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.

 

Saying Goodbye hello, goodbye in Spanish

Spanish - Englsih ¿

Dónde vives? Where do you live?

¿Dónde trabajas? where do you work?

¿Viniste en coche? Did you come here by car?

¿Viniste en transporte público? Did you come here by public transport?

¿Podemos ir juntos a la estación? Can we walk together to the station?

¿Puedes esperar cinco minutos? Can you wait five minutes?

Tengo prisa. I am in a hurry

¿Te llevo? Can I give you a ride (UK a lift)

¿Me llevas? Can uou give me a lift (US ride)

Vivo en I live in 

¿Tienes sitio en tu coche? Do you have space in your car?

Para una persona. for one person

Me voy ahora.

Este es mi autobús. This is my bus

Adiós. Goodbye

Encantado/a de conocerte Lovely to have met you.

How to check roads and railways Trains, snow and floods - Reminder - how to check roads and railways - trains running in bad weather in London - and flood warnings

Snow in London suburbs. November 19th 2024. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. 

You can check for updates on your station and line online on the web. 

This week snow hit London. But some little flowers were still braving the bad weather at Hatch End which wins awards for its flower displays.

.TRAINS

https://tfl.gov.uk/overground/stop/910GHTCHEND/hatch-end-rail-station?lineId=london-overground

FLOOD

Flood warnings in the UK for London

https://check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/river-and-sea-levels. I copied this

Sign-up to receive free flood alerts and if you have signed-up already, make sure your details and preferences in how you would like to receive alerts are up to date www.gov.uk/sign-up-for-flood-warnings

ROADS

https://harrowonline.org/2024/11/21/full-list-of-gritted-roads-in-harrow-amid-severe-cold-snap/

NEXT DOOR

You can also put questions and comments in daily newsletters from Next Door. And create or join whatsapp groups for your street or area.

Albanian Language - reminder and update on easy words such as hotel and restaurant

 

Easy words

Romanian - English
b a n k ë - bank (Typing the e with double dots above is easy. Just press on the letter e and hold it down. Up pop a choice of letters e. Number four is the one with two dots above. Keep your finger on the pressed e and tap 4.)
f a r m a c i - pharmacy (in the UK called a chemist)
hi - hi
hotel - hotel
h o t e l e - hotels
kafe - café

peshk - fish
plaza - plaza
r e s t o r a n t - restaurant
s a n d u i ç - sandwich
s t a c i o n - station

English - Romanian
bank - b a n k ë
café - k a f e

fish - peshk (from the Latin, like the English zodiac sign pisces, f and p being often linked in various languages)
hi - hi
hotel - hotel
hotels - h o t e l e
plaza - plaza
pharmacy (in the UK called a chemist) - f a r m a c i
restaurant - r e s t o r a n t
sandwich - s a n d u i ç (hold down the letter c and tap the number one)
station - s t a c i o n

Now you know how to recognize ten easy and useful words in Albanian.

• Albanian words of Latin origin include 
• Latin amīcus → Albanian mik 'friend', inimīcus → armik 'foe, enemy' 
• benedīcere → bekoj, 
•  castellum → kështjellë 'castle', 
• centum → qind 'hundred', 
•  medicus → mjek 'doctor', 
•  spērāre → dial. shp(ë)rej, shpresoj 'to hope', pres 'to await', 
• voluntās (voluntātis) → vullnet 'will; volunteer'.
• 
  
• Some Albanian church terminology has phonetic features which demonstrate their very early borrowing from Latin. A few examples include Albanian bekoj 'to bless' from benedīcere, 
• engjëll 'angel' from angelus, 
• kishë 'church' from ecclēsia, i 
• krishterë 'Christian' from christiānus, 
• kryq 'cross' from crux (crucis)

