Bench Seats Which Look Like Books, Fruit And Other Oddities in London, Budapest, Kiev and Warsaw

EGYPT
Alexandrina Library, Alexandria, Egypt
Outdoor benches resembling books.

POLAND
In Warsaw the Chopin benches are just slabs to sit on. However, the tops show a map of the location of all 15 Chopin benches. Best of all, look for the button which when pressed plays Chopin music. A good place for a video or a Chopin trail around the city.

UK
Dog bench in Houndsditch- where dogs used to be buried. Jubilee Gardens EC4
https://www.londonfestivalofarchitecture.org/2018site/event/lfa-benches-here-lies-geoffrey-barkington-by-patrick-mcevoy/

UKRAINE
From Kiev Fashion Park, Ukraine

Watermelon bench

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiev_Fashion_Park Ukraine




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

A decorative "rabbit bench" in Peyzazhna alley, Kiev, Ukraine

A fountain which looks like the turning pages of books is in Egyetem Square, District 5, Budapest, Hungary. See my earlier blog post.

Author	Kamelot

About the Author

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

I and my family have lived in the UK, Spain, the USA and Singapore. I am a travel writer and photographer and teacher of English A level and English as a foreign language.

Please come to a Toastmasters International Club where the English clubs have a language evaluator or grammarian.  We also have French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Tamil and other language clubs based in Singapore and many more online around the world which because of Covid-19 are now meeting online.

I am President of Braddell Heights Advanced, meeting every Wednesday, on zoom the first Wednesday of the month but the other Wednesdays are workshops on app 

learncool.sg

Or quicker to type and easier to remember: 

 tinyurl.com/BHACOOL

Useful Websites

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

https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/gallery/2014/sep/01/londons-book-benches-readers-photos

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/ilanacohensella/book-benches/

https://www.facebook.com/angela.lansbury.121

https://www.facebook.com/groups/polygotcommunity/

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

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

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

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogs

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/04/how-to-say-thank-you-in-several.html

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/05/introducing-yourself-in-english-spanish.html

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2020/01/second-set-of-portuguese-words.html Please share links to your favourite posts

https://www.toastmasters.org/find-a-club

translate.google.com

duolingo.com

Dangers Of Low Walls Which Students Sit On - And Selfies

You may have read about people who fell over parapets. Singapore's MRT stations have signs telling you not to sit on walls 'for your own safety'.

I am shocked by the number of buildings which have low walls or low sides to escalators. Low walls  may be within safety regulations, but every year you read of accidents.

At SIM (Singapore Institute of Management) I took a photo of students sitting on a wall. When I looked over the edge, I was horrified to see that there was a sheer drop the other side onto a solid concrete floor.

What could go wrong?
1 You only need one person to start a jovial slapping match, play fighting.
2 Or to dodge an insect,
3 Or lean back against somebody who is sitting on an edge,
4 Or to drop a cap or phone and reach out to try to grab and lose your balance ...
5 Suicides

Time for architects and designers to find ways of designing safer buildings.

Time for students at schools and colleges and polytechnics universities to be given a competition to design cheap but safe walls with views - and places to sit. If they had seats in the corridor against the inner wall, the students would be less likely to perch on the higher wall over the sheer drop.

Deaths from falls take place not just in Singapore but worldwide. A quick search produced reports of falls, usually fatal, in Singapore, China, Thailand, India, Europe, UK, and Central American.

