Pictures From Piccadilly

 

A passer-by carries a giant candy cane Balloon. Buy similar from Amazon and party shops and kiosks.

Love bird lights.

Festive trees with lights, outside Park Lane.

Hotels near Green Park station include the art deco Sheraton Grand.

Useful Websites

https://www.amazon.co.uk/PartyDeco-Foil-Balloon-Christmas-Candy

https://tfl.gov.uk/tube/stop/940GZZLUGPK/green-park-underground-station

Albanian flag

The Albanian flag is an orangy red with a central black double headed eagle.

You see the flag everywhere, flying from public buildings, hotels, castles. Also on souvenir stands. Large. Towels. Flags. 

I left my stuff - for things you forgot at hotels

Yes, we've all done it. Left things behind in hotels. I have arrived home with a left shoe. A right hand glove. Having left contraceptives under the pillow. A child's teddy bear in a cot.

I read that a famous film star left a dress behind at a five star hotel. When she returned ten years later, the dress was hanging up in the wardrobe for her.

I once asked hotel reception in the USA for a connecting lead to power my mobile phone. They had a box of them. No way of knowing who had left them behind in the sockets of public rooms in the hotel.

Now there's an answer. 

Clubs

I also left a swimsuit behind at a club. 

And lipsticks and medicines at Security at Heathrow airport.

Useful websites

https://www.fodors.com/news/hotels/ileftmystuff-reunites-travelers-with-items-left-behind-in-hotel-rooms

https://www.ileftmystuff.com/

Fabulous Food, Drink, Ice Cream, Pastry and Self-Cleaning Ovens at the FHA, HOREco Expo At Expo in Singapore

 If you are in the business, of restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, the show is on at the Food and Hotel Asia show at Singapore Expo 25 to 28 October 2022.  MRT Expo on the blue Downtown line. Time 10 to 6 pm, except the last day when it closes at 4 pm.

See equipment, try coffees and pastry and ice cream and cocktail and smoothie mixes, everything for the restaurant or hotel owner or chef.

Useful Websites

www.fhaHoReCa.com

Abandoned 1700s Fairy Tale Castle ~ Owner Died in a Car Crash! Potential for Parador style renovation

The Spaniards have paradors, old ruined places taken over by the government and restored as hotels serving regional recipes, to encourage tourists to visit areas around the country.

The Portuguese have pousadas. The same principle.

Perhaps the French, and the British, could adopt this idea.

Useful Websites

Paradors

https://www.parador.es/

Pousadas

Chinese New Year Singapore Style

Orange tree by the pool at Cashew condo. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

My family have an old one on the balcony. The oranges were picked several months ago to make marmalade. They intend to buy another tree when the prices come down after Chinese New year.

Larger trees like this one are outside many malls and hotels.

Orange tree close-up. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Useful Websites

About the author of this blog post

Angela Lansbury

About the 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.

 Please share links to your favourite posts.

Books by Angela Lansbury
How to be the best man. (Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Wedding Speeches and Toasts.(Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Unforgettable British Weekends.
Poetry Workshop Workbook.
The Tailor and the Spy. (Lulu.)
Larry The Talking Labrador. (Lulu.)
Writing Poetry for fun.

Quick Quotations

Who Said What When

 

 More Photos and text in a moment

Modern Hotels and Attractions in Andorra

Hotels
 

Choose - which weather pools?

If you are doing winter sports, snowboarding and skiing in winter, and hiking in summer, you might not need extra exercise. On the other hands, you might want to relax in a pool after skiing, and to socialise with non-skiing family.

Hotels have outdoor pools for swimming in summer, other hotels have an indoor swimming pool for winter. On Tripadvisor you will find many hotels. You can specify swimming pools and other features. The only well known international hotel names I spotted were Novotel and Mercure. You can also look for apart(ment) hotels and suites if you have a special diet. And location, especially, in snow or bad weather if you want to walk to the shops. And parking, covered parking and free parking.

