Corona Virus Debate and Facebook Pages

Here I am in a blue disposable mask.

 What will happen? Will it go on for years, as some say? Will it end soon, as some hope?.

In Singapore I caught the tail end of a meeting of Tampines Changkat Toastmasters. They were discussing holding meetings back in the Community Club. At the moment you can have meetings of up to eight people. But large venues have different rules. 

So some people are keen on hybrid meetings. For this you need a venue where you have internet connections. And you may need to limit attendees to those who have pre-booked.

Useful Websites.

SINGAPORE

https://www.facebook.com/sghealthministry

UK

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/covid-quarantine-hotels-cost-ps1-000-ready-three-weeks-b901114.html

https://www.facebook.com/WHO

https://www.facebook.com/DHSCgovuk

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/more-employers-sign-up-to-rapid-testing-to-protect-workforce

USA

https://www.facebook.com/usatoday

Facebook Forum on Covid and Lockdown Worldwide

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2672593926320374

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.

How to Introduce and Use A New word of the week, the day

You may have seen regular columns about new words and their meanings in Readers Digest. You can also subscribe to services which send you a new word every day.

Notebook Trick Leaned In School
At school in Latin class the teacher taught us to take a small A6 notebook which was light enough to carry in our pockets and write down new words we learned and take out the pocket book to read when waiting for the bus to school so that we learned the new words effortlessly.

Learning Vocabulary
I did the same for French and English.You can do the same with Spanish or any other language you are learning. Or teaching.



Toastmasters International
At toastmasters International the Grammarian is often called Language Evaluator. You might think that Language evaluator sounds more friendly than the scary word Grammar. However, I feel that Grammarian, or Grammar Police makes the job clearer than Language evaluator.

Some clubs give a certificate or gift to the appointment holders such as evaluators. Other will present a small ceriticate of thanks. Some will give you a round of applause. Others send a thank you by email or whatsap.



The Challenge Of Finding New Words
The first task of the Grammarian. (I use that word because it is shorter and quicker to type) is to give the word of the day. All speakers try to remember and use the word. They may either use it conventionally or inventively.

However, if you use an everyday word they have learned nothing new. But if you use a long complicated word they have trouble using it in a sentence, pronouncing it correctly, and remembering to use it.

Oxymoron
I used to use the word oxymoron regularly. I though as Grammarian it was useful to introduce a term or rhetoric. I allowed the use of the word oxymoron, a contradiction. The word itself was very rarely taken up.

But many people thought it fun to select an oxymoron from a list I wrote on the whiteboard in advance. It gave them something to look at if they arrived early or had to wait for a late start. it saved me wasting time and turning my back on the audience. Alternatively I would ask a volunteer to write on the white board. The short list was seriously funny, military intelligence, pretty ugly, plastic flowers.

Clubs In Singapore
I have used this word at clubs in the UK and also visited more than 75 clubs in Singapore, several times at my own two clubs. I am a member of Tampines Changkat Advanced and the President for 2019-2020 oof Braddell Heights Advanced.

Listing Word Used
I wish I had kept a note of clubs visited and which word I used. I shall start a new notebook now and do that. I can list the words at the top of the page from the front of the book. At the bottom of the page I can list the clubs visited using this word.

In addition, at the back of the notebook I can list the clubs. With 75 clubs, a page per club would take too much space. In a small notebook I could just write three columns on the back page. Club name, date, word used.

Ensuring The Word Is Used
At one time this year I was promoting an event, a workshop for Toastmasters, and was obliged to go around the room speaking to as many people as I could before the start of the meeting during the 15 minute networking session. I found myself frequently introducing myself and the word of the day. On one occasion somebody asked me to write it down and show them the spelling. They copied it onto their speech which was in their hand. The person beside them, not to be outdone, copied the word onto their programme sheet.

Later in the same meeting I told everybody to write down the word. I went around the room asking each person to say the word in a sentence. This worked well, got audience involvement. I have since made this my policy, to either get them to write down the word, or to say it in a sentence. If the room is small and you have fewer than 20 people you can pick people in the audience, go clockwise around the table, or left to right along the rows.

I have got in the habit of asking them to write it down on the programme or add it to the opening of their speech. They can pop it into a prepared speech. Or use it in an impromptu speech (called table topic because it is sometimes a mystery subject drawn from the table or a bag. They can also use the word to describe the speaker who has just spoken and their subject matter (she gave gave us thoughts for the future action - we must think about what she said in future). Or use it in the introduction to another speaker,

At Funchun toastmasters club in Singapore, my word of the day was changed on the day to reflect the programme theme.

