Ruislip Lido Railway

A delightful day, with sand and purate ships full of climbing points. After an affordable late lunch of melted cheese sandwich, carrot cake, we bought tickets for the miniature train.

The station shop sold buckets and spades.

The train chugged through shady woods. Walkers on the pathe beside the train followed dos and stopped to wave at us.

Half way along is a small station, no shop or cafe or toilets

, just some  flower pots and gnomes for photos.

The far end had a smaller cafe selling crisps. But enhanced by a teeny train running around overhead on two sides of the room.

Beyond the first car park, was the most expensive part of our day as we had to buy a full day's parking. 

A short walk or drive brings you to The Water's Edge restaurant, famous for its carvery Sunday lunches. 

Beyond that you are back on the main road  and Majestic wine warehouse which intermittently runs tastings.

 

The Tanglin Club's Churchill Restaurant and Library, History, Caricatures of Men Who changed Singapore's Landscape

 Yes, you need to be a member of the club, or to know a member, or to be a member of one of many clubs worldwide which have reciprocal arrangements. The club is gradually moving into the current century, whilst still retaining the nostalgic atmosphere of the old days. 

You need a letter of introduction from your club to visit the Tanglin, or, if you are a member of the Tanglin club, you need a letter of introduction from them to visit a club overseas. 

What's new is that you no longer need a piece of paper. You can receive your authentication online on your mobile phone.

The hall has flowers, seats, oil paintings of the old days, lists of past presidents, and a grand staircase.

Angela Lansbury beside a picture of Old Singapore, the original Tanglin club. Photo by Trevor Sharot.

 The Entrance staircase is still there, but now the Tanglin has a lift for those with wheelchairs.

The Tanglin has changed, improved, expanded, a lot. It now has an outdoor pool, a children's pool. The restaurants include a Chinese restaurant. 

The sports building across the street is linked by an overhead walkway. If you have walked up from the shops and the Orchard MRT or a bus stop. You can save yourself waiting for the traffic lights to change by going into the sports building and walking across the walkway above the road.

Tanglin Club lobby with grand staircase, seats and flowers, photo by Angela Lansbury.

Upstairs, that grand staircase, is a library.  And caricatures of past presidents going back many years.

The Libary

You need your membership card to get through the door.

I spent an hour or so reading through a book on how to give TED talks.

My husband was researching members of the Tanglin club from about a hundred years ago. In those days the VIPs, heads of companies and heads of the railway and so on, and members of the governing and deciding committees, were members of the Tanglin club and the Cricket club. (Other clubs came along later, since I have lived here.)

Books and Caricatures

Caricatures of the VIPs are around the walls of the corridor leading to the library. My husband had been chasing up who the people were. He had their names in minutes of decisions about whether and when and where to build new railway lines. He is writing a book on the railways of Singapore. 

Then he thought of checking if they belonged to any clubs Sure thing. And the people he was researching knew each other and belonged to the same clubs. The Tanglin Club. The cricket club. The golf club.

So one man was a president of the club. Later his buddy becomes president of the club. And all their pictures are on the wall. Not just the slightly out of focus copies, photos, in the history books. But the originals. History come to life.

Downstairs in the lobby, if you look up, you can see the library shelves above through the glass windows. Funny, I have been going to the club, on and off, for years, but never noticed that. 

So those caricatures of the presidents of the Tanglin Club are not just photos of long-gone members of a club. These are the people immortalised in street names, railway tracks, the directions of roads, the whole landscape of Singapore.

The names of streets, dams, railway stations, roads reflect the government figures of the day. And you can match up the names of streets with the faces in the pictures.

I have a book of the street names of Singapore. I shall do some matching up soon, of the faces that fit the names. That will be fun.

Changi's Jewel Shopping Mall With A Giant Waterfall Puts Changi Airport Firmly On the Map

Changi Jewel's giant majestic Waterfall. Photo by Bennv3771 in Wikipedia.

Changi's Jewel Shopping Mall looks like a giant donut or bun, with trains running horizontally through its middle linking to the adjacent terminals. The centrepiece of the complex is the huge 40 meter high waterfall, the world's largest indoor waterfall.

The complex was due to open Wednesday April 17 2019 but the week before it was open for previews. I opted for a two hour slot on the earliest available day, not the first couple of days, as other days had been taken.