In the capital, two notable hotels are the Panorama where my family stayed, and the Eden Roc on the main shopping street.

Hotel Roc Blanc, Andorra. White rock hotel. Xmas 2021. Photo credit: A Sharot photo. 

In the square you see the Xmas tree, gold colour decorations of parcels and Santas, plus angels blowing trumpets, back left, and five point stars on poles.

 Do you want a top floor bedroom facing the centre, or looking up at the hills, or a city centre hotel so you can park and walk along the pedestrian only outdoor malls and piazzas?

Come back for more pictures and text soon!

Panorama Hotel

Two 

Tourist Sights

1 The Arched Bridge

Pont de la Margineda

This reminds me of the bridge at Mostar (which was destroyed in the war and rebuilt). 

This bridge  is medieval.

2 The Lookout Point

Mirador del Roc del Quer

3 The Caldea Spa

Thermal (heated) spring waters. 

Caldea Spa interior Photo from Sharot family.

Restaurants open to the public even if not using the water. Automatic light shows on the hour. Theatrical performances can be booked.

You can book hotel and spa packages, spa centre and restaurant packages, and packages of the water centre plus other attractions around Andorra.

Websites

Historic House and government building

http://www.casadelavall.ad/en/the-consell-general

Postal Museum

https://visitandorra.com/en/culture/postal-museum/

Museum Pass

https://visitandorra.com/ca/cultura/passmuseu-d-andorra/

Caldea Spa

https://visitandorra.com/en/relaxing/caldea/

https://www.caldea.com/en/virtualtour

https://www.caldea.com/en/thermoludic-shows

Av. Parc de la Mola, 10
Escaldes-Engordany

(+34) 902 932 025 / (+376) 800 999

 About the 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.

 Please share links to your favourite posts.

Books by Angela Lansbury
How to be the best man. (Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Wedding Speeches and Toasts.(Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Unforgettable British Weekends.
Poetry Workshop Workbook.
The Tailor and the Spy. (Lulu.)
Larry The Talking Labrador. (Lulu.)
Writing Poetry for fun.

Quick Quotations

Who Said What When

 

Covid-19 and weddings which still take place

UK flag

We have postponed several times a family wedding due to take place in June in the UK.

First, the UK wedding could not have the 100 guests. They could not, or would not, travel from oversease. Large gatherings were banned. The venues were not allowed to stage larger events.

Then we were not allowed to travel out of Singapore, or could not get back. Second not allowed into the UK.

Then we could travel but risked a two week isolation on arrival in the UK, and had to travel 2 weeks earlier to allow for this. Then we risked 2 weeks isolation at our own expense and hospital fees at our own expense on returning to Singapore. No bringing back perishable foods and drinks.


US flag

Could the bride, who has US nationality, marry in the USA? Yes, in Vegas. We looked at the website. But she would have to be there, in the USA, already, and to stay there.

Finally, it looks like it might go ahead in the UK on a small scale.

But will we get seats on planes from Singapore to London? We are waiting to hear.

Will we arrive without catching something on the plane?

What a pity they did not marry in Singapore when they were here at the start of the year.



What of Singapore couples? Or couples in Singapore?

What about Singapore weddings?

I looked at an article on weddings which had already taken place on a small scale in Singapore and Hong Kong.

What I found interesting, is that some Singapore hotels have a minimum spend for a wedding which you cannot reach when you reduce the number of guests. However, some will either allow you to include other food, such as the bride and groom ordering food in the days before, or after the wedding reception.

Others will give a credit note to allow you to have meals at the hotel restaurant(s) another time.

