Travel with Angela Lansbury: gift

Showing posts with label gift. Show all posts

Friday, October 10, 2025

Useful Spanish for shopping

I want to buy - Quiero comprar

a gift - un regalo

a souvenir - un recuerdo

I need - Necesito (like the English word necessary)

I want to find - Quiero encontrar (like the English word encounter)

a souvenir shop - una tienda de recuerdos (like the English word records, literally a shop of souvenirs, in the plural)

The o ending for verbs in the first person, I, is like amo. I remember learning amo, amas, amat in Latin at school,, for I love, you love, he, she or it loves.

Please share links to your favourite posts.

Monday, December 6, 2021

Gifts for travellers, from a diary with maps on the cover to a motorbike key-ring to a beach towel map

MAPS, GLOBES, BEACHWARE and BEACHWEAR

Microfiber towels. Poncho with hood and zip. Gifts for lovers of dogs, mountain biking, diving, surfers, skiers, the USA and more.

1 Maps & Globes

if you can't find what you want, or it is out of stock, print your own map and colour it, with mapchart.net, take a photo and load it onto a vistaprint tee-shirt.

A globe table lamp

Awesome maps on tee-shirts and from 49 US dollars and sign up and watch regularly for offers of twenty percent off and forty per cent off a second item. Interests include mountain biking, diving and more. Stuff for adults and children.

2 HATS & T-SHIRTS

A uni or city shirt or baseball hat

3 A home hat

From the home country, for ex-pats.

Selfie by Angela. Union Jack baseball cap. Union Jack bath mitten.

4 A five year diary

5 A DIY travel Notebook

a notebook covered with a map made from a recent duplicate travel brochure map from your latest trip

6 A key ring of their favourite type of vehicle or sport

7 NB They might prefer one with their car brand

Available from the car dealer show room - but pricey. or a motorbike or car museum.

On the other hand, do they want to reveal their brand of car, or remain incognito?

If in doubt, ask.

Bargain Shops

Buying lots of gifts? In Asia and the USA, Daiso.

In the USA many more thrift shops.

Useful Websites

1 Maps

https://awesome-maps.com/pages/our-maps?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=dnf&utm_campaign=HighROASCountries_Prospecting_Generic50%2B_AutoplacementsExclMarketplace_Female_50-65%2B_Video-BLMTowel-Beach_PC-ActivityMaps_Video_All_OptP_LP-AllMaps

motorbike key chain

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/313637784886?_trkparms

https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/renwesafgg/

DIY Maps

https://mapchart.net/

Vistaprint

About the Author of this blog, Author Angela Lansbury

BIOGRAPHY

Angela Lansbury B A Hons ACG ALB PM5 EH5 DL5 VC5
The Author of several books, including: Etiquette For Every Occasion. Wedding Speeches & Toasts. How to be the Best Man. Quick Quotations. Who Said What When.

Blogs travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Club Vice President Public Relations (VPPR), Previous President

Join BHA 1st Wednesday 7pm and 3rd Saturday 2 pm Singapore time

Vice President Public Relations (VP PR) of Tampines Changkat Advanced;

Secretary of weekly online Singapore International Dynamic Toastmasters Speakers’ Club;

Member and past president of Harrovians toastmasters club, UK; Past member of HOD Toastmasters, London. Past member in Singapore of: Toastmasters Club of Singapore (TCS); Tiarel; and Senja Cashew.

More details from Toastmasters International find a club.

Regular attendee at annual Swanwick Writers’ School, England.

Regular attendee at annual Writers’ Holiday, Wales.

Contributor to poetry readings, and after tea courses on: Speaking On Radio To Promote Books; and Plots And Character.

Winner of many club and area speaking contests in the UK and Singapore.

Language advisor to Empire Toastmasters club in Indonesia.

Language and speech workshops in Singapore.

Speaker on radio and TV in England, Scotland, the USA, and Australia.

Compiler of a school course on public speaking for teachers to prepare pupils for school open days with attending ceremonies before government ministers, Singapore.

Former member of Harrow Writers’ Circle, London, and two writing groups in Singapore.

Angela is on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter. She would be delighted to link up with new friends.