DEATHS & DANGERS

EUROPE
BBC reports Balcony deaths - eleven falls in three months - Magaluf, Spain
https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-44473177

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/australian-couple-fall-to-death-while-taking-selfie-above-beach-in-portugal-a3861516.html

SINGAPORE
Singapore report of place where walls were 1.6m or lower
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/parents-seek-answers-after-teen-falls-to-death-from-sky-garden

17 year old dies in Singapore:
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/man-injured-after-falling-from-fourth-floor-of-orchard-central

https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/teen-who-fell-death-orchard-central-wanted-video-taken-first-hand-witness

CHINA
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/2-toddlers-fall-to-their-deaths-in-china-mall-after-mother-loses-grip-near-balcony

THAILAND
https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/thai-student-falls-off-balcony-death-looking-phone-signal/

INDIA
https://www.ndtv.com/bangalore-news/18-month-old-baby-falls-from-escalator-at-bengaluru-metro-station-dies-1984346

UK
https://metro.co.uk/2018/10/03/four-dogs-a-week-fall-30-feet-off-this-low-wall-8004024/

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jan/07/commuter-dies-after-falling-from-an-escalator-at-canary-wharf-tube-station

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/10892221/Two-teenage-students-die-after-falling-from-south-London-balcony-while-having-sex.html

CENTRAL AMERICA

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6273793/Pictured-Woman-filmed-falling-death-trying-selfie-27th-floor-balcony.html

USA
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20825783 ('falls are common')
https://www.foxnews.com/us/un-diplomat-falls-to-death-from-balcony-in-new-york-after-trust-game-report-says

WORLDWIDE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_selfie-related_injuries_and_deaths
https://www.ranker.com/list/what-its-like-to-fall-to-your-death

With a little more effort, we could reduce the numbers of deaths. We need a change in regulations, balcony heights, windows which cannot open wide enough to climb out, more accountability, and co-ordinated and persistent efforts to bring  about changes to architecture and actions.

REMEDIES
Some well-known accidents and suicide points:
Golden Gate Bridge, USA.

What is already being done?
1 Announcement on the Singapore MRT telling the elderly and people with young children or anybody feeling unwell to use the lifts.
2 Signs in Singapore tell people not to sit on parapets 'for your own safety'.
I suggest adding CCTV, warnings that you are on CCTV, and fines for doing so.
3 San Francisco banned opening windows in hotels after a series of suicides.
4 USA suicide bridge - friend of victim put up notice to save others
5 Prosecute anybody who pushes anybody off a bridge or encourages them to jump
6 Ban videos of dangerous activities (such as jumping from building to building) which give glory to those performing such actions and could encourage others to copy
7 Remember that stunt men and women in film do a health and safety assessment first. Even so, several cases of accidents occur.
8 Telephone lines to help services on Golden Gate Bridge, USA
9 Viktor Frankl, founder of logotherapy, reduced the student suicide rate to zero in the 1930s in Vienna, Austria

For a start:
1 Put up barriers
2 Raise walls
3 Insert warning signs like the ones at accident blackspots listing numbers of deaths
4 fine people for doing dangerous acts,
5 Provide seating away well back from lookout points.
6 Build stepped buildings to minimise external and internal drops
7 Insert glass walls alongside escalators
8 Make plant barriers
9 Ensure balconies do not have ladder type horizontal bars which children can climb
10 Ban the carrying oo unsecured babes in arms on escalators
11 Build lifts nearer escalators so mothers with babies have less far to walk to reach one Offer 24 hour service for spare keys to stop youngsters who lose keys from trying to climb up balconies.
12 Insert 'sleeping policemen' to prevent drunks trying to use surfaces beside escalator as slides.

Oddly, you are not allowed to keep a cat in a high rise building unless you have a high barrier. Yet you can live without a barrier even if have a family with babies, toddlers, teenagers, and homesick maids.

Stay safe. As the British road safety advertisement used to say:
QUOTATION: The life you save may be your own.

Safety measures:
https://www.youngparents.com.sg/family/7-ways-prevent-escalator-accidents/

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

Delights of Dakota station in Singapore - and the name Dakota

First you see the orange underfoot; then you see the seats with proper backs. Many other MRT  (Mass Rapid Transport) stations have flat slabs of marble to sit on, no back support. What a luxury to have a proper MRT station chair.

Dakota sounds American. There are two American states, North Dakota and South Dakota. 

