Easy To Guess And To Remember Spanish Words

 

Let's start with the easy ones.

16 words.

SPANISH - ENGLISH

Many Spanish words look like shortened versions of English words.

alarma - alarm (clock's alarm)

amigos - friends (like our English word amiable)

ayer - yesterday (both languages have the letters ye, also er) ayer yesterday

dia - day

clase - class (ese classe - that class)

comun - common 

cultural - cultural

democracia - democracy

los documentos - documents 

es - it is

la fruta - the fruit

libro de texto - textbook , libro like the English word library

nacional - national

el problema - the problem

tarde - late - like the English word tardy

taxi - taxi

(in Spanish you have to use the, but in English we also use the a lot. Indians say I go to office which is a translation from their language, maybe Hindi, but in English we would say, I go to the office, because it is a specific office. A or an, means any, one of that type. The, or that or this, a specific one.)

Translating from Spanish to English is easy. But what about English to Spanish. Sixteen words. Let's start with the easy ones.

1 Taxi - taxi - the same.

2 cultural - cultural

Add the letter a to

3 alarm = alarma

4 Problem - problema

5 fruit - fruta - add the vowel a and drop the vowel i

6  day - dia - I find it easier to remember buenos dias, so from that I get the singular dia, changing the y to i, again simplifying the English

Useful Websites

duolingo.com

https://www.newsinslowspanish.com/home/news/beginner

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Second List of Words For Simple Conversation In Italian Restaurants

 Italian - English

ancora - still

caldo - hot

carne - meat

che succede - what's going on

cosa ti piace - what would you like?

era - there was

hai raggione - you're right (literally you have reason)

ho capito - I understand

ho deciso - I have decided

ieri - yesterday

io sono vegetariano - I am vegetarian

in ritardo - late

na mappa - a map

mi dispiace - I'm sorry

non ho visto - I did not see

numero di telefono - phone number

oggi - today

orribile - horrible

posso avere il tuo - can I have yours?

problemi - problems 

secondo me - it seems to me / in my opinion

una bottiglia di vino - a bottle of wine

 

English - Italian

a bottle of wine - una bottiglia di vino

a map - una mappa

can I have yours - posso avere tuo

I did not see - non ho visto

I have decided - ho deciso

horrible - orribile

hot - caldo

I am vegetarian - io sono vegetariano

I'm sorry - mi dispiace

I understand - ho capito

it seems to me / in my opinion - secondo me 

late - in ritardo

meat - carne

phone number - numero di telefono

problems - problemi

still - ancora

today - oggi

there was - era

what's going on - che succede

what would you like - cosa ti piace?

yesterday - ieri (like the French hier)

you're right - hai raggione

How To Avoid Airport Altercation - over an out of date passport

Good luck or bad luck? Sometimes we create our own bad luck. A woman created a fuss at an airport when she was denied boarding after she turned up late with an expired passport.

When does your passport or national identity card expire? How long does it take to get a new one? Do you have recent photos ready, for passports, or ski lift passes?

Could airlines ask for a copy of your passport when you book?

That would save you from a last minute hunt for your passport.

I can foresee objections. The risk is that the passport could be copied.

Instead, airlines could simply ask you the date of the expiration of your passport when you book the flight. The passenger would be alerted to check. 

If it is out of date they might have time to renew the passport. They might decide not to turn up and try to board with an out of date passport and stress themselves and check-in staff. 

Yes, the passenger in a hurry to book might make up a number, or lose the seat, or the airline might lose the booking. Eventually, customers would get used to providing passport expiry dates, and would keep the expiry date in their diary or phone with other vital numbers. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11396579/Moment-woman-throws-punches-Emirates-airline-employee-missing-flight-Mexico-City.html#newcomment

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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.

Translate into Spanish - words at the airport, hotel,

Problem
Next year I am taking a holiday with a group of ex-pats who speak English, Indonesian, German and Dutch. We will be in Bulgaria. So I need to brush up on the basics of sentences in four languages, enough to grasp what they are saying. I have chosen half a dozen vital sentence which I will learn in each of the three languages.

I also go to a Toastmasters group where two people speak Spanish, one from Spain, another from Venezuela. Although I can read Spanish, when I was asked, in Spanish, 'do you understand Spanish,' I was flummoxed because I could not immediately summon up the reply, only a little. So I am collecting the phrases one might need, which I habitually need, in three of four languages which I will be needing when checking into airports and accosting strangers who speak assorted languages. Here's the Spanish.

