Snow in London - streets, rooftops, cars, gardens

Snow on car, pavement and rooftops in Hatch End, NW London. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Snow on rooftiles in Hatch End NW London, England. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

A novelty for those who have not seen snow. Not seen snow for a while. Or not ever seen snow. 

January 6th 2026 in London, real snow fell. 

Snow In Streets 

 Snow covered the tops and bonnets of cars. (Americans call the front of the car the hood.)

In the street, snows fell on pavements (which Americans call sidewalks).

Snow on Rooftops

 The rooftops went white. Why is one roof white, the other dark, clear of snow? Has the snow melted on a warm rooftop? Is the roof over a warm attic? Does that mean a nice warm house? Or is snow a good sign, meaning that the attic is insulated from the house, so that the house is warmer?

Snow in Back Gardens

Snow covered the grass in gardens, turning the green to white. 

In back gardens (which Americans call back yards) snow fell on the leaves on trees, making what looked like white umbrellas on brown and white supports.

It looks romantic. It might be slippery underfoot. What about driving? The met office issues predictions. The met office, government and AA (UK Automobile Association) issue warning about not driving, or taking blankets, hot drinks in bottles, phones with full charge, chocolate snacks for energy. I would add a toilet container.

However, by lunch time, the snow had stopped falling, started melting, and the heat of cars was clearing the main road.

Snow On Cars

If you plan driving, allow extra time to clear the snow off the windscreen and other windows.

Photographing Snow

If you see snow, rush out and film it straight away. Take both still photos and videos. I missed my chance.

 My husband took photos and put them on his Facebook page. Being a statistician by training and profession, he fulfilled the old joke about the reply of a statistician to a beggar who complained that he had not eaten for a week, 'How does this compare with the same date last year?'

Useful Weather Websites

UK

https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/forecast/uk

https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather

https://www.theweatheroutlook.com/forecast/uk/pinner--greater-london#google_vignette

USA

https://eu.usatoday.com/news/weather/

SINGAPORE

https://www.accuweather.com/en/sg/singapore/300597/weather-forecast/300597

Please share links to your favourite posts from my entertaining and informative blogs.

Warm and safe when walking, my scarf sewn onto a hat

 

Angela Lansbury in DIY hood from combined scarf and hat.

I looked in my cupboard for a hood. I did not find one. I found several sets of scarves and hats to match, and some near matches.

You can buy lots of outfits of hats and matching scarves, sometimes a set of three items with matching gloves. I find the hats tend to ride up and fall off. So do the scarves. One day I looked at the pair and thoought, what a shame they didn't sew the two together. Then I thought, I could do that. I did. It worked well. I spent an afternoon sewing together several sets.

How To Make A White Hood

I sewed a white scarf onto a matching of similar beanie style white hat. This serves several purposes. 

1 Safety

The white is for safety at night to be seen by motorists when I am crossing a road.  A UK pedestrian safety campaign had the rhyming slogan, wear white at night.

2 Preventing Loss of Accessories

Sewing the two items together reduces the chances of leaving one of them behind. It means the two parts of the pair are always together. 

3 Warmth

The scarf sewn on keeps the back of my neck warm, with no gaps. Sewing on the scarf enables me to keep the two sides even. The combination of hat and scarf keeps my ears covered and warm.

Convient and Elegant

 I am not constantly clutching the scarf to stop it slipping off my shoulders. 

Unique

My hat is totally unique. 

Useful Websites

Amazon

Ebay

Etsy

Shein

Americanisms translated into British English - and British English into Americanisms

 American English - British English

double down - as it suggests, more, reiterate, insist, repeat, make a strong bid (the phrase comes from a card game where you make a strong bid with a card)

bonnet - hood 

gas - petrol

gas station - garage

gear box - transmission

make a left - turn left

sidewalk - pavement

trunk - boot

tyre - tire

windshield - windscreen

British English - American English

boot - trunk

car - automobile

glove box

hood - bonnet

motorway

pavement - sidewalk

petrol - gas

turn left - make a left

tyre - tire

windscreen - windshield 

Useful Websites

translate google does not translate American English into British English

Please share links to your favourite blog posts.