Using google translate

darkë - dinner (think of a meal after dark)
drekë - lunch
mëngjes - breakfast
çaj -tea
mali - mountain
bukë - bread
Mish - meat
pulë - chicken (like french poule)
peshku - fish
vegjetarian - vegetarian
perimesh - vegetable
bizele/bizele -
makinë - car
karrota - carrot
birrë - beer
verë - wine
e kuqe
të bardhë - white
verë e kuqe - red wine
verë e Bardhë - white wine 
verë me gaz - sparkling wine
alkoolit - alcohol
pa alkool/ - no alcohol
pa alkool - without alcohol
tabela - table
karrige - chair
dhoma g ainjumi double bedroom
krevat dopio - double bed
sapun - soap
tualet - toilet
makinë - car
autobus - bus
treni - train
aeroplan - plane
sot - today
nesër - tomorrow
mbyllur - closed
e mirë (e admirueshme) - good (admirable)
keq - bad

e tmerrshme - terrible

sheqer - sugar
rosto - roast
marmelatë - marmalade
rrushi - grape
fruta kivi - kiwi fruit
piper - pepper
muzikë - music
opera - opera

tortë - cake
biskotë - biscuit
cokollate - chocolate
luleshtrydhe - strawberry 
mjedër - raspberry
boronica - blueberry
domate - tomato

me - with
dhe - and
ose - or
të - the

 Unë/unë/e imja - I/me/mine
ju - you
ai - he
ajo - she
atë - it
ne - we
ata/ - they
ato - them
valixhe - suitcase (like valise)
kosto - cost
i madh - big
i vogël - small
kapelë - hat
veshjet - dress
fund - skirt
bluzë - blouse
këmishë - shirt
kravatë - tie
kapak - cap
shall - scarf
stoli - jewellery
argjendi - silver
ari - gold
lëkurë - leather

Story
I met an Albanian at Toastmasters. Smiling and good looking. Always smiling. I like Albanians.

He was a builder. Then I met another man. He was a plumber.

He asked me, "What do you do?"

I said, "I am an author, and I teach English, and I'm learning other languages."

I asked the plumber, What's your language?"

He said,"It's Albanian."

Hm. For once I was lost for words.

Problem
I don't speak one word of Albanian. He was ahead of me, speaking both Albanian and English, some French, a bit of Greek. He spoke my language fluently. But I was a teacher and could not speak one word of his language.

Answer
I could learn one word from him. I could get a free lesson.

Keep it simple. I asked, "Is it easy to read Albanian, if you speak English? Are the letters the same?"

Tips
"The Albanian alphabet? Yes, the letters are the same. But Albanian has more of them."

That sounds very Alice in Wonderland. I asked, "Please explain."

"The Albanian language has 36 letters, mostly the same as in English, but double letters are counted."

Ch sounds like Russian, looks like Russian, has a cedilla and pronounced ch as in the English word Chance.

SH as in should counts as one letter.

xh - pronounced J as in Jack.
For example:
uncle in English is written in Albanian as - xhaxhi - pronounced judge ee

th - a new letter. "A little th as in thing think, fifth."

dh - "a strong th as in the or this, themselves, leather".

What about sentence structure?

"I am reading a book:
un - i
yam
duke
ledur," says my Albanian friend.

I could not grasp that the first time, let alone remember it. Let's make life easy. I asked, "Which words are the same in both languages?"

"Many Words Are The same:
hotel
taxi
train."

Now, let's try some everyday words such as hello and goodbye, and yes and no, and please and thank you.

thank  you - f a l i  m i n d e r e t (sounds longer in Albanian). Sound like Ali but it start f a l i (memory aid for thank you, thank you, Ali, I can't fail FALI; mind / minder / et / tete.
hello
goodbye - l a m t u m i r ë

What does the double dot on the ë mean?
If you click on the sound symbol underneath the word at the bottom of the text box in Google translate you can hear that the ë sound like er, a short version of err.

