Rules For Weddings & Funerals - Who Is First? Who is the VIP?

Wedding vanue in Albania. Photo by Angela Lansbury

Weddings

The rules are quite simple in the UK and worldwide in most countries. At a wedding the bride comes first. Her dress and event have precedence over any other. 

In the UK and many countries the bride wears white which draws attention to her because nobody else wears white.

However, in Chinese and Asian communities, red is a lucky colour, so the bride might wear white. Or she could wear two or three outfits at different stages of the ceremony.

Some brides and wedding hosts or orgnaizer state a dress code or colour theme. 

You do not upstage the event to celebrate anything else because that is sidetracking attention from them, the event and clothing which they have paid for. 

If in doubt, check with the hosts of the event.

If another event is to be announced, the announcement should be made by the next of kin or Toastmasters of the day with permission from the next of kin.

Funerals

Similarly, at a funeral, the deeased and next of kin come first.

Useful Websites

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13200517/Prince-Harry-Meghan-Markle-American-Riviera-Orchard-William-Diana.html#newcomment

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The challenges of Greek, Hebrew, Russian and Cyrillic

 

 As far as I'm concerned the Romans did one good thing for us. They gave us the Latin alphabet. I have been struggling today with a message in Russian on Facebook. 

I went onto Wikipedia thinking it's time I put up the Greek, Russian, Hebrew and Arabic alphabets where I can see them easily. For example, on a pin board or wall behind my computer screen.

Greek

Is Greek 'all Greek' to you? Until you have learned every letter of the alphabet you can only read a few simple words, which use about 5 common letters.   For example, I recognized Athens on a road sign and Exit in the aeroplane. 

My attempts at learning go back so far it is embarrassing to recognize and admit how long it has taken me - without finishing!  I started seeing the Greek alphabet in school, in mathematics. In my late teens as a student I first went to Greece. I took more holidays in Greece as an adult.

Much later, I was in Singapore and as Area Director of toastmasters International speakers' training clubs, I had to visit at least twice in six months a Toastmasters group called Toastmasters in Christ. I was astonished to find the well educated leader giving an analysis of bible texts, explaining the meaning of Hebrew words. at a Christian Toastmasters speakers training clubs. Oddly, Christians who train to be priests learn Greek for the New Testament and Hebrew for the Old Testament. 

From Greek To Hebrew

Why do I need Hebrew nowadays when I am not in nor visiting Israel? Looking at packaging of chocolates and wines in supermarkets. For myself, or when buying gifts. Also in prayer books at funerals.

When would I need Cyrillic? On holiday in Bulgaria.

It is almost all Russian. What about Russian?

Today I had a post on my Facebook page? What did it say?

I need to translate.

Useful Websites

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

About the Author

Angela Lansbury teacher of English (advanced and English as a Second Language or English as a Foreign Language, French and other languages, 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

 Please share links to your favourite posts.

Unexpected blows and benefits of Covid-19

Let's start with the bad news and end with the good news.



May 2020 Cases. Shown in wikipedia. The grey areas have no cases or no data.


These are stories you might have read on the internet. Before passing on information, or acting on information, check reliable sources.

This is the statue of Wee Anie or Girl On A Suitcase, Gourock, west coast of Scotland.
From Wikipedia.

dave souza - Own work

"Wee Annie", a sculpture at the north end of Gourock's Kempock Street, commemorates the town's past as a seaside resort, and its pier as a setting-off point for Clyde Steamers taking holidaymakers down the Firth of Clyde. The statue, also known as "Girl on a Suitcase", was created by Angela Hunter as part of a public art project commissioned by Riverside Inverclyde in 2011. It has become a local tradition to keep Wee Annie warm with a scarf and woollen hat, during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in the United Kingdom she was duly given a face mask. Behind her, Kempock Street is unusually quiet as cafes, pubs and many shops have been closed to minimise spread of the virus. Lochrie, Susan (2015). Gourock's 'Wee Annie' back from her holidays. Greenock Telegraph. Readers' Pictures - Wee Annie Taking No Chances With Coronavirus. Inverclyde Now (2020-03-22).

Here's how she was before.

Here's Gourock's location.



The first bad news is that you cannot travel or book holidays. The good news is that if you booked with Singapore Airlines you got your money back. You can also travel all over the internet to see pictures of places such as Scotland with the amusing statue of Wee Annie, whilst picking up new vocabulary or reminders of other langagues. Wee - small in Scotland.

