New Year Worldwide, Daily Mail, Wikipedia, Express

First Fireworks for New Year 2015, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia, starting 11 am on Dec 31st 2014 GMT (Greenwich Mean Time - London, UK).

Australia is the place to enjoy fireworks in warmer weather.


In the UK with frost outside in the morning, I do what I did at ski resorts in the USA, wear ski clothes. Ski jacket are great for cold days, with zips, warm cuffs, outside and inside pockets, jolly colours bright enough to be seen by traffic when crossing roads at night.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2892275/Let-party-begin-World-prepares-massive-New-Year-s-Eve-celebrations-2015-set-start-bang.html

I looked on Wikipedia to see if there were any copyright free pictures of the New Year 2015.

Wiki has lots from 2014 or earlier.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=new+year's+eve+fireworks+2014&qpvt=New+Year%27s+Eve+Fireworks+2014&FORM=VDRE

My favourites so far (10 pm UK time) are Sydney over the harbour bridge and along the river, seen from the air of course, then Dubai, with lights shooting up the centre of the skyscraper and coming out of the sides like a double comb or double fountain.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-30640656

Here's the video to fireworks 2011 around Big Ben in London:
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=image+happy+new+year+fireworks&qpvt=image+happy+new+year+fireworks&FORM=VDRE#view=detail&mid=2498EB7360253018C8FD2498EB7360253018C8FD

Around the world fireworks:
http://www.express.co.uk/pictures/galleries/2493/Happy-New-Year-2015/People-watch-as-Dubai-celebrates-the-New-51830

London is cold New Year's Eve - time for mulled wine - and TV from Australia

London is cold coming up to New Year's Eve. I took this sign outside Bar None in Upper Regent street earlier this month. £3.95 for mulled wine, with 50p of your money donated to Save the Children.

A public fireworks display is in the centre of London at midnight. Even if you are nowhere near the main display, or others, you are likely to see fireworks overhead as you walk or drive home, or especially from an upstairs bar or restaurant or hotel room. Take warm clothes and keep them handy even if you are indoors in case somebody suddenly decides let's go outside, let's go on the patio, in the garden, on the roof terrace, whatever. 

The entrances to the underground railway stations will be very crowded just after midnight as everybody decides to go home - or go on to another party. When I was there last year it took about ten to fifteen minutes just to get into the station. The street had a huge queue marshalled by tape barriers with police with walkie talkies direction the crowds. So add that to your travelling time. 

Seeing the huge stationery or slow-moving lines of people, we went back to the bar -restaurant where we had had dinner and drinks earlier, and waited another 15 minutes. We considered walking to another station but went back to the first one. 

On the internet you can already see the celebrations worldwide, starting in Australia and New Zealand, then Asia, then Europe, then UK and Scotland, finally west coat USA then West coast USA.

What do you need to celebrate at home whilst watching the world as an armchair traveller? Champagne - great deals from supermarkets such as Lidl and Aldi. Party poppers. 

Fun candles from Poundland shop.

www.poundland.co.uk

"Poundland is the largest single price value retailer in the UK, with over 500 stores offering a great range at Amazing Value!"

What can you eat with your champagne? Panettone - mine's from Fellini in Hatch End. Fellini and the other Italian restaurants will be having parties tonight. How do you remember the spelling of Fellini and Penettone? Fellini - double ll like legs eleven (as they call in UK Bingo halls). Panettone - think Pa-net-tone. Or Pa-nett-one. Pa-netto-ne. Pane-TT-one.

Or keep looking at the word and spell it aloud three times. There are two letters N, two letter E, two letters N, but the N is at both ends separated by the double TT. Pa-NE-TT-0-NE.

Happy New Year!

Boxing Day Sales But Xmas Decorations Until Jan 6th

Boxing Day is Dec 26th, the day after Christmas Day in the UK. In olden times the servants would go round to the boss's manor or mansion with a box hoping for donations of money, maybe leftover food. It was the day those who worked in the grand house cooking and serving could have the day after off to be with their own families.

Boxing Day is a second day off work in the UK and several of the old Commonwealth countries.

Boxing Day sales start in the shops. If you don't like crowds, Boxing Day sales start on line and are extended as Boxing Week until New Year.

In Singapore the Xmas decorations come down on malls because they are no longer selling Xmas goods which were prolific in the run-up to Christmas. However, in many places Xmas decorations stay up until 12th night, Jan 6th.

French words of the day for Christmas Day - Buche de Noel to pourboire - rsvp

noel - Xmas
buche de Noel - Xmas log cake (chocolate roll)
bouche - mouth(flu)
rsvp
repertoire
ballet
bouquet
encore
pourboire (tip - literally for a drink - money for a drink)
canape
aperitif
palette
buffet

Armchair Travels: Trompe l'oeil Murals In Paris Streets

I read an article about hidden picturesque places in Paris, cobbled side streets and alleys with green corners. One place featured was Rue Cremiex which the brief caption said had trompe l'oeil murals. But no pictures of the murals.