Useful Websites
https://sg.asiatatler.com/life/jewel-changi-airport-designer-first-wedding-solemnisation-jaron-lubin-helen-han

https://sg.asiatatler.com/life/couples-who-married-during-the-early-days-of-covid-19-how-they-did-it-in-singapore-hong-kong?utm_source=Outbrain&utm_medium=Discovery&utm_campaign=sgtatler-outbrain-campaign-2&utm_content=These+Couples+Got+Married+During+the+Covid-19+Outbreak

What I Liked AND DISLIKED About ITE (Institute of Technical Education) in Singapore

Singapore flag

I was driven to the ITE in Ang Mo Kio to evaluate a speech at a Toastmasters International meeting. This location was a surprise, as I had previously visited their West campus beyond Bukit Panjang. I had not liked the meeting room at the West campus, where we stood around in the tropical heat in the outdoor corridor outside the room.

So the ITE Central branch at Ang Mo Kio, all indoors, was a pleasant surprise. All new, clean, modern, with colours, curves, flowers.

The carpeting is like at an airport, a Singapore airport terminal. The ITE carpet stretched wall to wall and cushioned your feet.

You feel like royalty. You feel relaxed. You feel welcome. You feel happy. You feel energised.

The ladies toilet had flowers by the basins. Plus a shower. I do like to see a shower.

UK flag

Showers In The UK
I recalled seeing a shower at a motorway stop in the UK, in the toilets used by truckers and the handicapped.

Showers In Singapore
I saw another shower in an Indian temple in Singapore. Not so grand and modern.

They also have taps for food washing outside the building where you take off your shoes. If you are removing your shoes and prostrating yourself you want to be clean.

Showers and Sports
I asked my friends, who lecture and teach at the ITE, what they knew about showers in public buildings in Singapore. Mr Ong replied:
"You often get showers in the toilets at Sports centres and nearby."
Ah. that explains it, tells you where to look.

I knew that you often get showers in hotels with gyms. But I had not thought about sports areas in colleges and other public buildings.

ITE Sound
What did I dislike at ITE? The high pitch whine, apparently caused by the security system, perhaps when the door of a meeting room is open.

Mr Ong added, "ITE is where the government minister will speak, later in the year."

Maybe they can fix the whining sound before he arrives.

ITE gets my vote. A beautiful venue for the government and for the public.

ITE has three campuses, west, central and east.

I went onto the website and could not find the address. the address is under contact us which is  link across the menu bar which was off to the right of the screen, even though I was not looking on a tiny smartphone but a large screen.

ITE Central
2 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5
Singapore 567720

Useful websites
ITE College Central address and directions
https://central.ite.edu.sg/Contact-Info/106/ContactInfo.aspx

Singapore Airlines
singaporeair.com

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

Fisk fish restaurant and fun deli shop

The decor of this shop is a novelty. Look at those curved cliffs of shelving. The moment I stepped through the door the manager's friendly voice greeted me. I admired the giant fish, some with heads
and some without.

I knew of the restaurant because a member of my family had eaten lunch there and recommended it. The restaurant had been chosen by a group of Scandinavians, one from Denmark.

I noticed organic mulberries at under 10 Singapore dollars, my sort of price. After seeing that small samples of the mulberries and other items were available to try, I did some sampling. However, I was not tempted to change my choice but stuck to the organic mulberries as being most original purchase.

Fisk shop by the Mercure and Novotel hotels on Stevens Road, Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Umbrellas to buy in hotels in Asia

Umbrella display at ProWine Asia. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Luxury umbrellas

What gorgeous summery umbrellas. I love umbrellas. You can buy these in major hotels. Look carefully and you will be able to identify the triple towers of Marina Bay Sands hotel with its infinity swimming pool on the roof depitcted on the umbrella on the far left.

A practical souvenir.

Cheap and Cheerful Umbrellas

If you are looking for a quick buy of a cheap extra umbrella in a downpour (many afternoons), look in the chain pharmacies or drugstores such as Guardian, which you will often find on railway station concourses in Singapore.

Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Airnb NB! What if you have to change hotels at the last moment?

Problem
Airnb What's it all about and is it safe? It is staying in somebody's private home. Some countries do this on an official government basis. We did it years ago in Hungary. I've read that it is done nowadays in Cuba.

Flag of Cuba.

