Snow in London - streets, rooftops, cars, gardens

Snow on car, pavement and rooftops in Hatch End, NW London. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Snow on rooftiles in Hatch End NW London, England. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

A novelty for those who have not seen snow. Not seen snow for a while. Or not ever seen snow. 

January 6th 2026 in London, real snow fell. 

Snow In Streets 

 Snow covered the tops and bonnets of cars. (Americans call the front of the car the hood.)

In the street, snows fell on pavements (which Americans call sidewalks).

Snow on Rooftops

 The rooftops went white. Why is one roof white, the other dark, clear of snow? Has the snow melted on a warm rooftop? Is the roof over a warm attic? Does that mean a nice warm house? Or is snow a good sign, meaning that the attic is insulated from the house, so that the house is warmer?

Snow in Back Gardens

Snow covered the grass in gardens, turning the green to white. 

In back gardens (which Americans call back yards) snow fell on the leaves on trees, making what looked like white umbrellas on brown and white supports.

It looks romantic. It might be slippery underfoot. What about driving? The met office issues predictions. The met office, government and AA (UK Automobile Association) issue warning about not driving, or taking blankets, hot drinks in bottles, phones with full charge, chocolate snacks for energy. I would add a toilet container.

However, by lunch time, the snow had stopped falling, started melting, and the heat of cars was clearing the main road.

Snow On Cars

If you plan driving, allow extra time to clear the snow off the windscreen and other windows.

Photographing Snow

If you see snow, rush out and film it straight away. Take both still photos and videos. I missed my chance.

 My husband took photos and put them on his Facebook page. Being a statistician by training and profession, he fulfilled the old joke about the reply of a statistician to a beggar who complained that he had not eaten for a week, 'How does this compare with the same date last year?'

Useful Weather Websites

UK

https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/forecast/uk

https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather

https://www.theweatheroutlook.com/forecast/uk/pinner--greater-london#google_vignette

USA

https://eu.usatoday.com/news/weather/

SINGAPORE

https://www.accuweather.com/en/sg/singapore/300597/weather-forecast/300597

Please share links to your favourite posts from my entertaining and informative blogs.

Three types of wine corks and stoppers

 

I looked at these three 'corks' tken out of bottles at a meeting of the Central London Wine Society. What were they?

Members of the public tend to use the word cork for any kind of bottle stopper. Some people don't know there is any difference. Others know there is a difference but cannot identify real cork.

 The top cork stopper is the kind used for Champagne and sparkling wine. It has a broad top to withstand pressure from the bubbles below.

The middle 'cork', or rather a stopper, is a synthetic. Advantages, cheaper, and can be reused.

Any disadvantages? Not supporting the Portuguese wine industry, jobs and growing of attractive, traditional cork trees.

The lowest cork in my photograph has holes or bubbles. That is how you know it is made from real cork.

Composite cork is made up of fragments of cork, like chipboard. One advantage is that they can be sterilised which reduces the risk of cork taint.

They are also cheaper to make and sell for less so they are easiest to sell.

Diam is a maker of cork closures.

Any disadvantage?  The non traditional stoppers fit tight so they can be harder to get out of the bottle.

Diam-cork.com

Screw caps are convenient. Quick and easy to remove by the consumer. No need of a corkscrew.

Even if every bottle produced this year, or next, had screw caps, cork stoppers would still be around, needing corkscrews. Why? Because, if you have very old bottles in storage, they will have cork closures.

Corks are prestigious, so they are often used for the more expensive wines.

Andorra, Argentinians and Snow

 

Photo credit A Sharot photo

Photo credit Sharot family photo.

My family looked out of their hotel windows in Andorra and postponed for a day their drive back to Spain. However, the weather reports for the next day and the rest of the week were favourable and the roads were said to be clear. the hotel staff were also from overseas, many from Argentina, because Andorra was one of the few places they could visit and work. 

Meanwhile, back on the ski slopes ... 

About the Author

BIOGRAPHY

Angela Lansbury B A Hons ACG ALB PM5 EH5 DL5 VC5 
The Author of several books including  Etiquette For Every Occasion. Wedding Speeches & Toasts. How to be the Best Man. Quick Quotations. Who Said What When.