American and British English Words You Should Know

 USA - UK

ball hop - porter

closet - wardrobe/walk in wardrobe/cupboard

comforter - duvet

cookies - biscuits

cops - police

diaper - nappy

eraser - rubber

faucet - tap

hack - tip

(car) hood - bonnet

gas - petrol

Jello (brand name) - jelly

jelly - jam

mail - post

pants - trousers

pavement - roadway/tarmac

porter - porter (at railway stations, bell hop is at hotels)

rubber - Durex (brand)

sidewalk - pavement

soccer - football

(car) trunk - boot

underpants - pants

UK  USA

biscuits - cookies

(car) - bonnet - hood

(car) boot - trunk

cupboard - closet

duvet - comforter

football - soccer

jam - jelly

jelly - Jello (brand)

nappy - diaper

pants - underpants

paper hanky - tissues/Kleenex

pavement - sidewalk

petrol - gas

police - cop/cops (plural)

post - mail

(hotel) porter - bell hop 

tap - faucet

tip - hack

trousers - pants

wardrobe/walk-in wardrobe - closet

Useful Websites

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

Please share links to your favourite blog posts

Americanism and British English

Americanism - British English

construction site - building site

diaper - nappy

drug store - chemist's shop

faucet - tap

Hood (of car) - bonnet

make a right - turn right

real estate - property 

resume - c.v.

seniors - OAP, pensioners, senior citizens

store - shop/department store

toss (eg unmatched socks) - throw away

truck - lorry / truck driver - lorry driver

trunk (of car) - boot

An interesting house to visit in the USA is the house of Webster who wrote the dictionary.

Useful Websites

About The Author Angela

Angela Lansbury is a British author who has lived in the USA.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

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, 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

Americanisms and British English - you have to laugh

American - British English - British English
1 diaper - nappy
2 drug store - chemist
3 eraser - rubber
4 pharmacy - chemist
5 realtor - estate agent
6 pants - trousers
7 underpants - pants
8 hood (car) - bonnet
9 trunk (car) - boot
10 faucet - tap

British English - American
1 bonnet (car) - hood
2 boot (car) - trunk
3 Chemist - drug store containing pharmacy
4 estate agent - realtor
5 nappy - diaper
6 pants - underpants
7 rubber - eraser
8 tap - faucet
9 Trousers - pants
10 shop - store

Useful Websites
https://www.a-speakers.com/speakers/brad-ashton-keynote-speaker/
 Brad Ashton's books on comedy: 
“How to Write Comedy”, 
“The funny Thing about Writing Comedy”, 
“The Job of a Laughtime”, and 
“Stand up and Be Laughed at”.

About the Author
Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, author of 20 books, and a speaker and speech trainer.
Her books include:
Wedding Speeches & Toasts
Quick Quotations

Writing Poetry For Fun
Angela's Alarming Animal Poems

Pantomime characters, pantomime dames create humour.

New English words and Americanisms every day

Today I read in the newspaper about Americans discussing the'hood' for neighbourhood. What a lot of new words.

Here's a quick short list:
bling - ostentatious glittering objects such as sequinned clothes and large diamond rings
Feds - Federal officers

highway patrol - motorway police
hood - Americanism - neighbourhood
pharma - pharmaceutical industry

rangers - park staff
woke - African American from the verb awake, (no ed past tense) alert to injustice or racism

Useful Websites

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

About the Author

I have many posts on Americanisms and British English. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Your Handy list Of American English and British English Words - how many do you know?