More good news. If you are lazy and retired, you can sit at home at your comuter all day long and not feel guilty. The bad news is that it is not good for your health. The good news is that you can do some exercises by standing up every hour.

The Bad News
1 People with other illnesses cannot get treated.
2 You cannot even see a private doctor.
3 Weddings cancelled.
4 Mourners at funerals, numbers restricted.
5 You cannot visit dying relatives
6 Exams are cancelled.
7 Schools are closed.
8 Gyms and swimming pools are closed.
9 Airlines are bankrupt.
10 Holiday money is lost.
11 Insurance doesn't cover you if taken out after the pandemic was cdeclared by WHO.
12 Protective equipment is defective.
13 Money donated has disappeared.
14 Vaccines won't be available for months.
15 If you caught it and recovered you might still get it.
16 Hoax stories are muddying the picture.
17 You cannot get true figures because some countries don't count Covid-19 deaths in hospitals, some places don't test after you died outside hospital, shortage of test kits.
18 Those who are infected can pass it on before they know it.
19 You could pass the temperature check at airports and buildings but still be incubating and infectious.
20 Doctors, nurses and health care workers are catching it so the numbers of sick people is rising whilst the number of carers is falling.
21 Doctors and nurses supposedly taking care and wearing protective clothing are still getting ill - if they get sick, what hope is there for us.
22 Online meeting are unnatural and do not train uf for public speaking social meetings and work.
23 You cannot get masks.
24 Scam callers pretend to be the Singapore health service.
25 Children cannot play in parks.
26 No birthday meals out in restaurants.
27 You cannot have affairs.

The Good News
1 Doctors are giving consultations on the phone and this benefits us by saving time, travel and stress. We cannot catch illness from the doctor's waiting room. This benefit is likely to continue after covid-19 ends.
3 Cut down the expense of large numbers at weddings. Increase the numbers of weddings online watched by families all over the world who previously would not have been able to witness the event.
4 Increase in online memorials. People can attend a funeral or memorial service online, adding their own condolences and memories.
5 Things are better now. In the old days you went off to the hospital canteen to eat and yur relative died whilst you were away. (My maternal grandfather.) Now you can set up ipads or screens and watch and talk 24 hours or daily, or in the final minutes.
8 We are all getting used to exercising at home. Fewer deaths from drowning in ublic and private swimming pools.
12 People are making their own masks and protective equipment.
16 Log onto government websites and apps.Useful Websites.
23 You can get a mask in Singapore. The government has issued one reusable mask to everybody.
24 The MOH has a line where you can call to check you are not being scammed.
25 The peace is lovely. You can work without screaming from the school break time or the swimming pool or the kids on the swings and slides. You can nap in the afternoon with shouting from the swimming instructors. The traffic noise is down. the trains noise is down. The planes and helicopters are not disturbing the peace.
26 You can eat healthily at home.
27 Your spouse cannot have affairs.

Useful Wbsites
Ministry of Health Government Singapore
https://www.moh.gov.sg/covid-19
Australian Rules About Fencing Swimming Pools
https://www.spasa.com.au/consumer-info/fencing-laws/https://www.spasa.com.au/consumer-info/fencing-laws/

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
The 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.

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.
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, Singapore.
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-21713991
learncool.sg
Please share links to your favourite posts.

22 You can speak online standing up. You see newsreaders reading online. you see talk shows online. Now you can practise doing the same.

Vietnam Museum of Ethnology - Delightful

I thought this would be dull but the building and presentation were ultra-modern.

I went straight into the two shops inside the entry gate by the ticket booth, in case they were closed by the time I returned. I bought one of those neck purses which I used to buy for my passport when travelling. Now I need it for my mobile phone to keep it handy ready to take photos.

The main mauseum is on two floors.

Highlights:

Funerals.

This is a funeral scene. White is worn by the mourning son of the deceased. Red is worn by the daughter-in-law.

Musical instruments.

Slash and burn farming for crop rotation.

Models of communal longhouses - and the big reproductions outside.

We were about to leave when we asked the way to a caffe. We passed another large modern building with people inside and went to see what it was. Another hidden museum in the same complex.

The Second Building

Highlights:
Paintings.
Costumes.
A giant drum.

What more could they add? Some statistics on life expectancy. We have romantic ideas about primitive people having natural food and long life expectancies.

I was going along with the romantic idea of cultures which should be preserved. Then a couple of things made me question this view.
Sacrifice of a bull. Looked very cruel to me.
Witch doctor type medicine.
Killing elephants.

The elephant display was fascinating, as elsewhere in the museum, a combination of excellent photos with comments, and videos.