To type the e with the double dot above, press down the e key on your laptop keyboard; up pops a list of possible accents - see that the one you want is number 4; continue to hold down the e key and with your other hand, your right hand, tap the number four key at the top of the keyboard. Release both fingers and you should see the e with the two dots. If you get an ordinary e, or double ee, you have mistimed it by holding or release one finger. Just try again.

How are you? Ok.
c u ok
mir - ok
t mir - you ok

"You ask about the whole family, your father ok, your mother ok and so on. So you hear, '... mir ... mir ...  mir?' "

They also use OK because they learn English as a second language in school, so no problem speaking to Albanians. They have similar words such as:
stress - stress

What about yes and no?
Yes - po (I think of very possible - yes)
no - yo , (I think of ay-yi-yi, absolutely not, you have to be kidding me)

How confusing. Both end with o, and the no starts with a ye like the English yes.

Remember, yes, it is possible. Yes is po.

No, no, yo, yo. Can I operate a yo-yo, no, no!

rr (rolled r)
r r u g is road or street

table - same as English and French

Useful Websites

https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Albanian_phrasebook#:~:text=Albanian

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

Please share links to your favourite blog posts.

The Future of Travel In Cartoons - Art To See On The Underground At Newton MRT station, Singapore

'Starfish' travel. Artwork on Newton underground MRT station. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

On closer inspection, I see that the windows are in a spiral, a bit like a seashell.

Jellyfish travel - or maybe inside a spider. Artwork photographed on Newton. Photo taken and named by Angela Lansbury.



Travelling in front of the fishtail. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

All over Newton underground train station walls on your way to and from the Downtown line are these cute little drawings. Teeny characters travel on a futuristic sci-fi means of transport, a cross between space travel and submarines. What does this picture remind you of? It reminds me of a starfish.

Useful Websites for travellers
singaporeair.com

About the author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer. See next post on the giant mural at Newton, as well as other posts about sttion artwork in Singapore, the UK, and worldwide. Please share links to your favourite posts.

See Art Everywhere In Singapore - even underfoot on the train

Always something new to look at in Singapore. The art and advertisements are overhead in the stations and underfoot on the trains.

Singapore flag, jolly red and white.

Useful Websites
singaporeair.com

Author

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

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.

Harrow Development Map of Plans

A clearer view of what they are planning and where, both sides of Harrow on the Hill station..

https://www.harrowonthehillredrow.co.uk/Content/Downloads/003_HOTH_Exhibition_Boards_AW.pdf

Look For The Numbers On Train Station Platform Doors

Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Earlier this year I was on a train where the platform doors did not open. I had to race down the carriage to the next door to get off before the train went off again.

Earlier this week in Singapore I noticed and photographed the number on these doors on the overground section of the MRT on the red line. If I ever had to report that the doors were stuck, or wanted to fore-warn friends who would be catching the train later, I could use these numbers.

Mostly passengers don't notice the numbers. But the platform staff need the number to know where to place a temporary cordon to stop passengers queuing to board at the place where the doors don't open.

Singapore is a great stopover in Asia between America or 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

http://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/us/plan-travel/local-promotions/features/stb-stopover-holiday

Author

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

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

https://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2019/01/cute-musicians-in-cartoons-on-toilet.html

See also my posts on Waterloo Street, The National Gallery, and Singapore's big attractions.

Malay word of the day is camera (and more Malay words)

Problem
How will I ever learn to read Malay!

Answer
You learn Malay the same as everybody and everything else. One step at a time. Malay signs are everywhere in Singapore where Malay is one of the four official languages. I now know the Bahaya beware, danger, keep out sign.

I recently noticed another.
Malay - English
Kamera - Camera

Since the camera sign was above, no confusion, no danger of thinking it means room.

A reminder of other common words:

Malay - English
anak - child
anak-anak - children
hotel - hotel
imigresen - immigration
kastam - Customs
klinik - clinic
makanan - food
minuman - drinks
stesen - station
teksi - taxis

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

Holland Village MRT windmill, Singapore, shows us the way, so does Sherlock in Baker Street, London

Down on the platform you can see this mural showing a Dutch style windmill. The windmill ties in with the name Holland Village.

