Euston Station's Statue of the man, the map and the cat

 

Photo by Angela Lansbury.

How to recycle old maps

 I have lots of old maps ans brochures. My family say,'Too much clutter. Throw them away. They are out of date. The offers are no longer valid. The phone numbers have changed. The prices are out of date.'

What can you do?

1 Use maps to decorate scratched suitcases. 

2 Cover old diaries.

3 Cover holiday notebooks.

 

4 Cover old boxes of leaflets and holiday information.

5 Stick on the front of DIY greeting cards.

6 Cover a screen or room divider.

7 Stick on unwanted old fridge magnets.

8 Make a family card game, snap of countries,

9 Make a game 'Guess the country'. Make cards from travel leaflets, with place names on the back of each picture. Add the date of your holiday, or the event shown. Each player picks a card from a pile and guesses what is on the back. 

10 Make a reading box to place by the toilet, or in a rack on the back of the toilet door..

Hotel Feedback Forms - How To Have Your Say

 I received a feedback form from a hotel, a week after my stay at Zenit hotel, A Coruna, Spain. I filled it in and asked my husband if he had anything to add.

He said, "Next time I go away I shall make a note of the good and bad points of every hotel so I can tell them."

My comments in most hotels are the same. They can work out if the comment applies to what they do, which means they score well on that feature, or if they don't.

ON BOOKING

1 Send instructions on unloading luggage and parking with the booking, so we don't stress on arrival or go to the unload.

AT RECEPTION

2 Offer the joining form for the loyalty programme for the hotel or group on arrival, so we can benefit from any upgrade and appreciate the benefits. (When leaving ask where we are going and suggest the same hotel group en route or at our destination. If none, take the opportunity to point out that you have hotels in other cities or that your hotel is totally unique.

3 Offer the luggage trolley. Point out where it is. If its in constant use, order a second trolley.

4 Know the room features and assure the checking in customer that they are getting a good deal. eg, you are at the front so you have a sea view, you are at the back which is quieter, your room on the corner is more spacious. Your room is such and such a type and is a good price. If you want to spend a bit more you could transfer to such and such a room. 

Offer to show another room if you think the other room has advantages.

5 Tell the guest the times of the restaurant and breakfast and location.

6 Tell the guest the times of the spa/pool and location, whether they need to take the key, towels, book the facility.

7 Give guests a map of the city with the hotel marked on it. Circle any nearby attraction.

Tell the guest of any timed events in the city, such as fountains lit at night, or early closing times of restaurants on Sunday.  

8 Offer guests discount vouchers for nearby bards and restaurants.

BEDROOM FURNISHING

9 For two people booked into a room, supply two upright chairs and desk space big enough for two laptops.

10 Supply USB sockets as well as wall sockets, and adapter. 

11 Simplify escape instructions for fire, eg. under map in big letters, 

IN FIRE, if door handle is cold and no smoke, 

turn right, four doors away, push 5th alarmed door 

only in emergency, use outdoor escape door and external stair. Assemble in car park for roll call.

12 Supply a fridge. Hotel guests may have saved food. Or souvenir food to take overseas. And travel with pills or eye drops which need refrigeration.

BATHROOMS

13 Flat washbasins look modern and might keep hand wash clothes separate. However, it is easy to wash clean a bowl shape basin. Two basins are useful to speed up and prevent arguments and delays for couples preparing to go out or to go to bed.

14 A bidet is useful.

Bidet in hotel bedroom. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

RESTAURANT SERVICE

15 Staff should smile at the British, the Americans, most Europeans (except Norwegians?)

16 Say goodbye and thank you to guests leaving the restaurant and hotel. This means restaurant wait staff, hotel manager, door person or porter, car park attendant, receptionist.

17 If cooked breakfast and fresh coffees are provided on request, state that clearly on the menu, on the buffet wall, and when greeting the guest or serving coffee.

18 Buffets and menus should state common allergens such as shellfish, wheat/gluten, and nuts.

19 Tell guests if they are welcome to have dinner leftovers wrapped up to save to eat later. (This was done at the Parador Fuente de. in the Picos in the north of Spain) It is an advantage to customers. For the hotel, it saves waste, and the hotel paying double for extra bin collection of a second bin.

