German easy, confusing, and unusual words

I am learning German on Duolingo. I reached the top of the top league. That means I put in more hours than anybody else.  

Easy German Words

aktiv - active

Band - band

Bank - bank

cool - cool

elegant - elegant

enden - end

Jazz - jazz

Kamera - camera

Modem - modem

online - online

Party - party

Picknick - picnic

shoppen - to shop

singen - to sing

sitzen - (to) sit

vegan - vegan

Yoga - yoga

  Where can you learn and practise speaking German? 

Flag of Germany

Flag of Austria

Flag of Switzerland

You can use German in Germany, Austria and German-speaking parts of Switzerland.  Also Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and parts of Belgium and Italy.

Flag of Luxembourg.

Flag of Liechtenstein.

German words - same, easy, difficult, confusing

Where can you learn and practise speaking German? 

Flag of Germany

Flag of Austria

Flag of Switzerland

You can use German in Germany, Austria and German-speaking parts of Switzerland.  Also Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and parts of Belgium and Italy.

Flag of Luxembourg.

Flag of Liechtenstein.

 German - English  the same word

The same words, except that nouns start with a capital letter in German

English - German

laptop - Laptop

party - Party

popcorn - Popcorn

snacks - Snacks

team - Team

German - English easy to remember  similar words

nie - never (letters n to start and e later)

Salzig - salty - the first three letters are the same and the last letter has a tail, also called a loop and a descender

Schokolade - chocolate

sehr - very  (Both words have the letters e and r)

English to German easy words

chocolate - Schokolade (Capital letter at the start for a noun. Three letters changed. Add an s at the start, change c to k in the middle and t to d at the end )

German - English, new and difficult to remember

dort - there

kerzen - candles (The two languages use the sounds of ck and n)

ohne - without (The letters o and h are in both words)

Popmusic - pop music (capital for a noun, and German runs words together)

viele - many

German - English - confusing words

immer - always (not just immediately, right now, but all the time)

Kekse - cookies USA / biscuits UK ( not cakes)

Lust - desire for (noun, not sexual like the English word lust, but could be craving for a food, or to be in the mood to eat something, or to feel like having it)

Kuchen - cake

magst du - do you like (not do you make, I think of do you munch)

Spiele - games (not a long story, which is Yiddish)

toll - great (not tall, nor the noun toll, but think of a great size and a great toll, alt is high)

Useful Websites for learning German

Learning languages including German and many more online for free

duolingo.com

Translate words and sentences

translate google

Useful phrases and sentences for travellers

wikivoyage phrasebook German

Describe parts of a letter

https://bydawnnicole.com/the-anatomy-of-letters/

Please  follow my blogs and share links to your favourite posts.

German words which are the same as English, similar, and capital or small letter for morgen / Morgen

You can use German in Germany, Austria and German-speaking parts of Switzerland.  Also Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, and parts of Belgium and Italy.

I am learning German on Duolingo. I also have several books on learning German. The words which I remember most easily are those with the same or similar letters. The challenge is to remember when to use capital letters and add the accents, which are there to help you with the correct pronunciation. 

One puzzle which perplexed me and got solved today was when to use a capital letter for the word morgen meaning both morning and tomorrow - and tomorrow morning.

German - English - the same words

Nouns are capitalised at the start of the word in German.

April - April 

Bank - bank

cool - cool

Jazz - jazz

orange - orange

Party - party

pink - pink

Pizza - pizza

English - German - the same spelling

April - April

bank - Bank

cool - cool

hotel - Hotel

Jazz - jazz

orange - orange (colour)

party - Party

pink - pink

pizza - Pizza

taxi - Taxi

German - English similar spelling 

elf - eleven el

freundlich - friendly fr ... nd

gelb - yellow el

Glas - glass

hilfe - help h l

hassen - hate ha

Hotel - hotel

Musik - music mus

langsam - slowly l

oft - often  oft

shoppen - to shop shop

singen - (to) sing  sing

Souvenirs - souvenirs

Taxi - taxi

English - German similar spelling

eleven - elf

friendly - freundlich

help - hilfe

(to) hate - hassen

music - Musik

often - oft oft

(to) shop - shoppen

(to) sing - singen

slowly - langsam s

yellow - gelb

False Friends

Don't ask for a Gift for your friend. Gift in German means poison. 

