Did you miss the Jubilee? Where to find photos

 

We missed the Jubilee in London. We were away in Cyprus. 

However, when we came back I found three sources of information.

1 Street flags

 The bunting (string of small flags) of Union Jacks was still up at the Tonito Italian restaurant in Hatch End. Our street party had photos.

Wetherspoons pub in Hatch End had two big flags flying over their entrance.

2 Our street party and street organizers had photo of their event at one of our neighbours' homes.

3 The President of the online only Toastmasters Club, Singapore International Dynamic, Edward, lives in Belize. He sent me photos of the Jubileee of the little boy (the grandson) making faces.

4 Leftovers at home - Union Jack paper napkins used by family who had been in the UK.

Useful Websites

You tube trooping the colour with red guards on horses in front of Buckingham Palace

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4530KCYg9WQ

Changi Airport and Singapore Airlines during September under Covid19

Singapore flag

When my family left their condo in Singapore, the lift (elevator) had signs telling people to wear masks in the lift and building, with warning of a fine.

The Grab driver wore a mask.

Changi Terminal
The question of which terminal is simpler. Not so many terminals open.

Check-in
The terminal was pretty empty. No queue to check in. Choosing a seat was easy - a whole row of available.

The wrapping of a coolbox was amazing, and free, with a huge plastic bag. The top was twisted and folded back to make a U-shape handle.

The Singapore Airlines Lounge - Just one
The two business and first class lounges are now just one large business class lounge. You have to check in with a QR code.

Once inside, more QR clode scanning is reuqired to order food. Models of the dishes are displayed. But you have to order.

Transit passengers board first, less of a crush to queue, and to struggle down the aisles.

You collect water bottles on your way into the aircraft, along with your headset. No newspaper.

Instead of an amenity bag with a mask and comb you get a wet wipe and a teeny bottle o f hand sanitiser.

I rememered hearing abour wiping down the tray table, and did so.

In the toilet I waiped the door handle, and the toilet seat, and the flap you push to drop your used hand towels.

What can you use to wipe? I considered hand sanitiser, or water you dry off, or the hand wash gel, or the white wine I had not finished.

The airline is running fewer flights per day and week. Meals come quicker.

On The Plane
The scrheen on the plane walll showing the comparison of time in Singapore and in London was useful, for re-setting your wtach, or planning future online meetings. Seven hours difference, which will revert to eight hour when British summer daylight saving time ends.









UK flag

In London the self-regulated homestay is easy. Repeat prescription pills are ordered by your phramacy who collects the pills a couple of days later from your GP. If you are in lockdown a neighbour can collect the pills for you and push them through your letterbox.

A relative can bring you food. My family tried ordering through Ocado but Waitrose has merged with Marks & Spencer so their delivery slots were are all filled.

Nespresso coffee capsules can be ordered online and delivered next day. The price has gone up. However, one capsule makes two coffees, a lot cheaper than going out for coffee to Starbucks when you are required to stay home.

Useful Websites

About the Author

Who speaks three languages in Singapore but not English?

Chineasy aid to learning Chinese picure language showing coloured pictures.

Singapore flag.

US flag
Singaporeans who studied in the USA will have American accents.

UK flag
British pronounication is the norm, inherited from parents who lived int he era when Singapore was British and schools tught British English then as now. Also founding father of the nation, Lee Kuan Yew, studied in the UK, so he favoured British English.

Many people in Singapore speak Mandarin which they learn at school and at home two Chinese 'dialects', one from each parent, such as Hokkien and Teochew. They struggle with English because English has a past tense whilst Mandarin speakers simple say I go yesterday. Also they do not have 'the' and 'a' so every English sentence is difficult to create and to recognize. I discovered this when I started learning Mandarin.

Useful language learning websites
Memrise.com
Duolingo.com
chineasy.com

https://www.facebook.com/groups/polygotcommunity/?multi_permalinks=2383118521906906&notif_id=1568518579063017&notif_t=group_highlights

Author
Angela Lansbury, teacher of English and other languages, author of 20 books.