20 Offer packed lunches as well or instead of breakfast for travellers. Free or for a low cost.

Or a luxury item at a hotel. (This was done for us, years ago but never forgotten always remembered, at Miller Howe in the Lake District in England. We got a packed lunch with fruit and a pastry and a chocolate, good for a picnic in a remote place in the countryside. Also, on departure, better than the motorway stations on the way home.

Display a photo of a city landmark in the lobby, restaurant and bedroom. Pictures of people and animals should not be glum, gloomy or menacing but jolly.

Travel Tip For Travellers

List plus points and negative points on the back of the hotel address card/key car folder or in your diary for use later on feedback forms.

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Staying safe in foreign cars and taxis

When ordering a cab, check that you are getting into the correct vehicle. Check the number plate. Note the colour and model of the car.

If in doubt, photogrpah the vehicle, number plate and driver. Ask the driver what sort of car it is and whether he likes that model. 

If possible check the route in advance. 

I never get in a taxi if the driver doesn't know the route and destination.

In a foreign country, have a map.

Make sure you are going to the right hotel. Not one with a similar name. Not the out of town Hilton when the one which has your room booking is the city centre. A city could have several branches of the same hotel chain.

Find out if the local taxis and cabs have a cheaper shared ride system.

Some inter city taxis or sheroots chare a large taxi and set off when all the seats are filled, or enough to make it worrth the driver's while.

I like to keep you luggage beside me, so that if I had to jump out in a hurry my wheel on bag is with me, and I don't forget it.

Keep a pen and paper. Then you can write a note asking for help. Your phone may have google translate.

Install on your mobile phone the ride sharing or ordering app for a country you visit on holiday.

Carry the pin for removing your sim card in case you need to buy an overseas phone and remove the SIM card. 

Do not leave the mobile phone office until they have got your phone working.

You may need your passcode to reinstall the new SIM card.

If travelling with family or close friends, have a coded message for let's leave, we are in danger, or run for it. Supposing you are with a taxi driver who wants you to stop at his brother's shop, or his friend's bar, or at his house to meet his wife (who may have gone out shopping). How would you warn your best friend and travelling ompanion or your teenage son that this is not a good idea. You might have a phrase such as, 'Uncle will be waiting for us at the hotel.'

Useful Websites

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12446235/Arizona-woman-kidnapped-man-posing-Uber-driver-note-help.html#comments

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Albania, handy map - major destinations, Tirana, the capital for culture, Dhermi, Sarander, Vlore for beaches

 

A handy map on a poster board outside a restaurant in Albania. At last! Just what I need. Now we can see at a glance what is where. Click on it to zoom in. first, the capital Tirana. 

Tirana, the Capital, Colourful, Captivating, Pedestrian Friendly

That's where huge numbers fly in on WizzAir, of the national carrier, Air Albania.

Others do a grand tour of adjacent countries, eg flying from New Zealand or Australia, taking in Croatia, and maybe other countries.

Very near our hotel, The Crown, was the castle, basically and stone arch gateway into a winding short alley of restaurants and souvenir and clothes shops. I bought two lace necklaces. Asking price 10 Euros each. I negotiated two for a total of 15 dollars. Our Crown hotel receptionist confirmed that you can bargain. 

Theth - Remote, old Albania

I visited Theth in the north, a remote area for hiking. We had rain in June. You do expect that the gren trees on west coasts of mountains get rain, especially in Spring. But we have had good weather in Romania, Bulgaria, Madeira, Greece, and Greek Cyprus. Our hiking orgnizer was so diappointed in the weather he vetoed return trips hiking to any of the adjoining countries. I suggest that short hikes of a couple of hours are always possible. But those who want all day 6 hour hikes should check the weather for the week or month they are visiting over the last three or more years. In August it might be too hot. In June it might be too wet. In July fares ight be too high. Make columns until you find the coutnry, city, and so on. 

The road north of Tirana to Theth has isolated car show rooms, unfinished buildings with ground floors only, and scaffolding, or two empty floors. Are they being built, abandoned because of the reession caused by Covid?

Theth Visits

The blue eye (lake). The waterfall. (You can walk along the riverside from 'The Bridge' where hikes start at the two restaurants with a fish farm canal around the three sides of one, and  a small food and drink mini-market.