Useful Websites

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

Translate google

duolingo.com

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Swiss-German_phrasebook

Please follow my blogs and share links to your favourite posts.

Another set of 20 Spanish words

Spanish - English

Animales - animals

cara - expensive

comida - food

creer - to believe

esto - this

fiesta - party

isla - island

(el) león - (the) lion

la maestra - the teacher

noticias - news

el océano - the ocean

oro - gold (gold ore)

parque - park

(una) sortija - ring (jewellery)

tarea - homework (think of a task in your home area)

universidad - university 

visitantes - visitors

English - Spanish

animals - animales

to believe - creer

estadio - stadium

expensive - cara

food - comida

gold - oro

Homework - tarea

island - isla

lion - león 

news - noticias

the ocean - el oceanó

park - parque

party - fiesta

ring (noun) - sortija

stadium - estadio

the teacher - la maestra

this - esto

university - universidad

visitors - visitantes

Please share links to your favourite posts

Travel light with a day dress which converts to evening wear

 Travel Light

 A blue day dress made glamorous with DIY decoration of hite feathers and mock pearls on the cuffs. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

At a wedding I was impressed by my friend's blue dress with white feathery and pearl decoration on the cuffs of the sleeves. Her outfit looked very smart and expensive and glamorous. She told me she had sewn on the decoration herself. She makes a lot of craft items, using pieces of decoration. For example, masks. Her dress has a wide circular swing hem added on. But the top is a simple blue shirt-waisted style. It is the contrasting colour which is effective and the soft effect, like feathers and lace. Her outfit is completely unique. She must have spent a reasonable amount on the fancy decoration. But even so, much less than an expensive dress. 

Day and evening

What is interesting is that you can transform a shirt waisted style into something so glamorous with the sleeve decoration. It\s like adding a black bow at the neck of a white blouse. 

Pin or Brooch

If you are handy with a needle, or even a pin, you can create a new outfit for a wedding, or Christmas party, or a birthday or anniversary, or any special occasion. If you think a pin is too DIY, you could buy a pair of matching brooches.

Shein has modestly prices items. But some of the brooches look a bit stiff. You might do better with a search for feather decoration for hats.

Holiday Transformation - Two Looks

When on holiday, you could take pin on decorations in your handbag, and transform or white or blue or black dress with contrasting decoration for the evening. A new look. Less packing. You won't get caught out by a sudden invitation. Nor will you have to find room in your suitcase to bring home a new outfit bought for the special occasion. 

You can also buy lace gloves with feathers decorating them. you could cut off the glove fingers and leave sew the cuff attached to the dress sleeve. 

Travelling Club Members - When Will The Treasurer Be Back? With our money!

Where is the club treasurer? Overseas? When will he or she come back?

Spending
What if you end the year with a handy sum of money. How do you spend it?

Do the committee members who have worked all year get a gift, or a certificate, or cash?

Disputes
Disputes may arise when on ex committee member is retired and another is a wage earner.

Whether you are raising the membership fee, or spending money on a party, you are likely to have a difference of opinion. The wage earners say, "Oh, we can afford it!" Or, "You can afford it."

Those who are retired might favours money being allocated in subsidising fees for long standing members and/or giving cash rewards to committee members.

Those in employment might favour spending on physical trophies such as plaques to add to status.

Those who are wage-earners might resent paying full price for one two or thee members of their family to subsidise others or offer them financial gifts.

I imagine advocates on both sides consider that the other is advocating a course diverting club money to themselves, or wasting club money. Who should decide, president, treasurer, or vote? I imagine whether to save money for the next exco and year's membership or spend it on your exco and your year's members is another source of debate - which applies to all clubs and the area and division.

Head Office Directives
I think the umbrella organization should remind all treasurers every month to send the month's account of money spent, money owed, and any payments to be paid in the rest of the year and next year.