The Journey
Emails warned that traffic would be heavy and advised taking the MRT train. I had planned to do that anyway. I would take a taxi to the airport when burdened with luggage which I want to watch. But just for fun, the metro is good enough.

From the Downtown blue line I had to change onto the green line for the lst stop. A ten minute wait. I was surprised it took so long, when the trains at my usual boarding station run every 3 to five minutes in peak hours.

From Changi Airport MRT station your route to the Jewel is signposted at every turn. You should allow 20 minutes to walk there, more if you dawdle in shops, the toilet or for photos or drinks.

Between the MRT exit and the walkway to the Jewel, you pass several interesting shops such as one featuring the local fruit, Durian.

Photo Opportunities
The Waterfall
1 When I arrived at the MRT, the approach to jewel was through glass sided elevated walkways passing fine views of the palm trees and the control tower.

2 On arrival in Jewel, you could immediately see the waterfall in the middle, through one of the spoke walkways. Singapore is hot and walking around makes you perspire, even if most of the way is air conditioned. However, the spray from the waterfall was pleasantly cooling.

Arriving half way up the waterfall viewpoints and the building levels at level 1, you can look down at the people below on basements 1 and 2, and up at those on walkways above on levels 2,3,4 and 5.

The main activity is photographing yourself and your friends against the waterfall. It looked like a giant camera club outing.

I found the waits for the lifts took too long and instead opted to use the escalators. I spent from 11 to 5.30 there. I went down to Basement 1. I found a great jewellery shop with good prices. They were offering opening discounts, like many of the shops. As I paid, the assistant asked, "Are you a member of Changi Rewards?"

I went along to Customer Service and got help signing up. Further around the mall was an even cheaper jewellery shop, items prices at $12, with $30 for three. All very bling, glittering, as if determined to outdo diamonds, with unusual shaped designs.

Marks & Spencer had a free taste of biscuits. I found lines marked down for a quick sale because the food such as potato salad had to be eaten the same day. I opted for potato.

Marks was selling bananas in bunches and I wanted only one.

Downstairs, lowest level, was the food court. Lots of unusual stuff. Coconut. I found two juice bars, The cheaper one had a slice of watermelon for one Singapore dollar.

Toilets
I was disappointed that my toilet in the Ladies had no washing device in the brand new toilets. Later I discovered that the bidet in the toilet is in the handicapped wide-door cubicle.

All in all, a most enjoyable day.

Useful Websites
https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/04/jewel-changi-update-driving-to-changi.html
https://flights.staralliance.com/en/
changiairport.com
https://www.jewelchangiairport.com/
Singaporeair.com
visitsingapore.com
http://www.changiairport.com/en/airport-guide/facilities-and-services/airport-parking.html

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

Travellers' Tales of Malaysia Caves, Cave restaurant and Kellie's Castle

Problem
Travellers tell you tales of their trips. Are they true, or like the fisherman's fantastically big fish, embellished and enhanced to improve the drama of the story?

Answers
Often it doesn't matter. Just enjoy.

Here are the tales I heard this week from Malaysia.

The Journey
My friendly biker said: 'Google maps underestimated how long it takes to drive from Singapore to Malaysia. I record the time of every journey so I know for next year. I took the length of each section of the route and allowed for the time for stops. By contrast in, Singapore, the road time given is the time for cars. In the city, bikes are faster than cars. On a bike you zoom up to the front by the lights and never get caught by slow-moving traffic.'

What is there to see in Malaysia? Caves. Perak Caves.KL caves. One of the really old caves has been closed to protect it.

Kellie's Castle
Kelly with a 'y' is a popular Irish name. 'But Kellie with an ie at the end was Scottish. He was an entrepreneur who had a large palm plantation. Very different from the Scots pines of Scotland. He cleared some of his land to build a fine, huge house for himself and his wife and two daughters.

Unfortunately, while he was away in Lisbon negotiating business, he caught pneumonia and sadly died. His heartbroken wife and daughters did not want to stay in the house and sold it. After it fell into disrepair, it has been opened as a museum.

The 'foreigner adult' ticket cost RM (Malaysian ringgit) 10, about 3.30 Singaporean dollars about two British pounds. Presumably locals pay less.