How To Make A Flag Cake For the USA, UK, Italy or Singapore

Make A Cake
American

American Flag
Earlier in July I wondered how to make a cake for July 4th and the whole month at my Toastmasters Club meetings showing the American flag. I now know you can use raspberries or strawberries and white icing, and red food colouring. (For an American or UK flag for the blue add blueberries.)

Singapore Flag

Singapore
Cheapest, smallest, simplest. Buy a cupcake. Cover half with white frosting. Put red jam or dyed red over the other half. (Or red foil taken off a wrapped chocolate.) Cut white frosting into a crescent and five small five point stars. And / or add the letters Sg. And place the cake on a large plate on a print out of the Singapore flag.

Italian Rainbow cake
Making a cake with a design on top is relatively easy. More time is needed to bake a cake with colour all the way through. rainbow cakes are popular and impressive. The easiest mutlicolour cakes are two colour or three colour.

For example, the red, white and green of the Italian flag.

Italian red, white and green food, in colours of the national flag. Photo by Exapler from Wikipedia.

Multi-Colour Sandwiches
I have also at the World Travel market in London, England, in November, seen multicolour sandwiches, layers of different coloured bread, celebrating a national flag.

Red Food Colouring
When I looked at rainbow cakes most cooks said that natural dyes such as beetroot and strawberry gave very pale colours and you would get better results from food colouring.

You can also get red and white colours using Jello (American brand of jelly).


UK Flag
If you are in London you could make an England cake which is much easier. the England glag or St Goerge's cross is a red cross of plus sign on a white background.



England flags are sold off in supermarkets the day after an England football match.  (The Swiss flag is white cross on red.) the Red Cross ambulance is a thick red cross in the centre of white background with a large white surround.

DIY & BOUGHT FLAG CAKES
Simple flag cakes in red and white
https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/a-slice-of-patriotism
https://bakeavenue.com/products/singapore-flag-cake
Elaborate cakes showing flags, personalities, landmarks, Merlions and more
https://mothership.sg/2015/08/this-is-the-amazeball-result-when-19-super-creative-patissiers-bake-birthday-cakes-for-singapore/
YouTube How to make a flag cake (for a US flag)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svRuAovIfmI
How to bake a green pandan cake with red and white Singapore flag topping using cream cheese.
http://www.foodiebaker.com/pandan-coconut-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting/
Edible photo topping on backing sheet you peel off, From UK, free shipping to UK and can be posted worldwide:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Birthday-Cake-Edible-Image-Printed-Topper-Decoration-PERSONALISED-Mobile-Phone

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

Singapore National Day Celebrations To See: Oct 6, 9, 10

Flag of Singapore

Singapore National Day is August 9th, and it celebrates independence in 1965 from Malaysia, now the neighbour with whom Singapore makes constant efforts to stay on good terms.

The national languages of Singapore are English, Chinese (Mandarin), Malay and Tamil.

Events to watch in person or on TV:

1 The parade.

2 The speech.

3 The fireworks.

Things to do:
Volunteer to help.
Attend events at your Community Club.
Watch TV.
See the parade.


Birthday Banner at Community Club in Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Photograph flags in streets and banners adorning Community Clubs.
Select red and white outfits to wear, such as white shirts and blouses, red ties and jackets, red shoes, red brooches..
Find red and white food or drink such as:
White bread and tomatoesL yogurt and strawberries, milk, white lassi, red and white plates.

Writing from Singapore in the week of Friday 28 July 2019 I can tell you that the Singapore flag has been displayed along the streets and on the buildings for days.

Singapore flags reflected in the pool. Cashew Heights. Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.




Flags on a balcony at Cashew Heights condo complex.

Happy Birthday Singapore vertical banner. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Features on the vertical banner to notice and point out to tourists: red and white of the flag with a crescent and stars, the Merlion symbol, the fireworks

I am president of Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Club and we will be wearing red and white, the colours of the national flag, at our meeting held two days earlier, July 7 2019. Other Toastmasters Clubs will do the same.