That's what the art work on every station should show, a reminder of the name. I would have preferred a repeating pattern of windmills or other local landmarks or historic photos. 

To my mind, every station should have a colour scheme, with accents in a warm colour. Here you have pale blue with occasional touches of red or pink or yellow.

Other stations also feature the local area.

My favourites in London, England

Baker Street.

Sherlock Holmes.

Victoria Station.

My least favourites In Singapore

Cashew

Little India - a lot of brown and grey an monotone. Outside in Little India the ladies are wearing colourful sarees. The Little India station should by a riot of colour, like the Diwali patterns used to decorate the trains..

Chinese (Mandarin) Words Of The Day - which you see on maps and station signs

Problem
How to remember the sounds and symbols of Chinese?

Answers
Recap
Out or exit is a double trident, three strokes pointing up, like six people rushing out.
Usually followed by a square which sometimes has a tag at the bottom right.

Ni hao - hello, now are you, literally you good?
I remember this as how are your knees.

New Word Memory Aid
wo is I.
Wo like the royal we, said by Queen Victoria. When she said, We are leaving, she meant I am leaving. But when she left, everybody left.

I repeat:
 Chinese - English
wo - I

English - Chinese (Mandarin)
I - wo

I am learning Chinese using the free website Duolingo.

A useful pictorial system is Chineasy.

You can see the trident with the high midpoint for mountain in the second row against the green. This appears in Singapore in the station name Hillview. DT3 on the blue Downtown line.

The first (left) of the three Chinese writing symbols on the panel above the platform doors is the hill or mountain sign. Look at DT3 in the underground map translation page. I used to tear this off. Now I keep it to learn the Chinese symbols.

The last sign is the word for station (which appears at the end of every station although it is not used in the English).

Useful Websites
duolingo.com

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

Easy Malay and Indonesian Words

English - Malay / Indonesian
bank - bank
bus station - stesen bas
clinic - klinik
customs - kastam
immigration - imigresen
market - pasar
notice(s) - notis
restaurant - restoran
road - jalan
station - stesen
taxi - teksi

Malay / Indonesian - English
bank - bank
imigresen - immigration
klinik - clinic
jalan - road
notis - notice (s)
restoran - restaurant
pasar - market
stesen - station
stesen bas - bus station
teksi - taxi

Singapore's Passion Card Contest asks, What Does Home Mean To You?

Problem
What can I say about my home in Singapore.

Passion Card emailed me with the latest offers and news of a contest.

I wrote down my answer:

Coming home to Singapore is driving from the airport seeing bridges over the motorway draped with greenery and flowers. 

Home is a taxi driver who does his job without expecting a tip. Home is a hot and humid apartment but there's air con in every room, and some homes are designed with facing windows so you get a breeze. 

A Singapore home means a grille over the front door so you can leave it open to cool down. 

Home is an MRT station with trains every three to five minutes. Home is the station with recorded announcements in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil, which has encouraged me to learn Mandarin, Malay-Indonesian and Tamil. 

Leaving home is leaving lovely Changi airport which has flowers, fountains and a Butterfly Garden.

Then I realised they wanted only one sentence.

Tell me which sentence you think I should submit.

The contest ends soon, 30 July 2018, one minute to midnight. I presume that is Singapore time, not GMT, and Singapore is ahead if you are holidaying or working in Europe or the USA.

To see what others have send and click on the link to the competition, find Passioncard on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/PAssionCard
Details of contest here:
https://bit.ly/2uQ7QSn 
Terms and conditions apply.

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

Why Go to Viareggio? It's In Tuscany in Italy. Why not?

Problem
My British friends want to know whether I recommend Viareggio in Italy for a holiday. They are retired and not into beach holidays but want to use it as a base for touring, not by car but public transport. What is for and against going to Viareggio?