Ipoh
Caves and Hills
'The town of Ipoh is set in stunning scenery. Like what - Monument Valley in the USA, Guilin in China, the rocks in the sea in Vietnam? They are called karst, mostly limestone rocks. The mounds are being chipped away, no longer tin mines, but mining for cement, ruining their countryside.

The limestone has also formed natural caves. The caves be hewn out into man-made caves. Caves can be adapted to accommodate restaurants and as cool wine cellars.

Accommodation
'The big hotel where we once had tea is above the station. It's currently under renovation and probably won't be a hotel.

'We stayed in a wonderful British theme apartment, The Majestic, Ipoh. Union Jacks on cushions. We looked at TripAdvisor.

Cave Restaurant
The accommodation at Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat was listed as $467 on our hunt for accommodation map on the internet.

'What we saved on accommodation, we splurged on food in a restaurant in a cave in the hillside. We went to Jeff's Cellar (restaurant), The Banjaran Hot Springs Retreat, 1 Persiaran, Sunsway City, Ipoh, Malaysia. Western style food. Very good. I can't remember what I had. But I kept the bill, so that will tell me.'

Recording Restaurant Food
TripAdvisor asks if there's one dish you would recommend. I photograph food. If you want to write up your restaurant on Tripadvisor, do so as soon as possible after the meal. If not, keep the bill and add ticks or stars beside each listed dish to help you give recommendations later.

Would I have enjoyed the trip? It ended up at the Sepang race track. 'All long walks in the heat, from car parks to stands. to food - you would not have enjoyed it all.'

Lessons Learned
Keep a record of everything. The length of your journey. The accommodation. What you ate in the restaurant.

Useful Websites
Kellie's Castle, outside Ipoh, state of Perak, Malaysia.
Malaysiatourism.gov.my
visit-malaysia.com

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

Claiming For Compensation For Delayed Trains

Problem
Your train journey is delayed. Other passengers or station staff tell you that you are entitled to compensation. What do you need to do?

Answers
Take a photo of your tickets.
Photograph the station clock or your watch or make a note of the time you reached your destination.
Collect a freepost envelope from the station.

If you are too tired, need to rush to make another connecting train, see a long queue, or get rushed off by the people meeting you, you can manage without the envelope.

You will have to provide an envelope for your claim - you can write on it the freepost address and will not need a postage stamp.

Alternatively, you can make your claim online.

Go the company's website and look for the claim form.

You need to take a photo or scan of your ticket and load it up. There is a limit on size.

Fill in the other details. these include stations of departure and arrival.

At the end, when you have completed the form, you need to click on submit. I clicked on submit and nothing happened. I did not know whether the problem was:
My photo was too large.
I had no internet connection.
There was a faulty link from the form to the office.
We had previously had trouble trying to buy tickets. We had came back a day later, and had to buy through the phone system.

I prefer not to post off the tickets but to apply online.

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

Bristol has Banksy, RLS and Treasure Island, The Suspension Bridge: what to see and do, where to go

Problem
I was looking at the Balloon Festival and wondering what else there is to see and do in Bristol. A lot has been added since last time I visited.

Answers
Firstly, if you are visiting the Balloon Festival, it is Thursday 9th August to Sunday 12the August. over a long weekend, the August bank holiday.

Ashton Court, Long Ashton, Bristol BS41 9JN.

The 850-acre parkland estate includes a mansion and two pitch and putt golf courses, deer park, miniature railway, orienteering and nature trails. The Balloon event is free. You need to budget for the booked parking places, or for a ticket on the shuttle bus from Temple Mead station.

The historic places are:

1 Hardy's winery (you'd have to arrange to join a group tour). Famous for Bristol Cream Sherry.

2 Brunel's ship SS Great Britain by the harbour.

3 Brunel's Clifton Suspension Bridge. (The Avon Gorge Hotel alongside has a view. But you might prefer to stay and eat at a modern spa hotel of which there are several.) The open top bus tour takes you to the bridge.

Bristol Suspension Bridge. £1 to cross by car. Free to walk across.

4 Old Inn where Robert Louis Stevenson is supposed to have met Selkirk who inspired Robinson Crusoe; also characters from the story of Treasure Island. Being Kidnapped, then as now, was a possibility. I was told the inn, like others, had a spy hole so you could watch for people approaching. When I went there it was the highlight of my trip.

