Where you might see or hear a grasshopper, cricket or locust

 

Grasshopper on rose in London, England, july 2024. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Finding A UK Grasshopper

You can see the green, grasshopper on the pink rose in my photo above. I saw this green semi see-through insect on a rose I had picked from the back garden (Americans say yard) in England. 

I took a photo. I was glad I did. By the time I had called others to see it, it had leaped into the air and flown off.

 It vanished. I thought I had lost it.

The Grasshopper Hops Off

Then sometody called that they had seen it on the floor. We knelt down to look at it. It scuttled off. 

Then, to our surprise it leaped again, about knee high, a couple of feet. It landed on the floor, and disappeared under a table.

Catching the Grasshopper

I called my husband to bring a glass to catch it. I didn't move. I kept watching it.

He trapped it. He released it outdoors.

Friend or Foe\

Afterwards, I wondered if we had done the right thing. Was it a pest? Locusts are pests.. But first, what was it? 

What Was It

It was green. Green like grass. It hopped. It must be a grasshopper. 

But, are a grasshaopper and cricket the same thing?.\As far apart as London in England and Singapore!

Singapore Crickets

I recalled that in Singapore where I lived most of the year for more than twenty years, you could hear the crickets every night, making a racket after sunset and when I went to bed around 11 p to midnight.. Although I never saw them.

I had heard crickets chirping every night in Singapore for years, but had never seen one.

Elaewhere in Asia, they are a poular food.

Later, after we released the grasshopper, I started to research. Was a cricket the same as a grasshaopper? 

Yes, although there are many sub catergories, sizes and colours.  A bit like dogs or cats.

Life Span

They live only two to three months . The adults die off in winter. Next year a new generation is born from eggs which lay hidden all winter.Like many insects.

Locusts

Swarms occur when there are too many in one place and they move on looking for more food.

Friend or foe, protector of plants or poests? A few million of them, locusts, on a cash crop, is not good news. But one lone, grasshopper, probably, won't do much harm.

DNA isn't everything. The environment can change behavious. Over crowding turns grasshoppers into locusts.

Useful Websites

Wikipedia Grasshopper

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasshopper\

https://extensionpubs.unl.edu/publication/g1633/na/html/view#:~:text=Grasshopper%20nymphs%20normally%20reach%20the,months%2C%20depending%20on%20the%20weather.

https://nerdfighteria.info/v/2x5eOBJ37iE/#:~:text=But%20if%20they%20are%20crowded,loop%20that%20leads%20to%20locusts.

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How To Attend A Club Event - Paid For Or Free

The Christmas Tree in the Tavern Restaurant, Tanglin Club, Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

How could you get to attend if you are not a member? You might be invited to an event because>

1 Guests - Family and Friends

The organizers are selling tickets guest and member tickets which are reduced price for members (who are already paying the organization and annual fee or a montly fee, as well as the joining fee) but often only slightly more for guests. If you have lots of friends through one club, they are likely to know members of another club or to be a member of two clubs. Some clubs allow members to take in friends or family as guests. 

2 Keep asking all your Singapore friends, are you a member of a club? In my early days as an ex-pat, I met lots of Americans through the American Women's Association. You could join this if you were waiting to be a member of the American Club, or in Singapore insufficient time to make it worthwhile paying the joining fee. Members of the association could meet at each other's homes for events such as bridge games and end of year parties, attend festive meals such as Thanksgiving, and attend moderately priced events in hired rooms such as the bridge game with sandwich lunch or tea. Full members had full use of the club including the swimming and could book tables in the restaurant. On a couple of occasions, one of the 'bossy' or busy or proactive ladies would suggest we all went for coffee or lunch in the restaurant. She had to book the table and the payment would be invoiced to her at the end of the month. We could either secretly slip her cash afterwards to compensate her, invite her back to our club or out to lunch if she was a friend. Or if only one person out of five was not a member, one of the other women who was a member might airily say, "don't worry, this is on me".