The huge white palace-like wedding event palaces pop up Disney-like. Big weddings are big, one hundred to five hundred people. One recption on the day, one the night before. One for the groom's family. One for the bride's family

 

Mountain Driving

Up in the mountains, I found the Z bends alarming. I liked the trees. Not arid like my memories of France and Spain in high summer. 

Food and Flies

But still, flies landing on your food plates. They should have folding net plate covers.

Packing Success

We packed two pairs of poles each. Bought on other trips. Or camping shops in the UK or your home or online in advance, if you don't mind carrying them on board a plane.

As we left checkin and went towards the escalator at Tirana, a pair or parading seurity guys walked past and shouted to us that we had to check in our sticks. (My husband shouted, 'This did not happen at Luton.' He replied, 'This is not Luton.' We are in our seventies. My huband shouted, we need our sticks to walk.') 

Security marched off. We carried on walking with our sticks. We were not stopped at Security.

Packing extras

 If I were to hire a studio flat for a week for my family, I would pack, 

1 Folding net plate covers, 

2 Mustard to go on the meats at restaurants. 

3  Toilet roll or kitchen towel holders for the bedrooms in the Theth hotel, 

I would print out in large type a guide to pronunciation, and the four or five names of the cities and hotels I was visiting.

What to bring back? Towels or caps in red with the double black eagles symbol of the flag. Small red milk jugs at the airport about 12 Euros, if you have money to use up. 

 I like old Albania, the small groups of three or four cows wandering on the road, the single cow being marched along by an old man and his smiling wife wearing a headscarf and a long thin stick to direct the cow away from traffic.

Dhermi Beach Hotels

My other major stop was a couple of nights at Dhermi, a strip of hotels along a beachfront from blaring beach bars. The beach is gravel, the promenade is cobbled. You need beach shoes. Not a Croc in sight, not even imitation crocs. You can buy thongs 9flip flops) in the lobby of La Brisa. Kiosks sell plastic backlesss shoes, and lace up thin sneakers at high prices. I asked the price of some nasty black and white plastic sandals with no sides or backs or adjustment. 70 Euros. What! I would have paid 7. No bargaining.

We stayed three nights at the luxury hotel. My husbands birthday week, our treat. 

What is you are in Albania for a cheap holiday? Further along, at the end of the beach, is a public area. Uphill are cheaper hotels, a kosher hotel, and guest houses. 

The gravel beach shelves steeply and alarmingly. I sank into gravel up to my ankles. I would not even step out into the fast current. The hotel told me it was dangerous for children who are non swimmers.

La Brisa told us the pool closed at 7 pm.  So I missed a swim after my long day's drive from Tirana. The swimming pool does not close. The fresh towel service stops. You can take your hotel towel and hotel bathrobe up to the rooftop pool.

Artuer\s restuarant is Balinese style. We tried one other place and came back to Artur's. The breakfast buffet is for hotel guests so you give your name and room number. But lunch and evening it is just open to everyone and you cannot charge the bill to your room as the hotel is under different management.  

In Artur's the main courses of meat have no vegetables or potatoes, which annoys me. Three huge pieces of chicken and no vegetales which have to be paid ordered speaaarately and paid for in addition. (Quite a relief to be back in London where a one course lunch is meat and 2 veg in a Italian restaurant.) However, our helpful waiter gave me chips with my chicken. We ordered one salad as a starter. The salad was easily enought for four. A good place for  family or group of four or more, where you each order a different plate and share. Desserts were also enough for two to share. 

No wonder, with such huge portions, the Albanians are like the Duch, the men not unusually near 6 foot tall, with broad shoulders. Since many are bald, mouths hidden by black beards and moustaches, black eyes sometimes hidden by sunglasses, at first they all look alike, and like the mafia. However, find one to make your friend and they are all smiles, eagerly call another if you speak only English and French and they speak only Albanian, Greek and Italian.

Why is so much Italian spoken? Italy is across the sea going west. Italian tourists come here to holiday or study because it is cheaper. Albanians go to Italy to work because they get  better paid jobs.  Lots of Italian restaurants and bars,

Super, Sloping Sarander

A cheaper option is Sarander. The name should have a double dot above the last e, making the e sound like er. If you want to type it correctly, copy from another article (eg Wikipedia) to get the double dot, or hold down the e, and move your mouse along and release it on the correct e of your choice. to see Sarandë.