It is very hard chasing a treasurer, making sense of what they say on the phone.

I had a treasurer who suffered a multiple bereavement from a car accident. We could not chase him for accounts without looking heartless.

At another club we had a treasurer who started a new job. He was too busy to deliver the accounts to the incoming treasurer.

We had another club where the treasurer went overseas. What with his government, his work permit, his divorce and remarriage ...

Another where the treasurer resigned saying we owed a huge sum of money we had never paid back for printing and all sorts of things. He subsidised all year, as in previous years, whilst he was a member, but when he left wanted to claim back.

When you try to chase a treasurer you can easily run the risk of seeming to accuse the committee member of inefficiency, unprofessionalism, or even dishonesty. All this could send them into flight or fight mode.

FLIGHT
Once you get into a dispute, the treasurer might say, defensively:
'After all the work I have done for years for the club unpaid ....'
'Are you implying ...?'
'I don't like your tone "
'How dare you accuse me ...'
'I am leaving this club!'

FIGHT
The treasurer or committee member could turn around and accuse the other committee members of faults which everybody has but which go unmentioned until there is a dispute.

An independent and unemotional reminder from head office can be much better. But the umbrella organization could send out an automated reminder. Our auditors .. tax rule ... company rule says ... etc.

SUB-COMMITTEE SOLUTION
Another way to do things is to have each officer with two assistants so they are training up somebody else to take over and have less work to do. If the committee head is ill, bereaved, dead, overworked, another member can then take over.

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

Wonderfully Easy Welsh Words: Café, cinema, party, pub

Problem
How do I learn Welsh?

Answer
Don't worry about it. So long as you are learning a word or two every day, you are making progress. it will come back to you when you see signs in Welsh or look at maps and pictures of Wales.

Welsh - English (spaces inserted to thwart spell checker)
Caffi - Café
P a r t i - party
s i n e m a - cinema
Tafarn / Dafarn - tavern / pub

English - Welsh
Café - C a f f i
cinema - sinema
party - parti
pub / tavern - tafarn / Dafarn

www.duolingo.com  (learn Welsh free on the internet)
www.visitwales.com (tourism)

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Teacher of English and other languages. I have several more posts on learning Welsh and visiting Wales. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Learning Latin. Why? How? Organise a Roman summer or Christmas party.

Statue of Emperor Tiberius in the Louvre, Paris, France. Photo from Wikipedia article on the toga. Photo in the public domain.

Latin

Latin Roots
Why would anybody want to speak Latin? We do, all the time. Firstly, many English words have Latin roots, such as television. Wikipedia says:
The word television comes from Ancient Greek τῆλε (tèle), meaning 'far', and Latin visio, meaning 'sight'.

I have always known that the word was half Greek and half Latin but could not remember which half was which. Now I have a way to remember. The languages are simply in alphabetical order. Greek first, for tele, Latin second for visio. 
I shall type it three times so that I and you can remember it.

Greek
tele - far
Latin
visio - sight

Greek
tele - far
Latin
visio - sight

Greek

tele - far
Latin
visio - sight

In theory you can type it out three times to remember it. I used to do that.

I feel too tired to do that today. I would rather copy it quickly. If you are making yourself word lists and want to copy something three times to teach yourself, or a class, you only need to type it once. Copy, then paste it twice. If you need the practice, read it aloud three times.

Latin Phrases

Secondly, Latin words we use all the time are Latin. For example: Vice versa. 

I looked up some lists of common Latin phrases:
Firstly, we use the terms a.m. and p.m. regularly for time, short for ante, before, and post, after, mid-day. 
Post mortem (after death)

Here's a quick list of six, which you could reduce to five favourites to count off on the fingers of your left hand if you want to use them in a class or conversation. 
Ad infinitum
Ad nauseam
Agenda
Alibi
Post mortem
Status quo

I would start with them alphabetically: A  a.m. agenda, alibi, ad infinitum, ad nauseam. PS PM, post mortem, status quo.

If you work in law or medicine or read reports of trials you will come across many more technical terms.