Futures fast forward future.I did not find anything interesting in the word fast or forward but took the word future. I was able to give the audience news, that the plural word futures in finance is a noun and describes buying substances and crops not yet harvested such as cocoa and oil. This involves risk, fixing a price before the quantity and quality is known, guaranteeing the price for the seller, insurance for them, buying a crop whose price is agreed now for a crop which will be available in the future. This was a new concept I taught them, a word which nobody used, but they will recognize and understand. Instead several managed to introduce into their speeches the conventional everyday sense of the word future😃, talking about the present plans for the future and the future development of individuals, clubs and society.



Flag of Singaore.

Many clubs in Singapore, knowing their members are often native Mandarin Chinese speakers with English or Singlish as a second language, have a large paperback dictionary. However, they may not get it out, because they forget or have other urgent tasks. Or they think as a native speaker I don't need it.. I find it handy to consult the dictionary.

If I don't have a word of the day, I can flip through the dictionary. If I want to find synonyms (similar words to the core word) I can read down the list. If I am nervous or flummoxed or tired I could read out aloud from the dictionary. It tells me whether the word can be both a noun, with several meaning, or a verb, and an adjective.
I could ask somebody else to read the definition. That gives me a break, creates a variety of speakers for the audience to watch, involves another so at least one person is listening and learning.

They notice, or I point out, that the club has a dictionary which any speaker or member or guest is free to consult..

If you are asked to be a Grammarian or Language Evaluator when visiting a club, you can ask for the dictionary and look up a word. So, no need to be afraid to be the Grammarian.

Volunteer
If you are visiting a club and want to make yourself useful, noticed, helpful, reciprocate for receiving a welcome and free food, volunteer to give a word of the day.

For speed, you might wish to print out the word of the day, or carry an A4 sheet of paper with the word of the day written large and neatly in black felt tip pen. I learned from a teacher in London, Lorna, that as a teacher its is easier and quicker to carry your own black felt tip pen and a washable board marker all day every day.

If you have two copies of the word of the day, one copy can hang on the wall behind the lectern, or in front of the lectern, attached by Blutac (which you carry with you or attach to all four corners of the back of the sheet of paper before leaving home.

The second copy of the word goes on the back wall so it can be seen as a reminder to every speaker standing behind the lectern.

Carry A Marker
You don't want to delay or hunt for a pen, to look inefficient, allow the class to mutter whilst you look for the pen, nor risk writing on a board with an indelible marker and then have to hunt for alcohol to remove it.

You could write down a new word of the day in your notebook every day. Then if you visit a club in the evening, you have a new word ready prepared.

Invite Angela
If you see me or want to invite me, you can be assured that I can find a word of the day and make it simple or challenging for the audience.
I often add my taboo non-word of the day which is actually. I remind everybody:

"That was ..."
One of the speakers, Hyder, who is often a language evaluator, gave a speech after my word of the day oxymoron. In case we had missed it, he used a phrase and added - 'that was an oxymoron'. If they are inventive or want to gain credit that's is useful. You can ask the speakers simply to use the word, or to point it out in addition. However, they may not want to lose time by adding that explanation each time, especially if in a timed section or a meeting running late.An alternative is to ask the speaker or the audience to tap on a desk once or tut and/or nod in acknowledgement.

Taboo Word Actually
The word actually can actually be used correctly to contrast what you expected and what actually happened. But do not drop the word actually into every sentence, or several sentences, because it takes up time and can an actually be annoying, and some people actually use it as many as three times in one sentence, and you actually lose track of what they are saying as you actually count the number of times they say actually.
You can also do the same using your phone and consulting dictionary.com and a thesaurus online.

I hope you can now speak up, be a grammarian, and find and record new words every day. Even if you don't want to do so, you know how it is done.


Useful Websites
Toastmasters find a club
Facebook polyglots

• Bilingual dictionary
• Collegiate dictionary (American)
• Learner's dictionary (mostly British)
• Electronic dictionary
• Encyclopedic dictionary
• Monolingual learner's dictionary
  • Advanced learner's dictionary
• By sound
  • Rhyming dictionary
• Reverse dictionary (Conceptual dictionary)
• Visual dictionary
• Satirical dictionary
• Phonetic dictionary

Pronunciation

About the author
Angela Lansbury is the author of twenty books including the classic Wedding Speeches and Toasts, the best seller Etiquette For Every Occasion, and the self-published Quick Quotations.
She has been a long-term member of Harrovian Speakers and HOD Speakers in London (since 2005) and more recently a member of Braddell Heights Advanced in Singapore (President July 2019-2020 June).
Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.