In the UK, you can find bed and breakfast.

Bed and Breakfast, UK
Bed and breakfast has existed for years in the UK. You used to just drive around looking for a vacancy. A b-and-b is not a 5-star hotel which is obliged to have 24-hour service to achieve such status for staff and service. A b-and-B is usually somebody's home, or an annexe requiring them to get out of bed to see you to your room. Remember that they need their sleep because they cannot lie in. They have to be up before you in the morning to have the breakfast table ready.

Cornwall B & B story
For light relief, for you and me, here's my memory of b and b in Cornwall. One year I drove with a girlfriend to Cornwall. We did fine finding b and b available in locations throughout Devon. Then we reached a place on a bank holiday in busy Cornwall where all the hotels were full.

By the time we stopped for dinner, it was too late in the day to secure accommodation. The signs were switching off. The hallway and living room and bedroom lights in the houses were dimmed.

We ended up sleeping overnight in the car in a car park. Signs said it was not permitted to park overnight.

We woke at dawn, wet from perspiration in the stuffy car, and cold, in a baking summer. If we drove off before anybody arrived, we would be safe from reprimand, charges, or prison.

A police car drove in! It parked by the entrance. I said, 'Now we are in trouble!'

But my friend has the 'gift of the gab'. She grinned, "Drive over and stop and I'll speak to them."

"Good morning, officers," she smiled. "You must know this area well. We're new and we're lost. Can you recommend a good place for breakfast. ... Thank you so much! I knew you good people would be able to help." That's chutzpah!

Recent Stories
Back to nowadays. I looked at the report on Airnb in The Times and went back to the source, a blogger called Asher Fergusson.

He claims, and I believe him, that he found duplicate listings of many sites, as well as scams. If he could find duplicate listings, presumably the wary and canny shopper could do the same. This does not change his point, that the site itself could or should do so. (They claim that they do.) However, it does draw attention to the fact that you can do some checking for yourself.

Before going to a legitimate small hotel I check out who they are and where they are. The same as I do when visiting a shop or museum. This ensures I don't get lost in a dangerous neighbourhood. I also like to have a backup plan. If my hotel should suffer from over-booking, get flooded or damaged or in a neighbourhood cordoned off, where would I go.

Your Checks
I would do the same checks with an air NB property and owner. With street view nowadays you can make numerous checks on line. Find out if there's a cheap hotel nearby so in the event of any problem (such as your flight being delayed and your room being overbooked and given to somebody else) you know your local choices.

Checking Local Hotels And Hostels
Know all the local hotels, and any other hotels in the same group.

If your hotel tells you they are overbooked and they are sending you to a sister hotel, you want to know if the sister hotel has the same facilities (such as walking distance to the nearest station, or a swimming pool). If not, will the hotel give you a free transfer, or allow you to come back and use the main hotel's swimming pool.

Useful websites
https://www.asherfergusson.com/airbnb/
tripadvisor.com

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

Madeira, the island, wines, restaurants, hotels and selfies with the bust of Cristiano Ronaldo

Problems
Past
I have a photo of myself with family descending the Madeira hillside on a kind of local seated sledge. Like a horse-drawn cart but with no wheels and no horse! No wonder we are all grinning. Where were we? What have I done with this historic photo? I need a catalogue of photos!

Present
Where to go and what to do? Before planning a trip, I collect information days, weeks, months, years in advance. I started with a trip to taste Madeira wine in the UK (see my previous posts). The rep for Madeira wines, Geoff, kindly sent me information.

Future
Here are some notes I have made on Madeira, based on editing what Geoff said:

Hotels - biggest and best?
Reid's hilltop hotel where Winston Churchill stayed.
Savoy by the sea.

"1.A city hotel which we use for group visits in the centre of Funchal. 