British - American

a quarter past - a quarter after
bag-handbag - purse
bonnet (of car) - hood (of car)
brought up - raised
Burgle (past tense, burgled) - burgle (past tense burglarized)
car park - parking lot
caster sugar - superfine sugar
chemist - drug store
cling film - plastic wrap
cooked both sides (of fried eggs) - over easy

educated - schooled
estate agent - realtor
garage (for filling up your car with petrol) - gas station
ground almonds - almond flour
guys (male only, no females) - boys/men
gym shoes - sneakers
hockey - field hockey
ice hockey - hockey
icing sugar - powdered sugar/confectioners' sugar
lorry - truck

luggage - baggage
marzipan - almond paste
momentarily - briefly
nappy - diaper
petrol (for cars) - gas
plain flour - all-purpose flour
purse - purse or bag
Rubber - eraser
rubbish - trash
pants - underpants

porter - bellhop
self-raising flour - self-rising flour
shop - store
spring onion - scallion
stand still (or I'll shoot) - freeze
stop - yield
store - warehouse
take away - take out
toilet - rest room
tip (advice) - hack
trousers - pants

trouser suit - pant suit
trunk (part of an elephant/box shaped suitcase)
turn left/right - make a left/right
waste paper basket - trash can
You folks/you people - you guys (both sexes)

Flag of the USA

American - British

a quarter after - a quarter past
baggage - luggage
bellhop - porter (in a hotel)
broil - grill or cook with strong heat from above or below
burglarized (past tense of burgle) - burgled
davenport - couch or sofa
drug store - chemist
diaper - nappy
eraser - rubber
field hockey - hockey

freeze - stand still (or I'll shoot)
gas (for cars) - petrol
gas station - garage
guys - boys/men/people/folk (both sexes)
hack - tip (advice, trick)
hockey - ice hockey
hood (of car) - bonnet (of car)
make a left/right - turn left/right
momentarily - shortly, soon
over easy - cooked both sides (fried egg)

pant suit - trouser suit
pants - trousers
parking lot - car park
purse - bag/handbag (sometimes purse)
raised - brought up
realtor - estate agent
rest room - toilet
schooled - educated/went to school
take out - take away
trash - rubbish

trash can - waste paper basket
truck - lorry
trunk (of car) - boot (of car)
underpants - pants
yield (traffic sign) - stop
you guys (goup of people of either sex or both) - you people/you folk(s)/you boys and girls/you girls

Websites
wiki - American English
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_American_and_British_English#Vocabulary
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyhound_Lines
Terminology worldwide for Filling Stations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filling_station
https://www.sweet2eatbaking.com/uk-us-conversion/

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker and speech trainer, was born and educated in England and lived in the USA.

I have several more posts on Americanisms and learning languages.
See my previous post
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2020/07/american-english-and-british-english.html
Please share your favourite posts.

Americanisms and Britishisms which travellers need to know: from British autumn to trousers, from American bassinet to underpants

American - English
bassinet - Moses basket
candy - sweets
cookies - biscuits
cop - copper
crib - cot
diaper - nappy
drooled - dribbled
eraser - rubber
Fall - autumn
fanny pack - bum bag
federal - national / nationwide
fussy - grizzly
hood - bonnet
onesie - Babygrow
pacifier - dummy
pants - trousers
scallions - spring onions
sneakers - trainers
sprinkles - hundreds and thousands
store - shop
stroller - pram/push chair
sweatshirt - jumper
tired - knackered
turn signal - indicator
trash - bin
truck - lorry
trunk - boot
underpants - pants

 


English - American
autumn - Fall
Babygrow - onesie
biscuits - cookies
bin - trash
bumb bag - fany pack
boot - trunk
copper - cop
cot - crib
dribbled - drooled
dummy - pacifier
grizzly - fussy
indicator - turn signal
jam - jelly / preserve
jelly - Jello
jumper - sweatshirt
knackered - tired
lorry - truck
Moses basket - bassinet
nappy - diaper
national - federal
pants - underpants
pram/pushchair - stroller
rubber - eraser
shop - store
spring onions - scallions
sweets - candy
trainers - sneakers
trousers - pants

Useful Websites
visitbritain.com
visitbritainshop.com
visitlondon.com
visitsingapore.com
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/07/flags-and-food-for-singapores-national.html

About The Author
Angela Lansbury, the author, - not related to Angela Lansbury the actress nor any of the other dozen people named Angela Lansbury or Lansbury.
I have many more posts on Americanisms and language. I teach English and other languages to individuals and companies. I am a polyglot. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Americanisms and British equivalents

