Swedish is so easy!14 instantly recognizable and memorable words you can use in four countries

 Swedish is simple. 

Book is bok and mouse is mus, rhyming with moose. If I wake in the night I can use the time usefully learning words of Swedish.

Anka is duck. I found that difficult at first. How do you anchor a duck? Then I realized that both the English and the Swedish contain the letter K. Reindeer is even simpler and shorter, ren. A bit like texting. 

Swedish - English

anka - duck

bok - book

doktor - doctor

fisk - fish

gav - gave

glas - glass

hus - house

ja (pronounced ya) - yes

mus - mouse

polis - police

ren - reindeer

stol - chair

stopp - stop

taxi - taxi

English - Swedish

book - bok

chair - stol (like the English word stool)

doctor - doktor

duck - anka

fish - fisk

gave - gav

glass - glas

house - hus

mouse - mus

police - polis

reindeer - ren

stop - stopp

taxi - taxi

yes - ja (pronounced ya)

But where can you use it? Not only in Sweden. It is one of the two official languages of Finland, which has a large Swedish speaking population. It is also mutually intelligible in Norway and Denmark. It is one of the official languages of the European union.

Useful Websites

duolingo.com

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

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Swedish_phrasebook

Photo opportunities & Gifts at Heathrow & Airports - What's In The Caviar Shop? For kids?

 

Angela Lansbury sitting in the Union Jack chair at the Caviar shop, Heathrow Airport, 2022. Photo by Trevor Sharot.

Welcome and farewell Photos

At the airport, when departing and arriving, I look for a picture featuring the country. If you have your camera ready, you might catch a welcome sign or statue at the approach road to the airport.

Statues & Symbols

The approach road to terminal 2 at Heathrow has a globe. Symbol of the world. 

Fast Photos

By the time I had turned on my mobile phone, and dialled in my passwo rd to open it, I was too late. My phone has a bypass instant camera symbol for just this reason. I ought to practise using it. Outdoors, in daylight, in theory you get better pictures.

Chair Styles

However, at Heathrow this year, inside the terminal, I found this neat union Jack chair. I could not resist sitting in it for a photo. Later, looking at my photos, I see things which I did not notice at the time. The style is a traditional Victorian armchair with a buttoned back. But recovered with brightly coloured, modern fabric to give it a modern look.

For comfort, it has wide, curved, cloth covered, solid arms with wood at the vertical front. The legs are old-fashioned turned wood legs. 

National Flags

In Duty Free shops there were numerous souvenirs with union jacks. I usually take one photo of myself with the object, and one without anybody. 

Vertical Versus Horizontal

You might also take a vertical picture and a horizontal picture. A vertical picture would be good for a magazine cover or the opening slide in a presentation. But a horizontal picture might suit the top half of a pace or slide with text underneath. 

Souvenir Shop Opportunities

Most airports have bottles of wine, spirits, or non-alcoholic drink, biscuits, sweets (Americans say candies), fridge magnets, soft toys, and magazines.You might choose a newspaper or magazine or calendar to show the date, from a shop, or the flight arrival time

Security

I photograph products to buy, not photos which show the airport. Security might forbid taking photos in airports. 

What about your own caution? You might not want to reveal the layout of the airport, or the fact that you are away from home.

Cyprus Airport

On arrival in Cyprus we saw pictures of local attractions and a map. On leaving, we found shops selling wine bottles and rose sweets (not Turkish delight, not Greek, but Cypriot.

Heathrow's Caviar Shop

In the caviar shop you could buy wine and bottles of booze.

What about children, or grandchildren? I spotted some soft toys. Pink. Aquatic. What were they? Fish? Salmon? They cost ten pounds.

Other shops for families,  biscuit boxes with pictures of H M The Queen. shortbread biscuits. All kinds of food with wrapping depicting the Union Jack.

For Children

For children, the general big souvenir store area with magnets and soft toy bears. Hamleys shop. The Harry Potter shop. Before you enter the escalators to your departure gate, there is a children's play area.

Useful Websites

Caviar Shop

https://boutique.heathrow.com/en/retailers/caviar-house-and-prunier

Caftans Online

Lots of colourful caftans cost from under twenty dollars and postage the same again.

https://www.ebay.com/usr/oussum_shop

Video conferencing at home and work: tips on what to do

What  to check
1 Your equipment
2 The background you show
3 Your appearance
4 Your health
5 Safety and security

1 Equipment
Desk
Chair - adjust height so your feet reach the floor.
Screen - the bigger the better

Wireless typing
Wireless mouse

Wrist rest, to prevent repetitive strain injury RSI
(Mine is Fellowes brand. I kept dropping it on the floor and losing it under the desk because it is black. So I stuck cut off bits of white address labels on it to find it in the dark.