Latin Quotations

You often, at least in the UK, hear people quoting what Julius Caesar is supposed to have said, to quickly raise moral of troops when he landed on British soil and tripped, VEN VIDI< VICI - I came, I saw, I conquered. 

I learned Latin in School. Latin used to be used all the time in Catholic churches. I admit I was slightly peeved when Latin was dropped from Catholic services, although I am not Catholic. Learned Latin at school! Hey folks, let me keep up my Latin!

But I didn't waste my time learning Latin, now the church services and prayer books have dropped it. Latin is becoming more accessible for students and teachers, because people have translated popular books into Latin.

Dressing Children, Teachers, Guides And Adults As Romans
In addition to those interested in the time of Jesus (who would have spoken Aramaic), most children are keen on Romans. I imagine it's pretty easy to get children at primary school  (elementary in America) to dress as Romans, for a short skit, or re-enactment, and say Salve, as a greeting, before dropping into English.  

Opportunity For Roman Dress Guides

It's common in the USA to have elderly retired ladies who are volunteer guides to walk about in the Deep South wearing Civil War days costumes. I don't know why more guides don't walk around Roman era sites dressed as Romans. 

Dressing Up As Romans For Teachers 

Admittedly, the gear of knights in medieval armour is costly and heavy. But an old white sheet can quickly be made into a toga. You can buy Roman rulers in gift shops. Carry plastic spears. I'm pretty sure most Roman museums have dress up boxes.

Roman Fancy Dress Parties

Having once got the idea, you can take it back to the class room, or even organise a Roman theme birthday party, in an Italian restaurant. (Sing Gaudeamus Igitur.) Even a Roman theme wedding in Italy. Or for opening night or closing night of a conference.

A Roman costume from a fancy dress supplier costs about £10 for a sleeveless or short sleeved costume, plus postage, and about £20 for a long sleeve version which will keep you warmer for a Christmas or winter party. (Although you could wear a Roman sleeveless costume under a smart evening jacket. Never mind if the Roman costume is hidden. You could reveal it as a surprise wand for photos when you stand up to make an after dinner speech.

Speakers Wearing Roman Dress

Now, there's an idea for a speech about Romans and the Latin language for my Toastmasters Groups. Laurel wreaths paper hats presented as symbolic thanks to committee members. I must get some props organised. 

Interest in the Romans is never-ending and news items pop up regularly. Every year we find more Roman archaeological sights and inscriptions worldwide. Museums all over the world have Roman finds from their local area, or other items from all over the world from the Roman era. 

In London, England, the Romans were in charge from 43 BC until 410 AD (Latin for anno domini meaning in the year of our lord). 

Now you are all set to get a committee to organise a Christmas party, at home or abroad, at a conference. Or to read a Roman tombstone in a museum or an inscription at an archaeological site on your travels.

Roman sites to see:

UK
London Wall, London. (Go to the Barbican or Moorgate tube station to see the London Museum. Best travel by London's underground train service.)
Hadrian's Wall. Several sites along the border of England and Scotland, such as Vindolanda which has a good museum. Best travel by car, unless you are a keen hiker and walker.

Tips
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_phrases
http://www.transparent.com/learn-latin/phrases.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Britain (See also next post.)

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have several more posts on language. 

Please share links to your favourite posts.

How To Learn Easy Welsh Words: bath, coffee, park, party - and make a language bag

Problem
I am too tired to learn Welsh words. Let's just learn some easy ones, which are instantly recognizable.

Answer

Welsh - English
bath - bath
car - car
coffi - coffee
parc - park
parti - party

English - Welsh
bath - bath
car - car
coffee - coffi
park - parc
party - parti

Now you can recognize the signs for bath, coffee and park and an invitation to a party. We are all set for a weekend in Wales.

Welsh
bath
car
coffi
parc
parti

Learn only one word of Welsh a day and at the end of the year you have a vocabulary of more than 300 words. Learn four or five words a day and by the end of the year you have a vocabulary of more than 1000 words.

Work out your own limit.