Blogs travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

Braddell Heights Advanced Toastmasters Speakers Club Vice President Public Relations (VPPR), Previous President

Join BHA 1st Wednesday 7pm and 3rd Saturday 2 pm Singapore time 

Vice President Public Relations (VP PR) of Tampines Changkat Advanced;

Secretary of weekly online Singapore International Dynamic Toastmasters Speakers’ Club;

Member and past president of Harrovians toastmasters club, UK; Past member of HOD Toastmasters, London. Past member in Singapore of: Toastmasters Club of Singapore (TCS); Tiarel; and Senja Cashew.

More details from Toastmasters International find a club.

Regular attendee at annual Swanwick Writers’ School, England.

Regular attendee at annual Writers’ Holiday, Wales.

Contributor to poetry readings, and after tea courses on: Speaking On Radio To Promote Books; and Plots And Character.

Winner of many club and area speaking contests in the UK and Singapore.

Language advisor to Empire Toastmasters club in Indonesia.

Language and speech workshops in Singapore.

Speaker on radio and TV in England, Scotland, the USA, and Australia.

Compiler of a school course on public speaking for teachers to prepare pupils for school open days with attending ceremonies before government ministers, Singapore.

Former member of Harrow Writers’ Circle, London, and two writing groups in Singapore.

Angela is on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter. She would be delighted to link up with new friends.

 Please share links to your favourite posts.

Books by Angela Lansbury
How to be the best man. (Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Wedding Speeches and Toasts.(Ward Lock / Cassell.)
Unforgettable British Weekends.
Poetry Workshop Workbook.
The Tailor and the Spy. (Lulu.)
Larry The Talking Labrador. (Lulu.)
Writing Poetry for fun.

Quick Quotations

Who Said What When

Three recycled cake or table decorations

I was so pleased with my two trees and Santa saved and recycled stuck in water bottle caps that I photographed them together in a line. I used a piece of plain white A4 paper propped up as the background.

Currently in Singapore you can get bottle caps in red,white, green and blue. The red, white and green were perfect colours for Xmas decorations. 

What could you do with blue? Blue might suit a football team colours. You could use the blue bases for Hanukah.

For detaila about washing cake decorations to bring them home, and how to make a hole, the right size, and safely, see my previous posts. Please share links to your favourite posts. 

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

Would you be a Google Local Guide? I signed up, wrote up a hotel and condo, then checked how guides differ from blogs

Why did I sign up?
I am qualified to do so in an area where I live.
On many websites more qualified people are ahead of you.
It gives me visibility and credibility.

I often think of joining wikipedia. I used to write for encyclopaedias. It involves a lot of work and fact checking.

Signing up was easy. Since Google already knows me. I am already on Google, so it wasn't a case of yet another organization wanting to mine my information.

What is interesting is the guidelines on what you can show which is of interest to other people. For example:
1 Parking places for the handicapped, slopes for wheelchairs and suitcases and useful points of access.
2 Child-friendly places. Pet-friendly locations.
3 Food for those on diets.

I had written about two places I know well. First I wrote about the Sheraton Towers Hotel, which is open to the public.

Sheraton Towers Hotel, Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Then I saw Cashew Heights Condo was listed. On my travel blog I would not mention a condo, except the parts you can see from the road. I might mention what you can expect if you go to live in another country or stay there with family.

Why would Google include an office block or condo? On second thoughts, you might be one of the thousands who work in the building. You might deliver to it. You might be thinking of working there, renting a room there, buying there.

The style of life for workers and residents might influence whether you take a job in that city or street.

You might just be curious. What's inside that building? Somebody I know works there or lives there - what is it like?

Cashew Heights Condo, Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

I said of Cashew Heights:

This complex is beautifully landscaped with fish ponds and a series of blocks with restful curves in mock art deco style surround the central swimming pool. Delightful palm trees and coconut trees and cashew nut trees are in the centre.

The huge swimming pool has a spa bath at one end. Two or more swimming instructors give swimming lessons to children. A separate children's pool has a slide and fountains.

The restaurant is under renovation (late 2018). Se A small shop provides milk and other useful items.

The tennis courts and two small gyms are well used. The gym is crowded on Sunday. If you want to use a piece of equipment, go there at lunch time.

Residents are friendly.

A pleasant path in a series of s shapes winds down to the lower gate near the station passing trees labelled with plaques and a couple of wildlife plaques on trees, animals and birds - like a miniature Botanic Gardens.

Like most condos in Singapore, tight security. If you have a friend who lives there, make sure to see the fish ponds and foliage.

After I read the guidelines, I noticed several ways I could make the text more useful, as well as adding pictures.