You can buy Singapore flags to drape over the back of the car's exterior wing mirror. Novelty, souvenir and stationery shops also sell attractive round badges with the flag symbol.

A preview of the fireworks takes place on August 6th. You can see a video preview online. At the weekend, on Saturday 10th of August, 2019, another five fireworks displays will be in the heartlands, the suburbs.

Good vantage points are high residences or offices or rooftop bars (which might sell tickets or increase prices like on New Year's Eve). If you can hear te fireworks but not see them at a buidling such as a hotel, try walking around to a public area such as a stairwell or lift lobby on the other side of the building.

Check last train times. Wear read and white and keep your camera charged and with you ready to capture the magic moments.

Make A Cake
American
Earlier in July I wondered how to make a cake for July 4th and the whole month at my Toastmasters Club meetings showing the American flag. I now know you can use raspberries or strawberries and white icing, and red food colouring. (For an American or UK flag for the blue add blueberries.)

Singapore
Cheapest, smallest, simplest. Buy a cupcake. Cover half with white frosting. Put red jam or dyed red over the other half. (Or red foil taken off a wrapped chocolate.) Cut white frosting into a crescent and five small five point stars. And / or add the letters Sg. And place the cake on a large plate on a print out of the singapore flag.

Red Food Colouring
When I looked at rainbow cakes most cooks said that natural dyes such as beetroot and strawberry gave very pale colours and you would get better results from food colouring.

Flags and badges
Flags and pages are sold at novelty stores, cheap Singapore dollar or two dollar stores, stationery stores.

You can buy a hat with the letters SG for 5 Singapore dollare from the shop in the YWCA.

Useful Websites
FIREWORKS
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/ndp-2019-fireworks-to-be-set-off-from-singapore-river-for-the-first-time

DIY & BOUGHT FLAG CAKES
Simple flag cakes in red and white
https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/a-slice-of-patriotism
https://bakeavenue.com/products/singapore-flag-cake
Elaborate cakes showing flags, personalities, landmarks, Merlions and more
https://mothership.sg/2015/08/this-is-the-amazeball-result-when-19-super-creative-patissiers-bake-birthday-cakes-for-singapore/

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

How To Remember Flags - a few fun flacts on flags from the UK, USA and Canada

I like to recognize flags which are flying.

The easiest ones to remember are the most distinctive.

The American flag is also called the stars and stripes.


How many stars and how many stripes? What do they represent?

The UK flag is called the Union Jack.









The design is a union or combinaton of three flags. The red cross on white you might recognize as the flag of England which is flown all over London when there are football matches involving the England team.

This flag, now I look at it, is not a correct version of the flag. The whites should be slightly off centre.
When the flag is flown upside down (originally and usually by sinking ships) it is a distress signal. Who knows or cares?

First, anybody in the navy or military knows. They need to be able to fly a distress signal when in trouble and recognize one flown by their own group or anybody else.

Boy scouts are taught this. I recall telling my small son this and was surprised he knew. He said he learned it from the Boy Scouts. They might fly the flag over the premises or at an international meeting. I presume girl guides are taught this either as part of general training or to attain one of the badges. If you are a steward or usher at an itnernational meeting and wear a flag on your clothing to indicate that you speak English you need to have it swn on the right way up.

(Having a coffee break. More later.)


The red maple leaf of Canada.


Useful websites
You will see the national flag on the page of any country in Wikipedia. Also check Wikivoyage and Wikitravel.
wikitravel.org
wikivoyage.org

Travel Information
visitbritain.com
visitbritainshop.com

Useful Information and Websites
Travel and Tourism
visitlondon.com
visitbritain.com
visitbritain.org
visitbritainshop.com
visittheusa.co.uk

Transport
virginatlantic.com (airline UK to USA and USA to UK and Europe and world)
skyscanner.net (flight date and price comparisons and offers)
citimapper.com
tfl.gov.uk (transport for London)
rome2rio.com (directions)

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