Hotel Orquidea.     

www.hotelorquidea.com   

 info@hotelorquidea.com

2. Romantic hotel. Our favourite is Porto Mare hotel.

 www.portobay.com    

book@portobay.pt

3. Restaurants, all are good. A small intimate on is 

L'Osteria Restaurant 

4.  PVP has probably the best wine selection, informal and good food.

5. All the restaurants serve the locally made table wine. It is OK, but not very exciting and rather expensive. I would say that their table wine is at a level where English wine was 20 years ago.

6. All the producers have visitor facilities, booking is required for groups. All have websites. 

7. Cocktails. A document was published by IVBAM

 If you contact IVBAM I am sure that they would be pleased to send you a copy.  ivbam.sra@gov-madeira.pt

All restaurants and bars serve freshly pressed fruit drinks."

Sites - See and Do
Madeira movie experience.
Madeira history museum.
Botanical Gardens.
Lava tunnels and waterside walks.
The artificial beach where black sand has been replaced by pale sand.

Drink
Madeira wine, rum, passionfruit cocktail.

Zarco statue in Funchal, capital of Madeira. Photo in Wikipedia by Hedwig Storch.

A famous historical figure known locally is Zarco, whose statue is on one of the main streets, Avenida Arriarcho. Zarco was an explorer and, like Christopher Columbus, some suspect Zarco was descended from a Jewish family which converted to Christanity.

Most famous living man from Madeira, Cristiano Ronaldo, footballer who has played for real Madrid and previously Manchester United. You might fly into Aeroporto Cristiano Ronaldo, named after him in 2017. Notice the bust of him in the airport. You might want to photograph it and have a selfie with it.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Please see my other blog and share links with your friends and family.
http://luxurytravelforless.co.uk

Noises in the city, and the sky: what's outside my window, knocking at my door?

Noises overhead - again. What woke me? What disturbed me?

Problems
You move to a new location for work or for the winter, to retire or as a tax exile. You book a hotel. You hear noises disturbing your sleep, or your reading. What was that?

Answers
Animals
Cat entering through cat flap. Climbing curtain. Opening door.Scratching on furniture or cat scratch post.

Crash, Bang, Broken!
Open window and flapping curtains knocked item off the windowsill.

Thunder
Thunder overhead. Does it matter? Firstly, you need to shut the windows in Singapore. We spent a week drying out the carpet after drenching rain blew through the window over the desk and down onto the floor, soaking all the papers which were on the desk and floor.

Yes, if I want to go swimming in a swimming pool in Singapore. The security guard will rush over to instruct you to get out of the water. Thunder means lighting and you could be struck.

Our complex was struck by lightning and the lift were out for several hours or days. The power tripped. All the food went off in the freezer - including the smoked salmon.

Office Alarm
Upright magazine holder fell over.
Laptop or mobile phone slid off pile of papers.
Fax machine spewing paper.
You accidentally hit print and what you are reading is printing.
You are working late and cleaners have arrived.
Security staff are doing their rounds.
Window cleaners outside window on platform.
Painters outside on platform.
Coffee machine signalling water has boiled.

Bedroom Buzzing
Mobile phone is getting messages on what's ap.

Fly trapped behind window pane trying to get out.

Moths in light fitting set to timer.

Toddler wakes and shakes cot which moves across floor.

Partners snoring.
Guys in next room snoring.
Pet snoring.

Daytime raucous clashing
Chinese New Year in China, Asia, Singapore, London, US cities - lion dance. - Noise of groups banging cymbals in passing vehicles and at building entrances, club lobbies, and restaurants.
Late Night disco on ground floor or top floor of hotel, especially at weekends.
Restaurant on ground floor preparing for breakfast, and shifting bins in alley on ground floor when you are on third floor (woke us in Cambodia).

Tooting
Bicycles, motorcycles, Italian scooters, Cambodian and Asian cycle taxis, and cars, hooting each other as they cross lanes and overtake other vehicles and pedestrians.

Bleeping
Traffic light signals under your hotel bedroom window telling pedestrians it is safe to cross but you are likely to be hit by vehicles turning left from your right, or vice versa. (All day long when I was working at a desk by the window in an all suite hotel in Shanghai.)