The station gets it name from the numerous Dakota DC3 aircraft which were at the nearby Kallang airport. 

Dakota means friend in the Sioux language of the Lakota tribe. Definitely a user friendly station.

Dakota MRT is on the Old Airport Road. We went to Dakota MRT to catch a bus to the temple. What a pity I did not see any planes in the decoration of the station.

Travel Tips

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

australia.com

visitbritain.com

visitbritain.shop.com

visitbritain.org

visittheusa.co.uk

visitsingapore.com

Singapore Airlines: 

singaporeair.com

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have other posts on the Sheraton Hotel, the Botanical Gardens and more. Please share links to your favourite posts.

More MRT train station posts include:

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2018/12/secret-travellers-seen-on-newton-station.html

Architects please copy colours on seats

When Waterloo Centre was built on Waterloo Street in Singapore the coloured floors and matching seats must have looked amazing. They still do if you look closely and ignore the dust and dirt and disintegration of time. To judge by the notices, this complex has the threat or promise of refurbishment or redevelopment. 

I hope they will preserve the coloured marble floors and seats. 

I prefer seats with backs. I find wood more friendly than hard, unshaped flat seating. No backs on chairs and benches means people tend to slump and get round-shouldered. Glance around any public area with backless seats and you will see what I mean. Slumping can cause neck and neck pain. 

But I can understand that this simple design is less prone to wear and tear than painted or varnished surfaces. 

I love the colours. What are the colours, Cream and green and rusty, orangey red.

Colourful seating in Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Spelling note. The spelling colour is British. Color is American.

-ends-

Please share links to your favourite posts with colleagues or family and friends.

Travel to London, Europe or Asia, Especially Singapore, to see the smart transport and the smart city of the future

London has driverless trains on the light railway which takes you to the exhibition centre for the World Travel Market held every November.


Elizabeth Line
 London is building the Elizabeth line.

My visit to the World Travel Market in 2017.

World Travel Market
Travel industry people will be there, and you will read reports about the World Travel Market on the local London newspapers and online. Of course, at the world travel market, cities worldwide will be promoting their attractions. In one section of the exhibition are the airlines with their newest luxuries in first class and business as well as economy.

Some cities make a feature of what is old, cobblestones and old trams.

Planes
To travel overseas most people will take planes.I can remember the noise of earlier generation of .planes. Yes, a great improvement. Also eyeshades. You can take your own - even make your own, neck pillows. Seats have ear pieces which bend forward to support your head as well as cutting out distracting sights and sounds.

Choosing Seats
Choosing plane seats online in advance is a great advantage. I am waiting for them to assign me the best seat according to availability at the time of booking, or even to suggest seats, such as by the window, on the aisle, near the exit, away fro babies, according to my preferences. One day I hope they will re-assign me a seat if a large person or baby moves alongside. Even a child-free section of plane.

One day, I hope, you will be able to specify that you wish to recline, (sleep through the entire flight) or stay upright (doing work or watching movies). They could then group or reassign seats.

I have various strategies. I used to choose window seats. Why - firstly to get the view during takeoff and landing and even take photos. During the flight you can lean against the wall. At least one side nobody is invading your space.

Now I opt for aisles to get a long vision to beat claustrophobia. I don't look down at the ground outside so much, which overcomes fear of heights. I am able to attract the attention of a passing member of staff to grab a glass of water. I can get out fast to go to the toilet afterwards when the water descends my internal pipe.
You can take the MRT train from under the airport into the city.

New Trains in China Including Hong Kong
 Both Hong Kong and Shanghai are known for their train systems to the airport.

European trains
I think in Europe the most advanced system is in Switzerland where the luggage trolleys are designed to go up steps and escalators.

When I was in Switzerland they had live music on one of the stations, a ukelele band.
When you board the train, you will probably see a rack where you can hang your jacket and coat, at least in first class. Economy seems to be first class.

Notice the racks on trains where you can hang your summer jacket or winter coat.

