How to Find Your Lost Photos! First, a photo list ...

The Challenge
I am now hunting for photos of a Toastmasters International event I organized for a report, using a slide show about that event. The event was a workshop last September, 2019 (the workshop subject being the new Toastmasters International speech training programme called Pathways).

The needed photos could be on my Facebook page. They are not. At least one group photo could be on my phone  - but I cannot find one. Where is it? I tried looking on my laptop's desktop. I searched the folders on my desktop. I looked on my Facebook page. I looked all over Facebook searching for the date, the venue, the subject.

The Solution
Eventually, I found the photo os my external disc. By process of elimination I worked it out. If the vital photos were not on this computer, which was in use a year ago during the event, where else could the photos be? Answer, moved to a separate disc to create more space for photos on my laptop.

To locate specific photos, I needed help, going through search everything, my name, pictures (not photos) and the dates. Now I plan to re-name every photo. At least I shall label one or two photos from the event. And to keep a note outside the computer and disc saying where to find the photo.

New Year's resolution. New year, new leaf - starting today May 5th 2020.

Photo List Book
An A4 size would be ideal, keeping many photos listed in one place.

I shall start a photo tracking book. It must be a large book, at least A5, normal paperback book size, so it does not get lost on the study shelves. For the same reason it must have a spine I can label. So a spiral binder will not do.

An A6 book, small diary size, pocket sixe, would be good for recording photos would be good if you kept it in your pocket whilst travelling on one trip. You might not want to travel with it and risk looking it. A loose leaf book would work. You could record your photos when travelling, then put them in the binder when you get home. A Filofax would be good.

Yes it will take up five minutes a day.  Why?

I need to record photos:

On a mobile phone.
On a lap top.

Printed Pictures
In frames in the house
In frames in the homes of others

Shared
Photos sent to others by Whatsapp.
Photos shared from other friends' Facebook pages.

Photos on old laptops.

Photos used in slides (Powerpoint).
Photos used in documents (Word).

Photos take from Wikipedia.
Photos in folders on my desktop.

Wow. I could spend alf an hour a day looking.

Alternatively I could be more careful listing the source of every photo I use. Is that photo of a lemon from Wikipedia, or from the bowl in the lounge, taken on my mobile, shared to blogger.

If I kept to this system, I would lose twenty minutes a day listing photos. On the other hand I would save thirty minutes a day looking for photos.

Wedding and Baby & Holiday Photo Books
One way to preserve photos and have them all in one place is to create a photobook. I did this for all my paintings and drawings.

Photographer's Books
Books designed for photographers contain handy sub headings reminding you to note whether you used a flash, a tripod, the camera, setting, the time of day, weather, and so on. One page per photo. That is too detailed for me.

Useful Websites
http://www.ebook-editor.com/how-to-use-bullet-points-and-numbered-lists-for-a-professional-ebook-conversion/
https://www.amazon.com/Photo-Notes-Log-Book-Photographers/dp/1451521111
https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/travel-apps-to-log-your-trip/
https://www.amazon.com/Camera-shooting-log-book-Photographers/dp/B08418PYRJ
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/114183606/galaxy-photographers-planner-and-handbook
http://www.tabletopstudio.co.uk/Pages/BooksDVDSoftware/DigitalPhotographyLogBook.htm
Notebooks with numbered pages and index choice of lines, grids or dots
https://www.amazon.com/Leuchtturm1917-Medium-Dotted-Hardcover-Notebook/dp/B003G6YFWY/ref=sr_1_2?crid=R9RSNH69257F&dchild
Looking for waterproof books or tear-proof pages: It's sometimes quicker to look on Amazon than on Google.
Book with good cover for rainy days and boat trips or skiing
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0797H5SMG?tag=liviandtravin-20

The Indestructible, Waterproof, Tearproof, Weatherproof Field Notebook - 3.5"x5.5" - Combo Colors - Lined Memo Book - Pack of 4

by Elan Publishing Company

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

Esperanto Conference Country Locations 2018-2020

Problem
Where can I be sure of meeting people who study and speak Esperanto?

Answer
At an Esperanto Conference. They meet in a different country each year.

2018 Lisbon, Portugal

2019 Finland

2020 Montreal, Canada

When you go to their website, it is in Esperanto. You can get it translated in Google translate.
Remember that nouns always end in o.

Esperanto - English
congresso - congress
listo - list

English - Esperanto
congress - congresso
list - listo

For more information:
https://uea.org/kongresoj/listo/

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and phtographer, learner and teacher of languages. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Things To Check Before Your Next Trip

Four wheel suitcases on sale at Romanian airport - for a higher price than the plain, boring black ones in UK department stores. But a great choice of colours, handy for identification, and a free travel gift. Photo by Angela Lansbury, 2017. Copyright.