I started by spending ten minutes on the German, as I already know German. That is in another post. I need to practise saying these sentences so I can not only understand, but also speak!

Read the English, then the German / Spanish / other language. Come back to the English and see if you can remember the German / Spanish / other language.

ENGLISH
AIRPORT
Excuse me - do you speak English / German / Dutch / Indonesian / Malaysian?
No, sorry. / Yes, I do. I am English!
Only - a little. Slowly, please!
Can you write it down?
I have a dictionary - can you Google translate it?

1
Airport
Good morning / Good afternoon / Good evening
Welcome
Excuse me
Can you help me?

2
Where is the check-in? Where is the Lufthansa / KLM desk?
Where is the lounge?
Where is the toilet? The ladies / The gents /
Men / Women/ Boys / Girls/ male / female
And - What time is the shuttle bus?

3
It's due now /
in Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes,
in half an hour, every hour, on the hour
Sorry - it does not run on Sunday / the evening / bank holidays
If you can't wait, how about a taxi - over there

4
Where is the bus stop?
Where is the car park?
We are in a hurry. We are late!
You are late. You must hurry!
Calm down. You are in good time. You've plenty of time.

5
I don't know
I am also looking for it
No idea
I'm a stranger
Ask over there

6
Ask him / her / them
Come with me
I'll show you
Thanks
Bon voyage / have a safe journey

7
Mind out! Watch out!
Take care / Look after yourself
See you soon
See you later
Goodbye

AEROPUERTO
Disculpe, ¿usted habla inglés / hablas alemán / holandés / indonesio / hablas malayo?
No, lo siento / Sí, lo hago. ¡Soy Inglés! Soy alemán, soy indonesio, soy holandés
Solo un poco. ¡Lentamente por favor!
Puedes escribirlo?
Tengo un diccionario. ¿Puedes traducir Google?

1
aeropuerto
Buenos días, buenas tardes, buenas tardes
Bienvenido
lo siento
¿Me puedes ayudar?

2
¿Dónde está el check-in? ¿Dónde está el medidor Lufthansa / KLM?
¿Donde está la habitación?
¿Dónde está el baño? Las damas / caballeros /
Hombres / mujeres / niños / niñas / hombres / mujeres
Y, ¿a qué hora es el servicio de autobús?

3
Es debido /
en cinco minutos, diez minutos, quince minutos,
en media hora, cada hora, cada hora a cada hora
Lo sentimos, no se ejecuta los domingos / noches / días festivos
Si no puedes esperar, ¿qué piensas de un taxi?

4
¿Dónde esta la parada de autobus?
¿Dónde está el estacionamiento?
Estamos en apuros. ¡Llegamos tarde!
Llegas tarde ¡Tienes que darte prisa!
Cálmese. Usted está allí a tiempo. Tienes mucho tiempo.

5
No lo sé
También lo estoy buscando
Ni idea
Soy un extraño
Pregunta por allí

6
Pregunta pregunta
Ven conmigo
te mostrare
Muchas gracias
Buen viaje / viaje seguro

7
¡Cuidado! ¡Cuidado!
Cuídate)
Hasta pronto (Literalmente en español Adiós por hoy)
Nos vemos más tarde
Adios que Te Vaya Bien

GERMAN
FLUGHAFEN
Entschuldigung - Sprechen Sie Englisch / Sprechen Sie Deutsch / Niederländisch / Indonesisch / Sprechen Sie Malaysisch?
Nein Entschuldigung. / Ja, mache ich. Ich bin Engländer! Ich bin Deutsche. Ich bin Indonesisch. Ich bin Niederländisch.
Nur ein bisschen. Langsam Bitte!
Kannst du es aufschreiben?
Ich habe ein Wörterbuch - kannst du Google übersetzen?

1
Flughafen
Guten Morgen / guten Nachmittag / guten Abend
Herzlich willkommen
Entschuldigen Sie mich
Kannst du mir helfen?

2
Wo ist der Check-in? Wo ist der Lufthansa / KLM Schalter?
Wo ist die Lounge?
Wo ist die Toilette? Die Damen / Die Herren /
Männer / Frauen / Jungen / Mädchen / männlich / weiblich
Und - Um wie viel Uhr ist der Shuttlebus?

3
Wo ist die Bushaltestelle?
Wo ist der Parkplatz?
Wir sind in Eile. Wir sind spät!
Du bist spät. Du musst dich beeilen!
Beruhigen. Du bist rechtzeitig da. Du hast viel Zeit.