Peterson Dream Machine - Interactive Auto Museum Exhibits in LA, USA - and online gifts for drivers or drinkers

Only in the USA, they say. Museums are moving into the future.

They already have. What's already new that I can think of?

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was the children's dream car of the future. I am more interested in what the car of the future can do for me, such as avoiding collisions. We have sensors to help us to reverse. We have seatbelt warning sounds on taxis in Singapore. What we need is a sign which says, 'warm object in back seat, temperature is ... degress, alrm set to call your phone and your family and the police and the nearby security if you do not return within  ... minutes.'

1 We know that driverless cars are being tested on the roads. I know that in Singapore we have driverless trains and driverless light railway carriages.

2 We know that museums are creating videos and online quizzes. Admittedly sometimes one of the exhibits doesn't work and the attendants who are their apparently just for security and to direct you to the toilets can't fix the machines. But we are all driven mad by websites which won't work, passswords which have to be entered and changed. Yet we still love our smartphones. Yes, interactive museums are the thing of the future. What do I want? The same as on my computer at home. Sound level set to me, not to annoy the whole room.

However, here's a museum offering a new realm of museum interaction.

It's operated by microsoft. Exciting and new. Of course, you can buy tickets online.

If you don't have time to trawl all through their website, are already convinced and want the whole thing neatly summarised on one page, go to Wikipedia.

First, Wikipedia asnwere my first question. Who was or is Peterson? A publisher with millions to spare and/or the ability to raise funds for this project.  He revamped the old museum stunningly, no more quare blocks, but odd shape buildings. 

Here is how it looked before the revamp.




Good old wikipedia puts the map and address where you want it, in plain view on the right of the page.

I don't need to know more.

I often skip the history part in Wikipedia, more interested in the present, also less interested in the future plans which might never materialise. But where this museum is concerned I really enjoyed comparing the old with the new. The old museum was full of spikes, agressive, bad fung shway (Chinese for wind and water, basically fitting in with the environment.) Yes, the outside of the building does go with the flow. But the colour is a bit over dramatic. Never mind.

OK, we are ready to go. Where is the museum?  On Museum Row in LA, (Los Angeles), California, USA.

Just a minute - how much is it? Sixteen dollars for adults, reduced for seniros to 14, and 11 for children.
You can choose a one hour tour or a two hour tour.

If you can't get there, you might like their online shop. Lots of black tee-shirts for men with assorted designs, key chains (in the UK we say key rings), socks with various car designs, leather gloves reduced from 60 dollars to thirty, plus shipping costs. Anything unusual? Whisky stones, which look like large grey dice, to cool a drink. Take a look.

Peterson Museum.
6060 Wiltshire Boulevard
Los Angeles 900
USA

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

Eastern Europe Phrasebooks in 12 languages - Which book do I need to buy and why?

When I was planning a walking tour of Bulgaria with a group of friends, I looked for a Bulgarian phrase book. I could not find one but made a happy discovery, a 12 language phrase book from Thomas Cook called Eastern European, which started with Bulgarian and ended with Ukrainian. that saved buying and carrying 3 or more books for a trip, and space on my bookshelves.

I ordered it through Ebay but suspected the book would not arrive in time for the holiday in Bulgaria. Meanwhile, my husband took a trip to Stanford's Map shop in London, England, and bought the Lonely Planet phrasebooks Eastern European. It started with Albanian and Bulgarian and ended with Slovak and Slovene. (Who knew!)

I was right. The Ebay second hand copy of  the Thomas Cook book did not arrive in time.

The Lonely Planet book was small and bulky, so most of the time I left it behind in the hotel bedroom, because my backpack was already heavy with a bottle of water and an umbrella, and food for the day.

When I arrived home in London the small thick postal package was on the mat. Was it a duplicate phrasebook. No. A different publisher, different languages, and different layout and information and size.

Now that I have both I can compare them.

LANGUAGES
Both books, from Lonely Planet and Thomas Cook, cover these languages:

Bulgarian
Croatian
Czech
Hungarian
Polish
Romanian
Russian
Slovenian

The Eastern Europe book by Lonely Planet also covers
Albanian
Macedonian
Slovak

The Thomas Cook book also covered
Estonian
Latvian
Lithuanian
Ukrainian

So, if you were doing a one country trip to Albania, the Eastern Europe book by Lonely Planet looks more helpful. Also a driving or multi-country trip around Eastern Europe.