Answers
First, how do you pronounce it? Via - reg - ee - oh. The double g makes a soft J sound.

All the Brits have loved it for years. To put it another way, it is popular, like Benidorm and Torremolinos and Blackpool. It's popular. It's full of tourists. Why does everybody go there?

Firstly a huge long straight sandy beach edged by hotels. Miles of sun loungers and sunshades. Yes, you may have to pay, if those beach items are the property of some business other than your own hotel.

It's a strip. I was disappointed. I'd previously done the Amalfi drive, all scenic hilltop views and cute little coves. But not room for coachloads of tourists, huge hotels, and yards of ice cream sellers, which is what you get at Viareggio. (Also check whether you get a white sandy beach, a grey stony beach, or rocks, or a harbour with boats and no swimming but lovely for sitting in the sun and shade under an umbrella by the water.)

I suggested that my first my friends should use Streetview to take a look at the resort and any hotel which is offering them a good deal.

Next, they should make a list of their favourite destinations or excursions. Check in both directions. For example, it might be cheaper to stay in New York and visit Washington DC, or cheaper to stay in Washington DC and visit New York. Similarly compare London and York, or Viareggio and tourist sites.

Which cities offer the most accommodation? And is it mostly big expensive hotels, or little family run guesthouses? Will you be near the pick-up points for tours at the big hotels? Or near the bus stop and train station at the guest house?

Tuscany or Umbria or both?
Tuscany is on the west coast of Italy and had famous tourist sites such as the leaning tower of Pisa. If you want beaches, go to Tuscany.

We once stayed in Lido de Jesolo - and took an excursion (at extra expense) to Venice.  We were disappointed to be not as near to Venice as we had expected. We spent more time and money than expected going to Venice, and less time than we had intended in Venice.

Why Umbria?
I travelled most recently to Umbria as a guest of the tourist board. I was very taken with the cpaital Perugia, with its huge Etruscan gate against the gigantic sheer cliff face. It does involve some uphill walking on cobblestones.

If you want to swim and have a generous budget, a couple of the larger hotels have wonderful indoor and outdoor pools. One hotel's spa has underwater jets and an indoor-outdoor pool.

The other top hotel has an indoor swimming pool with views of historic ruins.

We stayed in a romantic restored castle. The outdoor pool was closed in the off season.

Try Tuscany
If you want flat sand to stroll along the water's edge, the sea with waves, people, then you want Viareggio in Tuscany.

My relatives did a driving tour of Tuscany and Umbria. See my other posts on Italy.

The Viareggio carnival is held early in the year, between January and March.
The Puccini music festival is in July-August.

Excursions
Puccini's house.
Pinocchio Park.
Lucca towers.
Pisa - about 20 miles.
Florence - about 60 miles.

Useful Websites and Links
LANGUAGES 

http://duolingo.com
http://www.dummies.com/languages/italian/italian-greetings-and-good-byes/

earwormslearning.com

https://translate.google.com/ (Useful for translating into English.)

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

LEARNING ITALIAN LANGUAGE

https://wikitravel.org/en/Italian_phrasebook (pronunciation)

TRAVEL
Tuscany
http://travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com/2018/06/see-rossi-multiple-motorcycle-winner-on.html

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

Umbria
http://umbriatourism.it
https://twitter.com/UmbriaTourism
@UmbriaTourism  
#loveUmbria

Italy
http://www.italia.it/en/home.html

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

What do the Chinese signs on Sixth Avenue station mean?

I was sitting on a train in Singapore learning the numbers one to ten in Chinese which were easy. One is a horizontal line Like Hyphen. Two is two horizontals like an equal sign. Three is three horizontals like a Roman number three on its side. Ten is a cross like an X spun clockwise or a gravestone cross. Six looks like a stick man with a head, two arms two legs and imagine the body.

The train drew into sixth avenue station. I looked up and saw the middle symbol of the Chinese writing was the number Six.