Story
I found it easy to learn and remember a list of four words:

Welsh - English
bath
c o f f i (spaces inserted to thwart the authentic oops a u t o m a t i c spell checker)
parc
parti

A coffee in the bath and a party in the park.
 c o f f i  bath p a r t i   p a r c
Bath is the same word. the other three words change the last letter - or double letter in the case of coffee. But they all keep the same sound. Just slightly different intonation.

English emphasises the first syllable of party. Welsh has equal emphasis, although it sounds like the second syllable is emphasised and higher if you are used to English intonation. 'Pa! Tea?' Or say, 'par tea!'

I added the word car and could not remember any of the words. So my limit is four words. I could learn one at breakfast time, one at lunch time, one at tea time and one at dinner time. Better still, just learn four words before breakfast, or over coffee (c o f f i).

We have now repeated c o f f i and p a r t i and bath and parc so often that we should have remembered them. If we haven't remembered them, at least we will recognise them, when we are drinking our 'c o f f i' or having a 'bath' or sitting stuck in a traffic jam in the 'car' or sitting in a 'parc'.

The words are so easy, we don't even have to write them down. (But we will write them down, put them on the fridge door, or in our diary. If you have a diary with not much in it, just add words of the language you wish to learn, every day. When sitting at a bus stop, or train stop, look at the words.

If you are creative, write the words in Italic waterproof pen all over a plain white or cream linen shopping bag. Then it's no effort to sit and look at the words each day. No need to even get out your diary. Just look at the bag on your lap, whilst drinking your 'c o f f i'. Leave the bag beside you in the 'car'.

Bag
I typed the word bag into Google translate and the Welsh came up as bag.

I am now looking for a plain bag. I need a pretty font. Italic. Whilst I am making my bag, I shall be learning the words.

I can do this for any language. I can keep my dictionary and guidebook and map for the country in the bag. I can do the same for all sides of a box file. A box file has six sides. I can write the words Wales and Cymru in bold, black, large letters.

The words which I want to remember can be in yellow highlighter, or green or blue or red. Better still, one word in each colour, green for P A R C, red for P A R T I, brown for 'C o f f i'.

English - Welsh
bag - bag
bath - bath
car - car
coffee - c o f f i
park - p a r c
party - p a r t i

Welsh - English
bag - bag
bath - bath
car - car
c o f f i = coffee
p a r c - park
p a r t i - party

You could do the same with Spanish and other languages. I have several more posts on Welsh, and other languages, and travelling to Wales and around the world. Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.

Author
Angela Lansbury, teacher of English and other languages. Tutor and workshop leader.

Black Pepper Restaurant, Hatch End, Pinner, Amaretto Ice Cream and Beames-de-Venise Wine, for a Happy Meeting - And Moving Seats!

Problem
Where can you have a room to yourselves for a happy meeting with a congratulations speech? How do you get to sit near the VIP? How can you not get stuck with somebody who is boring all evening, and meet lots of people?

Answer
Black Pepper Restaurant in Hatch End.

Story
We spent the jolliest evening there in a room at the back. One of the ladies who organised the event brought along a banner saying Congratulations and a balloon.

We were congratulation a member who had become distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) which only goes to about one per cent of members of Toastmasters International Worldwide and involves a project turning around a filling organisation which is losing members, morale or money or all three. (In his case he blew new life into a flagging football club.)

Black Pepper Menu
Black Pepper has a menu with several choices for a set price three course meal. Whilst we waited for everybody to assemble I ordered a Prosecco.

The starter I chose was smoked salmon. Good.

My main course was duck with orange and saute potatoes and spinach. I have to say I was not thrilled with the main course. The duck seemed a bit dry. The orange sauce was tasty, but somehow the meal did not have freshness nor zing.

My companion chose rare for the lamb, then shellfish and had three glasses of wine and got an upset stomach. I'm allergic to shellfish and this is the third time he has been ill after a restaurant meal but I have been fine. I would suggest ordering meat medium rare rather than rare. Is it really worth risking food poisoning? I read that some restaurants won't serve meat rare but insist on it being cooked through.