I also have a blog on comic poems.

Please share links to your favourite posts.

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Edible Flowers For Birthdays? What to see, grow and cook around the world

Edible flowers on chocolate cake. From Wikipedia.

If you go to the Botanical Gardens in Singapore or the open air gardens along the riverside outside Gardens By The Bay you can see many plants and trees which are used as food or medicine worldwide.

I first became interested in edible flowers when I was sent a birthday cake made of flowers, ordered from family in the UK, for delivery to Singapore. But you could not eat the flowers!

I wanted to order a cake from edible flowers, or make my own cake with edible flowers. I made a note of possible edible flowers. I learned edible flowers which you intend to eat must be ordered only from suppliers of flowers suitable for consumption. That means no pesticides. So no plants) from garden centres, nor picked from roadsides.

Then friends on my cookery group in whatsApp replied to my query about edible flowers.

Then I found in Wikipedia flower pancakes from Korea. These delights are prepared and eaten at festival times.

A colourful purple flower with a touch of greenery.

Hwajeon from Korea

Wiki reveals:

The word hwajeon (화전; 花煎) is a compound noun made of the Sino-Korean word hwa (화; 花), meaning "flower", and the Sino-Korean word jeon (전; 煎), meaning "a pan-fry".^[5] The synonyms kkot-bukkumi (꽃부꾸미) and kkot-jijimi (꽃지지미) are also compounds of the native Korean word kkot (꽃), meaning "flower", and bukkumi (부꾸미), meaning a "pan-fried rice cake"; or kkot (꽃) and jijimi (지지미), meaning "pancake".^[6]^[7]

Varieties and preparation[edit]

Hwajeon is made of edible petals from seasonal flowers. Typically, rhododendron, pear flower, goldenbell flower, cherry blossom, and violet are used in spring; rose is used in summer; and chrysanthemum and cockscomb are used in autumn.^[1]^[3]^[5] In winter when flowers are scarce in Korea, alternatives like mugwort leaves, waterdropwort leaves, rock tripe, or jujubes are cut into flower shapes and used instead.^[3]

Hwajeon from Korea. Picture in Wikicommons.

Here a piece of greenery in a v shape makes the cup shape base for a small flower bud shape. If you want to make a savoury design with greenery, here is an idea.

Basil

begonia

carnation

chives

chrysanthemum

clover

cornflower

dandelions

fuchia

hibiscus

lavender

pansy

Rose

sunflower

tulip

What can you do with the petals?

1 Add to iced drinks (in ice cubes)

2 Make a hot tea infusion

3 Add to decorate a white chocolate bar

4 Crystallize (egg white and sugar and heat to dry)

5 Place in gelatine or jelly

6 Decorate on top of cakes

7 Add to salads

8 Garnish cheeses (in layers of gel)

Wiki gives more details:

A number of foods are types of flowers or are derived from parts of flowers. The costly spice saffron consists of the stigmas and styles collected from the inside of a type of crocus flower. Broccoli, artichokes, and capers are all technically flower buds, albeit immature forms.^[2] Other parts of the plants than the flowers mentioned in this list may be poisonous.

Flowers reported as edible include:^[1]

American elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)
Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
Arugula (Eruca sativa)
Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)
Bergamot (Monarda didyma)
Black locust (only flowers). The flowers are used as tea, and in pancakes.^[6] Flowers are consumed as fritters in many parts of Europe.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]
Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica)
Broussonetia kurzii
Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea)
Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile)
Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium)
Chinese hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
Chicory (Cichorium intybus)
Chickweed (Stellaria Media)
Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum spp.)
Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus)
Cosmos (C. Sulphureus) (C. Bipinatus)
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Dianthus (Dianthus spp.)
Dill (Anethum graveolens)
English marigold (Calendula officinalis)
English daisy (Bellis perennis)
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)
Geranium (Pelargonium spp.)
Hollyhock (Alcea rosea)
Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) but not any other honeysuckle. Its berries are highly poisonous.
Lavender (Lavandula spp.)
Lilac (Syringa vulgaris)
Lovage (Levisticum officinale)
Mangrove trumpet tree (Dolichandrone spathacea)
Markhamia stipulata, similar to the Mangrove trumpet tree flower and sometimes confused with it.
Mint (Mentha spp.)
Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus)
Passionflower (Passiflora spp.)
Pineapple sage (Salvia elegans)
Red clover (Trifolium pratense)
Rose (Rosa spp.)
Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Sage (Salvia officinalis)
Sesbania grandiflora, the most popular edible flower in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus)
Squash (Cucurbita pepo)
Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
Violet (Viola odorata)