Another beachfront place is Vlore. This is nearest Tirana, accessible by a fast four lane motorway, hence the popularity. The beachfront is separated from the hotel strip by a road and we had trouble parking. The two bars we tried had no food and seemed astonished when I asked for a menu. 

Ask For Menus When  Making Stops When Touring

it is always worthwhile asking for a menu. Not just to see the prices. You can photograph the name of your bar and if you like it find it again. I spotted Turkish coffee which I prefer. Otherwise you end up with just the one choice of coffee which the waiter suggests. They might have freshly pressed juice, flavoured teas, and other alternatives. By week two I had discovered that when you are driving and dont want park at a bar for an hour or so like most of their local customers, but just want five ninutes for the toilet and a coffee for the driver, it is quicker to run to the bar, grab a menu, and look for the toilets which will be by the bar, or you can ask and find them beyond the bar, outside, or upstairs.

Berat Scenery

Berat is a town on the mountainside inland. The main attraction is the scenery, and a rooftop castle for walks taking views, more like a walled city containing two churches. 

The pretty bridge below can be seen if you simply drive through the city in a hurry on your way back from Dhermi to Tirana airport. You can drive up to the castle complex entrance.

Berat has wine tours. Two big places take coach parties. 

Luani

In the city centre is Luani cellars, a mock castle hotel with wine cellars below and a vast hall where I saw coach parties were sitting all eating the identical dessert. Assorted prices depending how many wines you want to try. Must book. When we arrived, the day's tours were already all full. So said the girl in the small lobby, who was busy on the phone with another potential customer. 

Cobo Winery

On the outskirts is Cobo winery, rustic, family-run, all beams and beaming family members. Pictures of the family include a painting of grandfather playing a table game with his wife (pre mass TV days) and the grandfather on a bottle label.  As usual, a choice of prices depending on how many wines.  (You need to be on a tour, or have a driver used to tasting, which means only sipping, and/or spitting out, into a spittoon,) not drinking. You get olives, hot bread and olive oil, and two kinds of Albanian cheese, one hard, one softer. 

Dorres is on the coast from  with a Roman ruin and tower, which you can see online. We did not divert because we were busy with hiking. However, Shroder is a pleasant little town with an apparently pedestrian centre with lots of pretty cafes and ice cream shops. Watch out for bicycles and local cars which come along behind you. 

My friends chose to eat pizza in a jolly Italian place nearer the car parking before the pedestrian area. Great decor. 

However, after eating the boring restaurant dessert with vanilla, we discovered that the multiple choices of delicious ice cream in the pedestrian area was cheaper and better. I tried a scoop in a wafer of zinging lemon. Others in my group had, flavourful red berries, assorted kinds of chocolate, pistachio or other nuts and so on.

 Vlore

Vlore is big and busy and nearest to Tirana. Vlore has a long straight main colourful coastal hotel and bar strip. I loved the modern and colourful hotels in Vlore, every one different, competing for attention in style with the next. 

Parking places were hard to find. We managed to make a coffee stop on our way to Dhermi, and on the way back.

My husband has reviewed the hotels in Tirana and Dhermi in booking.com through whom he booked.  I shall write some restaurant reviews on Tripadvisor.

From Vlore  going south you reach the mountains, long z bends, tiring. Nice views, occasional panoramic small restaurants or hotels at vantage points. 

Plus the occasional cross, portrait photo, and flowers, for some man who presumably died on the road, (or fell/drove off it? !) rather than being memorialised in one of the cemeteries which have crosses and flowers. I was tempted to stop and take a photo. But that's asking for trouble to stop at an accident spot. We did see signs warning of falling rock.

A tunnel being beult though one mountain towards Dhermi should cut the driving time by half an hour and by ready for the 2024 summer season, politicains have promised the Dhermi hoteliers.

Budget  Sarande

Sarande is furthest from Tirana. Less convenient for locals with weekend and summer homes, and guest houses and studio apartments for them. Also furthest for foreigers. But a budget option.

I liked Sarande. it has more character with its sloping to the sea main street. 

Saki Winery

Another advantage is the best winery, Isak winery. The name came from Isak, a Jewish vineyard owner, from whom the current family owners  bought the place. They have gardens or fields of white  tunnels containing tomatoes and other fruit and vegetables growing. They supply supermaaarkets and hotels. 