I could photograph the ramps in the condo's apartment blocks. I could show the visitor parking areas you must use to avoid being fined for parking in the resident's' numbered places. The complex is huge. I could photograph the exit gates and say which gate you need for which bus stops and train stations. I could show the outoodr exercise machine area.

A useful guide is not the same as a fun-to-read guide. A blog has to be more of an entertainment, more personal. A google guide has to be factual and practical.

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

The Lake At Swanwick With Reflected Trees And Sky

The Lake at Swanwick. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Some writers sat by the lake and wrote poetry. Some people walked around the lake to walk off the cake.

The lake contains fish. Warning signs say that it is deep. 

The Lake

by Angela Lansbury

On sunny days enjoy the lake

Where waters mirror breezy sky

The water's calm, with soothing charm

Green lake, so deep with high blue sky

On winter days we fear the lake

Where grey waters mirror grey sky

We write of fallen leaves, heartbreak

The chill ghosts of the drowned, nearby

You hear the silence of the lake

Soft trees reflected in your mind

The lake gives what you want to take

Words paint bright pictures for the blind.

Author, Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please see my other posts about Writers' Summer School at Swanwick.

Copyright Angela Lansbury.

Dulwich Picture Gallery, Cafe, Mausoleum, Trees and Park

If you don't mind spending the money, check out the price of the entry with the exhibition. Be warned, it's timed entry, so arrive early if you plan to spend time in the café opposite, on bench seating, or sitting in the park.

The building has an interesting history. It's the only art gallery I know with the mausoleun of the owners inside (although a few  houses have this - such as Puccini's in Italy. Some museums to Presidents of Countries have portraits of the man in office and historic paintings of the era. I am thinking of the mausoleum of D Solomos on the Greek Island of Zakinthos also called Zante. Also the American President Robert E Lee, leader of the South in the Civil War, buried in Lexington, Virginia, USA.

Novel and Influential Architecture and Lighting
From the outside the building is not that interesting, but inside is different, lit by overhead natural light. Not entirely a new idea. Buildings pre-dating electricity, often had skylights, until the cruel and unhealthy window tax ruined architecture and health.

Yes, whatever the exhibition, you need to see the building and learn about it. The ticket counter is in the entrance and you'll only get a step or two inside unless you buy a ticket.

The architect, John Soane, is also connected with his own gallery and other buildings in London. Learn about his influence on architecture in London and around the world.

Fashionable Clothes Then and Now
Clothes of the old days are such a contrast to today, in summer. Girls walking around the park and London underground stations are in tight short shorts with franges, strappy tops, split side skirts, lace tops and tops with lace insets showing tantalising glimpses of what's below. Old masters often show naked cupids, naked women bathing or being molested. Hwever, they were the porn of the day for the rich. Portraits show people wearing heavy and covering clothes. Then I read that one of the three benefactors and builders of the museum, in the central mausoleum, and saw their pictures from the covered up clothes of the Victorian era.

The lady's portrait is on the outside wall in the gallery, just across from the entrance. She is enveloped head to foot in black cloth, with a large hat and huge ruffled collar, like a cross between Elizabeth I and a clown. The caption says that her outfit is typical of a middle class married woman of her day.

What of the Old Masters collected by her husband, who was both a well known actor of the day and a collector of paintings? I had read about one of the Rembrandts from the collection being loaned to a big Rembrandt exhibition in Edinburgh for the summer of 2018.

Bawden Exhibition
However, we went there to see the Bawden exhibition. Bawden straddled an era from well before I was born until my childhood. But I'd never heard of him. I like the touches of humour in his detailed painting.

Café Cost
I has made the mistake of rushing out and not taking food or drink. The cafe was pricey. All over the world you can buy fast food or a supermarket or chain store lunch consisting of a sandwich, a piece of fruit or dessert and a drink for about five pounds. Here you would pay double.

The shop sells an artistic but expensive, bottle. That's the latest idea, for those who want to ditch plastic water bottles, to save the sea creatures. However, even if I had decided to splurge, to invest, without any water it was already heavy. Where would you fill it? No fountain in the main gallery.

Printed Guide To Trees
I discovered a guide to the trees in the park. You could easily spend an hour or two walking around identifying the trees and photographing the leaves and yourself against the tree trunk, and the whole tree from a distance.

Whether you opt for the gallery and exhibition, or just the park, a great day out. I had a short ride on the train from Victoria station (various routes) first thing in the morning.  You can then catch a P4 bus or walk to the Horniman Museum which is free. The journey back from the station near the Horniman seemed to take longer.