Knocking
I am in a hotel, want to bath or shower. Take off my clothes and grab a towel. Noises in the corridor.
They won't be coming here, but going to another room. Just in case, I'll lock the door and fix the chain. I could put out do not disturb but that involves opening the door and there could be CCTV in the corridor.

I hear knocking. I ask Who is it? The reply is in a foreign language. I look through the spy hole. What could it be? Just ignore it.

A key rattles in the lock and the door opens slightly caught by the chain.

This happens to me many times. What is it? Loads of reasons.

Hotel staff want to check your mini bar, change the towels, make up the room, turn down the bed in the evening. Let them in. They might be delivering a chocolate!

What else could it be? Fellow guests. Family in the next room have forgotten their key and are looking for their room.
Kids knocking on every door for a laugh.

Naughty kids have reversed all the Do Not Disturb signs to Make Up My Room.
Reception staff have brought up your final bill on last day to bandit to you or slip it under the door to speed your getaway and ensure you pay.

Once I checked into a hotel in New Orleans, checked in at the desk, got my key, and despite my protests the porter insisted on carrying some of our luggage, we presumed for a tip. We arrived outside a bedroom door in New Orleans with the porter and my luggage but the door key would not work.

I tried again.

The porter tried. "He said, Either it's wrongly programmed or the door is locked from the inside." He tried again.

Eventually the door opened, of it's own accord, from inside. For a second I thought, "There's a ghost in the room!"

A man inside peered out. I could see he was wearing a white bathrobe. He asked, "What do you want?"

I said, "This is my room". He replied, "No it isn't. It's my room."

The porter checked the key card. He tutted. He admitted, "They've issued two cards to different guests for the same room." He shook his head, "Not again! That's the third time today. Happens all the time."

Hotel TV
TV has not been turned off and the day's new programmes have started.
TV is remotely operated to play a welcome message and guide to the hotel's restaurants in local language. Turn it to English and you will be able to understand what they are saying and that the sauna being shown is not some random advertisements but in your own hotel with a discount, free offer, and opening hours - plus sauna and swimming time. They are also telling you to go to the bar for a free welcome cocktail or juice or coffee Aren't you glad you watched! (Happened to me in Hawaii and some US hotels.)

Waves Crashing
In a Florida hotel I could hear the waves outside crashing on the beach. The first night I dreamed about tsunamis and kept waking throughout the night. I had asked for a sea view. I thought, 'I should have asked for a bedroom at the back.' But the second night I was so tired I sleep through. By the third night I had got used to it. New people at the hotel were complaint that the sea sound kept them awake. I just looked condescending. Some people complain about anything and everything. (British irony.)

Country music is playing
In Opryland Hotel in Tennessee, USA, the lady who made up the room must have been instructed to turn on the radio to play country music which came on when I put my key fob in the door which activated the lights and all electrical equipment.

Today, just birdsong. It's awfully quite around here. Just the sound of me typing - and the occasional chair scraping the floor overhead. Distant churning. Must be a cement mixer on a building site two blocks away. Other people are working. And washing. I hear noise in pipes. I am not alone.

Angela Lansbury, travel write and photographer.

White Towelling Slippers And Flip-Flops - Reinforcing slippers

At home and when travelling I like to wear slippers indoors. On holiday I like to pack slippers. If I am travelling light, I don't want to pack heavy shoes. Light slippers are a useful spare pair. Besides, if your daytime shoes are dirty or wet, it's good to take them off and wear slippers in the hotel bedroom. Slippers are good for keeping the carpet clean, and letting your feet breathe.

Hotel Bedrooms
On holidays and conferences I stay in hotels and university accommodation. In hotel bedrooms I don't want to go barefoot and risk stubbing my toes against the base of the bed or chairs with splayed legs. I put on slippers even when padding from the bedroom to the en suite bathroom.