For tourists, it is a place suitable for families, not just wine drinkers A big gift shop with, in addition to many wines, fig jam, fridge magnets, souvenirs to look at and buy. 

Seasons

On the road to Dhermi you will see signs for snow chains, and poles which indicate snow depth. Is their a ski season ? Apparently not. So no need to worry that your family will decide to come back and drive on those z bend roads in winter. 

At our hotel in Dhermi, the luxurious La Brisa (The breeze), the receptionist told me that their busiest time, fully booked, is August. The holiday season is April to November They close in the winter, when the hotels, bars and beachside kiosks are shut. 

Useful Websites

https://www.tirana-airport.com/

albania.al

Tirana

Dhermi

Vlore

Sarander

Shkoder

Isak Winery Visit

Cobo winery visit

Luani winery visit

Portuguese words for travellers to Brazil, Madeira and Portugal

flag of Portugal

Portuguese - English

aguas - waters/rainfall

amor - love

apartamento (um apartamento) - apartment (an apartment)

avenida - avenue

barco - boat

bilhete - ticket / bilhete de volta - return ticket

carro - car

casa - house

castelo - castle

condominio - condo/condominium

de - of

doutor - doctor (this is from translate google, different results from Wiki phrasebook)

eu - I

Eu te amo - I love you (literally I you love, subject, object, verb)

jardim - garden

lago - lake/pond

livre - free

livro - book

mapa - map

mar - sea

Marca - March (noun, the month)

mercado/supermercado - market/supermarket

meu - me/mine

nova - new

perdido - lost

pinheiro - pine tree, pine tree forest (Place name)

piscina - pool/swimming pool

policia - police

ponte - bridge

porto - harbour

real - royal

rio - river

rua - street

sapato - shoe

torre -  tower

triste - sad 

English - Portuguese

apartment - apartamento

avenida - avenue

boat - barco

book - livro

bridge - ponte

car - carro

castle - castelo

condo/condominium - condominio

doctor - doutor

free - livre

garden - jardim

harbour - porto

house - casa

I - eu

lake/pond - lago

map - mapa

lost - perdido

love - amor

me/mine - meu

new - nova

of - de

old - velha (feminine) velho (masculine)

pine tree/pine tree forest - pinheiro

police - policia

pond/lake - lago

rain - aguas

return ticket - bilhete de volta

river - rio

royal - real

sad - triste (the same word in French)

sea - mar

shoe - sapato

street - rua

swimming pool - piscina

ticket - bilhete

tower - torre 

Useful Websites

FREE

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Brazilian_Portuguese_phrasebook

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Portuguese_phrasebook

UNDER ten dollars

https://shop.lonelyplanet.com/products/portuguese-phrasebook-4

https://shop.lonelyplanet.com/products/brazilian-portuguese-phrasebook-5

MISSING INFORMATION ON MRT MAPS - NORTH AND YOU ARE HERE - FOUND!

Flag of Singapore

North

The missing north has always puzzled us. Because the MRT maps don't always show North at the top. (Years ago a wonderful forgotten man came up with the idea of putting north at the tops of maps. This makes life so much simpler.)  This has always puzzled us.

A station staff member on the opening day of the pre-run introduction day, November 11th, showed us the sign for North was outside the map, top right of the panel. The arrow was twisted like the hour pointer on a clock to indicate north. That has a certain logic. Not convention. But logic.

London UK underground's West on Circle Lines

(Another puzzle is the underground Central line maps in London, England. Most maps show west on the left and east on the right. But the central line has maps showing ... well, differently, depending which side of the carriage you are sitting.) 

You are Here

Look at the bottom left corner of the map under Legend and you will see the symbol. It looks like a red teardrop with a white circle. it represents an eye.

Finding your way around the Expo Exhibition or any exhibition hall

Is this how you feel at an exhibition! Day one I carried the guidebook and did not even look at it.

The next day I tried using the map and was confused.

The third day, I was determined to mark my route on the map. The first thing is to turn the map in the right direction, or to turn yourself. Locate the entrance to the hall. Stand facing it, or with your back to it. Pick the biggest nearby stand and locate their number.

Alternatively, start at the nearest doorway and go up and down each aisle. You could do all those on your left and then reverse, or walk along.

You might aim for what interests you first. Or simply stop at stands with live demonstrations, free food, and people who beckon and smile.

I went to a show at Expo. My third show in three months. I downloaded the catalogue in advance but that did not help me much. Most of the companies were seeking representation, so they were not big names like Starbucks. How do I remember which way I went and who I have missed?

It helps to mark your route on the map.

Try to find the exhibition catalogue and have a yellow highlighter to mark your route. That way you can

Mark Your Map

1 Work out which aisles and stands you have missed and route that way on your way out

2 Find your way back to a stand you promised to return to next day

3 Keep track of companies which have different names to the stand owner. For example, coffee maker or oven may be under another umbrella company name. However, they may be under their regional office on the Malaysia stand.

Toilets

Note the toilets with the most cubicles. I saw a long queue (Americans say line) at the ladies in one hall. I happened to recall that another toilet area is the other side of the big wall in the next hall, which was next on my route. I checked with a staff member who was by the bins. She confirmed.

No wait at all at the next area, so no delay, and no standing beside other people breathing in their flue germs or worse.

Avoid having too much coffee or sweet stuff. I felt quite ill by 4 pm and had to go home.  

Useful Websites

www.fhaHoReCa.com

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Rhyme day - write a rhyme today and every day about your travel or travel business

 Today I was sent the rhyme below promoting a map business. A reminder that today is rhyme day. You could write a rhyme about a destination you are in. I have also heard a prize winning poem about every country the author had visited, and the mini-dramas in each place. 

It's quite easy to to do, because lots of countries end in a. Australia, Austria, America, Malaysia, Canada. Then there's passport, thought, waterfall, baseball. Map and mishap. River and shiver. Fountain and mountain. Sea and Be and Free, degree, see, dee, fee, glee, he, she, Lee, me, pea, pee, tea, tee, wee (small), zee.

Many poets' lines are used to promote destinations and to encourage travellers on their journeys. One of the best lines is from Robert Frost's poem, The Road Not Taken.

It ends

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I

I took the one less travelled by

And that has made all the difference. 

For more pictures and quotations see wikipedia, wiki commons wikisource and wikiquote.

I have written a poem about travelling

 The Happy Traveller

A comic poem by Angela Lansbury

I'm the world's most happy traveller

I've travelled far and near

To the kitchen and the bathroom

Around the world with you, my dear

I've travelled to Australia

Austria, America, Malaysia

To places grander, and seedier

All through Wikipedia

....

The rest of the poem is on my blog on comic poetry.

Useful Websites

https://awesome-maps.com/

rhyming dictionary

https://www.rhymer.com/

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.myarx.placesbeen&hl=en_GB&gl=US

Simon from Awesome Maps <simon.j@awesome-maps.com> Unsubscribe	16:46 (1 hour ago)
to me

Hi , it's Rhyme Day!

Today we celebrate buying things
When nobody knows what the future even brings

Three years ago, the world was great and
yet we complained and quite a bit
Then by sh*t, the fan was hit

But that brings us to today - a special day
A day for you to make some serious hay

We’re giving you 30% off
But only for the next two days

But wait - for a map, is this the right time and place? 

Well, I say yes and yes, I’m biased,
But soon again you'll be the flyest,

But until then just grab your pen
30% off but just for two days

To get inspired and bring someone joy, our maps are one of the best ways

So stop what you're doing and just go to our page
and enter the code that makes you sage

the code is “SHARE” and this is a dare
to get a map for you and someone that you really care – about

this is your German map maker and I am out

Happy Rhyme Day!

Simon & the Awesome Maps Team 

......

Please share links to your favourite posts.

Angela Lansbury, travel expert and language teacher, comic and ironic writing, specialist in travel to see the quirky and unusual, and homes of famous authors and personalities. Food, fashion and fun with languages. With an eye for the unusual, and a bargain.

The biggest, best, most, highest, tallest - what has your country got? Here's Tanzania.

Flag of Tanzania.

Map of the world showing Tanzania on the East African Coast.

From Tanzania I received this message:

 Tanzania has the highest mountain in Africa, the Kilimanjaro.

Elephant and snow-capped Kilimanjaro. 

My husband did this climb, once. (I exercise daily, by climbing out of bed.)

A climber on Kilimanjaro.

Victoria, Tanganyika and Nyasa the three largest lakes in Africa are also largely in Tanzania.

Serengeti, the world largest game reserves and many other national parks are available in Tanzania.

What does your country have? Or your favourite country?

More on Tanzania

Art. Tingatinga painting.

Wikipedia reveals:

Tingatinga (also spelt Tinga-tinga or Tinga Tinga) is a painting style that developed in the second half of the 20th century in the Oyster Bay area in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and later spread to most East Africa. Tingatinga is one of the most widely represented forms of tourist-oriented paintings in Tanzania, Kenya and neighboring countries. The genre is named after its founder, Tanzanian painter Edward Said Tingatinga.

The Tingatinga school of painting sold their work in Oyster Bay, Dar es Salaam. Picture from 1973

Tingatinga is traditionally made on masonite, using several layers of bicycle paint, which makes for a brilliant and highly saturated colors. Many elements of the style are related to requirements of the tourist-oriented market; for example, the paintings are usually small so they can be easily transported, and subjects are intended to appeal to the Europeans and Americans (e.g., the big five and other wild fauna).

A feature of the art, which was probably inspired by murals on the outside of houses in Tanzania, is the filling of the entire canvas.

In visual art, horror vacui (UK: /ˌhɒrə ˈvækjuaɪ/, US: /- ˈvɑːk-/; Latin for 'fear of empty space'), also referred to as kenophobia (from Greek for 'fear of the empty'), is the filling of the entire surface of a space or an artwork with detail. In physics, horror vacui reflects Aristotle's idea that "nature abhors an empty space."

The tallest land Animals - giraffes

(Where next? The famous Giraffe Manor hotel is in Nairobi, Kenya. Costing over 600 dollars a night if you can get a room. It has 12 bedrooms. Next door is a giraffe sanctuary where you can meet giraffes.)

Monuments

Arusha Declaration Monument, has murals around the plinths of the arches.

If you climb Kilimanjaro, you will have ample opportunities to buy tee-shirts with the word Kilimanaro on them.

However, if you don't want casual clothes but something special and national look for a Kanzu for men.

The male costume, especially for formal occasions, is a white or cream coloured kaftan or Kanzu or robe or floor-length tunic. The kanzu is worn with a cap called a Kofia. (Other African countries wear the same or similar). 

the female common costume is a kitenge, a wax print, brightly coloured, oblong sarong, edged on the long side. It can be wrapped around the body, used as a baby sling, a head-dress, a table cloth or wall hanging.

Useful Websites

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Arusha_Declaration_Monument_mural_B.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tingatinga_(painting)

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

https://www.facebook.com/kitengeclothing/

https://www.businessinsider.com/giraffe-manor-center-travel-advice-kenya-instagram-famous-2019-4

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/

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

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=471680081168487

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

 

VISITNG A HOSPITAL FOR A COVID TEST OR ANY OTHER TEST - WHAT TO DO

Tracking Potential Patients

 The proposed system for tracking patients is really good. I can see why it can help people avoid being late whilst being in the wrong part of the hospital.

Simply Signs

Hospitals could also simplify signs at the entrance. The average person, plus a speaker of a foreign languages, has no idea where to go for their 'blood test' because when you reach hospital you are faced with technical signs such as 'pathology department' and 'haematology. In each department you have to queue for ten minutes just to ask the way.

Register Deaths In All Departments

They could also monitor dead bodies. Then cancel outpatients appointments for dead people.

I know about this because of my experience after the death of my beloved uncle who you can see in the hospital bed in this photo.

My Dead Uncle's Appointments

I can tell you what happened to me. After my uncle died, I picked up a letter berating my beloved uncle for failing to attend an eye check-up. He had just died.

I should have written back asking for a home visit as he was in the mortuary.

When I phoned the hospital, the only line not giving recorded messages was the pregnancy department. I declined to tell them my date of birth and expected delivery date.

By the time I had explained my uncle was dead, three times, I was sobbing.

At this point, fortunately a helpful and sympathetic staff member managed to divert me around an internal switchboard.

When I finally reached the right department, I was, by now, recovered, polite, and succinct.

The lady who answered was most apologetic. She said, 'I'm so sorry, my dear. This keeps happening. We can't do anything about it. Nobody tells us.'

She cancelled the appointment. but she needed a notification of death. Well, death certificates were costing me ten pounds each. Every organization I spoke to wanted three, for the appointments department, for accounts, etc. I told her to check with the hospital as I did not yet have the paperwork. I had not even identified the body.

You can imagine my surprise when I received another follow-up computer generated message asking me to re-book the cancelled appointment.

To See Dead Bodies - This Way >

When we went to see my uncle's dead body, we could not find the mortuary. It was at the far end of the hospital and not signposted.

Tracking patients is really good. Hospitals could also simplify signs. The average person, plus a speaker of a foreign languages, has no idea where to go for their 'blood test' because when you reach hospital you are faced with technical signs such as 'pathology department' and 'haematology.

As you zig zig around the hospital maze, in each hospital department you have to queue for ten minutes just to ask the way.

They could also monitor dead bodies and cancel outpatients appointments for dead people. I picked up a letter berating my beloved uncle for failing to attend an eye check-up. He had just died. I should have written back asking for a home visit as he was in the mortuary. When I phoned the hospital, the only line not giving recorded messages was the pregnancy department. I declined to tell them my date of birth and expected delivery date.

By the time I had explained my uncle was dead, three times, I was sobbing. At this point, fortunately a helpful and sympathetic staff member managed to divert me around an internal switchboard.

When I finally reached the right department, I was, by now, recovered, polite, and succinct. The lady who answered was most apologetic. She said, 'I'm so sorry, my dear. This keeps happening. We can't do anything about it. Nobody tells us.' it is on the left as you drive into the hospital, but on the right if you are driving out of the car park exit, having driven to the entrance to ask the way.

We drove back to the entrance. Still no sign. Why no sign at the start? The hospital found that patients entering the hospital were discouraged by signs pointing to the mortuary. Visitors were alarmed. People about to decide whether to agree to an operation were alarmed. Staff were depressed. So, no clear signs.

We made two failed attempts to find the place. We got there on the third attempt.

Now, before each trip to a hospital, I check all around in advance. We even did a dummy run, driving their the night before. Which way do you drive in? Which way do you drive out?

When my husband asked me to drive him to the hospital for the test, I checked the hospital map in advance.

My checklist

1 Which hospital?

2 Which Department?

3 Which Entrance? Are taxis allowed to drop you off and pick you up? (Is the porter allowed to carry your bags to the car park outside the hotel main entrance?)

4 What is the patient's official name (usually the same as passport, or as registered with doctor)?

5 What is the patient's doctor's name, surgery name, surgery address?

6 What is the patient's date of birth?

7 Who is the next of kin?

8 What time is the appointment?

9 How much time do I need to allow in advance for form filling and walking from the car park to the department and queuing to register

10 Is a family member of friend permitted, required. For example, after a hernia operation, my husband was not allowed to drive home. Therefore he needed me or a taxi to take him home. But he also could not drive himself to the hospital, because he would not be able to collect the car later.

11 Is the hospital car park free and are there spaces? If not free, how do you pay? Do you need to key in a patient number to gain admission?

12 What is the patient's number?

13 What is the name of the patient's consultant?

14 If traffic makes you late, should you give up and go home and re-book? If you re-book is there a charge? Or go to the hospital and expect to be seen later, or at the end of the morning or day?

15 Can you arrive early and wait? Or does Covid-19 mean you must wait to be summoned? In our quarantine hotel in Singapore, we were told to wait for a phone call for both the covid test and for check-out to prevent crowding.

16 If you are in a quarantine hotel, you may find you are in a cordon and must use the lift (elevator) one by one.

I am delighted that hospitals are improving tracking of patients.

Useful Websites

https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/index.htm

https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test

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

https://www.myheritage.com/research/category-2030/death-burial-cemetery-obituaries

About the Author

Angela Lansbury teacher of English (advanced and English as a Second Language or English as a Foreign Language, French and other languages, aspiring polyglot.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Member of many toastmasters  speaker training clubs and speaking contest judge.

Angela Lansbury, the author of 20 books including Wedding Speeches & Toasts, and Quick Quotations, has lived in the USA, Spain and Singapore. 

She  has several blogs and writes daily on at least two of the following:

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

 Please share links to your favourite posts.