British Food in my poem, Tea For Three by Angela Lansbury

 We travel around the world at our supermarkets. Lild is German, Marks and Spencer and Waitrose are British. We eat porridge, British style, English style with sugar rather than the Scottish custom of adding salt. 

For lunch, we have smoked salmon from Scotland. Or sardines from Portugal. Or sushi, a Japanese dish.  

Breakfast

Traditional English breakfast

Porridge oats, sugar or honey

Then baked beans, egg and bacon grill

Hotels give this thrill, for money

For daily grub go to the pub

Avoiding big hotels' big bills

Choose sausages and black pudding

Fried potato, and tomato

Lunch

For lunch you could choose a Scotch egg

Sardines on toast, a healthy fish

Fish and chips is what we like most

Sundays Yorkshire pud with beef roast

If you're adding roast potatoes

Careful. You'd better keep quiet

Please don't spoil my good gourmet day

By reminding me to diet

For weekday lunch we have salad

And smoked salmon in a bagel

Supermarket sushi, garlic

We buy half price when we're able

Tea

Each afternoon we stop at four

Or four thirty, or even five

By which time we're yawning and tired

Need food and drink to stay alive

Tea time in London's any time

No longer always Earl Grey tea

We drink hot coffee, apple juice

Lemon, ginger or mint for me

 If you've never had hot crumpets

Your gourmet life has not begun

If you're offered two with butter

Please don't stick to half or just one

Scones feature in Cornish cream tea

Spread thick cream, then strawberry jam

Some say you should put jam on first

Avoid arguing, if you can

We sometimes choose a restaurant

But most of our food's home made

We make brown bread with seeds and nuts

Seville oranges marmalade

We clear the table, wash the dishes

And load the dishwashing machine

It does a very good job

Of keeping our plates sparkling clean

Dinner

Then it's time to lay the table

And get ready for dinner

For me, it's brussels sprouts

Chicken and chips is a winner.

Plates of steak, add English mustard

Chocolate pudding, with custard

Christmas pudding, then easter eggs

Build balloon tums and tree trunk legs

Tea Tomorrow

I hope you'll come to tea with me

But I must tell you with sorrow

I ate the last baklava and chocolate

My fruit diet starts tomorrow.

-Ends-

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Ecuador - ten quick facts from active volcanoes to eating guinea pigs

Map from Wikivoyage.

As you see it has borders with Colombia to the North and Peru to the South.

Problem
The colourful flag of Ecuador.

A friend of mine writes that's she is hiking in Ecuador. I know nothing about Ecuador. Maybe before I meet up with her for lunch later this year, I should learn something about it. What do I know?

Answer
1 The name Ecuador means Equator. In the capital, Quito, is this monument.

Photo by Author Hennelore Hopfe. Picture of the monument of the middle of the world on the equatorial line. Notice the big letter N, north, and S, south.

2 I know Ecuador has volcanoes because my friend is climbing volcanoes.

Active volcano Tungurahua above the town of Baños de Agua Santa, meaning baths of holy water. Photo by Author Hjvannes.




What is there to drink? Sugar cane juice. (Jugo de Caña - juice of cane), in Baños. User J Miers. Jtesla16 at wts wikivoyage.

Cable car, Manto del novia waterfall. (Manto means mantle) Author J Miers User. WT shared. Jtesla16 at wts wikivoyage.

The swing in Case del Arbol, Baños, Ecuador. From Wikivoyage, user Laurianv.

two hours to:
3 The capital is called Quito.
4 The language is Spanish.
5 The religion is probably Catholic, because of the Spanish language and names such as Santo Domingo.
6 The people eat sardines because they have a bay of sardines.
7 Two jobs in the present or past will be fishermen and priests.
8 The country has a coast on the Pacific Ocean.

Cuenca see the new cathedral with cupolas. Photo by Alex Proimos.














Also see Puyo to the east, for waterfall.

A few words of Spanish from the map of the country:

Spanish- English
viejo - old
rio - river
nueva  - new
de - of / from
sardinas - sardines
puerto - port
santo - holy
domingo - Sunday
cuenca - basin

English - Spanish
old - viejo
River - rio
new - nueva
from / of - de
sardines - sardinas
port - puerto
holy - santo
Sunday - domingo
basin - cuenca

The third largest city is Riobabmba, beside Chimborazo,

My friend writes:

We have finished two warm-up peaks now, climbing 3 volcanos and, yes, Chimborazo is one of them. 

Today heading to Cotopaxi. Good luck with the weather! 

Cayambe was bad - we had to turn back. However, hopefully we'll have time to head back again! 

Food includes skewered guinea pig.

Photo J. Miers - User: (WT-shared) Jtesla16 at wts wikivoyage. Guinea pig or Cuy. From a restaurant called Fogon de los Abuelos (stove of the grandparents) in Matus, Ecuador.

If that doesn't appeal, how about potatoes, avocado and cheese, a soup called Locro de Papa


User: (WT-shared) Jtesla16 at wts wikivoyage

Language and Etiquette
Wikipedia explains:

The common greetings are "buenos días", "buenas tardes" or "buenas noches", (Good morning, Good afternoon, and Good evening). It is usually complemented by a handshake, between men, and by a kiss on the cheek between women or between a man and a woman. "Hola" is the most common greeting between friends and acquaintances. As in most Latin American countries, it's considered normal and polite to stand quite close to the other person while talking.

If you speak Spanish with Ecuadorians, note the difference between the two forms for the pronoun "you": the informal "tú" and the formal "usted".  Address older people and people with whom you're not familiar with "usted". Ecuadorans are generally forgiving of non-native speakers, but use "usted" when in doubt. 

Among many other cultural idiosyncrasies, in the Sierra regions it is considered impolite to use a downward-facing palm as a reference for the height of a person. Instead, the hand is held on its side, and the measurement taken from the lower edge to the floor. Gesturing with the palm down is appropriate for animals only.

Just like Singapore:

When motioning for someone to "come here", it is impolite to motion your hand with the palm facing up. Instead, use a downward swipe of the hand with the palm facing down. 

Useful Websites

ecuador.com official website

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

Wikivoyage has warnings about dangers. Also see your government advice.

Ecuador and Galapagos islands simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecuador
Good pictures of Ecuador churches and the Galapagos tortoise, Galapos Penguin and Darwin's Arch.

Author

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