If somebody knocks at the door I like to be wearing slippers. It looks so sloppy and undressed to be padding about barefoot.

I am not sure the carpeted bedroom floors are clean. I could pick up veruccas from a bathroom floor. Or slip on a wet floor. As for the area in front of the toilet ... !

But traditional towelling slippers are often made man-size so I have started to keep one pair for males and visitors, another sewn to suit my smaller feet. Sewing towelling slippers to make them smaller is a project at home before I go on holiday. I can finish in the hotel on a rainy day or when I'm waiting for room service. I just need to ask for a sewing kit, or make sure I have one packed in the front of my travelling bag.

Sewing Slippers
I am still working on adapting my white towelling slippers. My years-old white towelling slippers are my experiment in sewing slippers. I have not had the courage to make myself slippers, yet. But I am working on the old slippers. I have turned up the back of the too long slippers. I inserted a piece of white lace cut from an old bra. The link piece's main purpose is to hold up the back more securely, also to stop my foot from slipping back and crushing the back.

Cheap Slippers
I am not short of slippers. I have a pair of green open back slippers from a Pound Shop, which cost only £1. However, 'waste not want not' is my motto.

My favourite and smartest slippers were silk wine-colour backless slippers.  I wore them worn every day.  After about a year the part under the heel wore through.

They came from Patra, second hand on Ebay. I looked for another. But they were a one-off opportunity. Probably an oddment, clearance stock. Replacements were unobtainable, neither available at a reduced price on eBay, nor even full price from Patra.

Repairing Silk Slippers
Eventually I sewed a piece of ribbon over the worn part. Another six months and the ribbon had worn through. I shall have to do it again.

Improving Fit
But whilst I have the ribbon and the mood, I am wondering whether I should sew some more. I would like to add a ribbon running from the part across the toes horizontally back around the heel, just a long piece of ribbon. I could either sen down all the way around, or, more simply, neatly and quickly, sewn only the width of the ribbon at either side at the front.

Adjusting Straps
How would I get the ribbon on and off the back of my heel? Too tight and it's a nuisance. Too loose and it will slip off.

Elastic
One solution is to use elastic instead of ribbon. But that's often available in all widths only in black and white. Colours are harder to match and rarer.

On white slippers, white elastic would work. You could make a long strap entirely of elastic, which would involve less time sewing. Alternatively, sew on a long ribbon, with a short elastic insert either at the back behind the ankle (so long as it does not rub). If you sew neatly, a short piece inserted where the ribbon joins the piece over the toes would be good.

Ribbons
To make it fit exactly, you could have two ribbons and tie them in a bow. Two equal ribbons could tie in a bow behind your ankle. Or one piece of ribbon longer, you could tie a bow on the outside of your food.

Buckles
Another alternative is to take buckles off an old pair of sandals.

If and when I sew more slippers, I shall show you the pictures in a later post. See my previous post and photos on adapting over-large white towelling slippers.

The slippers are not ultra-smart. but they are just right for bathroom to breakfast at home. Even if you do not sew neatly, the white cotton disappears into the towelling.

Decorative Braid Option
I am so pleased with the comfortable fit of my slimmed down towelling slippers, that I am now considering investing more time in sewing parallel lines of ribbon to decorate the toes along the sewn area. If you had an untidy line of sewing, or the wrong colour cotton, you could conceal it under decorative braid. Best of all, the lines will make the wide slippers look narrower.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Asking For Freebies

Asking For Items
I never take things from hotels. I wouldn't want to spoil my day with the worry and guilt nor upset the staff with the feeling that somebody had stolen something. They might even get blamed for theft or expected to pay for the missing item.

I ask housekeeping by phone or or room cleaner in the bedroom or corridor if I like something. Sometimes if you want something such as a sewing kit, they bring you one, even if its only for the suites and you are in an ordinary room.

They or you may think they deserve a tip. If you are in America, where the room cleaners are tipped and leave a note with their name, you may feel that any gift deserves an extra tip or that you deserve a gift in exchange for the tip.