Sunday, February 7, 2021

Kris Flyer Gifts: umbrella and bags

Dress 188 from my other blog, dressofthedayangela.blogger.com

Kris flyer gifts in January included a folding umbrella, a small zipped bag, and a drawstring bag, all in an elegant rich navy blue. The umbrella is tiny, compact. It is hardly bigger than my hand, and I have small hands.

We also received an adapter.

The gifts had to be collected from their office, so we knew what we would receive would be something small and light.

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.

Monday, May 25, 2020

Travelling Club Members - When Will The Treasurer Be Back? With our money!

Where is the club treasurer? Overseas? When will he or she come back?

Spending
What if you end the year with a handy sum of money. How do you spend it?

Do the committee members who have worked all year get a gift, or a certificate, or cash?

Disputes
Disputes may arise when on ex committee member is retired and another is a wage earner.

Whether you are raising the membership fee, or spending money on a party, you are likely to have a difference of opinion. The wage earners say, "Oh, we can afford it!" Or, "You can afford it."

Those who are retired might favours money being allocated in subsidising fees for long standing members and/or giving cash rewards to committee members.

Those in employment might favour spending on physical trophies such as plaques to add to status.

Those who are wage-earners might resent paying full price for one two or thee members of their family to subsidise others or offer them financial gifts.

I imagine advocates on both sides consider that the other is advocating a course diverting club money to themselves, or wasting club money. Who should decide, president, treasurer, or vote? I imagine whether to save money for the next exco and year's membership or spend it on your exco and your year's members is another source of debate - which applies to all clubs and the area and division.

Head Office Directives
I think the umbrella organization should remind all treasurers every month to send the month's account of money spent, money owed, and any payments to be paid in the rest of the year and next year.

It is very hard chasing a treasurer, making sense of what they say on the phone.

I had a treasurer who suffered a multiple bereavement from a car accident. We could not chase him for accounts without looking heartless.

At another club we had a treasurer who started a new job. He was too busy to deliver the accounts to the incoming treasurer.

We had another club where the treasurer went overseas. What with his government, his work permit, his divorce and remarriage ...

Another where the treasurer resigned saying we owed a huge sum of money we had never paid back for printing and all sorts of things. He subsidised all year, as in previous years, whilst he was a member, but when he left wanted to claim back.

When you try to chase a treasurer you can easily run the risk of seeming to accuse the committee member of inefficiency, unprofessionalism, or even dishonesty. All this could send them into flight or fight mode.

FLIGHT
Once you get into a dispute, the treasurer might say, defensively:
'After all the work I have done for years for the club unpaid ....'
'Are you implying ...?'
'I don't like your tone "
'How dare you accuse me ...'
'I am leaving this club!'

FIGHT
The treasurer or committee member could turn around and accuse the other committee members of faults which everybody has but which go unmentioned until there is a dispute.

An independent and unemotional reminder from head office can be much better. But the umbrella organization could send out an automated reminder. Our auditors .. tax rule ... company rule says ... etc.

SUB-COMMITTEE SOLUTION
Another way to do things is to have each officer with two assistants so they are training up somebody else to take over and have less work to do. If the committee head is ill, bereaved, dead, overworked, another member can then take over.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Thursday, February 20, 2020

Armchair Travel; Today's Tip - Birds from Britain gifts

The RSPB has a catalogue and a website shop. Gifts include Gola rainforest chocolate, made in Cornwall.

My favourite wishlist item is the RSPB birdsong clock which has an image of a British bird marking each hour. On that hour the bird's song is played. No birdsong between 9 pm and 6 am. You can hear it online.