More Information From
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Joseph's_Cathedral,_Hanoi
Travel information
For hotels
booking.com
Comparison site:
https://www.clicktripz.com/rates/search/index
For airlines
travelok.com
vietJetair.com (Comprehensive list of budget airlines in Wikivoyage.)
For transport
https://www.grab.com/vn/en/

Language
Duolingo.com 
(Remember to click on the sound symbol to hear how words are pronounced.) 

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Please share links to your favourite posts. I have several more on Hanoi, Halong Bay and Vietnam.

Learn Languages From Songs With Subtitles: Hebrew to English, Arabic and Aramaic

Problem
What do songs in foreign languages mean?
Can I learn words the easy, fun way from songs?

Answer
Yes, just go onto YouTube and type in the title of a song and the words 'translate into EnglishP or "subtitles in English' or 'lyrics in English', or just the language you are learning.

Story
I've been trying to learn languages from songs for years. Nursery rhymes and songs. At kindergarten (that's a German word from the German word kindergarten) and in primary school (for Americans, this means elementary school) I was taught Frere Jacques which I have remembered life long.

Now, today, I've discovered something else. I was sent a link to an Israeli song. I'm started learning Hebrew on Duolingo (I wanted to learn the alphabet, and I also started Russian and Greek). I have been to Russia, Greece and Israel a couple of times or more. However, from the Israeli song I recognised only two words, erev for evening - looks almost the same, and beseder, which I thought was enough (or in context OK?).

Urgh! I then went searching for the lyrics, and instead of finding the English in a column alongside the Hebrew, which is what you tend to get if you type in the words of a classical song such as something from an Italian opera, I found a link to another version of the song by some other singers with subtitles along the front.

Songs are excellent for learning languages. They are memorable, so you want to sing along with the chorus, then you keep repeating the tune and the words in your head. So now I am on a quest to find a song in each language I am learning, preferably one with helpful vocabulary.

The Hebrew song, when you stop to think about it, is quite humorous. I like the line about everybody giving you advice!

Hebrew, Arabic and Aramaic
Incidentally, Hebrew and Arabic are similar with a base in Aramaic, which is the language which would have been spoken in the streets of Jerusalem two thousand years ago in the era of Jesus and the Romans (along with lots of other notable figures from world history). I think Aramaic is still used for weddings and funerals worldwide at Jewish events, as well as being spoken in villages by several groups today, alongside Hebrew and Arabic, by Moslems, Jews and Christians in Aramaic speaking areas. (See my previous posts on Hebrew, Arabic and Aramaic words and names of people. Ben is son in Hebrew, as in Benjamin and Ben Hur, whilst Bar, another word beginning with B, is Aramaic for son, as in Barmitzvah (son of the law or good deed) and Bar Kochba.

Google translate would not translate Rak b/Yisrael but I then found the translation is on the Youtube website at the start of the song and throughout.

Words from the song
adam - man/person
b' in
Bar - son in Aramaic
ben - son in Hebrew (Benjamin - biblical name meaning son of my right hand)
chinam - advice
ha - the
kol - whole, all
Rak - only
shalom - peace in Hebrew, salaam, peace in Arabic, Jerusalem - city of peace
shel - of (as in the song Jerusalem shel b a h a v - 0ops trouble with autocorrect - Jerusalem of Gold
simcha - celebration
yam - sea
yishun - sleep
yom - day (as in Yom Kippur, the Jewish religion fasting holy day)
If you can recognise the words Adam (man), ben (son) shalom (peace), you already know three words of Hebrew and if you know salaam you know one word of Arabic. Build, build, build on your languages. Habonim - (ha-bonim) the builders - a name for a youth group.

Im is the Hebrew plural for a noun, such as cherubim - lots of cherubs, bonim - lots builders.

Uni (pronounced Uh - knee (+I in Hebrew)
rot-ze (want)
bonim (builders).

Tips
I'll repeat:
Go onto YouTube and type in the title of a song and the words 'translate into EnglishP or "subtitles in English' or 'lyrics in English', or just the language you are learning.

Here's the song which started my quest today for translations of songs with subtitles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvabkdetO1s

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, teacher of English and other languages.
Also correction and translation of websites and other material such as CVs, instruction books and sales materials.
Pleas look at my other posts on this blog and my other blogs on language and spelling in blogger.com . You can see more Angela Lansbury author, poet, speaker, Toastmaster, profiles and posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, on my web pages and my books on Amazon.com and Lulu.com Please like my pages, follow and share.