4
Ich weiß es nicht
Ich suche auch danach
Keine Ahnung
Ich bin ein Fremder
Frag dort drüben

5
Frag ihn / sie / sie
Komm mit mir
Ich werde Ihnen zeigen
Vielen Dank
Gute Reise / sichere Reise

6
Pass auf
Sich selbst versorgen
Bis bald
Bis später
Auf Wiedersehen

***

English - German
AIRPORT
Airport
Good morning / afternoon / evening
Welcome
Excuse me
Can you help me?

I don't know
I am also looking for it
No idea
I'm a stranger
Ask over there

Where do I check in?
Here / Just there / Over there
On the right / left
Upstairs / downstairs
Up the stairs / up the escalator

Through the doors
At the far end
Where is the exit?
Where are the taxis?
Is there a cheap bus /shuttle bus?

Where does it go?
Does it go into the city / to my hotel
Where is the tourist office?
Can you point (to it)?
I see it!

I can't see it
Thank you
You're welcome
I need water
I would like a cup of coffee

We have black coffee
We only have tea
That's fine
No thanks, I'll leave it
Sorry, I haven't time

How much is it?
Is that the right money?
Do you take Euros?
Yes/no
Is that right?

Is that the right money?
Just right / That's it!
Nearly / almost
Another 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Where's my change?
Keep the change
Where's my change
The bill, please
Keep the change

What time is check in?
They are calling my flight!
I have to go!
Please hurry!
Can I get past?

You have time - plenty of time
Please sit down and wait
Can I sit down, somewhere?
Where can I sit?
I'll be over there

Hotel
Welcome to our hotel
Here is your key
Please fill in this form
We need your name
Write it here

We need a credit card?
Do you have another credit card?
We do not take American Express
That's fine / ok
Just a moment / minute!

We need a signature
You must sign it
Cash will do
Do you take credit cards?
I need a taxi

I need a toilet
Where are the toilets:
Over there
To the right
To the left

See the sign
You can't miss it
Is that everything?
Yes, we're finished
You may go

Later post - Restaurant

Later post - Friends

Earworms has recordings of sentences for these situations
You can buy from Berliz direct and through Amazon and ebay

Useful Websites
Berlitz / Earworms
Amazon
Ebay

Author
Angela Lansbury, please save and share links to your favourite posts.

Discounts, deals and finds in hotels in London

PROBLEM
How to find a reasonably priced hotel reasonably near central London.

ANSWERS

HOTELS, BUDGET HOTELS

Regarding hotels, you need to decide your budget. (If necessary, work out the exchange rate.)

IS BUDGET BEST?

When is a bargain a bargain? When is a bargain not a bargain?

The one star hotel chains are good value but can be a walk from the station. I used them when visiting the World Travel Market at EdExcel in the East End of London. Under £100. 

BREAKFAST INCLUDED?

The first night it was a nuisance not having breakfast in the hotel. I dashed off. The second night I found the eating place across the car park and discovered that I did not have to wait around but could buy a takeaway coffee and a bun from a cabinet just to grab when racing off to an early morning meeting. the third day, when I was checking out, I had saved  food from the day before.

The best deals are the week before on the late booking sites. 

STORIES

Years ago we did a tour of the Lake District in England. I insisted on stopping to see a hotel and restaurant which were way beyond our budget. I looked about, saw the menu, photographed the view, said were were travelling elsewhere but might come back another time, and left my card. 

Next spring we were posted or emailed an offer of a break of three nights for the price of two, or was it two nights for the price of one, accommodation and breakfast and dinner included. Lunch, a packed lunch, was also a bargain price. To my amazement, my budget conscious family did some calculations on the cost per night and the cost per meal and we went off to my dream hotel for a lovely stay.

This year (2017) we made a booking for an anniversary trip to Cambodia, as a side trip from Singapore. We found a reduced price deal on airfares, then booked a hotel through booking.com. The price for the hotel, three floors with no lift, just a little more than we wanted to pay, for what looked like a night in a hotel with a swimming pool, and free collection from the airport (not free return) turned out to be the late deal price for all four nights! (Lemongrass and Ginger hotel - I have more information in another post and on TripAdvisor.)

BOOKING SITES
Booking.com lets you choose the location and budget.
I find it a nuisance when I am browsing to have to fill in a date, especially if I don't yet know the date of travel. On the other hand, you might change your date if you can get a great deal on hotels a week later, or early, or at the weekend, or midweek, by hotel hopping, or by booking a minimum number of nights in one hotel.