Americanisms - British English

a quarter after - a quarter past
diaper - nappy
eraser - rubber
gas station - petrol station / garage
hood - bonnet
Make a right - turn right
Night stand - bedside table
Pants - trousers
sedan (car) - saloon
truck - lorry
trunk (of a car) - boot
underpants - pants

Now test yourself

What is the British equivalent of these

a quarter after -
gas station -
hood -
Make a right -
Night stand -
Pants -
sedan (car) -
truck -
trunk (of a car) -
underpants -

What is the American equivalent of these

... - a quarter past

 ... - petrol station / garage
... - bonnet
 ... - turn right
... - bedside table
 ... - trousers
 ... -(car) - saloon
... - lorry
... (of a car) - boot
... - pants

Useful Websites
https://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2009/05/trucks-and-lorries.html
visitbritain.com
visittheusa.co.uk

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

What to do in cold weather - how to turn a scarf into a hood as I did in Hanoi, Vietnam

Flag of Vietnam.

Problem
In Hanoi in the north of Vietnam they have four seasons. In December 2018 the temperature dropped from one day to the next, from 6o degrees f to fifty. The local Vietnamese people had donned padded jackets with imitation fur edge hoods.

We were still wearing two or three layers of summer clothes. We did not want to spend on another, heavy jacket which would not fit in our suitcases and would be too hot to wear in tropical Singapore.

Cold Neck
Standing at a bus stop, we had a cold wind on our necks. Those sunhats which cover the neck are also handy against breezes.

Silk Scarf
I had with me a silky scarf. ('Thai silk' which is a good imitation of real silk). Unfortunately, the silky scarf kept slipping off my head and neck.

Hooded Scarf design
I remembered how I had turned a scarf into a hooded scarf a few months previously in London, England. I had looked at a hooded scarf and realised it was hardly more than a scarf doubled over, seamed from the middle a few inches.

One version had the point cut or folded in diagonally, secured with just a couple of stitches. Another had stitching rounded to fit the head. If you don't mind having a point, you can just leave it oblong on top.

Scarf - Sew
You could buy a cheap scarf, or do as I did and sew up the scarf you already have. In an emergency, when cold, just sew one line of stitching quickly up the straight seam and never mind about shaping it.

Sewing Kit
How? Where do you get a sewing kit?

With luck, and planning, you or your partner will always carry a sewing kit. If not, sewing kits are cheap from cheap shops, sold in lots of supermarkets UK and worldwide, and novelty shops in Hanoi, Vietnam.


Hotel Sewing Kit from Sunline Paon Hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Our hotel the Sunline Paon supplied a small sewing kit in the room. The needle was so tiny that two of us struggled for ten minutes and could not get the thread through the tiny hole. We tried widening the hole with the end of a safety pin. Still no luck.

I went downstairs to reception. The girl on reception struggled for a few times. Eventually she did it!

Now, what do you do?

Seam from top right of picture. Scarf folded down on right to show where seam ends.


How To Seam
Fold the scarf in half horizontally. Sew a simple seam a few inches down from the fold, long enough to cover your head.

Scarf sewn into hood. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Success
That will keep you warm until you can find a beanie hat to buy or fly back to a warm country. The part which covers your neck can also secure a second scarf as a neck warmer.

I now appreciate an upright mandarin collar. you could do lots of other things. For example, sew the scarf hood to a jacket collar, or even a blouse collar. Add a pom-pom.

Or sew another scarf inside for extra warmth and contrast lining. Tie the lining scarf under your chin whilst leaving the long tasseled end hanging.

But, back home, you are now without your favourite scarf. You have a winter item and you are back in summer weather.

Unpick
In theory you can unpick the thread again for summer or warmer weather. How securely should you sew it? Double thread would be more secure. I sewed a simple running stitch, but back-stitched every inch or so to prevent it tearing open.

The sign outside St Joseph's cathedral says no baseball hats. However, I imagine my scarf would be allowed.

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.