If you look at the paper underground map you will see all the station names in Chinese. At one point I stuck the map into the front of my diary and tore off the Chinese part to make it less bulky.

Later I looked at the Chinese signs to try to find which word symbols were repeated. I was looking for names which were the same in English, such as park. However, I discovered that on my train stations map all the station names ended with an extra symbol. So the station name here has three symbols. On the paper map Sixth Avenue has four Chinese symbols, the fourth being either station or line.

Now, every time I go through Sixth Avenue station on the train, I am reminded of the sign for six.

Words for station

I typed in the words for sixth avenue station into Google Translate, then took each symbol and reversed the translation from Chinese to English

第

六

大

道

站

线

I got

The first

six

big

road

station

line

So the symbol for station has the right hand symbol like a little stick man, a station master behind an information desk, pointing to the right, to the station.

Numbers and Months

The numbers are also used for months. So if you look at a leaflet or poster which tells you the date in English, you can recognize the Chinese. January is two symbols, month and one. February is month two. Again, this is a handy reminder of the symbols for the numbers one to twelve.

January - month 1

February - month 2

March - month 3

april - month 4

may - month 5

june - month 6

july - month 7

august - month 8

september - month 9

october - month 10

november - month 11

december  - month 12

Author Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker, teacher of English and other languages.

Why You Should Learn Languages to live longer, and how to ask for help in Czech, French, Malay, Russian, Spanish

Problem:

It takes ages to learn a new language. Doesn't everybody speak English, as a first or second language?

Answer

No they don't. Times when I found people didn't speak English:

1 Russian railway station - I lost my group switching trains.

2 France - I lost my group - they turned into a nearby restaurant.

3 Spain - we wanted hotel breakfast.

4 Czech Republic - I want to buy a museum ticket, cheaply, and leave for lunch.

5 China - I lost my coach party.

6 Singapore - we've hit a pedestrian who's bleeding in the road - need ambulance+police urgently

7 London, England Euton Station bomb scare evacuation announcements only in English - Spaniards running into station - stop!

A second reason

On several occasions, I needed to speak a foreign language because I'd lost my group. On one occasion Euston station was being evacuated, but the announcements were in English. A group of Spanish girls, laughing and talking, came down the escalator towards the station.

The sentences I needed were:
Russian
I have lost my group
They speak English.
Where is my train?
Where is the restaurant?
Can you phone for me?
Can you make an announcement that I'm lost?
Russkiy - Angliyskiy
YA poteryal svoyu gruppu
Oni govoryat po-angliyski.
Gde moy poyezd?
Gde nakhoditsya restoran?
Mozhete li vy pozvonit' mne?
Mozhete li vy sdelat' ob"yavleniye, chto ya poteryalsya?

Русский - Английский
Я потерял свою группу
Они говорят по-английски.
Где мой поезд?
Где находится ресторан?
Можете ли вы позвонить мне?
Можете ли вы сделать объявление, что я потерялся?

If all else fails, say, gruppu, Anglisky, restauran.

French
I have lost my group.
I think my friends are in a restaurant.
Where is the nearest restaurant?
Please show me the entrance.
Thank you very much.
So kind of you.

J'ai perdu ma groupe.
Je croix que mes amis sont dans un restaurant.
Ou est le restaurant le plus proche?
S'il vous plait, montrez-moi comment entrer.
Merci beaucoup.
Vous êtes très gentil.

Czech - English
Where is the toilet?
How much is a ticket for the museum?
Any reductions?
Is there a cheaper group for several museums?
What time will it close?
Can we eat lunch here?
Can we buy a ticket, go for lunch and come back?
Toilet
ticket
museum
restaurant
thanks

Česky - anglicky
Kde je toaleta?
Kolik je vstupenka do muzea?
Jakékoli snížení?
Existuje levnější skupina pro několik muzeí?
Kdy bude čas zavírat?
Můžeme sem jíst oběd?
Můžeme si koupit jízdenku, jít na oběd a vrátit se?
Toaleta
lístek
muzeum
restaurace
Děkuji

Chinese and Malay
Phone for an ambulance.
Call the police.
I need a phone urgently.
Somebody's injured in the road.
Quick.
It's an emergency.
Does somebody speak English?