So I typed the street name into my browser (online searcher) and up pop some pictures. One is of a mating of wisteria over the door, apparently growing up from a glower pot on the right which looks as if it is a real one. I think the pot is real, to add to the illusion. The caption says that it's a wisteria which never needs pruning.

Another photo shows a cat apparently leaping from one balcony to another.

A third photo shows a mock interior scene of a lady's double bed. Rather like Banksy's graffiti in the UK and now other countries by him or imitators.

http://blog.parisattitude.com/paris-tourism/loveliest-streets-paris.html?

https://geolocation.ws/v/W/File:Rue%20Crémieux,%2021.jpg/-/en

Prov=Taboolahttp://www.bing.com/images/search?q=rue+creieux+trompe+l'oeuil&qpvt=rue+creieux+trompe+l%27oeuil&FORM=IGRE

en.wikipedia.org/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trompe_l'oeil.html

In many restaurants you will find images of scenes looking outside through an imaginary window. This is used to create a feeling of space on a wall without windows, and to create the illusion that you are in the country of the cuisine served, in Italy, or perhaps a particular area. Here's Fellini Caffe Restaurant in Hatch End, NW London.

Inside the murals create the illusion of windows onto Italian scenes.

Sometimes both inside and outside have themes. The wall below is the outside of a building in south London.

This is also done in restaurants in hotels in Las Vegas where a complex has a theme.


I was hunting all over the internet for an out of copyright image of tromple l'oeil when I found the pictures of tromple l'oeil wallpaper. then I realised I had a whole trompe l'oeil wall in the living room a few feet away. I can tell you that an entire wall of tromp l'oeil is most amusing when you are newlywed and have almost no furniture. It fills up the wall.

Five, ten, twenty years later, a wallpaper mural is a dreadful nuisance. The vista of the garden looks great with potted plants and even a bamboo chair in front of it. But try to move your upholstered settee, drinks cabinet or bookcase in front and the illusion of space and outdoors is ruined and the whole effect is mis-matched and incongruous in style, (rustic and intellectual) space (outdoors and indoors), country (English garden and Oriental furniture, or Japanese garden and imitation Louis IV furniture) or both geography and time - Italian 1950s fishing village and English year 2000 modern furniture.

How about paining your own?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2196536/Talented-artist-banned-painting-murals-house-council-ONE-person-complained.html

Never been to the Sistine Chapel? Neither had this retired decorator. He saw it in a book and copied it, not in a grand mansion but a Council House.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2451860/Retired-decorator-paints-house-look-like-Sistine-Chapel.html


Angela Lansbury is a travel writer and photographer, author, speaker. See more about Angela Lansbury author and poet, on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Lulu.com

Happy Christmas - Time Worldwide

The Australians are already celebrating Xmas or New Year when families in London, England are hearing their alarm clocks and opening their eyes. Americans are still snoozing when Londoners are having lunch. That is the delight of the time zones. You can turn on your TV and celebrate all day by watching celebrations the other side of the world, travelling in time on your computer screen.

Happy holidays everybody!

Here are some of my favourite pictures:

Christmas for me is never to soon

I buy my presents at sales in June

The high street tree's lit in November

The spare room's cluttered by December

I've last year's tree and last year's hats

This year people are dressing their cats

A month of parties, I'm perfectly dressed

I've learned the trick, I'm so impressed

I used to find fun so hard

By December the first I've sent the cards

On the carousel of the Christmas whirl

Yes, this year, Santa, I'm such a good girl

We're planned, prepared, not much to do

Merry Christmas from all of us to you.

by Angela Lansbury copyright Xmas day dec 25 2014

Author, comic poetry, books, speeches, trainer.

Where To See The Whiskey Barrel Tree and Jack Daniels and Music City

In December 2014 i saw the barrel tree on a poster on Oxford Circus underground station in London. Jack Daniels Whiskey build a whiskey barrel tree at their HQ in Tennesse, USA.

The company have been sending barrels to Britain for some time. They used to send their used barrels to Scotland.

But in recent times they have been sending barrels to London, England, for decorative purposes to build a tree which is displayed from November through the Christmas period. The company is also involved in promoting music in the UK. See their website.

If you get to visit the Jack Daniels Distillery in the USA, here's what you might see in Lynchburg and Tennessee.

Statue of Jack Daniels. (Photo from Wikipedia article.)

Jack Daniels in the USA runs tours all year. 

The outdoor tour takes about one hour ten minutes and includes steps so you will need outdoor walking shoes and clothes. 

Another tour includes a tasting, for which a charge is made.

More information from http://www.jackdaniels.com/visit

If, like me, you are armchair travelling today, take a look at whiskey barrel furniture. You can have furniture made from barrels turned into tables, barrel drinks cabinets, and trugs - trays with upright handles, or chairs.

http://www.oakbarrel-furniture.co.uk

Barrels can also be used for gardens, as rain barrels, water features containing miniature lily ponds, containers for three level three size stepped fountains, and full size or half barrel troughs for plants.

A barrel tree was built in Covent Garden last year (2013) using white oak barrels, covered in lights and topped with a seasonal star. 

Angela Lansbury is a travel writer, photographer, author, blogger and speaker.