Let's fly from Europe to Asia and see what we can find.

Changi

Singapore's Award Winning Airport
On arrival Singapore's Changi airport, award winning, the current terminals are a delight. Far less queuing than at Heathrow.

Taxi From Airport

As you drive into the city you can see the cranes building the new terminals. Look at the terminal plans and artists' impressions online. A giant waterfall, would you believe, like the one you can visit at the major attraction of the city, the Gardens By The Bay.

You can take the MRT train from under the airport into the city.

New Trains in China Including Hong Kong
 Both Hong Kong and Shanghai are known for their train systems to the airport.

Singapore Stations

Singapore Trains
If you go to Singapore you will see driverless trains on both its light railway and the regular MRT (mass transit train) system and it plans to be a smart city.

Next post, the smart city.

Choose The Best Seat On The Plane

Seat Choices
WINDOWS
Window seats are good for photography and sleeping propped against the wall. Nobody wakes you to get out to the toilet. Nobody in the aisle disturbs you.

AISLES
Aisle seats are good if you are claustrophobic or have a weak bladder.

MIDDLE
Central seats are good, double the chance that somebody will want to talk, give, you tips about the destination. amuse you.

FRONT
Front seats near an exit, good for getting off the plane fast when you have a connection to make.

BACK
Back seats are good for escaping the noise of crying babies which are usually in bassinets at the front. The very back row seats might not recline. However, they have the advantage that nobody can kick the back of your seat!

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

What It Costs To Promote A Meeting on Meetup

Problem
My two Toastmasters Clubs in London get lots of new members, average 2 or more, sometimes 4-6, each of the two monthly meetings. My Singapore club is considering it. But what toes it cost?

Answer
In September 2018 I looked at the Meetup website and found I was offered:

Basic membership for 6 months cost US $9.00 a month. If you have two meetings a month, that's US$4.50 per month.  If you were to advertise more events, it becomes more profitable.

What does basic mean? A limit of 50 members and 4 organizers.  I presume that's 54 in total. That's plenty for a small club of about 20 members which wants to expand.

Fifty members doesn't mean 50 paid up members of your club. I presume it's 50 people on Meetup who signed up to be notified of your meetings. Some of those are phantom members who will never turn up.

I joined a sewing and crafts group meeting in Wembley in London. I never went. It was too far and inconvenient times and days.

If you have two sister organizations you might be able to link them on a mutual Meetup group and share costs. For example, two Toastmasters clubs of the same name, such as the English speaking club and the Mandarin-speaking club which meet at the same venue on different days.

Another option is for a one-off payment of US$14.99 a month, perhaps for one event such as A Christmas party at a restaurant.

You need a treasurer who is on top of cancellations, because as with any monthly payment, if you are inclined to forget, you might end up paying for years for something you no longer need.

If you find it successful, no such problem. You are assured that they will roll over the payment.

If you want to organize a free meeting, instead or in addition you can use Peatix, a company which started in Asia.

In the UK Toastmasters meetings are often booked through Eventbrite. If you are not charging, why bother to issure tickets?

a) At a large event such as a conference in an auditiorium with a popular sepaker you might be sold out. Because of fire regulations you are not allowed to have people sitting on the stairs and standing in the aisles and in front of the fire exit doors. To avoid early arrivals grabbing the seats and latecomers being turned away, the first ones to book are given tickets. Others go on a waiting list.

b) The organizers may want to know the numbers in order to cater with enough food and drink or cups for water, or chairs, or to switch to a larger or smaller room according to the numbers.

c) At the other extreme, if nobody books for an event, because it is not popular, too last minute, or people are away on holiday, you might wish to postpone your New Year, Easter, Valentine's, or Summer BBQ until a week later, or postpone your so-called Christmas party until after Christmas.

If you want to pay, the Meetup system was accepting WePay.

Useful Websites
https://www.meetup.com
peatix.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts with your family and friends and colleagues.

