocolates with his picture.
Statue/monument of Mozart on grave in cemetery. (I went there a while back and wrote an article on Vienna based on the theme of music.)

CUBA
John Lennon statue in Havana


EUROPE
Stradivarius statue

GERMANY
Musicians of Bremen
Mendelssohn's Grave

Bach

Beethoven

POLAND
Chopin Museum, Warsaw
Chopin statue, Warsaw
Statue of musician and piano Lodz





SWITZERLAND

UK

UK
London
Handel's Organ in St Lawrence's Church, Whitchurch Lane, Edgware

V and A

http://www.classicfm.com/discover/music/inspiring-composer-quotes/joseph-haydn/

Amy Winehouse statue, Camden

Freddie Mercury, Dominion theatre, London

www.musicalmuseum.co.uk/

Greater London 020 8560 8108

Musical Museum | Home

www.musicalmuseum.co.uk/

Coventry Museum

Liverpool
Monument to John Lennon




USA

Elvis Presley

Home of singer of He'll have to go

Opryland, Nashville, TN

Willie Nelson, Country Music singer, statue, Austin, Texas

John Lennon statue






MORE INFORMATION

http://www.pinterest.com/genoxa/famous-musicians-in-bronze-and-stone/

http://listosaur.com/entertainment/10-great-statues-honoring-legendary-rock-musicians/

 Post under c o n s t r u c t i o n .  When I typed the word correctly, the spell checker turned it into contraption. Post under contraction.Oops. I uploaded it when I meant merely to save it. Come back for more tomorrow.

Quotations About Travel, Is it better to travel in hope than arrive?

TRAVEL QUOTE

Some quotations from my forthcoming book on Daily quotations (based on people born on this day.

Robert Louis Stevenson

• It is better to travel hopefully than arrive. 

Disraeli

• Benjamin Disraeli, PM: Never complain; never explain. Like all travellers, I have seen more than I remembered, and remember more than I have seen.  (A quotation from my forthcoming book of quotations. For my existing book on quotations, see Lulu.com))

Tolkein

• Sept 2 1973 Death of Tolkein (born Jan 3 1892). Author of The Hobbit ; Lord of the Rings.Quotes: Little by little, one travels far.

Here are some quotations from my book Quick Quotations for writers and speakers:

Travel, Tourism

• A journey begins with a single step. (Chinese Proverb attributed to Confucius and Lao Tzu.)
• Being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned. (Samuel Johnson.)
• Better to travel hopefully than to arrive. (Robert L Stevenson)
• Enjoy the journey. (Babs Hoffman.)
• I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad. (George Bernard Shaw.)
• I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train. (Oscar Wilde,)
• I told a girl, 'I travel to find out how other people do things differently'. She retorted, 'I travel to find out how much people do the same, what they have in common'. (Angela Lansbury.)
• If you look like your passport picture, you're too ill to travel. (Will Kommen.)
• It is better to travel in hope than to arrive. (Robert Louis Stevenson.)
• No, I don't want you to come with me on the trek up Everest. Half way there the heel on your shoes will break. Even if you enjoy it, nobody else will. (Trevor Sharot., Consultant Statistician, to his wife.) 
• Omnibus - (Song by  Flanders & Swan.)
• Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and  
• Take only photographs. Leave only footprints.
• The great advantage of a hotel is that it is a refuge from home life. (George Bernard Shaw.)
• The Runaway Train - (Song.)
• The two best moments of a journey are when you set off and when you get back.
• To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries. (Goethe.)
• Travel broadens the mind.
  Travelling is like gambling; it is always connected with winning and losing. (Goethe.)
  Travelling makes you appreciate your home.
• When I watch TV travel programmes I am never jealous of the presenters and I never wish that I was there, because I know that if I were there I would have blisters on my heels, mosquito bites on my arms, my luggage would be missing, my boat trip would be cancelled because of storms, and the bargain souvenir I had bought from a stall would be at half price in the local supermarket. (Angela Lansbury, travel writer.)
• Worth seeing? Yes. But not worth going to see. (Samuel Johnson.)
• Bicycle - you'd look sweet upon the seat of a bicycle made for two
• Car - You can have any colour you like so long as it’s black. (Ford.)
• Golf - a good walk spoiled. (Mark Twain, November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910.)
• Hiking - My knapsack on my back (Song.)
• Route/choice: I took the road less travelled and that has made all the difference. (Poem by Walter de la Mare, a metaphor about the advantages of acting independently.)

DESTINATION QUOTES

USA

All my exes live in Texas - that why I hang my hat in Tennessee.
Galveston, oh Galveston. (Galveston is S Texas.)
If you're going to San Francisco. (song)
New York, New York. (song)
Route 66. (song)

Chicago


UK
Blue skies over the white cliffs of Dover. (song)
He who is tired of London is tired of life. (Samuel Johnson.)
It's a long way to Piccadilly. (Song.)
Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner. (song)


.............
Songs and jokes the tourist boards don't promote
WC Fields (gravestone humour)
I'd rather be in Philadelphia.
(That was written before Philadelphia became the top tourist destination it is now, with the history museum where I saw a wonderful exhibition about Benjamin Franklin and the Jewish Museum where I saw a wonderful exhibition on a writer.