I sat in the waiting room of the nearby local doctors' Medical Practice for a routine annual blood test and watched their loop of health videos. One of the health messages was to make sure meat is cooked through (especially on a BBQ when have the outside cooked or even blackened does not mean that the centre is cooked). The cancer websites warn you not to eat blackened food. But, back to the food and customer choices, everybody seemed happy with their food and evening at Black Pepper. Just a little blip.

However, the earlier disappointment with the duck was completely eclipsed by the delightful dessert. My dessert with amazing amaretto ice cream was wonderful. Flavourful. Worth going here just for the dessert.

The menu lists chocolate brownie with amaretto ice cream. Very rich. The friend sitting on my right found the combination of ice cream and chocolate brownie too sugary and rich and offered me a taste of both. So I got a double helping of the amaretto ice cream.

I asked for my apple pie to be accompanied by the amaretto ice cream instead of vanilla. I rarely manage to taste vanilla in so called vanilla ice cream. The amaretto is wonderful. But it's better with the apple. The large slice of apple is in a heavily sugared cake also. (Not quite as fresh tasting as the apple strudel from B & K. B & K is great for take away food and small groups, such as 4-6. But Black pepper, with its bar in the front, for a grander more glamorous event and group of 24-30 people in the back room.)

Drinks
At the end of the meal with dessert I ordered Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, (that's the appellation, the name of the drink. I think there's another Beaumes-de-Venise with another grape, not Muscat. Muscat is my favourite, just the right sweetness for me, sweet enough. (From the town of Beaumes (cave) de Venise in France.

More details on the Beaumes-de-Venise wine from the website:
grapedeal.com / May 2106

Moving seats
In addition to having the room to decorate ourselves, and a chance to make congratulatory speeches, the organisers ran my favourite system of seating. After each course you move around (every fourth person changes seats, starting with the person fourth to the right of the standing organiser, who says, "You move (Michael or whoever) and so on clockwise around the table or horseshoe. That way the VIP gets to meet more fans, more fans get to meet the VIP, nobody monopolises the conversation, everybody meets several people, more fun, more new people met, and more business gets done arranging other social or business events.

It also means that husbands and wives who have seen each other all day get a chance to meet new people. You have more to discuss with each other when you get home afterwards.

Tips
1 You can buy banners and balloons in the party shop across the road from Black Pepper in Hatch End if you forget and decided you need anything at the last minute for a celebration. Another party shop is in Stanmore.
2 Look up reviews of the menu in advance to choose your choices.
3 Switch seats two or three times in a large group event.

Black Pepper Restaurant
461 Uxbridge Road
Hatch End
HA5 4JS
Tel: (+44) (0)208 421 4349

Blackpepperrestaurant.co.uk

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. Please like my posts, follow and share.

Roses in Summer - "Oh to be in England"

A stroll along a high street and nearby roads of suburban houses shows you colourful roses and pretty party balloons.

I once held a birthday party for our son, aged under ten, in this street. Further along was another family who had upstaged up by putting lots of large balloons outside their house for their birthday.  

I was teaching English to a Japanese lady who visited my house every week and I invited her daughter to the party. The little girl didn't come to the party. 

We had just waved goodbye to the last guest when the mother arrived looking flustered. The little girl looked apprehensive. The Japanese lady apologised profusely for their arriving late and because the birthday gift wrapping had been torn open and re-sellotaped. Why?

The mother had sent her sister to take the little girl to the party. Seeing balloons, the Japanese aunty, who spoke no English, pushed the little girl inside the door and waved goodbye. The little girl, who knew nobody, had sat silently throughout the party, for two hours, surrounded by other guests and parents who also wondered who she was. Finally, the Japanese mother arrived and had to ask for the present back, and make two sets of apologies.

If you are not invited to the party, enjoy the colours of the balloons and the colours of summer flowers. England is enjoying a heatwave in summer 2016.

Pink rose.

Orange rose.

These roses are in my garden in England.  Looking at my pictures, I am reminded of the saying, 'less is more'. Sometimes a large picture of one rose is better than a distant view of lots of tiny ones.