I'm sure somebody somewhere will deny everything about its connections with Stevenson. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. It's a fabulous story, the book treasure Island, and how he came to write are both full of tension, amazing characters. You could sit over drink talking about it for hours.

Long John Silver, the man with the missing leg, was based on Stevenson's good friend, whose leg was amputated, who wrote the inspiring poem Invicticus, 'I am the captain of my ship', or is it soul? Never mind. I'll look it up later.

Llandoger Row, King Street, Bristol, BS1 4ER.
Tel 0871 951 1000 (calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras)
Bristol Temple Meads station is 0.6 miles, Clifton Down 1.2 miles and Redland 1.3 miles. The chain is Brewers Fayre.

If alcohol is not your thing, the city also has a juice bar.

3 You could go to the Aerospace Bristol Museum and step inside Concorde.

4 On a fine day you might go on a Banksy walking tour. Several companies offer Banksy themes.

5 The city also has trips to the Cheddar Gorge. (If you are driving from London you might allow time to do this as a detour on the way down or the way back.)

6 Another trip is to the castle.

7 Bristol Museum is free.

The Bristol tourist board has one of the best websites I have seen. You can even list all the thing you want into a personalised list.

You could group together all the hotels with spas and indoor swimming pools, or the zoo and acquarium and other animal attractions. Or all the museums.

Catch the train to Bath (Jane Austen museum), only fifteen minutes, or drive there, 12 miles.

How could anybody not want to go there?

https://visitbristol.co.uk/things-to-do/banksy-walking-tour-p1354013
www.visitbristol.co.uk
Tel: 0333 321 0101.

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

Henry VIII, his wives, and Elizabeth I on Charing Cross Station

Charing Cross murals remind me of Henry IVIII and his unlucky wives. Henry doesn't look too pleased. Nor does Ann Boleyn. Cardinal Wolsey doesn't look terribly happy either. Elizabeth I is not exactly delighted either. Why do I like these portraits when they look so grim? I refuse to buy pictures to hang in my house which show glowering people. Same goes for miserable looking Teddy Bears and toys. But rather than looking at a blank wall, I'd always rather look at portraits of important people, and be inspired to learn a little more history.

Many kings and queens of England had dramatic lives, or made memorials of events in their lives. I love these murals. Charing Cross is associated with Eleanor, whose loss was

Problems
How do you know when it's your stop?

Answers
On most London trains you get a recorded announcement:
The next station is ....

Stories
I once missed my stop. What was worse, my stop was the point at which everybody got off. The train diverted off down into a dark siding. I alerted the driver and he took the train and me back to the station. I did feel foolish.

I expect when I arrived home late, somebody said to me, "What took you so long?"

The answer was, "A train driver accidentally took me into a siding. But when I pointed out that the train was not empty, he brought me back."

Tips
1 If you get off at Charing Cross Station, as the signs tell you, you can visit Trafalgar Square, The National Gallery, or The National Portrait Gallery.
2 If you are simply passing through, sit by the window and keep a look out for the murals.
3 Get to know what your usual stations look like.
4 Some people aim for an exact train time.
5 Some people can plan which end of the train to sit at to be near the exit stairs.
6 Note the time of your last train.

Breakfast On The Go
Others who change trains at a big station allow time to dash to a kiosk for a breakfast croissant before returning to make their connection. One girl had a regular morning order. She would arrive and wave. The cafe owner would grab her wrapped croissant from the counter and hand it over. She would hand over the exact money, race back down the stairs and onto the train to arrive at work exactly on time.

Keep a tube map in your pocket for every journey. Then if the trains are delayed you can plan an alternative route.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charing_Cross_tube_station

Author
Photos by Angela Lansbury.
See my other posts on London stations and stations in Singapore.

American English and British English

USA-UK

Little insights into how people live 'on both sides of the pond':

USA convenience store - corner shop UK
USA Semi - UK articulated lorry or LGV
(USA Truck - UK lorry)
UK - semi-detached house (two linked mirror image houses, some built with corridors and staircases in the middle which keeps the passageways warner in winter whilst the outside rooms need more heating, another style with the lounges and bedrooms alongside - meaning you can be disturbed by conversation/arguments and TV against the party wall but warmer lounge and bedrooms.
USA train station - railway station
USA freight train - goods train

Angela Lansbury, BA Hons, author, travel writer and photographer