Items Nearby
Plants - real good for oxygen in daytime, but make sure they won't fall, and can be watered easily wihout any water reaching papers.
Plastic plants? Could look good on screen.
Food and drink - not visible, not endangering electrics.
I drink water to feel alert and because it stops me rubbing my eyes which itch when dehydrated.

2 Green screen.
We suspended a green sheet on tubing stretched across the room between two top cupboards. This created a plain but coloured background.

3 Keep a mirror and comb near the desk.
Comb and Mirror
Comb hair and put on lipstick early. You never know who will phone when to ask you to speak on screen.
Shirt and Tie
Consider a shirt and tie, or dickey (false shirt front). You can also get a tie ready neatly tied on elastic to go around you neck (used by stage performers and orchestra musicians).

4 Exercise
Organize breaks. Do exercise first thing or at lucn time or in the evening. Or do foot walking under the desk.

5 Hide valuables away from view.
Do not reveal doors and the layout beyond the room where you are speaking.
Do not talk about your valuables.
On the other hand,  whilst at home, on screen, or when alone to raise morale, you could wear any necklaces which are too valuable, or in danger of breaking (such as pearls). Or the shoes too delicate to wear all day when running around town, could be our of their boxes where they would moulder away never worn and instead on your feet unseen in your home office to make you feel good.

https://www.dbs.com.sg/personal/articles/family/working-from-home?

Author
Author, Author! About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. (Not related to the actress.)
Author of twenty books including: Quick Quotations; Who Said What When.
See books and profiles on Lulu.com and Amazon, such as Wedding Speeches & Toasts. Also watch videos on YouTube.
See other posts on singers and statues and languages and destinations.

Online Toastmasters International Meetings
If you want to learn to speak the Queen's English, or Received Pronunciation. join me at my online toastmasters club,
Braddell Heights Advanced. Wednesdays, 7-9 Singapore time which is seven hours ahead of London, England.

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=braddell%20heights%20advanced%20toastmasters
I am also a member of
Singapore Online.9-12 pm, Singapore time, Fridays. I am also a member of
Tampines Changkat Advanced.
Harrovians, London.
Tiarel.
Toastmasters International Find a Club
https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club
https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=upSEBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=quick+quotations
lulu.com/shop/angela-lansbury/who-said-what-when/paperback/product-21713991ape

How To Photograph A Celebration - lesson from 15+ Heartwarming Pics Of Children Who Were Just Adopted

15+ Heartwarming Pics Of Children Who Were Just Adopted: According to Together We Rise, every day, 1,200 kids enter foster care in the United States, a life that is often filled with stigma and uncertainty. To combat this, TWR brings together volunteers to help kids in foster care and to encourage families to adopt; two years ago, they started to post pictures of newly adopted kids to Facebook and Instagram. The response was tremendous.

Delightful pictures. Shows you how to get lovely photos.

Many people warn you not to include children or animals in a photo. But you can get delightful pictures of children and animals by taking multiple shots. Also offer food or treats.

Celebrate an important event with a chalkboard announcement, before and after an event.

Adoption
Before and after adoption.

Wedding
Before and after the marriage. (Bride at parents' home. Then bride with groom.)

Ask the subjects to wear co-ordinating clothes.

Stand the subjects in height order.

Have them clasping the announcement board or pointing to it.

If you are small, sit or stand on a chair or a step.

Another common pose is two people back to back, for example astride a piano stool.

If you are entering a contest, be sure to take photos in advance, when you are hoping to win.

If you don't win, congratulate the winner, who might be charming enough to say your effort was also excellent, and be photographed with the winner.

If you enter a contest, or driving test, several times and don't win, you could still take the sad face photos on failing.

Add an upbeat caption.
Then when you do win you have a pair or set with caption such as this:

Failed in 2000! Passed in 2020!

Or copy the caption idea from the adoption boards:

600 days studying French. Finally awarded B A Hons in French!

Or even,

300 days saving for our holiday, honeymoon.      Finally reached Paris!

Add the French flag.

Smile!

Share your photos.

Where's My Lost Phone?

Problem
You come back from a trip out and a couple of hours later you can't find your phone. Did you leave it behind somewhere? If not, where did you put it.