If you want to see more roses, you could visit a national garden. The Gardens of the Rose are near St Albans in Hertfordshire. You can see the gardens and heir gift shop on line. Look at this website of the Royal National Rose Society:

http://www.rnrs.org.uk

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

Celebrating your birthday in another timezone or country

Birthdays Celebrated On The Exact Day
When do you celebrate your birthday? Some people insist on only celebrating on the day, so if they are working, that means lunch  out with colleagues or an evening celebration with family, or both.

You might celebrate your birthday when you get up on the birthday morning. To have bunting (wall to wall hanging streamers, often with the words Happy Birthday), a spouse or family member might need to get up an hour early, or put up the signs when the birthday boy or girl is in the bathroom.

You might say Happy Birthday one minute or a few seconds past midnight if you stayed up late the day before and continue celebrating until midnight.

If you travel from the UK to Singapore and Asia, you can celebrate your birthday co-ordinating with family back in England, from 8 pm Singapore time until 8 pm Singapore time.

Photo of Angela Lansbury. I have other photos of this and similar events. Copyright Angela Lansbury.

If you travel from the USA to the UK, or from the UK and Europe to Australia, the second country is on a different time zone. You can benefit from the difference by celebrating in both time zones, and send cards and messages early to be sure not to miss the date where the birthday boy or girl is living or travelling.

Different Time Zones
If you travel abroad you might be in a different time zone. Be prepared for people to miss your birthday because of time differences.

Birthdays Celebrated At The Weekend
Other people who are busy working during the week, or away travelling, out of reach of family and friends, will celebrate the nearest weekend.

Birthdays Celebrated In The Birthday Month
If you are travelling and wait until you get home, or until your family can travel to be with you, you might celebrate up to a month afterwards. Many restaurants use the birthdate you give them to send you an offer which lasts throughout your birthday month.

For security reasons, you may wish to have a second 'official' birthday, like HM the Queen of England, on a set day which differs from your actual birthday, known only to close family and on official documents. Whilst you may want to have a party on the first Saturday of your birthday month,  we have not yet got the world to agree to a convenient calendar which allow for such regularity as having the first day of January and every first day the month falling on a Saturday or Sunday or Monday.

An alternative would be to make your official birthday the first day of the month, or seven days in advance of your real birthday, allowing you to pick the nearest weekend in advance. On the other hand if you prefer to celebrate after, rather than before, you could pick the week after. Alternatively shift your registered birthday with restaurants to the Xmas, Easter or summer holidays if you want to celebrate your birthday whilst on holiday.

 This won't always work if restaurants insist on seeing your passport, but in reality they are not looking for restricting giving you a free gift to regular customers on their actual birthday, but hoping to attract you on your birthday when you are likely to spend moe or bring the whole family and order extra drinks. So they are only to glad to have your business. Win, win all around. Some restaurants make such a feature of birthday that on any night they will have two or three birthdays. This adds to the general jollity.

If your actual birthday falls in the middle of the school exams, you might prefer to shift your 'official' (why is it called official when it's really unofficial?)

Hotels
A top hotel will check the passports of guests and inform the restaurant when you have a birthday, instruct the reception staff and restaurant staff, even the concierge to wish you happy birthday.

Photo of birthday cake at IEA Toastmasters Club, Singapore. Photo taken by Lim Chee Hoo. He may have other photos of this and other birthday events at his club. 

Clubs
One of the clubs I attended overseas meets monthly. Every month they buy a birthday cake and ask members to go on stage if they had a birthday that month. The birthday boys and girls are photographed with the cake, and one holds the cake and another holds the plastic cutting knife (supplied with the cake by the bakery). What a happy thought, especially for those who have no family, a small family, or are travelling away from family.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer

Stanmore lights and video of lights

What I enjoyed in Stanmore:

1 The decorated tree and street lights.

2 The moving light displays in windows.

3 The sculpture outside Sainsbury's. Very large and grand for a small shopping street.

1 The lights are up in Stanmore. Same as last year I think. They must have stored the lights. 

Blue on the tree. White on the lamp poles. Starbursts in white.  