However, if you are going to Ukraine, or north of The Netherlands around Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, countries which are close together, you might opt for the Thomas Cook guide.

Dictionary
The Lonely Planet book has a mini-dictionary for each language. In very tiny print.

Colours
The Lonely Planet book's pronunciation sections are in colours, a different colour for each language, which makes it hard to read late at night or early morning at home, though perhaps less of a problem when you are aout and about in sunlight.

Maps
The Lonely Planet book also includes a map of each country.

Readability
The Thomas Cook book is easier to read, larger print, black on white.

Solving The Weight Problem
If you are visitng only one country, such as Bulgaria, as I did, you might need only the Bulgarian section. I thought, what is more important to me, a lightweight language section to carry with me, or a pristine book which I do not use? I decided to try to cut the Bulgarian section out of the book. However, we did not have a Swiss army knife because we had travelled to Bulgarian by phane and knives are not allowed on planes for security reasons.

I thought of trying to bend and break the book. I was astonished how tough it was and how securely the pages were fixed. No luck with breaking open the book by hand.

Removing Pages
I considered trying to tear out the pages one by one, but without a knife or scissors that would be messy. You can make a neat tear in newspaper by folding paper back and forwards over the same spot
If I had tried this at home before leaving, I might have been able to cut the pages neatly, cover the front and back with protective white card to stop it getting creased in my backpack or packet or handbag out in restaruants in the evening, and stapled the pages together.

Photocopy?
The other option was to photocopy just the section I needed for that trip. Getting the book to lie flat was a challenge and creased the spine.

Now I have two books. The Thomas Cook book arrived too late for my Bulgaria trip but will be useful when I go to Ukraine to visit my ancestral city called Lvov,Lviv, Lemberg - my great grandfather on my father's side was named Lemberger.

Ukraine Trip?
The group will not plan a trip next year in 2020 because the political situation in Ukraine seems uncertain. In addition to the possible danger, some people might decline to book for fear or losing their holiday or their money and the orgnizer does not wish to waste time organizind a trip which might get cancelled.

Multi-Language Comparison
A surprise bonus was that I decided to read the brief introductions to all twelve languages in the easier to read Thomas Cook book. I found that they are so similar. First the alphabet, once you are even half way to reading Cyrillic for either Russian or Bulgarian, means you are no longer afraid of the other languages.

What also became clear is that Romanian is the easiest language, with lots of borrowed words from French and Italian or Latin. For example, in the pharmacy, from the Thomas Cook book I read that stomach is stomac, diaree in Romanian is diarrhoea.

Humour For Language Learners
I enjoyed the Thomas Cook introduction to Estonian, which sounds easy, no a or the and no use of gender for nouns, so no trouble matching adjectives to nouns either. The Thomas Cook book added:
There are only four tenses, one present and three past. Estonians do not believe in the future!

I got a lot of fun reading a selection of phrases creating an imaginary nightmare trip for the hapless traveller, growing increasingly desperate as one problem piles on another:
I am waiting for my husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend. ... What time is it? .. What is the time for my flight? How long is the delay likely to be?  Is my rail pass valid on this train/ferry/bus?

(The poor traveller is getting increasinly anxious, trying every possiblibilty. We would like to sit together. (Sorry, mate, not on Ryan Air. However, we were able to switch seats to be together in June 2019.)

Back to the things that Thomas Cook 12 language phrase book will help you to say:
Where are the lockers? I have lost my locker key.

I must direct them to my book How To Get Out Of The Mess You Are In. Have a decicated small pcoket for keys. Attach Velcro or a button and loop or ribbon so nothing falls out of jacket paockets. Check all your jackets for inside pockets and keep your valuable passport and key there.

However, for emergencies, use the 12 language book.

Losing and Finding The Essential 12-language Phrasebook
What happened to me? Of course, in an emergency in Bulgaria I could not find the Lonely Planet Eastern Europe phrasebook which was somethere in my luggage. The book was too bulky and heavy to carry and not needed in transit to the destination. Was it in the carry on bag outside pocket, the inside pocket, the corner of the suitcase. If not in the suitcase, it must be in the the outside pocket of the backpack, You need to have your phrase book in your jacket in a pocket on your right, if you are right-handed, not lost in a pile of other necessary or vital items, but in one pocket dedicated to nothing but the book.

