A modern sukkah for the Jewish autmn harvest festival of Sukkot

Dinner table in Sukkah with Palwin wine. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Palwin wine

The Palwin wine is kosher. It has a long history. The name Palwin comes from Palestinian Wine. 

Notice the label features grapes. 

The bread is challah. A white or yellow soft bread. Served on a platter or a bread board on a silver or decorated tray. It is covered with a cloth embroidered with suitable symbols.

Sukkah, 2021. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

The sukkah is decorated with fruit and depictions of fruit. Gardens in London, England have apples and grapes. (In fact the UK has more than 300 commercial wineries and vineyards. The famous Rothschild banking family established kosher wineries in France and Israel. You can see Rothchild cellars and the exhibition of wine labels at Waddesdon Manor.)

My family was a bit worried about the cold when invited to share an evening Sukkot meal in a sukkah. But there was a small electric heater plugged in to a socket in the kitchen, with the lead through the open kitchen window. 

The guests helped clear up. You do not want to leave crumbs on the table or floor to attract insects and rats. (This summer rats chewed wiring in our car engine which cost a lot to repair.) Fruit suspended in the air is okay. 

What is the difference between a sukkah and Sukkot? A sukkah is the temporary building. Sukkot is the festival.

Useful Websites

https://sukkahmart.co.uk/pages/about-sukkot

https://sukkahmart.co.uk/products/safari-sukkah

https://amenvamen.com/sukkah-kit-reviews

Sukkah kit

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264476751808?chn=ps&norove

Toastmasters Clubs for speakers in London, England? Singapore? Or Worldwide?

In London I belong to two Toastmasters International clubs:

Harrovians meets the first and third Monday evenings each month (unless some national holiday or other event takes precedence - always phone or sent them an email to check). They meet in a church near Harrow on the Hill station on the fast Metropolitan line from Baker Street station (by Madame Tussauds).

HOD meets the first and third Thursday evening at The Bridge in the car park of the Leisure centre near Harrow and Wealdstone station. A short walk. the station is on the overground train line from Euston and national rail.

Both clubs are on:
Meetup
Facebook
Toastmasters International find a club website.

In central London you will find many more club which welcome visitors. Several meet in rooms above pubs where you can have a drink or meal before or after the meeting, on your own or with the members you meet.

Most clubs are open to visitors, whether members of other Toastmasters clubs in the UK or overseas, as well as welcoming visitors who are not yet a member of a Toastmasters club and are potential members.

In-house clubs include one for employees of the tube line (underground railway), and banks, and a breakfast club. You would be better able to get an invitation from them if you worked for an overseas branch of the same company or industry and were already a member of Toastmasters.

One club which meets frequently during the term time is the London Business School, near Baker Street.

At this time of year, March to June, the clubs are holding speech contests, which means members will invite family members and supporters.

Singapore
In Singapore if you are visiting a club in a skyscraper in the financial district, you will have to get your name on the list to get admitted by security, who will want to photograph your passport or national identity cards before opening the turnstile to let you through. Toastmasters clubs are in many major companies such as Paypal, Google, IBM and other household names.  If your first language is English, and you are from the UK or the USA, you will be extra welcome.

UK
In the UK, it is a bit different. You have to register because of space considerations. If an auditorium has 100 seats,  the organizers will allocate 100 tickets, even if the tickets are free. If 105 people turn up in hope, 5 people will not be allowed to stand at the back or in the doorway nor to sit on the stairs, because that is blocking the fire exits. So make sure you register early for a major contest.

USA and Worldwide
Toastmasters started in the USA. So the USA has many toastmasters clubs, speaking English and sometimes Spanish.

French
Canada has French speaking clubs. So do London, England, (bilingual) and Singapore (all in French).

Useful Websites
https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have several more posts on Toastmasters clubs, speaking languages, Singapore, the UK and the USA. Please share links to your favourite posts.