The summer flowers are still out in the last of the warm days for the few hours of sunshine in late November.  Summer and winter. Summer flower boxes contrasting with the pre-Christmas light displays ton the tree and lamps to lighten the dark evenings.

2 Flashing lights. I noticed them in passing. It wasn't until I stopped that I realised they were changing colour and then I really appreciated them. Thank you to whoever put them up.

3 The sculpture. Two pieces of sculpture. Taller than I am. When you consider the cost of buying any ornament to go on a table top, these must have cost somebody a lot of time to buy or commission, and make, and install. 

No great colour. Could not see the name of the installation nor the artist. But I do like concentric circles.

4 Finally, the party shop. If you need a hat or complete costume, fancy dress, balloons, banners, table decoration, anything and everything for a private or public party, the shop across the road from Sainsbury's will supply a choice of festive fancies.

22 The Broadway, Stanmore, Middlesex HA7 4DW
Phone:020 8420 7444

balloonandpartyonline.com

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

Safety and swimming pools worldwide

Two well-publicised fatalities in swimming pools: one in the USA, one in the UK. (Demi Moore. Barrymore.)

Pools in Private Residences in Australasia
In Australia and New Zealand it's the law that you fence off swimming pools so that children don't fall in after it was found that more people died in swimming pools than in the ocean. This was featured on stamps - as I learned in the post office in New Zealand.

Pools in Condos in the USA
When I lived in a condo in Rockville, Maryland, USA, the pool was surrounded by tennis court style see through wire netting over six foot high - nothing you could vault over. The pool was locked at night. Insurance or local bye-law or state law or all three said you had to have a lifeguard on duty when the pool was open. In fact you had two lifeguards. So if one had a sandwich break, or went to the toilet, or turned up late, or went off early, or turned their back to talk to somebody, the other guard was still sitting watching the pool.

 It's time that worldwide swimming pools were fenced off. Maybe make it mandatory to add a warning sign on the gate.

Private Pools in the UK
Friends of mine living in Hendon used to have a pool. The husband, who was in the medical profession, would not allow his wife or children to swim alone. If the wife was alone she would invite a friend or neighbour into the house if she wanted to swim.

That was to guard against anybody getting into difficulties in the water. Falling in. Or having a heart attack or fainting fit whilst swimming.

What should a warning sign say?

1 Only enter if you can swim and are sober.
2 No unaccompanied children.
3 No parties of more than 100 people without a lifeguard.
4 Nobody to swim solo.

Safety - you can learn from living overseas and seeing what other countries do for safety.

Neighbours in Pinner have a pool. Theirs has a low gate. They had four children.

They were also worried about the safety of their neighbour's children. Even when the swimming pool owners were away on holiday, they were concerned that their neighbours children would leap over the low fences between the gardens for a secret dip - even without the swimming children's own parents knowing.

US and Singapore
Many condominiums in Singapore and the USA have swimming pools. In Singapore I went to a meeting in a condo which had been in the newspapers because a toddler had drowned in the unfenced pool. The family had been preparing for a wedding or similar large celebration. Both mother and maid thought the other one was looking after the child. the family were busy making food, serving drink and greeting guests. I thought back to the USA, where I had loved in a condo with a gated pool. That accident could not have happened if the pool had been gated.

What about pool parties? I've been to blocks of flats where they have barbecues beside pools. People eat and drink, stand by the pool watching swimmers. Party goers and visitors walk by the pool. People stand in groups, step back and fall in.

Children and adults, drunk or sober, push each other in for a joke. Women trip over long dresses or dogs or their own bags left lying on the ground. Waiters and bar staff carrying drinks on trays at shoulder level have their eyes up on the drinks or guests and trip over obstructions such as recliners pulled across the path.

I used to wonder why hotel pools and condos closed pools at night. I thought it was to stop people falling in when it was dark, or to stop late night parties making noise when others wanted to sleep. But I now realise that people tend to drink more in the evenings and get drunker as the night goes on. An old saying comes to mind, better safe than sorry.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, author, speaker.