Problem
What must I do before packing and taking a trip? I always forget something. Let's make a list.

Answers
Make two lists. One, top of page for country you are leaving, another on the back or lower half of the page or stapled to the first list for the destination. Then when you return, tick off the items and you know you have not left anything behind.

Stories
What problems have I had in the past?

Lost items In Hotels
One shoe left behind under hotel bed. Toddler's teddy in cot in hotel. Bathrobe left behind bathroom door. Night dress left under pillow.
(We once found somebody else's contraceptive left behind under a pillow in a room with two beds.)

On honeymoon in Moroccco, engagement ring on hotel bedroom basin when I went down to breakfast. I came back and it had gone. I didn't like to accuse bedroom cleaners. When I eventually found the courage and language to tell them the problem, they showed me that they had placed my ring in my bedside table drawer.

Heating at Home
Husband went off on trip. Wife and children do not know how to turn on heating in cold weather or forget and complain of cold house.

The Future
Roll on the day when we will all have smart houses enabling us to turn on the heating on the way home from the airport or station! Singapore has a plan for the whole city to become a smart city. An Exhibiton at a station (and you can look on line) showed me their plans for offices, homes, city garbage collection, everything.

Tips
Place you are leaving (hotel or home)
Pack:
Clothes.
Cosmetics.
Reading matter.
Food and drink (check what's banned on airlines).
Travel with spare underwear and slippers in case shoes break or flight is delayed.
Pack night clothes and swimsuit in overnight or carry on bag in case your luggage (in USA called baggage) is delayed.

Secure House:
Turn heating on or off.
Turn lights on or off.
Check inside cupboards.
Check inside machines (washing machine, dishwasher, microwave).
Check lights and heating are set to come on again on return.
Leave instructions for boilers and heating.
Leave behind spare keys and car keys.
Empty bins.
Water plants or leave outdoors or on balcony or with neighbours.
Or leave plant watering instructions.
Buy or request plants which can survive long periods without watering!

Plants
Water garden plants. Protect fruit trees. Pick fruit.
Fill up plant watering devices to the brim with water. (Stocked at garden centres.)
An improvised plant waterer can be made from a small plastic funnel filled with water in your plant pots.
Alternatively an inverted small plastic water bottle with top removed and bottom cut off for filling.

Leaving hotels
Check the fridge for your leftover food and drink, and pills and perfumes
Check for valuables such as money and passports left in hotel safe in room or at reception.
Leave behind hotel keys.
Check bathroom for drying clothes, bathrobes and night clothes on hook behind door, toothbrush on wash basin, electric toothbrushes and shavers on charge.
Check sockets - no phones left charging by bedside, nor watches beside bed.
No hats and coats in rack hidden behind open door.
Phone for porter to take luggage down.
Pay bills.
Allow time to check restaurant and mini bar checking and charging. Be sure you are not double charged for service by the restaurant plus service again when that charge is added to the hotel charge.
Find out if porterage is included. If not, tip porter.
Return keys.
If possible get a provisional bill the night before leaving.
Check if your deal with the hotel includes the spa and wifi, porterage and parking.

Story - Hotel Extras On Bill
(Our hotel at Brasov in Bucharest charged for parking. It was cheaper to take our friends to the hiking resort than leave the car in the car park.
The hotel had a sign at reception saying porterage was included. We were told that it was an old sign and under new management porterage was not included. It took fifteen minutes and three members of staff and supervisors as we got told, no, yes, no, yes.
Finally our group organiser arrived and we asked him to tell us whether porterage was normally included. He said some items were not included but he had a special deal in which it was included for the days when we were checked in with the group.
When we checked again with reception they took off the higher charge: Then they added another small charge. Charges for group rate dates included extras. However, but not for the extra days when before or after we had a day at our expense and had not negotiated for extras included.) The extra half hour spent on the bill at Brasov meant that a last sight to see at Bucharest before flying home had to be missed.

Story - Porters in America
In America the porter is called a bell hop.
At an American hotel I phoned reception and asked for a porter. Reception said she didn't have one. Front desk told me to call housekeeping. Nobody arrived. Housekeeping line was engaged.
Reception phone line was engaged. (Americans say 'engaged to be married'; phone lines are 'busy'.)
After a long wait, I phoned reception again. I asked for a porter. A difterent person answered and said, "I'll gladly send you one if you can explain what it is."
"A person to carry a suitcase."
"You mean a bell hop?"
"Yes! If that's what you call the person, that's who I want."