The walk from the station to Dulwich Picture Gallery is clearly signposted and takes you along leafy roads with grand homes and public buildings. You also pass Dulwich College which was founded by the people who built the art gallery.

From here go to the Horniman Museum. The bus stop is across the road from the main entrance of the Dulwich Art Gallery park.
For a description of the indoor musical instruments gallery, see my other posts about the Horniman.

Useful Information and Websites
www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
Tel: +44(0)20 8693 5254
visitlondon.com
visitbritain.org

I took the P4 bus to the Horniman Museum.
https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Dulwich-Picture-Gallery/Horniman-Museum

Horniman Museum and Gardens
100 London
SE23 3PQ
Tel:020 8699 1872
horniman.ac.uk

tfl.gov.uk (Transport for London for trains and buses)
citymapper.com
rome2rio.com

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

Strange things about Madeira, Volcanoes, Water, Waterfalls, the wet Westerlies, the world's islands and wet places

Problem
Where? Most people don't know of Madeira but don't where Madeira is. I had been there before but had forgotten the location. It's the fate of many islands, such as Singapore and Malta.

Black Volcanic Ash
The island is made of black volcanic ash. It was formed from a volcanic eruption. So were many islands. Think of: Hawaii.

Indonesia's Eruptions
Everybody has heard of Krakatowa. It was well documented by survivors.
Another of the Indonesians' islands was a greater disaster for local people and the whole world.  On Sumbawa an eruptions created the year of endless night, which reached as far as England and Europe in the early 1800s.

Red Earth
So the volanic eruptions leave black ash and black beaches. But Madeira also has red earth. Like Singapore and parts of Africa and Devon in England. I know. I spent a lot of time wiping Madeira's red dust from my shoes off the sills of the hire car. Then more time wiping the 'red' - or rather orange, stain off my white and turquoise trainers.

The World's Wet and Windy Places
Wet areas of Madeira and Singapore are on one side of the island. The winds blow one way because of the rotation of the earth. As the earth spins the air moves past. The air drops water vapour on the mountain tops so you get streams and waterfalls running down towards the sea at sea level.

The West and the West and the Westerlies
The west of Singapore, around places called Bukit, which is Malay for hill, gets more rainfall, more than the drier East near Changi airport.

Madeira Levadas - Water Channels
On Madeira the farmers built levadas or draining channels or waterways taking water to their land. The rainfall means green grass, bushes, trees.

Tropical Weather and Plants
Heat means tropical colourful flowers, and palm trees.

Madeira is south of England, hotter. Heat and wet means tropical plants, bananas, coconuts from coconut palms, cane for sugar and rum.


Useful Websites
lastminute.com
opodo.co.uk flight comparison website
tripadvisor.co.uk
tripadvisor.com
visitmadeira.com
Wikipedia.org Madeira
Wikitravel.org Madeira
Wikivoyage.org Madiera

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

Palm trees and tree trail in central Singapore: walking from City Hall train station

One of the historic buildings in central Singapore is the former City Hall which is now the stately National Gallery.

I went to City Hall MRT station. How do you get up to the street to the gallery?

I took a roudabout walk by mistake, trying to escape from the City Hall MRT station. The signs directed me into what seemed like a mile long avenue of shops. 

I looked for an exit up to ground level. The only exit warned that it was alarmed. 

I could not see how anybody would escape in a fire. I felt foolish, claustrophobic, time-wasted and irritated, trapped in a long shopping mall.

When I reached ground level, I found myself in another long walk, this time through trees which had been listed, each one marked with its botanical name. Between them was a thoughfully made sign on the tree trail.

My day and evening was worthwhile. A step meter on my phone usefully told me I had taken zero steps. Really! 

So, zero to the mobile ap, zero to the safety of the exit from the underground walkway, but top marks to the designers of the tree trail.

If you like trees, you might enjoy the BBC trailer for a programme featuring actress Judi Dench and what she learned about how trees communicate.

Your New Year plans could include learning more about trees.

Useful Websites

https://www.nparks.gov.sg/activities/family-time-with-nature/recommended-activities/know-10-trees

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09jxnv4 (Judi Dench trailer on programme on trees.)

http://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/gb/home

Autumn Colour Poems, Fall Photos, And Inspiring Autumn Tips to America, Britain, Italy and Russia

Problem
I love the autumn colours but forget and regret the arrival of autumn in England; yet in America, we loved autumn, because we could take a trip up and down the east coast to see the swathes of trees in the Fall colours. Because the north is colder than the south, the Fall starts earlier in the north. We lived in Rockville, Maryland, just north of Washington DC, and read that the Fall had started in the North. So we drove north until we reached the Fall colours. We spent a long weekend or week there. As we drove south, the trees were turning to Fall colours further South.