If none of this happens, at check out, with my cases packed, I can go to reception holding the item I want, whether it's a pen or pair of towelling slippers or whatever. I can ask them to check with housekeeping whether they throw the items away or wash them or have spares. I can say if they don't mind replacing it from stock but want to make a charge I'd like to know what the price to me would be it is.

Even if two times out of three they say that they need the item, that's ok, you are saved the embarrassment of being caught. The one time they laugh and say, 'Take it!', you can go off happily with your free gift with profuse thanks and smiles all around.

Angela Lansbury, author and travel writer and English language teacher.

Curing the mental and physical stress of World Travel Market and conferences

I should be looking at transport to England and the World Travel Market. After one day I feel I need a break. The night before the conference I got up at 3 am to check I had my conference entry ticket printed and on a lanyard and actually in the bag or jacket.

Three stops before the conference I could find it. I should have had it in the right hand pocket.

Or put it round my neck before leaving home. (Under my jacket. I once went home from a conference with my badge on. A complete stranger, probably drunk, keep addressing me by name. I couldn't remember where I'd met him. Then I realised he was reading my badge.)

I phoned home and sent everybody scurrying about searching the desk and doorway. The badge was not there. Reassuring for me. I knew it had to be somewhere . Yes, at the bottom of a pocket in my pull on suitcase.

By the time I arrive I have my badge on and appear well organised. Nobody knows. (Only you, because you have read my blog.)

I thought I was the only person stressed out in advance. I meet another journalist who tuts about being tired from having been up and getting little sleep the night before. Early start to arrive in time for press breakfast. He was staying in a nearby hotel. (Was this revelation an invitation to me. No. It took several hours for me to realise he was probably either alone, or with the mistress he jokingly mentioned, or the wife he jokingly mentioned.)

Staying in a nearby hotel can save travel time in the nmonring. I' have done that at previous shows. It only worked well for one night. For two or three, I ended up with too much heave accumulated stuff to carry home the last night. I had to give up the last night's event whilst I read through and threw away most of the literature.

I was delighted on the stand for the Relais hotels when I looking at the two heavy booklets and the lady on the stand happily volunteered to send them to me. In the olden days people wanted to give you brochures and not send them. I would often take hotel catalogues. But nowadays they have PR firms and marketing departments whose job is to send out catalogues. No problem. Wonderful.

The event is changing from four days to three. One of the reasons given is that the sales people conducting selling and buying at the show would prefer a three day event to four. Three longer days. That cuts down costs of travel to and from the show daily, the overnight hotel accommodation for foreign visitors and the hours away from the home office desk.

Has life got better, or better organised? Yes. Printing out the entry ticket in advance for this event and many others, cost and time  printing in advance, but saves queuing on arrival. Great.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author speaker.

Happy Chinese New Year in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, England, Canada and the USA

My pictures of previous years' Chinese New Year decorations in hotels and shopping malls in Singapore.

Red decorations and Chinese characters.

Chinese lanterns in orange.

The lion dance. Very noisy.

Fireworks in Beijing video is on the BBC site and there must be many more on Youtube from Chinese areas: China, Singapore, Taiwan, Chinese areas in Malaysia, Chinatowns in New York and San Francisco in the USA, Vancouver in Canada, London and Manchester in England - and on Chinese language sites.

First thing to do is send cards, cards, emails to friends overseas. In Singapore we would be given free red packets by banks and even McDonalds, containing advertising or discount vouchers in the red packets in which you traditionally give money, especially from married elders to the young and single. This is a Chinese tradition and eight is lucky so multiples of eight are auspicious.

You are likely to hear the sounds of the lion dancers carried on trucks (lorries as we would say in the UK) to destinations where they will perform. Troupes will dance outside restaurants newly opened, shopping malls, hotels and public places.

Gong Xi Fa Cai  (Happy New Year)

Angela Lansbury B A Hons is a travel writer, photojournalist, author and speaker.