How to get a seat on a train, and fewer steps at stations

You can book a seat on intercity trains such as the GWR (Great Western Railway) going West from Paddington in N W London usually via Reading to Wales.

On other trains with first come first serveld seating such as the MRT. In Singapore I watch the queue all the way along the platform and join the shortest queue. Then as the train flashes past as it comes in I watch to see if the far end carriages have more spaces. I might have time to run along the platform or I might just jump in the nearest carriage and walk along inside a train until I find a seat.

Stations with Easy Changes
London, England
From London underground you can get a list of changes with step-free access for wheelchair users and people with sticks or just not keep on walking.

Singapore
On the Google maps get directions website in Singapore I was able to choose 'least walking' options. A similar choice is on the London, England underground and bus travel websites.
Some stations have very easy changes. It's worthwile marking them on your map for future use. In Singapore MRT I found a very easy change at McPherson. City Hall is a popular interhcnage. It's worthwhile noting whether your best option is changing at City Hall or Raffles Place (depending on which line in which direction).

I know from experience that on some stations the lift (elevator to Americans) saves you a lot of walking. But on other stations the lift is in the middle, so you walk beyond the base of the escalator, then come out behind the top (Newton MRT in Singapore).

A little nifty forethought, and you can save time and energy.

Useful websites
Visitbritain.com
Visitsingapore.com

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
I have other posts on trains and railway stations. Please bookmark and share links. Thanks

Marble Arch Underground Station - Most Beautiful Decoration?

Problems
How do you distinguish one station from another? How do you entertain yourself on a train journey?

Answers
I looked at several stations between Bank and South Ruislip on the London underground. Most were unremarkable. Marble Arch was definitely the best.

Design
Not just a repeating pattern. Not just a daub, a smear. A lot of work, effort, time, went into designing that.

The effect is just delightful. I like the curves.

Colours
I like the colours. Black and white. Red, yellow and orange. Two shades of blue. Greeny blue. Whatever colour you like, you've got it.

Patterns
The blue and yellow triangles intersect. So do the blue and red triangles, like interlacing your fingers.

The blue circles are framed by yellow, a background. A square blue border holds the design in place. More yellow makes another frame.

Shapes
The same variety of patterns goes for the shapes. You can focus your eyes on stripes. Or semi-circles. Or circles. Or squares. Or triangles. Or solid rectangles of colour. Verticals. Or horizontals.

Echoes
I love the way the central 'door' shows the station name, makes a frame and a halo around the classic underground circle of red with the white centre.

Seats And Walls
The two arched windows or doors enhance the seats. The design connects the two seats with each other, makes them part of the design.

The blue is soothing. At first sight, maybe too many colours and patterns. Yet the whole is pleasing. Lots to look at.

Enhancing White
The boring white brick shape tiles with unpleasant associations of butchers and hospitals and morgues, manage to enhance the colours. The tiles echo the white curves and the white lettering of the words Marle Arch.

Novelty And Entertainment
Every time I look at it, I see something new. Now I see two columns, dividing the entire design into three. But they echo the uprights either side, with the mixture of triangles and curves.

Advertising Enhancement
I tried cropping the picture to show only the square tile effect in the middle. But the advertising posters either side seem to enhance it.

Symbolism
The circular emergency call box beyond the decoration echoes the round London underground symbol.

Using The Curved Wall
When you look either side, you see that the decoration rises above the black and white strip with the central red stripe, which echoes the underground lozenge.

The black marble effect floor won't show footprints, yet is again echoed in the black of the design and the chairs.

Useful Websites
visitbritainshop.com
tfl.gov.uk
tfl.gov.uk/emailupdates
tfl.gov.uk/socialmedia (Facebook; Twitter; YouTube)
www.londontravelwatch.org.uk
tfl.gov.uk/trafficnews
TFL announcements:
tfl.gov.uk/news

Travel news and features;
metro@tfl.gov.uk

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