Chinese (see next post)
I have lost my coach - English speaking people.
Show me the way, please.

Malay
(Rusia is Russian) - Bahasa Inggeris (Language English ie English language)
Saya telah kehilangan kumpulan saya
Mereka bertutur dalam bahasa Inggeris.
Di mana kereta saya?
Di manakah restoran?
Bolehkah anda telefon saya?
Bolehkah anda membuat pengumuman bahawa saya hilang?
>>>
Malay - from  Bahasa Inggeris
Dimanakah tandas?
Berapa tiket untuk muzium?
Mana-mana pengurangan?
Adakah terdapat kumpulan yang lebih murah untuk beberapa muzium?
Apa masa ia akan ditutup?
Bolehkah kita makan tengahari di sini?
Bolehkah kita membeli tiket, pergi makan tengah hari dan kembali?
Tandas - toilet
tiket - ticket
muzium - museum
restoran - restaurant
terima kasih - thanks

Terjemah ke Bahasa Sepanyol - Bahasa Inggeris
Anda mesti meninggalkan stesen sekarang. Ia adalah kecemasan.
Tunjukkan saya di mana.
Ikut saya.
Dengar.
Terima kasih.
cuti
kecemasan
bersembunyi
berlari
beritahu
membantu
tunggu
Ia ok
Anda boleh pergi.
....

Cina (Chinese) dan (and)  Melayu (Malay language)
Telefon untuk ambulans. (telephone ambulance)
Panggil polis. (polis is police)
Saya memerlukan telefon dengan segera.
Seseorang cedera di jalan raya.
Cepat.
Ia adalah kecemasan.
Adakah seseorang berbahasa Inggeris?

Melayu

Cina (Chinese)

Saya telah kehilangan jurulatih saya - orang berbahasa Inggeris.

Tunjukkan saya cara, sila.

Orang is person, as in orang utan. 

..............................................
Translate into Spanish - English
You must leave the station now. It's an emergency.
Show me where.
Follow me.
Listen.
Thank you.
leave
emergency
hide
run
tell
help
wait
It's ok
You can go.
......
Traducir al Español - Inglés
Debes salir de la estación ahora. Es una emergencia.
Muéstrame donde.
Sígueme.
Escucha.
Gracias.
salir
emergencia
esconder
correr
contar
ayuda
Espere
Está bien
Se puede ir.

Previous items in Spanish:
Español - inglés
He perdido mi grupo
Ellos hablan inglés.
¿Dónde está mi tren?
¿Donde está el restaurante?
¿Puedes llamar por mí?
¿Puedes hacer un anuncio de que estoy perdido?
>>>
Español - inglés
¿Donde esta el inodoro?
¿Cuánto cuesta un boleto para el museo?
Cualquier reducción?
¿Hay un grupo más barato para varios museos?
¿A qué hora se cerrará?
¿Podemos almorzar aquí?
¿Podemos comprar un boleto, ir a almorzar y regresar?
Baño - toilet
boleto - ticket
museo - museum
restaurante - restaurant
gracias - thanks

Losing your group, having an accident on the road, reacting to a bomb scare and directing others,

these are the short-term reasons for needing to speak foreign languages.

Long-term, learning languages is supposed to grow your brain and prevent it from shrinking and disintegrating.

https://www.mimicmethod.com/why-learn-second-language-everyone-speaks-english/
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/sep/04/what-happens-to-the-brain-language-learning
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn24537-learn-another-language-to-delay-three-dementias/

From the website mimicmethod I found links to German songs you can use to learn English, by singing along with the German subtitles.
In short, reduce stress and live a long, healthy and happy life. I always think of the road safety motto, the life you save may be your own.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have many more posts on languages and destinations. Please share links to your favourite posts.