You also want to consider whether you want to be in a hotel where you can chat to other tourists over breakfast (included), or would like an all suite hotel for privacy and the chance to cook your diet food, order food delivery or keep takeaways and store pills and leftover food in a fridge. You might also consider whether you want the predictability of a hotel chain, or something person and surprising such as a boutique hotel, a historic house hotel, or a home stay.

You might also want to have a getaway on the outskirts of the city after a busy week in the centre. If you are going back to Heathrow, you might pick a hotel near a station, on a line which connect to Heathrow, or near Heathrow, or even somewhere miles away with a coach connection to Victoria, such as a hotel in Watford, which has a museum - check opening times and days. Speaking of Watford, you might pick a central London hotel near an all attractions, such as Oxford Street or Kensington, or Watford for going to see the Harry Potter studios tour.

LATE

www.lastminute.com/hotels/cheap

www.laterooms.com

CHEAP

www.timeout.com

moneysavirngexpert.com/treavel/cheap-hotels

www.hoteldirect

a i r n b (spaces inserted because - spell checker keeps changing what I type)

LOCATION

ukhotels.com

staycentral.

HOTELS BY STAR RATING
PREMIER INN three star

IBIS one star

PRICE COMPARISON SITES

www.traveloka.com

hotels combined.com

triage.com

BOUTIQUE HOTELS WITH CHARACTER

My art teacher friend stayed in a hotel in London, England, near Oxford street based on illustrator and humorist Lear, more character than a chain but very expensive unless you get a last minute deal.

UNKNOWN HOTELS
I looked at Edward Lear Hotel in Oxford Street and up popped Seymour Motel, from £37, marble Arch Inn £55, Point A hotel, £56. Don’t know any of them. Another area with lots of small hotels is Notting Hill Gate, famous for featuring in a couple of films. Near the park.

ROOM CHOICE

Ask to see two rooms on arrival.  Decide if you want top floor or ground floor, front with lively street view, or quiet at back. Are you willing to pay more for top floor and/or room with view? Or for a hotel with an indoor or outdoor swimming pool?

You might want to swim. Even if you don't, you might like to sit by the pool and sunbathe or entertain a friend to cocktails by the pool.

TRIP ADVISOR DEALS
If you write a few reviews of restaurants or museums or hotels on TripAdvisor in your home town before leaving you will be offered discount deals and promotions on the TripAdvisor website. 

LOYALTY SCHEMES

You might also like to join a hotel loyalty scheme. Sometimes I have joined a loyalty scheme and been told that I only get reduction on my next booking, or I have to wait until I am posted a card. Check out loyalty schemes which work from your first visit, or which you can use to book a hotel as soon as you get the number.

Some loyalty schemes will give you upgrades to a club lounge floor. We once paid less than £25 to join a loyalty scheme in a hotel in Seoul in Korea. When we were told we had to pay to join the loyalty scheme, we said, "No thank you."

I asked, "Just out of interest, who we get?"

We got:
an upgrade to the club floor with a larger room with a better view,
the use of an English speaking concierge to help me book taxis and answer any questions,
plus a breakfast buffet,
all day coffee,
and evening cocktails and nibbles from 5 pm until 7 pm for both of us - for a week.

We said, "Yes please!" Five lots of coffee for two in the downstairs restaurant would have cost as much as joining the loyalty scheme.

We missed at least one of the breakfasts by dashing off early on business and on a day trip. We also missed a couple of the evening cocktails because we got back late or went off to dinner early.  Even so, just the room upgrade would have made it worthwhile, transformed our stay.  

AIRLINE DEALS

Your airline may offer a discount at a hotel at the destination of your journey or a stopover.

LUXURY BEYOND YOUR BUDGET
If you really like an expensive hotel or restaurant, it's worthwhile getting on their mailing list. Drop in and put your card in their restaurant's bowl. You might be offered a free meal, or a meal with a bottle of wine included. I had a free bottle of wine from a London restaurant.

ALPHABETICAL CHAIN & Group LIST
NB Some hotels are owned by one group and managed by another; some independent hotels of a certain type or character group together as consortiums for marketing.
Best Western
Britannia Hotels
Copthorne Hotels
Crowne Plaza
Days Inn
De Vere Hotels
DoubleTree by Hilton
Hampton by Hilton
Hilton
Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn Express
The Hotel Collection
Hyatt
Ibis
Ibis Budget - cheap, from £32+
Jurys Inn
Leading Hotels of the World
MacDonald Hotels
Marriott
Mercure
Novotel Hotels
Old English Inns / Hotels
Park Plaza
Premier Inn
Q Hotels
Radisson Blu
Ramada
Relais
Small Luxury Hotels (SMH)
Sofitel
Thistle Hotels
Warner Leisure Hotels