Bills and Subscriptions
Pay bills or set to automatic payment.
Leave money for gardeners, window cleaners, cleaners.
Leave instructions: all bills paid, with receipes for last bill (so nobody can claim money is owed).
Cancel ongoing subscriptions.
Leave passwords needed to pay bills for catalogues or cancel.
Check all doors are locked including side gates.
Check windows are secure.
Ensure keys are coded so if you are hospitalised family can unlock doors, and garden sheds.

For Destination
Check local supermarket prices for drinks, perfumes, clothes, to see if it is cheaper to by at aiport or home.
Check keys - for your destination.
Check currency exchange rate at airport (usually cheaper from your bank or local exchange.)
Print map between airport and destination hotel.
Print simple instructions in foreign language.
Ask hotel to send taxi to meet your plane.

The Cambodian hotel sent a tuk-tuk to meet us, a motorcycle towing an open-sided passenger compartment with a canopy - like a miniature four poster bed. The suitcases perched on the bench seat facing us. Photo by Angela Lansbury 2017. Copyright.

Booking and Cancelling Services

Arrange for forwarding of mail. Leave instructions as to whether family should open bills, save or throw away free newspapers, buy newspapers such as the Sunday Times.
Instruct on expected deliveries: inform senders if you are moving house; get mail forwarded from clubs or give change of address or stop mail and get only online newsletters; give overseas phone numbers to family, friends and businesses; give online feedback of safe arrival to sender, throw away leftover food on fridge or pack it for journey.
Check milk deliveries and newspapers are cancelled or collected by neighbours or house checkers.

Taxis
Know which terminal you are going to.
Book taxi to airport. If skis or lots of luggage, book a larger vehicle.
Book return taxi or keep taxi number in phone and diary.
Email it to yourself and copy to others travelling with you.
Ask neighbours to wave goodbye from your doorstep so taxi driver thinks house is still occupied and/or watched.
Make sure it's clear the rest of the family are still in the house. (Even if driver is honest he might tell others you are away and be overheard by customers in his office or bystanders at a pub.)

An Hour Before Departure:
Know time to airport and fees and small change for tips.
Carry receipt book or print receipt for driver to sign in case he says he has no receipt or machine is broken.
Keep receipt in envope marked Expenses / tax claim.
Have taxi money ready.
Have destination currency to pay for taxi or bus or shuttle to hotel at destination.
Check passports and tickets and money and address of destination.
Check all suitcases are in taxi and count them.
Look back to check no suitcase is left at kerbside.
Leave behind any gifts or thank you notes for hosts.
Write thank you notes in taxi or at airport lounge whilst you still remember names and before you are busy with destination events.

Story
Leftovers
If you are planning to leave leftover food or drink, check whether your hosts want it. They might be really grateful to receive it. Their friend or maid might like it. But maybe not.
On one occasion we stayed with colleagues. I wanted to pack up our leftover fruit and drink to take it with us.
My husband thought it looked mean and we should leave fruit and wine for our hosts as a thank you.

Our hosts were not grateful. They were angry. They said we'd left opened bottles of wine and pieces of fruit for them to clear up.
They were not healthy eaters. They did not eat fruit. They rearely ate at home. They ate out on expenses. Different lifestyle.

Butterfly garden at Singapore's Changi airport. Allow extra time at Changi for visiting the Butterfly garden or other activities. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

At Airport
Have a list of family's favourite perfumes and after shave or soap, chocolates, drink or whatever they like.
Note any host's request for gifts from country of departure. Allow time for buying gifts and changing money.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. I have other posts on packing and airports, destinations worldwide and learning languages. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Quick Ways To Learn Welsh for: new, school, hat and more

Problem
I am already learning Welsh on Duolingo. How can I go faster?

Answer
List the words - with a memory aid. Then practise.
Go back and redo the lessons every couple of days to reinforce them.

Here are today's words:

English - Welsh
(Spaces inserted because automatic speller keeps changing my words.)
belt - g w r e g y s (memory aid - Good Wide Regulation Yellow Strap - visualise a Japanese obi or a martial arts belt)
blouse - blows
clothes - d i l l a d (I think of don't DILL y DA l l y, put clothes in cupboArD. d i l l a d.)
coat - cot
half slip - p a i s (letter h A l  f  S l I P - PA IS)
hat - het
new - n e w y d d
scarf - s g a r f f
school - y s g o l
suit - s i w t
tie - t e i
trousers - t r o w s u s

Welsh - English
blows - blouse
c o t - coat
d i l l a d - clothes
g  w r e g y s - belt
h e t - hat
n e w y d d - new
p a i s - half slip
s g a r f f - scarf
s i w t - suit
t e i - tie
t r o w s u s - trousers
y s g o l - school

Tips
Free learning on the internet:
www.duolingo.com

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have several posts on learning Welsh and other languages. Please share links to your favourite posts.