BOOKLIST
Thomas Cook Eastern European 12-Language Phrasebook. UK price 6.99. ISBN 1-900341-77-8
Lonely Planet phrasebooks Eastern Europe 4th edition USA $10.99 UK 5.99 ISBN 978-1-74104-056-2

Free internet courses:
Duolingo.com

Memrise.com

I also use Duolingo - although despite finishing the German course I had trouble understanding my German-speaking friends.

I said proudly to my husband, "I am a polyglot. I read books on 12 languages."

My husband retorted, "No. A polyglot is a person who writes books on 12 languages."

Look on the bright side. At least I have writte a blog post on twelve languages - and you have read a blog post on twelve languages.

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, teacher of English and other languages, home tutor, workshops for colleges and businesses, online teacher.

The Hotel of the future, planned to open in Shanghai May 2018, partly underwater

Shanghai on the East coast of China. Map from Wikitravel. Singapore Airlines flies to Shanghai.

Problem
What is it and where?

The hotel is in East Shanghai, east coast of China. Songjiang district.

Whose Hotel?
InterContinental Shimao Wonderland hotel.

Do I want to visit Shanghai?
Yes, This isn't in the centre, nor on the art deco Bund or quayside but 30 miles from the centre. However, the hotel is a resort in itself with a swimming pool, spa, several restaurants and views of either the lake from overhead or the side of an aquarium glass.

What's the cost? About £200 and upwards for a room. Official opening May 2018. Soft opening late 2017. You might get rooms cheaper earlier.
Will I get a room?
It will have many bedrooms, about 370.

Viewing what?
Balconies overlooking the artificial lake. The lowest two floors will be underwater.

I looked up InterContinental and the price of hotels. They are branching out into 'budget' - I think that means three star, not one star. Their hotels in London - I'm looking at rack rate, the asking rate, is more than the £200 minimum at the new outside Shanghai hotel. However, it cost only about £100 if you want an InterContinental hotel in Shanghai Pudong - that's the waterside area where I stayed in a skyscriper hotel, overlooking the historic hotels on the other bank (you take a cheap ferry).

However, that's if you want a hotel as a base for sightseeing. If you want the facilities, the dream hotel which is a destination in its own right, then you have to be prepared to contribute to the millions of dollars and the years of time spent building. They started this massive project which involved landscaping and logistics of a buidling partly under water - you can see what it involved - back in 2006).

How about just going in for a meal, or a look? Many places with spectacular views charge for access to a viewing platform, with a timed queue, and let you in to the eating areas only if you have a reservation for a room or a meal. They take your credit card details when you book.

A good way to get a discount and news is to join their Rewards Club and hope for an opportunity for an upgrade or a low-season offer.

That's ok. Let's just wait for the next conference and the wonderful pictures of this grand, literally ground-breaking building.

Helpful Websites:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimao_Wonderland_Intercontinental
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-5081567/The-rise-rise-China-s-groundscraper-hotel.html
https://newatlas.com/shimao-intercontinental-hotel/22283/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shimao-Wonderland-Intercontinental/268725396571163

YouTube video of hotel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ErIccvDDw4

Early days explanation of the origin of the site as a quarry, showing predicted waterfall:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQqZvrxBUQk
If you want an intercontintal hotel elsewhere, check them out here:
https://www.ihg.com/intercontinental/hotels/gb/en/reservation
http://www.singaporeair.com


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

Learning Languages and Debating Tenses: Will, Shall, Would Have

Will, Shall, Should, Would Have
I am learning German in DuoLingo, German for English speakers. During the exercises you translate in both directions, from German to English and from English to German. Sometimes an answer you give in English is not allowed by the system. So you are not just learning German, you are looking at the construction of English sentences, and common usage, which may be incorrect.

For example, will and shall. The German speakers may question the answers given in English. This is common when another language does not have exactly the same tenses as English.

Problems
Will or Shall?
Would or Should?
Will or Would or Would Have?

Answers
Here's one answer I gave on a forum on a particular answer.

'I will read more tomorrow' (merely implies action to be done).
'I will have read more tomorrow' (implies action already done tomorrow.
(For example:' I have done a little today; but I will have done it all tomorrow.' Or, 'by tomorrow night I shall have read more than today').

Would is conditional. I would if I could.

'I would have read more tomorrow' implies intention thwarted.
For example:
'I would have read more tomorrow - if you had let me!'
Action is what you were intending to do but not cannot.
For example: 'I would have read more tomorrow if you had not taken away my books!'; 'Teacher, why are you giving me a black mark for not finishing it today - when I would have read more tomorrow!'

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and public speaker, English language teacher and tutor.