Free

Another system. When I first arrived, I knew nobody and was very lonely when my husband was away travelling. I would invite people to lunch at the club, but most of them were too busy with their own families and friends or work. I was desperately hoping somebody would accept and was happy to pay the cost of their lunch. My husband was having meals out with business associates all day every day. I was not even getting a Saturday evening meal out with him. He could hardly begrudge me one meal with a friend or acquaintance. 

On one occasion I invited a VIP lady organizer of a group, a bridge group, or a book group, or one of the national associations (American Club, Japanese Club, Australian club). She arrived with a gift for me, a silver picture frame. She explained, "I cannot reciprocate by inviting you back to my club because I am fully booked all week and we are going back to America." I then  realized that some people just accept that life is swings and roundabouts, sometimes you pay for a stranger, sometimes they pay for you. Other people like every transaction and relationship to balance, so if you invite them to a meal, whether at their home or a restaurant, you don't wait for an opportunity to reciprocate, because that might never come if one of you travels elsewhere or falls sick. You take a gift for the host. 

How do you do this at short notice? It's like planning for Xmas. If you do it on a regular basis, you can plan in advance. You and buy in the sales. You have a box or basket labelled gifts. 

All ready wrapped with fancy paper and ribbons. (The Japanese always expect gifts to be fancily wrapped. In China and Singapore even money must be presented in a lucky red packet.)

Then, if you are on the phone and are invited out and have to leave now, no time for shopping, you simply grab a gift from the box. If you like you can add the name of the person on the gift tag, and a nice message such as to my new friend, to my good friend, or thank you for the lovely lunch.

Reciprocal Clubs

If you are a member of a club, or the company you belong to has membership for all staff, you can get reciprocal arrangements overseas. For example, members of the UK civil service can join the Civil Service Club. I met him through a local Writer's club in London. He introduced me to a Toastmasters International Club. He is a member of several clubs, including some connected with Indian language groups. He arranges a Christmas dinner at the Civil Service Club for his friends.

You can visit many clubs just to be shown around with a view to becoming a member. Whilst there, look at the lists of activities. Some will be cultural. Book clubs, film clubs, national clubs. If you are sporty, you are sure to see a group such as football, cricket, squash, and cabinets of trophies or lists of events. If you are not nearby, you can check them out online. Find our what arrangements they have with clubs in your country.

If you are into sales, you might hire a table at a Christmas fare, to sell wine, jewellery, clothes, candles, food, books. You might have a customer who is a member of the club.

The Tanglin Club's Reciprocal Clubs

In Australia alone there are many reciprocal clubs, for example, several branches of the RAC club in different cities. In India, the Cricket Club in Mumbai is one of several.

Guests can book rooms in the club. See the club website for details.

Useful Websites

https://www.tanglinclub.org.sg/reciprocal-clubs/reciprocal-clubs.html

Life in London - Picnic in the Park - or a Kosher Kiosk

 Photo from Facebook.

What is there to do in London? I ask relatives who live in Finchley, Hendon, and Northwood. 

The husband of one pair said, "Not much to do. Everything is closed. Except for the food shops."

I replied, "What about the parks?"

"Yes, we went for a walk in a park in Hendon. We bought some food from a restaurant, like a kiosk, order from outside. A kosher kiosk.  They bring the food out to you. We ate it sitting on a bench. They removed the tables and had four wooden benches like a pub. The benches are bolted down."

The park is near Hendon Central Station.

The park adjoins an area with a Remembrance arch. The words in Hebrew, reading from the right to left, are the consonants which spell out Le zeekderon.  

N R K Z L

A bit like speedwriting, or text messages, or acronyms

Anything more cheerful?

the kiddie playground is in use.

The park has grass and trees. Three tennis cours. A couple of basketball courts, one still in use. Nobody is playing tennis. "It's too wet for tennis."

I asked, 'What about the snow?'

' When it's snowing in Wales and up north, there's not much snow in London. It's too warm here. The snow just melts. We are quite glad of a change of seen. Since nobody is working away from home or going out to restaurants, snow does not make much difference to our lives. Just something to look at. Out of the window.'

Another couple in thei

Searching For Parks On Maps

I remember when as young marrieds we moved from a flat in Stanmore to a bungalow in Hatch End. We knew all the big parks along the main road. However, when we looked at a local map, we discovered lots of interesting open spaces.

The nearby park had two entrances, so you could do a circular walk

Another park had an exit which led to a footpath through the woods and out through a housing estate.

Cricket grounds and tennis courts were in fields which offered another chance for a walk.

Photos

The seasons provided a changing opportunity for new vistas and photos. A fountain in front of the Hatch End arts centre.

Snow in winter. Flowers planted in public places. Houses with Christmas lights. Balloons for birthdays. On gates.

Seasonal posters of offers outside restaurants. 

I researched. Every path, building, cemetery, had a story. 

Gifts in the supermarkets.

Useful Websites

https://www.facebook.com/Hendon-Park-

360 view of the area

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/uv?pb=!1s0x487610dcac10a71b%3A0xcb4a0cde1bf29f87!3m1!7e115!4shttps%3A%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp

About the Author

Angela Lansbury is teacher of English. (Advanced English and English as a Second Language or English as a Foreign Language, French and other languages, an aspiring polyglot.)

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Member of many toastmasters  speaker training clubs, and speaking contest judge.

Angela Lansbury, the author of 20 books including Wedding Speeches & Toasts, and Quick Quotations, has lived in the USA, Spain and Singapore. 

She  has several blogs and writes daily on at least two of the following:

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

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English tea time: cucumber, white and brown bread, high tea

Sitting down to tea, after reading books about how people live in other times and other countries, you may feel that you are leading a relatively uneventful life. Yet the tea table before you has links to other eras and other countries, or contrasts with what you have experienced previously.

Outside the window of the room where I had tea recently, at a friens new home, I enjoyed seeing every room of the house, especially the kitchen. I looked out at the back garden with the lawn, contrasting with the front driveway of many houses in the street, covered in to allow car parking. I had previously taken a tour of the house, en route to the downstairs cloakroom. Now I looked out of the kitchen window, admiring the long lawn at the back of the house.

In Medieval times you had a meadow with grass and colourful perfumed flowers. Along came lawn tennis. Then lawn mowers. So in Victorian times, in a large house with a grassed lawn, you might watch croquet or clock golf or cricket played on the field or lawn.

Afterwards, in mid-afternoon, as either owner of the property, or a guest you ate cucumber sandwiches on white bread for tea. Tea was a meal between luncheon and dinner.

In the North of England in winter you came home when it got dark and cold. Electric lights in and around the house were installed in various years, as you can check, along with street lighting. Your local library will tell you about street lighting in your nearest city, town or village.

How can you find out? When writing about an ancestor of mine who lived in the East End of London in my novel I struggled to find out. The electric lights in the USA were better documented on the web than the lighting in London.

If you go to the North of England and Scotland you can still get High Tea. This is a half way meal combining tea and a snack supper. You start with savoury and end with sweet, maybe start with hot and end with cold, such as a grill or sandwiches or toast with something on top followed by cold cakes or if you prefer, hot pancakes.

Tea Time
Some schools and old people's homes would and still do serve a High Tea or early supper, at 5.30 or six o'clock. Meals get later as you go further south. In Europe, the latest would be the 9 pm or 10 pm meal in a restaurant in Spain.

It was easier to send the hero of my novel on a trip to another city, where his relatives were excited about the new lighting, than to leave him in London, where he might have been in the dark, at least the novel's author was in the dark.

Lights
Maybe the records of the electric light companies, the sales of light bulbs and records or household expenses will also give you a clue as to whether your ancestors or the people who used to live in your house had candles, gas light, or electric lights in the city or home.

Lighting up times, dawn and dusk, will affect the working day, the building of a house, school finishing time (allowing time for children to walk home, before the universal bus routes). You are cold and tired and hungry, or hot and tired and hungry, when you arrive home after a long walk (even costume drama ladies walking for a chat or riding a horse might be tired.

In Singapore at a Eurasian club we were served hot in both senses, curried food. In India it would be rice in the north. In China you would have rice in the north, noodles in the south. Back to Singapore, majority Chinese, but the Eurasian club was for Indians or rather mostly ex-past British or other white men with their exotically dressed Indian wives, who presumably liked curry (as did nay grandfather in London who died in 1950 - never went to India as far as I know and alas it's now too late to ask my late parents or y grandparents how he acquired this taste. Maybe Queen Victoria had made curry popular in his youth. Does anybody know?

The Eurasian club served me sandwiches using white bread. They serve whatever the organisers ask for, which might be savoury food followed by cold cake or biscuit or the modern substitutes, crisps and nuts and nibbles.

Back in London, I enjoy tea with my book group friends. They are mostly ladies (some of them belong to several book groups, at least two, sometimes three groups). Occasionally this group is joined by a husband, author, or retired gentleman has the time and inclination to read the latest price-winning book and offer a verdict. We have a mix of shop-bought and home catering.

My previous post describes the 'bridge rolls'. The afternoon's hostess told us they were not bridge rolls, but better than bridge rolls, less heavy, less bready, more light and more moist. I took a picture of the wrapper. I thought it was easier to give another family member the wrapper when they went shopping, and easier for them or me to show to a shop assistant. Weeks later the wrapper picture is still on my computer, whereas a name written on a scrap of paper would disappear.

The rolls are called Mini White Submarine Rolls. The white ones look more like the traditional bridge roll. They come in packs of eight which will make 16 half pieces, enough to fill one long oblong plate. We had a mixture of brown and white rolls, which adds visual appeal.

Angela Lansbury, author, researcher, speaker.

Buying Football Clothes: Manchester United Hats and More

Manchester United, Arsenal and other football teams, English, Scottish and Irish, are available in shops for you to buy for yourself or as Christmas presents for friends. In London's Oxford Street you can visit a shop with two floors of souvenirs of football, to buy for yourself or friends and acquaintances, as a gift, a thank you, or a favour if they are willing to pay but want you to buy for them whilst you are in England and they are not.

The prices can be quite high. You may be surprised or not surprised to learn that some clubs earn more from selling their tee-shirt, hats, scarves and other souvenirs, than they do from matches. The selling goes on day after day worldwide.

We went looking in London for Manchester United and Arsenal clothes for somebody else who does not have a large, unlimited budget. First the assistant showed us the most expensive t-shirts. We hummed and hated and started to walk out. Then he found us the less expensive tee-shirts. We selected the cheaper of the two tee-shirts.

The Arsenal tee-shirts had the name of the sponsor Emirates dominating the tee-shirt. We decided that it was safer to stick to our brief exactly and opt for a tee-shirt where the name of the football team was the focus.

I wandered over to the sale rail in hope. I found tee-shirts for Ireland, Scotland (didn't they lose - or was that rugby?) and other teams I did not know. Nothing for Arsenal nor Manchester United.

However, right next to the sale rail was the hats and scarves display. Hey! Hats with Manchester United. The first one I looked at was £5. The second one was three times as much, £15. So the first one seemed a bargain.

The hats were warm, as might be expected needed when watching football which is a cold weather sport. (Unlike cricket which is a summer sport, very slow, lots of players standing around, in hot countries, lighter white clothes).

Would a warm hat be unsuitable for a supporter in a hot country? Such as Singapore. Never mind. It was a good price. You could hang it on a hook in your bedroom. You could wear it indoors in a breezy flat or top floor balcony at night or to a fancy dress party or in an air conditioned sports bar when watching a match.

Job done. We went off very satisfied with our purchases. I hope our friend will be equally pleased to get them. If not, he won't be short of friends who would be glad to receive or buy a tee shirt or hat with Manchester United.

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