Novelty Pumpkins
Pumpkin time means piles of pumpkins in America. Last year, 2016, for the first time I saw pumpkins everywhere in supermarkets in England.

Exotic Fruit
As a child in Britain in the 1950s I had never seen a pumpkin. I read about them but they were exotic fruit in post-war Britain which had had rationing until 1952. I remember my late mother talking for years afterwards about how she met her friend Sylvia in a banana queue, and my mother's excitement at being able to buy a fresh peach, and how I had been so disappointed that it was not as sweet and soft and bright orange as a tinned peach in sugar syrup.

Autumn Poems
Today I read on the BBC page about poems on autumn. Why didn't I write about Autumn? Why didn't I capture autumn colours in poems every year!

Poem Year Book
Poet Alison Chisholm, who edits poetry books and runs courses at Writers' Holiday in Wales and Swanwick Writers Sumer School in Derbyshire, suggests that we keep a poetry diary for the year and add seasonal poems.

Now is the time to start a poetry book, with a poem on autumn colours, and take a photo of colours in your area, your city's or country's landmarks, and those of places you visit on weekend trips, holidays or business.

Here's mine:

Autumn Green Turned To Gold
by Angela Lansbury

The leaves have turned from green to gold
Warm mid-day, chill breeze, nights grown cold
Storms mean you stay indoors to play
So treasure every sunny day

As daylight fades, outside we run
To catch our daily dose of sun
Leaves fill the roads, the paths, the park
The days are short, headlights - it's dark

Look up, mouth open, upturned head
And see leaves contrast green and red
Clothes match the season, yellow, brown
The country calls us from the town

To drive along the country roads
Envy gabled, peaceful abodes
Surrounded, in our autumn break
By trees reflected in the lake

We see trees far away and near
Sense season's wave, crescendo year
Eat pumpkin, take great photograph
Children kick leaves, delighted, laugh.
-ends-
Copyright Angela Lansbury 2017 October.

Autumn/Fall Trips
Italy - shoulder season, November is the rainiest month. But, prices have fallen, and fewer crowds.

More information from:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b095qcjt (BBC autumn poems and Fall photos)
https://www.visitusa.org.uk/blogs/article.aspx?pname=7-autumn-adventures-in-the-USA&blog
http://www.st-petersburg-essentialguide.com/autumn-in-st-petersburg.html
https://www.visitbritain.com/gb/en/wheres-best-see-autumn-colour-england-and-wales#MJjRtohJv5rzrzJR.97

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

Paintings Produced On a Painting Holiday

 The pupils in the art workshop at Writers Holiday in Fishguard, Wales, had a different demonstration and exercise each hour long session on the painting course. For this painting we had been told to find a coin and draw around it to create a moon, leaving the paper inside the circle white (or painting it white later). We then added the sky in two or more colours. 

Some people added trees below, which was the scene outside our window overlooking the Fishguard Bay from Fishguard Bay Hotel. However, I am a city girl. So I drew a city scene.

Blue sky at night over the city by Angela Lansbury. 2017. Copyright.

A walk by the lake. By Angela Lansbury. 2017. Copyright.

I did a second painting with trees. The instructor, Susan Alison, suggested that I put something in the foreground to increase the perspective. First I added the picket fence, similar to the one outside the window. 

Fence and walk from Fishguard Bay Hotel, Fishguard, Wales. Photo by Angela Lansbury, copyright.

Then I thought I would add a man and a dog. 

In one session we drew the human body facing you, then with legs bent when walking. In another session we had drawn a dog. I had asked for a session on a dog. A previous year the class had requested a session on drawing a horse.

You might like the earlier version of the painting of the lake, with its view through the trees to the boat. I am glad I took a photo of the painting at each stage. That way I could see if I preferred the original version. 

If I ruined it with too much clutter, or a poorly executed figure, I still had a photo of the original. I could copy it as a postcard or book illustration.  I could re-paint it.  

I could use both illustrations for a book chapter or short story. I could start with the view over the lake. Then the man walking the dog. Finally the lake again, without the man and dog.

However, I was very pleased with the addition of the man and the dog. 