Price only nineteen pounds sterling ninety nine pence. (Twenty pounds.) It need three AA batteries, not included.

But my all time favourite is the singing toy birds. 'Cute cuddly toys' they say. Eights pounds. (plus postage). I have seen them for sale in places such as the Horniman Museum shop in South London.
Your choice of birds includes two types of owl, tawny or snowy, the song thrush and nightingale.

Useful websites
rspbshop.co.uk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Society_for_the_Protection_of_Birds

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.

Saturday, March 30, 2019

Could you, should you, offer or accept lifts to a writing holiday?

We need a 'travel to Swanwick Writers Summer School' group.

Car Travel I had two lifts from members of my writing group who refused offers of payment.

Later, I gave lifts to people.

On one occasion the person I was assisting turned up late. My relatives who waited to help load up the car and were not pleased. The next year they told the person wanting the lift you must turn up early or within half an hour or risk not getting the lift.

Later, on one occasion I sat alone on a train from London to Derbyshire and at the conference found a new friend who had been on the same train.

If you book a seat you are allocated a random seat and cannot choose to sit near a friend and risk being without a seat if you move or being asked to move out of a reserved seat.to be with a friend.

However, If we could have a system, such as Swanwickers wear a Swanwick badge (make your own by printing a pictures of the Hayes and sit in front carriage, we could find other old friends and potential new friends.

Another idea for those travelling by car would be to have a lift offered and lift wanted system. You might include, a tick box with free, petrol contribution appreciated, and back to your door, or only drop off and collect from designated railway station, or only drop on and collect from my home area which is (your rough location).

Writing Groups There are also writing groups from various areas which regularly send members. So they could offer lifts to people from their area and thus recruit new members for their group.

Train Tickets Or Car For Convenience And Company? One year, on another writing holiday, I had a train ticket. However, I got a lift home to London from an elderly gentleman which I thought would be good to have a chance to recap the week's events and swap stories.

Safety One of the holiday organizers warned me, "Once you leave this holiday, we can't guarantee your safety. We cannot supervise or guarantee anything."

Direct - or Detour! What could go wrong? My driver took a detour. He didn't tell me until after we started driving. he offered to drop me off or continue. The detour took longer than he or I expected because he got lost. This made me later reaching home than I would have been on the train.

On another occasion, my passenger needed to be home on time. In my haste I took the wrong lane and missed a turning off the motorway.

Back to my passenger journeys. On another occasion I was unexpectedly dropped at a station, not on my direct line, which involved changing trains. I had a train pass. However, I faced more stairs and luggage carrying than I had expected.

For me, the whole point of going by car, was to avoid the steps and long Luckily my family were at home and willingly collected me from the station. So after my momentary worry, everything worked out fine for everybody.

Yes, I still found the conversation entertaining and useful. But I learned that it is handy to clarify in advance whether you should offer petrol money, pay for any toll on a bridge, or to buy coffee or a meal at a motorway stop.

Your circumstances and finances could change from year to year. So might your travelling companion's. You could be in a well paid job one year, then retired or divorced the next. Or it could be the other way round. You might start out desperate for money, then find yourself rich and famous and very happy to pay your way or buy meals and gifts.

The arrangement might depend on the finances of the driver, or yours, or simply their attitude to life and yours. It is really simpler to clarity from the start whether you are offering money, a lot, a little, will buy food or drink, or have a gift of a book or flowers.

Know your own personality type. On the Myers Briggs personality typing, there are judgers who like to decide where they are going on holiday and book well in advance, no uncertainty.

Other types, many teachers, are ENFP, P I like to think of as procrastinators, like to have their options open and decide at the last minute.

You also need to know that some types hate to be taken advantage of. Whilst others are nurturers and feel their mission in is to help others, which makes them feel useful.

Many organizations let you know in advance whether you can buy reduced price rail tickets if you buy well ahead.

If your holiday organizers don't have a system going, you could start your own.

Happy travelling!

Useful Websites
writers holiday website
writers summer school website
Facebook page writers holiday
Facebook page writers summer school

London Transport

GWR (Paddington to Fishguard for Writers Holiday annually February)

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Travel with Angela Lansbury

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