How to recognize and remember Welsh words for: eat, cauliflower, parsnips, trifle

Problem
How do you reocognize and remember the spelling and pronunciation of Welsh words?

Answers
(Spaces inserted to thwart the automatic spell checker and to help you to see the differences between Welsh and English.

Welsh - English
b a r a - bread
c o f f i - coffee
bwyta - eat (the last two letters are the same reversed bwyTA - eAT; I remember BolT your food=eaT)
oren - orange
pannas - parsnips (first two letters and last letters are the same, so is the N in the middle PAnNas - PArsNipS
reis - rice
te - eat
treiffl - trifle

English - Welsh
bread - b a r a
coffee - c o f f i
eat - bwyta
orange - oren
parsnips - pannas
rice - reis
te - tea
trifle - treiffl

Tips
1 Photograph menus
Photograph a menu at a coffee bar on a Welsh station or in a Welsh high street. Look at it on the train home. Look at the website of a Welsh restaurant or café. (Americans say Main street. In England people say high street.)
2 duolingo.com
(Free on line learning website for many languages from English and from several languages to learn English)
3 Translate using Google
google translate
4 Translate using second source
http://mymemory.translated.net/en/Welsh/English/

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, teacher of English and other languages. You will find several more posts on learning Welsh and other languages. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Albanian - another ten words, from no cost, to train station toilet

Problem
How do I learn Albanian?

Answer
Just keep adding ten words.

Here are some more:

English - Albanian
cost - k o s t o
mount - mali
mountain - mal
no - jo (remember the old English song with the chorus Oh, no John, no John, no John, no. No in English is Jo in Albanian.)
reduction - r e d u k t i m
swimming pool - p i s h i n e (like the French piscine)
ticket - b i l e t ë (to get a letter e with two dots above, hold down the letter e, wait a couple of seconds, then simultaneously tap the number 4)
train - tren
train station - s t a c i o n t r e n i
yes - p o

Albanian - English
jo - no
k o s t o - cost (how to remember it - cost oh!)
mal - mountain
mali - mount
p i s h i n e - swimming pool
p o - yes
r e d u k t i m - reduction
s t a c i o n t r e n i - train station - note that in Albanian the adjective in this case is after the noun
t o a l e t - toilet
tren - train

Learning other languages is easy and fun.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, teacher of English and other languages. Please share my posts.

Finding your way to and from a station with Google maps

Problem
How do you find your way to and from a Station?

Answer
Use Google maps. This map might already be installed in your phone. If not, search for it and install it by clicking on the symbols which say install. When I installed it, I found it was free.

On my mobile screen the apps are shown on a grid which is arranged alphabetically. You might have a choice of ways of displaying the icons or symbols.

At the top of your screen you should find a search box in which you type your destination such as City Central station or Abc Business Building. Up pops a map of your local area.

Click on the picture of a figure walking. Then you get walking directions instead of driving directions.

Click on the black or blue symbol lower right and you will see a blue line of dots between your current location and the destination. This shows you where to walk.

You don't have to following w the route exactly. You might decide to take a footpath to the station to save time instead of the longer route along the main road.  Or at night when going home you might take the longer route along the main road instead of a path with puddles and shadows and mosquitos.

The map has many other good features such as telling you how many minutes away you are from a building such as a station, shopping malls or restaurant.

I wish I had learned to use Googlemaps earlier. I am very grateful to the friend who showed me how to use it on two occasions.

If none of this is new to you, take the information as a reminder of how to coach somebody else how to use the helping ap, - step by step - figuratively and literally. Anybody who is puzzling over a map or asking directions  might be glad of a first lesson or reinforcing reminder.

Please show it to someone who is lost and would love to receive help, not just once but on many journeys.

Like teaching a person how to fish, teaching them how to use an ap can be a lesson which improves not just one day and one journey but many quicker, easier travels.

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