You can see that the addition of the man and dog creates a complete change. First we have human interest. Secondly, the eye goes in the direction of the walking man. This creates the impression of a boardwalk or path. It opens up the path ahead of the man. 

For the next Writers' Holiday, (February 2018) see:

www.writersholiday.net

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have other posts about paintings, the painting holiday in Wales, and Wales. Please bookmark and share your favourite posts.

How streets, roads, and avenues are different

I thought I knew most of these, such as avenues having trees. I was not aware that the American Beltway is what in England would be called a Circular Road (like the North Circular).

North and South Circular
In London, as you drive around the North Circular, it disappears and you are on the South Circular, same road. This once confused me, when somebody said they lived on the North Circular, and they were actually a few streets into the South Circular, but hadn't thought to tell me that the street changes names and carry on until you reach their house.

Oxford Street
Americans should watch out for the fact that you must use the word street after a street name. In London one of the main streets is called Oxford Street. Why? Because it eventually goes to Oxford - at least it used to do so. However, if you are looking for Oxford Street, and you ask for Oxford, you may get sent to the nearest railway station instead.

Parkway
In America a Parkway has nothing to do with parking. It was originally or is still a road with a park or green garden-like area alongside.

Median (Strip)
What the Americans call a median strip, in England I would call a central reservation.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Pinner Festive Lights On Gables And Trees

Pretty Pinner, historic Pinner. Pinner, Middlesex, a suburb of North West London. At the bottom of the road is Pinner station on the Metropolitan line if you want to visit Pinner by train. Pinner is also proud of the newly opened Heath Robinson Museum in Pinner Park, which is opposite the railway station.

Photos by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. 2016.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Visit Cedar Park, given to Harrow by Mr Blackwell of Crosse and Blackwell Pickles

I had often driven past the grand gateway and magnificent cedar trees on the Uxbridge Road opposite the Bannister Sports Ground named after Roger Bannister who ran the four minute mile. I had not realised that the cedar park is so pleasant nor that it has such an interesting history.

I like to take a walk every day for health reasons and one day decided I should take a daily walk in a local park of place of interest. The map of north west London's Harrow region offers many walks. You can walk the loop from Hatch End railway station, as far as Grimsdyke House hotel, which was once the home of Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan fame.

But I didn't want to walk for half a day. And I had got tired of walking around shopping centres. So I decided to explore some of the parks and earn their history.

The Cedars

The grand gates set between elaborate pillars and curved railings either side are now closed. But you have a choice of entry points, such as the one in a side road offering free parking next to the youth centre.

Near the entrances are panels telling you the history of the park. It was once the home of Mr Blackwell who founded the Crosse and Blackwell pickle company. Mr Blackwell's neighbour was another world famous man, Gilbert, the local magistrate, better known as the writer of the words for Gilbert and Sullivan operas.

both Crosse and Blackwell have fine Mausoleums further along the Uxbridge Road near the entrance to All Saints Church. Inside the church is a bust to Gilbert. Gilbert is not buried there. His wife was cross with him because he died after saving their a young girl, their protege, a young singer and her friend, who had been swimming in the nude in the mansion's garden lake and got into difficulties. The exertion and excitement gave Gilbert a heart attack it would seem.

Gilbert and his wife were buried alongside each with a fine gravestone recalling them and the singer who inherited from them, who is also buried there.

Apparently Gilbert and Blackwell exchanged words when Blackwell's dog ran into Gilbert's land. You can read all about these families on the Harrow Council website and in Wikipedia.

I walked all around the park with my tree guide trying to identify the trees. Of course I could recognise an oak. But what kinds of fir was the fine tall tree with the cones. Silly me, or course it must be the tree which gives its name to the park a cedar.

I must admit that I could hear noise from the nearby Uxbridge Road. But nonetheless it was a very refreshing and peaceful walk.

In addition to giving this land to Harrow for the use of the public, and being buried in the churchyard of the church next to the former Leefe Robinson pub, Blackwell gave the area the land for St Anselm's church in Hatch End, another fine old building surrounded by grand trees.

I was looking for a picture of Blackwell's house. What a pity it is not still standing.

The gates along suggest it must have been a wonderful building.

Photos by Angela Lansbury.

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

How To Make Friends And Chat Whilst Travelling

Wear a badge which says, I want to chat. What a great idea. Not chat on social media, but chat to a real person near you.
What a great idea.

I love chatting to people.