Americanisms and Britishisms

Problem
Most people already know that Fall is autumn. But there are others, different and new ones which I see every day.

Answers
American - British
eraser - rubber (stationery)
fall - autumn
hood - bonnet (car)
momentarily - shortly, soon
pantyhose - tights
period - full stop
truck - lorry
trunk - boot (car)
go to (item) - ? (you tell me)
zee - zed

Author, Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have several more posts on Americanisms. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Do you know these false friends - words in American and British English, French and German?

Problem
You see a word which sounds like English. You think you know what it means. But it turns out to be something different.

Answers
False Friends
American English - British English
erasers are rubbers
pacifier is dummy
pants are trousers
pantyhose are tights
rubbers are condoms
suspenders are what the British call braces (holding up trousers; for the British supenders and what hold up ladies' stockings
the car's hood is the bonnet
the car's trunk is the boot
underpants are pants

French - English
Hotel de ville in French means town hall.
Grand in French is not grand but big.

German - English
Old-timer in German and Dutch is what the English would call a classic car; old-timer in English means an elderly person
Rathaus is not a rat house but a town hall, usually containing a tourist restaurant serving local specialities in a historic cellar.
A gymnasium in Germany is academic, a college, but in the UK it is a hall with equipment for physical activity indoors

LANGUAGES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_friend
what is the easiest language to learn
https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/7-reasons-to-learn-languages-from-a-guy-who-speaks-9
https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/language-quotes-01

duolingo.com

earwormslearning.com

http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/how-many-english-words-from-foreign.html
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/learn-ten-portuguese-words-from.html
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk/2018/02/polyglot-poem-by-angela-lansbury.html
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/how-to-remember-23-portuguese-words-or.html

http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/port-and-portuguese-wine-labels-and.
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/how-to-ask-for-food-and-drink-in.
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/learn-your-first-ten-words-in.
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/how-do-you-say-please-in-portuguese-is.

TRAVEL
visitbritain.org
http://www.visit-usa.com (Links for all state tourist boards)
http://www.germany.travel/en/index.html
http://uk.france.fr
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/germany

visitportugal.com

http://www.spain.info/en_GB/

visitbrasil.com

http://ww

w.visitmadeira.pt/en-gb/homepage

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

British English and Americanisms - hose, power outage, consignment store

In today's Daily Mail in the US section I read about a power outage. In the UK we would say power cut.

US-UK
a la mode-French for in fashion but in the USA a pie a la mode is a pie or dessert having additional cream, often whipped cream. (Check with the serving staff what they mean or look at the menu pictures.)
boardwalk-deck (or promenade, although a promenade is often concrete)

billfold - wallet
consignment store-sale or return shop for secondhand fashions
dime store-bargain basement/cheap shop
eraser-rubber
hood-bonnet (part of a car)
Hoover-vacuum cleaner
hose-stockings
Kleenex-paper tissues, paper hanky
make a right/left-turn right/left
over easy- (fried egg) cooked both sides, over meaning turned over, easy meaning whites are slightly runny
power outage-power cut
sidewalk-pavement
pacifier-dummy
purse-bag
pavement-tarmac/road
pleased to meet you-how do you do (formal)
rubber-Durex/condom
trunk-boot

UK - USA

bag - purse

deck - boardwalk

Durex - rubber

dummy - pacifier

bonnet (front of car) - hood

egg cooked both sides - over-easy

how do you do (formal) - pleased to meet you

paper hankie - Kleenex

pavement - sidewalk

power cut - power outage

purse - coin purse

rubber - eraser

stockings - hose

turn right - make a right

(dessert) with cream - a la mode

vacuum cleaner - Hoover

wallet - billfold

I compiled this list from what I found different living in Rockville Maryland and on visits to the USA from England and also on websites and in newspapers. Somewhere in storage I have at last two books of dictionary style translations. One is a small and inexpensive paperback.

For a more comprehensive list go to Wiki comparison of American and English.

Angela Lansbury, author, travel writer, translator and tutor of French and English, A level, conversation, packaging, written work, websites.