Answers
Ask a friend of family member to phone it. Likely places:

1 In your coat pocket. (Or Jacket pocket). Hung up in the hall. On the back of a chair. On the floor. You are wearing it.

2 Under the newspaper or shopping bag. By the shoes you took off at the door.

3 In your bag or rucksack.

4 In the car. (Or on the car.)

5 In the bathroom. By the toilet or wash basin.

6 On the bedside table. On the bed. Under your dressing gown or clothes.

7 In your pocket on you, in the dress, coat, trousers.

8 Where were you last? In the garden? Is it on the garden table?

9 On your desk under paperwork.

10 On the floor under your dining table or desk.

11 In the outside pocket of a bag or suitcase whose inside contents you've already checked.

12 Behind the cup or coffee maker in the kitchen.

13 Under the jacket on a nearby chair.

14 Under a cushion or pillow you pushed or threw aisde.

15 Behind your laptop. As soon as you put down the lid you will find your lost phone.

16 Whose phone is near you? Have they taken your phone? Phone your phone using theirs.

17 Sitting on a surface the same colour (black on black), camouflaged, invisble. Stick something colourful on the back or edges of your phone.

18 Try Find My Phone from your laptop or computer.

Failing all else, tidy the house. Eventually you will move a bag and find it.

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

Caffe Nero, Eton and Windsor, England, for coffee and cake

Problem
Where to get coffee and cake in Windsor and Eton?

Answer
We dashed along the pedestrian street where Windsor and Eton meet - very confusingly one side of the river is called Windsor, the other Eton, but the whole area is Windsor - I spent ages on the internet trying to work out which branch I had been in.

We opted for Caffe Nero because it's a big chain we know and other places looked like restaurants and we were' sure they would serve only coffee and cake.

We managed to spot chairs which suited us, as somebody was leaving, so I parked myself in the chair whilst my husband went to line up for the order. I had told him I wanted a cake and no coffee. It's awkward that you cannot see a menu at the table, because if one of you sits down first to bag a table, through tiredness, or so as not to clutter the queue, the one left sitting down can't see the menu and food choices, as there's a barrier between you and the cake counter window.

I found afterwards you can see their menu on line. I have now registered for their system, which you need to see details and opt in for the wifi. It takes several minutes, creating passwords, choosing your birthday from spinning numbers and so on.

So I grabbed my bag, leaving my husband's unguarded and rushed to the counter to point at what I wanted, whilst looking over my shoulder to be sure nobody pinched his stuff on their way to the staircase.

I made a quick decision of the mincemeat tart which looked smaller and cheaper than the larger carrot cake, which in retrospect would have been a better choice.

My husband ordered the same for himself and was quite happy with it, and also had a coffee with cream. We added some of the cream from the coffee to the tart, which was still too sweet. Now I'm a lover of sweets. I drink sweet wines. However, I felt the tart was like a jam tart, rather than a filling mince pie, poor value, not nutritious. (I prefer the almond slice at Costa which at least give you protein in the nuts.)

If I were to go back, I would have the cake. A larger cake, divided into two so I got half, would be better value and more sustaining than one of two little tarts.

Afterwards I wondered what you can do to choose cakes when you are sitting down. If the queue is short, you can run up to the counter, in relays, so as not to lose your seat.

Order First?

In Singapore when there are long queues and a shortage of seats signs often tell you to get your food and then find a table. Because you can find lots of tables occupied by people who don't have food, whilst people with food are standing with a tray and nowhere to put it.

Coffee First, Cake later?

Even if you both order coffee and sit down, and later go back for cake, the same dilemma applies. You have to leave the seat with your half drunk coffee and your bags and coat. You have to phone each other or shout.

Online Menu?

I thought, well, I should have logged in earlier and seen the online menu. However, the mincemeat tart was not on the online menu. 

Send A Photo?

The alternative is for the person in the line for the food to take a picture and send it back to the person who is sitting down. Assuming you both have working phones.

Restarantants With Display Menus - Please Copy!

The Japanese and Chinese restaurants are better organised. They have either huge pictures of the food in panels around the room or over the counter, or a menu on every table, like at a Wetherspoons pub, so you can sit and choose and discuss and then send one person with everybody's order.

Where is the Caffè Nero which I visited? I found two branches in the area. The other branch is in the Windsor station.

 Caffe Nero

42 Peascod Street

Windsor SL4 IDE

Tel:+44 1753 620092

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
See my other blog :
www.luxurytravelforless.co.uk