A Singapore Taxi Chat
Sitting in a taxi to the airport, I got chatting to the taxi driver. The first comment I/we made was about noticing a new housing development. That led to discussing cutting down the jungle to make way for more houses.

What did the taxi driver think? More housing was needed, he conceded. Then he added an amusing and insightful comment on changing times. "Old Prime Minister (Lee Kwan Yew) planted trees. His son cut them down."

So true; so funny.

You can follow this train of thought in many directions. That each generation does the opposite of the previous generation. That the reason is that everybody wants to be different. That it's the swing of the pendulum. Sons rebelling against fathers.

Planting
In a country, developing and planting faces the same problems as when you plant a garden, as we did in London, England. First you have not enough greenery, not enough shade, not enough plants, so you plant trees and bushes. For a brief period things are just right.

But a few years later the trees are too tall and the bushes are merging and the grass is growing knee-highs if you don't spend every week cutting it down. Soon you are constantly pruning the trees and cutting down the bushes. Finally, you have to cut down the trees you planted.

I could write a poem or a PhD thesis or a book about this, just inspired by one sentence from a Singapore taxi driver. What pleasure from talking to stranger. I am an extravert and love talking to strangers. Maybe I should get a badge. If you get one, maybe one day I shall talk to you.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/i-talk-to-strangers-the-badge-campaign-encouraging-humans-to-actually-engage-with-one-another-a7319996.html

Rain and greenery in sunny, rainy Singapore

The rain in England and Ireland and Singapore and on one side of a mountain in many countries results in a luxurious cover of green trees, shrubs and flowers on the wild and cultivated land.

In Singapore you have jungle, a mass mixture of trees and shrubs and climbers, palm trees and all kinds of trees.

The cultivated trees and plants in condominiums and public areas are also a constant delight.

The lower two pictures are taken in the centre of Singapore, at the crossroads of Orchard Road and Scotts, facing the modern Ion shopping mall building covered in greenery, over the central Orchard MRT underground railway station, and the more tradition tower over Tangs department store.
Photos by Angela Lansbury copyright.

Trees In Singapore, Umbrella Signs and Motor Cycle Shelters

I love the trees in Singapore. They arch across the road providing shade and shelter.
I had heard of rain trees but was puzzled by the umbrella roadsigns on the motorway driving through the city. A motorcyclist explained: The signs are telling motorcyclist that they can shelter under a bridge a certain number of yards ahead. So slow down ready to take shelter. Surely you can shelter under any bridge? No. You would be either blocking traffic or in danger of being hit. The motorcyclists refuge are to one side under the bridge and separated safely from the slow lane of traffic on the left by barriers.

Why don't they have that in other countries? Because the rain is not so torrential and the bridges aren't necessarily new and big enough for the shelters to be built. What's more Singapore has a huge number of bridges throughout the city near enough to each other for there to be a nearby bridge for the motorcyclists to take cover.

Trees you should see on your travels and what they give you

As you travel you see trees which provide shade in summer and a pleasant environment. They also contribute to your country's economy, and that of the country where you are taking a trip. Here are some examples:

Maple Trees And Maple Syrup
The maple trees you see in Canada provide maple syrup. Most of the world's maple syrup comes from Canada. Maple trees grow in other countries but it is not economic to make maple syrup. The Canadian maple tree provides maple syrup, contributing to their economy, brightens up my breakfast porridge in London and Singapore, supplies supermarket shelves around the world (it's there, if you look for it). The maple trees contribute to the colours of autumn or fall, as one says in Canada and the USA. It is the symbol on the flag and on many souvenirs you buy in Canada and overseas.

Apple Trees and Apple Cider
In America apple trees were supposedly spread by Johnny Appleseed who marched along, eating apples, and dropping the cores and spreading the pips. Apple trees provide apples.

England is famous for Cox's orange pippins. Gardens in England often have apple trees.

In London we also have the French apple Golden Delicious.

Cider, and Calvados (apple brandy, distilled) are made in Northern France where you can buy them from places doing tours and their shops, as well as trying them in restaurants.

Increasingly over the last decade we have been importing apples from Australia and New Zealand which were never known in England in the 1950s and 1960s in my late parent's life as young marrieds post world war II. You will see Gala apples and Pink Lady in the UK. They are now everyday items in Tesco and Waitrose and other supermarkets in the UK.

From Australia we get Granny Smith's. You pass the place where Granny Smith grew her apples on a coach tour south of Sydney, Australia.