CHARACTER, TYPES, STYLES, SWIMMING POOLS
Michelin Guides classify hotels with symbols for quality of food, countryside, views
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/the-best-london-hotels-with-a-pool/

RATINGS & CLEANLINESS
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/england/articles/Britains-best-and-worst-hotel-chains-named-in-Which-poll/

More Information
http://www.theaa.com/hotel-services/members-area/ratings (How they AA rates hotels, with VisitEngland VisitScotland and VisitWales)

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer,a author and speaker. I have several more posts on London, hotels, museums, statues on stations and countries around the world. Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts. 

Watching for waterproof watches - my buy at Mustapha's

My waterproof watch stopped. No need to throw it away. Buy a new battery.

Battery
I usually try to ask the shop to fit the battery. A jeweller has the skill and tools and experience to do it quicker, without dropping and losing vital screws. If the battery is wrong, you know at once and don't need to take a second trip.

Repair
We have been struggling for days to close up the back of my waterproof watch. A friend of mine in Singapore told me that you can get watches repaired cheaply at the shops in HDB government housing estates. (HDB Housing Development Board.) She reckoned I could get my watch repaired for ten Singapore dollars, about five pounds, half or a third of the cost of the cheapest new one.

How do you find such a shop? Either take the MRT (train) to one of the estates. Or ask a colleague or employee of the place you work at or visit overseas.

Mustafa's Department Store
Meanwhile, having lunch in Little India, I was able to pop into Mustafa's department store, which is next to Farrer Park MRT station.

The lady seated at Mustafa's entry door to check bags was able to direct me to the watch department on the ground floor.

Watch Department
The large counter in prime position the centre of two aisles could offer me only one brand of watches at a minimum price of $100. I always imaged that Mustafa's, with its central cashiers and packing system, must be one store. But the impression I got on this visit was that each counter operates like a separate sub-store, ties to a different owner or manager with links to one manufacture or style or price range, no interest in directing you to another area.

I was therefore under the impression that the counter where I stopped had the store's complete range. However, by asking a second assistant, I was pointed to another area at the side where a different section had another range of much cheaper watches.

Here I discover another brand of watches Takane, not waterproof of splash proof only for about waterproof to about $30 (about £15 - see today's exchange rate on a conversion website) or $35/40 for the row above in the revolving cabinet.

I looked at the cheaper ones first, then decided they were not what I wanted. Besides the difference of 5 or even ten dollars was under £5. For me, it was more important to get a watch which would not be in danger of breaking every time I washed a cup, or washed my hands, especially in Singapore where I went in the shower at least twice a day, often three times a day, or went for a swim every day.

Takane Brand Colours
The Takane brand offered a whole range of colours. I could have had black, pink, orange, royal blue or mixed colours.

I chose a black and red watch. The strap is black. The dial is red. The black stays clean in daytime and looks sophisticated with black evening clothes. Style M403. I found it later on the website.

The red is a cheerful touch. Unlike an all red watch, the red won't clash too much with orange and pink clothes.

Size
Equally important, the Takane watches also come in both small and large sizes. The large ones, apart from being heavy, look clumsy on my small wrists, as if I have borrowed somebody else's watch. Big watches look clumsy on a small wrist.


Instructions In Box
I chose to wear it but asked to keep the box. Just as well I did, because the box contained instructions.

Four Buttons
I liked the fact that my watch did not have symbols on the four oblong buttons but English instructions, clockwise from top left, reset,st/stp, light, mode.

Setting Accurate Or Fast
I asked the man in the shop if he would set it to the right time. I wanted to have it going right away, to be sure it worked, and to save the half hour reading instructions.

On second thoughts I asked him to set it plus five minutes to make sure I was always five minutes early or on time rather than five minutes late. (This worked brilliantly. I kept dashing out five minutes late, but actually on time. So I was on time or early everywhere.)

Instructions
I later looked at the instructions in the box. It is has a 100 year calendar. That should be enough for me.

I shall photograph the instructions in case I lose them and to have them handy if I want to use the stopwatch or change the battery, or buy a battery (CR 2025 - who would know). In addition to having a back light, it has a stop watch. And dual time!

I am very pleased with my purchase. I have been looking all over London at watch shops, department stores, motorway stops, and most of the watches are not waterproof, are huge and heavy, or cost too much, usually all three.

Now I know a brand which suits me, I can probably buy them on line.

The brand - Takane.
www.takane-watch.com

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer,