Tampines West Community Club Contains a McDonalds

Tampines West Community Club. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Looks like Florida, say my family. 

You can tell it is Singapore because of the combination of the palm trees, the imposing Community Club building with the clock tower, and the orange Chinese lanterns for Chinese New Year.

I love the tower. So distinctive. 

the building contains a Starbucks and a McDonalds. At the back is a busy outdoor children's playground. Something for all the family.

Singapore is a great stopover between Russia or Europe and Australia. 

Travel Tips

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

australia.com

visitbritain.com

visitbritain.shop.com

visitbritain.org

visittheusa.co.uk

visitsingapore.com

Singapore Airlines: 

singaporeair.com

Green palm tree with red Singapore

Photos by Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

What's that bird? Blue tit or coal tit? Jay, robin or woodpecker? How can you tell?

I know this bird. It's a robin. A European robin.

We call it a robin redbreast.

What's this one with the blue head?

I'ts a blue tit. A Eurasian blue tit.

So what's this one?

















This is a coal tit. I should have known that. I downloaded a set of pictures of British birds when I took part in the bird watch in February in England.    

We sometimes get multi-coloured birds.



This is a jay. A Eurasian jay.
(Sounds like it has mixed parentage. In Singapore Eurasians have one Chinese parents, one European parent.)

The Woodpecker
The woodpecker is green, like the woods, but a surprisingly bright red head. I watched one for a while. Later, a relative asked me what it was.
I replied, "A woodpecker."
He asked, "Are you sure?'
I replied, "Yes, its' the only bird I am 100% sure of, because of the way it taps. Watch it tap."

I have definitely seen this bird with its red head and green back and climbing up the tree near the kitchen window and going tap tap tap. I can easily identify it from the tapping. It's a woodpecker using its beak to tap for insects on the wood. Other birds tap on the lawn, but the woodpecker is on the tree trunks of the apple tree or pear tree. Tap, tap, tap.

It spirals around the tree and disappears, around the back. You think its gone. Maybe you frightened it. No. It's busy with its work, not interested in you. Then it reappears, a little higher up. Tap, tap, tap.

Problem
I see a bird in the garden. I think it's a wood pigeon.


On second thoughts, it's a collared dove. How can I find out?

Answer
The RSPB website. RSPB, royal society for the protection of birds. Interestingly, they say it was started by ladies who were campaigning against the use of feathers in fashion.

Nothing to do with pigeon pie, then.

Actually, I can see a lot of free feathers. I used to pick them up. I don't think it's moulting season. I think it's the neighbours' cats.

Now I don't pick them up any more. I read somewhere that they carry some disease. So at first I picked them up with a piece of paper. Then I washed the feather and my hands. Now I just take a photo.

When you go onto the RSPB website, you get a lot of questions. Where did you see it? Multiple choice. Feather colour? Beak size? You need some time for this.

I was in Singapore looking up at the top of the palm tree to see if the coconuts were ripe, and likely to drop on my head, when I saw a little bird tapping. I thought, I know that bird. It's a woodpecker. What's it doing here? It can't have flown all the way here from London, like me. It must be a native bird. I did a search on the internet and found I was absolutely right, Singapore has woodpeckers.

That's good news. I can talk to Singaporeans about a bird which is common to both countries.

Useful Websites
RSPB
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/identify-a-bird/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_Great_Britain

https://myitchyfingers.wordpress.com/2010/07/10/woody-woodpecker/
(Singapore woodpecker)

Author
Angela Lansbury. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Palm trees - what's that fruit?

Problems
I photograph palm trees but can't identify the fruit. Orange. Brown. Green. Red. A palm tree is not just a palm tree. A palm can have a brown and green trunk, or red such as the lipstick palm. The palm can produce coconuts, dates, oil. The leaves may look like feathers on a pole, or small fans on top of a pole, or one large, low fan growing from the ground.

My latest mystery photo is of red fruit. What are they?

Answers
I photographed the tree from ground level and then cropped the photo. I did a search for photos.

Stories
Having no luck with nay picture search, I tried the words palm tree red fruit. I immediately found photos. The first solution was that my picture looked like red palm oil.

Then I found the McArthur palm.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
More posts on blogger.com, various blogs, as well as profiles and posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube.
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Xmas Tree quiz with answers

Here's a Christmas Tree quiz for Christmas Day for adults or children or both. It's entertaining, informative, educational and fun.




I Where is this artificial palm tree?

1 Lakeside shopping centre, Essex, England
2 Brent Cross Shopping Centre, Hendon, England
3 Intu shopping mall, Watford, England
4 Edmonton Shopping Mall, Alberta, Canada
5 Outside the White House, USA
6 Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
7 Outside 10 Downing Street, London
8 St George's, Harrow, England
(Hint. Answer in my previous posts.)
.............................

II The Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square London, England, is given in thanks since the end of WWII by
1 Germany
2 The USA
3 Finland
4 Norway
5 Denmark
6 Canada
7 Sweden
8 Scotland
.......................................

III The Christmas tree is Trafalgar Square is a
1 Norway Spruce from Norway
2 Scottish Pine from Scotland
3 Monkey Puzzle from China
4 Dutch Elm from Holland
5 Douglas Fir from Canada
6 Pine Tree from Germany
7 Banyan tree from Florida
8 Sequoia from the USA
.........................................

IV This tree is raising cash for:
1 Cancer Research
2 RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds)
3 Ali's Dream (research into preventing brain tumours)
4 RSPCA Royal Society For the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
5 The Salvation Army
6 Save the Whale
7 RNLA Royal National Lifeboat Association
8 YMCA
...................
(Hint. See one of my recent previous posts.)

V The Spring cherry blossom trees in Washington DC were given as a peace offering after WWII by
1 Germany
2 Japan
3 China
4 Italy
5 Taiwan
6 Russia
7 Canada
8 Italy
.........................
Hint. If you can't guess, you'll find the answer on the internet.

VI The star on top of the Christmas tree is usually
1 The four point star representing the Southern Cross of New Zealand and Australia
2 An eight point star sacred to Hindus
3 The five point star symbolising the star over Bethlehem where Jesus was born
4 The five point star revered by Moslems, reprinting the five pillars of Islam
5 The six point Star of David revered by Jews
6 The six point Star of Solomon revered by Moslems
7 The symbol of Peter Pan
8 The Moscow Kremlin symbol
..............................

Easy one for the little ones / anybody who speaks English as a foreign language. If you can't answer question one, do the others and come back to question one.

VII What do we get/eat/make from these trees:
1 Norway spruce
2 Coconut palm
3 Rubber palm tree
4 Oil palm tree
5 Horse Chestnut tree (hint, not chestnuts)
6 Plum tree
7 Apple tree
8 Pear tree
9 Cherry tree
10 Oak tree
...................................

I suggest you print off copies.Write your name on your question paper.  Swap papers to mark them. Mark them and debate them yourselves. Dad or Mum had the casting vote.

****
Answers:
1 Intu
II Norway.
III Norway Spruce from Norway.
IV Ali's Dream.
V Japan.
VI The star over Bethlehem.
VII Xmas trees! Coconuts. Rubber/latex. Oil (for coking and many other uses.) Conkers for a children's game. Plums. Apples. Pears. Cherries. Acorns, oak wood for floors and furniture and boats. Acorn flour.

More information from:
http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2012/11/how-to-make-acorn-flour-pre-thanksving.html

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