Pear Tree Products
In England pear trees are less common, but also get planted alongside the apple trees in English garden. (Alas the pear tree in my old home in England has died this year, after getting some kind of patchy orange spot blight on the leaves last year.)

In Northern France they grow pear trees making perry. Some Calvados has pear juice mixed. (I asked my wine expert who Pay d'ays and poe jontais? has pear juice too. I shall look that up later today.

Cherry Trees and Kirsch
Cherry trees are a feature of Washington DC in the USA in spring time. The trees were given by Japan as a peace offering after the end of WWII. We also have a lot of cherry trees in London suburbs.

Kirsch is made from cherries.

Almond Trees
Yes, obviously almonds, almonds to eat, as a snack food.

In France I had trout with almonds at a restaurant. The French cake friand can be made with almonds. I tried a friand with almond and lemon in London. (See my previous post.) Apparently, according to an article quoted in Wikipedia, the friands are also popular in Australia and New Zealand. I must admit I never noticed them in Australia or New Zealand. Perhaps they were there but not mentioned by name, or I saw the name but was not as interested and intrigued then as I am now.

In England, a great chocolate eating country, we have Cadbury's fruit and nut chocolate.

Many cakes are contain ground almonds. Macaroons.

You can also make almond flour and almond milk.

Walnut Trees
Walnut trees provide walnuts to eat. Walnut wood is used for furniture.

Olive Trees
You see olive trees in hot countries. I saw olive trees in Malta. I had not taken much notice of the gnarled trees lining the streets until I noticed loves underfoot.

Palms, pines, pineapples, dates, coconuts
Add pine trees, pine nuts, palm oil plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia, coconut palms, date palms providing dates all around the Mediterranean, which are imported from Morocco, and Israel, especially popular at Christmas but available all year.  Coconuts provide coconuts to eat, coconut milk to drink in Singapore and Malaysia and Thailand at restaurants and hotels and from roadside stalls. I took a tour of a pineapple plantation and canning factory in Hawaii. Pine furniture is available  , increasingly taken over from other woods.

English Oaks and Other Woods
The English oak tree was used for building boats and making furniture. In the USA many houses are built with wooden frames. Plus of course floorboards, beams, floorboards, fittings and furniture and finally wooden fences around property.

Scandinavian Fir Trees
From Norway we get the Norway spruce, the Christmas tree which appears in Trafalgar square in London every Xmas time.

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

Christmas Card Collections and the big one in Manchester, England

Christmas card collection is at Manchester Metropolitan University (former Poly), in the Sir Kenneth Green library. I remember his name by thinking of the colour Green.

The first Christmas card in England was commissioned by Mr Cole. I remember his name by thinking of coal black. He had helped set up the penny post, so printing greeting cards was a smart marketing move ,creating demand for the post. The first batch printed was a thousand cards, and they printed another thousand.

That was in 1843. About thirty years later, over in America, 1874 to be precise, the unfortunately named Mr Prang did not have a prang but a great success. Did he outdo the English by printing a million cards? No he didn't. He printed 5 million cards!

Here are some modern Christmas cards:

I have been researching everything to do with Christmas because I am giving a speech about Christmas items - cards, carols, crackers, food and trees.

See more about the Christmas card collection in Wikipedia.
For more about me, follow my posts, follow me on Facebook, link to me on Linked in and see me on Youtube. My books are on Amazon and Lulu.com and you can buy them from me and get a signed copy if you meet me at a writers' or speakers' meeting or holiday.

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

Spring flowers - daffodils in London, cherry blossom California and Japan

In London we always have daffodils in March. Weather can vary and change quickly. A fortnight ago it was chilly with flooding. Now the flowers are out.
    When I was a teenager we were in the garden in March. In 1979 when I was pregnant I looked out of the hospital window and saw snow. The following week I was walking into a block of flats wearing slippers.
   This year in London in March you can see yellow daffodils, white and pink camellias, and yellow forsythia bushes, and pink cherry blossom on the trees.

UK garden flowers in the garden in March 2014.

UK garden flowers close up, cut and in a kitchen table vase in March 2014.

Forsythia bushes make a big splash of yellow in gardens.

 Camelias

   In the USA you will see lots of cherry trees because the Japanese sent cherry trees to Washington DC as a post-war peace offering.
On the other side of America the annual Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival® will be on Saturday and Sunday April 12-13 and April 19-20, 2014. Celebrate Japanese and Japanese American culture in San Francisco’s Japantown!