How Many Foreigners Do You Know From Countries You Visited, Will Visit or Would Like To Visit?

Problems
You are going to a country and want advice from a local person. You watch a film with subtitles and miss part of the plot.

Answers
1 Friends
List your friends. You'll be amazed how many people you know, relatives, friends, colleagues, even acquaintances. As soon as you develop an interest in a country or language, you will find other people who come from that country, have parents or family from there, or are learning the language.

2 Restaurants and Offices
Visit the restaurant, tourist board office or visa office or embassy. Don't just eat the restaurant food, or collect your visa. Ask for advice on the best landmarks, hotels, restaurants, and how to learn the language. If the person you are asking is British, or doesn't know, they will often call a colleague who is happy to tell you.

3 Workers
When your builder, electrician, gardener, plumber, neighbour, calls, ask them a quick question about what to see in the country they have just visited.

4 Q and A in a Queue
Any time you are waiting, in a queue (Americans call it line-up) you have a chance to speak to the person at the desk and the person behind or ahead of you. Where? Bus stop. Plane. Train. Waiting for the Toilet at the station or the theatre. Waiting for tickets at the station or theatre. Neutral, non-controversial topics for speaking to the person beside you on the plane.

Here's my list:

Albanian
A builder and a plumber.

American
Friends from working in the USA, people from the American Club and American Association and magazines I write for in Singapore. People met on climbing groups.

Australia
UK friend who now lives in Australia.

Czech Republic
Colleague.

Danes, Finns, Scandinavians
Ex-colleagues from Singapore, their families on Facebook and members of a group playing b a l l u t.

Chinese and Hong Kong
Numerous friends on Facebook, mostly met in Singapore, but some returned home. Neighbours in Singapore.

Filipinos
Members of the Philippine Toastmaster Club in Singapore.

French
Members of the Francophone toastmasters in Singapore. An ex teacher from my school.

German
Member of a writers group. Former neighbour.

Italians
Restaurants owners and waiters in my area who have known me for years.

Malays and Malay speakers
Members of a bilingual Malay club in Singapore. I found out my best friend's

Persian speaking (Iranian)
One current. From Toastmasters in the UK. (Previously another person.)

Portuguese
A gardener. The part owner of an Italian restaurant.

Romanian
Receptionist at gym. Two ladies in my sauna at the gym.

Spanish
Member of a London Toastmasters Club. Friend on Facebook.

Vietnamese
Members of a Vietnamese Toastmasters group in Singapore.

Total
That's fifteen countries where I have a friend or acquaintance who can answer questions.
Lunchtime May 10th. I shall update this.

Plus people I met at travel trade shows and food exhibitions.

If you are going on holiday you can watch films about the country you are visiting.

You can also use your mobile to photograph articles in airline magazines and email them to yourself and store them in a file of emails of that country called, for example, American Attractions; Business Trips to Belgium; FAQ on Florida; Finland Food Festivals; Holidays in Hungary; Hong Kong & Hotels; Russian Routes; Singapore Shops, Food, Restaurants; Taiwan Tours; Travel to Turkey; Walking Hols and Wales. Alliterative titles are easier to file and find and remember.

Print out a list of the world's countries. Each time you meet somebody who comes from a new country add them to your list under the country. Write the number at the end.

Ideas For Your list:
Family ...
Neighbours ...
Friends ...
Business (current colleagues) ...
Business (previous) ...
Carers and Cleaners ...
Clubs ...
Doctors and dentists
Gym staff and members ...
Sports (golf, tennis etc) ...
Studies ...
Reading and writing groups ...
Restaurant and shop staff ...
Studies students/ teachers ...
Social Media:

• Facebook ...
• LinkedIn ...
• WhatsAp ....
• Other ...

Languages Spoken
British English ...
American English ...
Arabic ...
Australian  ... / NZ vocab ... / Maori ...
Chinese (Mandarin) ...
Czech
French ...
Gaelic ...
German ... Austrian ... Swiss German ...
Greek ...
Hebrew ...
Irish N ... S ...
Italian ...
Malay / Indonesian ...
Maltese ...
Persian ...
Portuguese ...
Russian ...
Scottish ...
South African / Afrikaans ...
Spanish ...
Tagalog (Philippines) ...
Tamil ...
Turkish ...
Urdu ...
Vietnamese ...
Welsh ...

