Prosecco - in Trieste, Italy

Prosecco is the cost effective alternative to Champagne for Valentine's Day celebrations and weddings, and as an aperitif.  Prosecco is also a good value ingredient for cocktails such as a Bellini, a Bucks Fizz or Mimosa.

The name comes from Prosecco, originally a village, now a suburb of Trieste. The word meant a cut path through a wood.
Prosecco is increasingly popular, available widely in restaurants and pubs in England, and in Italy.

New Costa Coffee in Hatch End

A dream come true - raspberry and almond bake, a cake with real bits of almond. Hurray!

Look at that almond on top. And the solid bits of almond in the middle. Don't look at the calorie count. (You can find the calorie count on the company website. I could not find the new branch on the Costa website.) But I phoned them for their postcode - see the end of this post.

The new Costa Coffee is settling in to Hatch End.

So handy. For a mid-morning snack. A break. A meeting. A chat. Parking somebody whilst at the dentist or doctors.

The usual good Espresso Doppio (double espresso) can panne (with a spiral of cream on top). The raspberry and almond bake was square, unlike the long bar I used to buy to take away in Brent Cross. Delicious, diet-breaking, probably from a dieters point of view, the smaller the better.

Service today was not smiling, unlike the last time I was there when they just opened, but maybe when they have been open longer and are more confident the new staff will be jollier. I was glad to be able to use a Costa card.

There are tables by the front window, some down the sides (one under a fan struck somebody as cold and draughty - must say I didn't notice that. At the back is a big mural and some square tables which I usually prefer. On the other hand you might prefer to a choose a cosy, round table for two, for a quick coffee, isolated from others.

You are secluded from the street at the back. Facing the back you get a view of the kitchen intermittently.  My first thought was that I did not want to be looking at the kitchen. But I was soon fascinated by the kitchen contents, the table top mini dishwasher which seemed to have a hose.

Whilst waiting for somebody you can read the free newspapers, the Daily Mail or The Times.

Big disabled loo handy for wheelchairs, or any other kind of disability, for the walking wounded or convalescent visiting nearby doctors such as not being able to twist.

Opening hours are amazingly early, from 6.30 to 20.00 Monday to Friday and Sat 07.00 to 20.00 and Sun 08.00 to 18.00. That will be handy in summer for those who are up with the sun.

The receipt invites you to give them feedback on your visit, by going onto their website costafeedback.co.uk or by text.

They have high chairs as you can see. I was sorry to leave, and only got disturbed by the noise of children when I looked up from engrossing articles in the newspaper. They had the Daily Mail and The Times on the day we visited.

You can buy a Costa brand tall travel flask and coffee maker.

Where is it? This one is in Hatch End. Another larger one is nearby in Pinner (opposite where Woolworth's used to be).

Go onto the website to find a branch near you. They are all over London, Singapore, the world.

Costa Coffee, 336 The Broadway, Uxbridge Road, Hatch End HA5 4HR
Tel:020 8428 8503.

German words you already know: angst to kindergarten and more

Angst - anxiety or grief
delicatessen
ersatz - fake
grosse - large
gut - good
ist -is
ja - yes
kaufman surname meaning shop-keeper
kindergarten
klein small as in the music title eine kleine nachtmusik a little night music
mann - man
shneider - surname meaning taylor
wunderbar wonderful 

Valentine's Day - surprise

February is Valentine's Day month. I recall being in Singapore for the month of February and visiting several Toastmasters International Speakers' clubs. At the first club meeting I attended, the theme was Valentines and the table topics master asked, What would you do on Valentine's Day? What is the best restaurant for Valentine's Day? Where would you go, what was the best gift, and so on. She/he - I forget which - was looking for ideas.

When I went to live in America our son came home from school with a birthday card for Mummy, and he wanted to make a card for his teacher, which he said all the schoolchildren were doing. I was surprised, because in those days in the UK Valentine's Day cards were only for the unmarried and courting. But marketing has amazing success. If you can create greetings cards, fill restaurants, sell jewellery and gifts and cookie cutters and cups with messages about Valentine's Day or hearts, you will sell them to children and adults, the young and the old, the single and married, anybody who wants to part with money for a message or a product with red and hearts.

If you can spread love and happiness, why not. I have friends all over the world who celebrate in different ways.

 I shall probably attend at lest two events, or go to two venues, this month, which will have heart decorations or Valentines as their theme. In fact, many supermarkets worldwide, in fixed locations and on the internet, will have hearts. Feel free to send me pictures of products, cards and venues.

Here's a photo from the UK.

Berlin's Maritim ProArte Hotel

A large hotel and conference centre. With pool and artworks.

www.maritim.de

My Favourites From Escorted Tours

A brochure of escorted tours offers some great destinations at reasonable prices.

The cheapest is seven days in Classical Spain, Seville, Cordoba and Granada, but I've already done that. My favourites are:

Barcelona and the highlights of Catalonia seven days from £749 per person. You fly into Barcelona but that's saved until last.

My second wish list is the Santiago, Bilbao and the highlights of Castile and Leon, eight days from £849 per person.

timyriviera.co.uk

French words - in our bureau by the portmanteau, we made our rapprochement

The Sunday Times, the British version, is still a great source of word from French, Greek, Latin and worldwide sources. One can sit debating the correct translation, before checking up on various websites translating. We decided Google translate was best.



We started translating the ingredients of humous.
Ingredients are usually easy. Everybody knows petits lois are peas.

Baffling - h u i l e  d e  C o l z a
We recognize the word guile as oil. No not guile, dear spell checker, h u i l e ! oil of what?

eventually we find a translation, rape seed oilAt first we were baffled by 50 % m o i n s  d e gras  (I had to separate the letter to stop spellchecker grabbing this word and changing it). Did it mean less than 50 per cent fat, or at least fifty per cent fat?
After several attempts to translate, we found the English elsewhere on the packet. It meant something which sounds just as odd in English as in French. Fifty per cent less.

per cent - two words, one word - another battle with the spell checker and another English word which sound like it might be of French origin

Here are a few French words I found today. I have not counted Cirque du Soleil - circle or circus of sun, the name or brand name of a circus without animals, great acrobats and music, avante grade - another set of French words. De is of. Du is of the masculine, whilst the French feminine form would be de la. Le soleil. Du soleil. The sun, masculine, of the sun.

bureau - a wooden chest of drawers, a desk, but also an office, especially one which welcomes enquiries and puts people in touch with services, as in bureau de tourism - I keep adding an e at the end of this word but spell checker keeps removing the last letter.

portmanteau - briefcase? old fashioned dresser? real and metaphor.

rapprochement - reconciliation.

Finally, mon Dieu - my god.
But c'est la vie. That's life.