Countries
Wiki has many pages of country names. the one I enjoyed most was the one giving the origins of country names, named after people or legendary figures.
Here's a good one with national flags.
http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/countries_of_the_world.htm

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share posts.

Italian words most people know - keeping records of words

Problem
Every now and then I hear an Italian word. How can I remember them?

Answers
Make a list in the front of your dictionary.
Make a list at the back of your diary in the notes page.
If you run out of notes pages, find a page earlier in the diary and cross out the dates and head it Italian words.
Create an index to your dictionary inside and back cover and notes pages.
Write the page number on the inside front cover and the tag, Italian words.

Stories
I know many words from music such as diva and virtuoso, piccolo.
From food - gelato (ice cream similar to sorbet with pronounced flavour). Tutti fruity. (All fruit.)

Tips
To save space and time, instead of creating two lists, headed English - Italian and Italian - English, make three columns with English both sides and Italian in capitals in the middle.

Italian - English - Italian
a cappella - singers without musical accompaniment - a cappella
aria - song
ballerina
concerto
duo
fiasco (literally flask)
impresario
libretto (song words)
maestro
opera
piano
solo
tempo
virtuoso

Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Italian_origin

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, teacher of English language, languages and public speaking.
Please like, follow and share my posts.

Hecklers - welcomed?

Problem
You are invited to give a comic speech or performance and you get hecklers. What do you do?
How do you respond to hecklers?

Answers
1 Do not get angry. Do not walk off stage nor threaten to do so. Remain good humoured. Be prepared. If you can't think of an answer, you could try silence.
'It's lovely to have such an involved audience.'
'I'm glad to know you care. Not about me, but about somebody.'
'The feeling is mutual.'
'He means well.'
'I'll thing about that - later.'
Flatter the audience.
'Ninety-nine per cent of Singaporean / American ? (whatever city or country you are in) are lovely. When they said we had sold 100 tickets for this show / this theatre held a hundred people, I thought, there could be trouble.'
When the organiser asked me, 'Do you like surprises? I said yes. That was a mistake.'

2 Plan and list some possible heckles, work out possible responses and memorise responses.
Depending on the age of the heckler - or for humorous effect if you reply as if they were a different age:
'I asked my father to come along. That was a mistake.'
'Never invite your ex along.'
'OK you can be part of the act - but you won't get paid.'
'Anybody got a funny answer to that? Thank you / Maybe there isn't one.'
'I told my brother, pretend to be drunk, angry - and stupid.'
'I said I was too busy to come to your stage act. I just changed my mind.'
'I told them I liked a challenge. Learn from my mistake.'
'I have always regretted not learning karate.'

Angela Lansbury, author, speech trainer.

French words of the day - patisserie - list

We keep a record of all the French words we use or hear or see in newspapers. A growing list. I circle words I see in newspapers and add them to my list. Then I write them down on the Notes page at the back of my English dictionary. Here are my words (which I update later in the day if I see more).

patisserie (I mistyped this ending with double ee. It ends with ie.)

Packing Secrets

I shall cover packing lists, guarding against loss, and travelling light.

Packing Lists
Keep a permanent packing list on your computer and printed off taped inside the lid of your suitcase. You use it for packing. Also for re-packing. Saves you leaving behind your bathrobe or night clothes behind the bathroom door.

Leave a duplicate at home in case your luggage goes missing and you need to make a claim.
A photograph of your suitcase on a camera phone is handy to show the porter or lost luggage what you are looking for.

Your luggage label on the outside should not reveal the address of the home you have left empty. You could give the details of your office or family or neighbour and warn them about this system and that your movements and home address should not be revealed to callers.

Have a photocopy of your passport and a record of its number. Also other means of identity in case it is lost.

Luggage
Systems include, shoes on the outside to reinforce suitcase, socks inside shoes to save space and speed dressing, night clothes, swimsuit or outfit needed at destination on top of suitcase.

With a couple travelling together you could split the suitcases, so that if either suitcase goes missing you both have clothes.

Re-packing For Returning Home
When you re-pack, all your original packed items should fit in. The souvenirs can go in another bag. Or buy a second suitcase. Pack a spare bag inside the big one.

Frequent and fast travelling
The quickest way to get out of an airport is to travel light with only hand baggage.
A first class passenger can usually take a suit in a plastic garment carrier and ask for it to be hung up.
If necessary wear your fancy evening outfit to check in. If you are smartly dressed you might get upgraded. Carry your smartest track suit and change into it as soon as you board the flight.
If you are being met as VIP - eg for a wedding, change back into your suit just before arrival.
Otherwise simply carry it off with you. What you carry on is weighed but what you carry off does not matter, so long as you are not switching flights.