Apologizing and attracting someone’s attention in German - Collins Dictionary Language Blog

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Apologizing and attracting someone’s attention in German - Collins Dictionary Language Blog: Most of us know when we have to say sorry, but when we’re not speaking our own language, it’s important … Continued

Why do you need to know Chinese? - Chinese numbers one to three in less than three minutes

 Why do you need to recognize Chinese signs even if you cannot speak a word? So you can identify the correct sex of toilets in China, Hong, Kong, Taiwan, China (same writing symbols), or a restaurant in Chinatown anywhere in the world.

I went into the Gents in China.

Chinese writing is easier than you might think. Do you know Roman numbers? One, two, and three. Uprights. Like holding up your fingers? What about Chinese?

Chinese is not the same as Roman writing. The exact opposite. The Roman numbers one to three  are vertical. The Chinese numbers one to three are horizontal.

Useful Websites

About the Author

Angela Lansbury teacher of English (advanced and English as a Second Language or English as a Foreign Language, French and other languages, aspiring polyglot.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Member of many toastmasters  speaker training clubs and speaking contest judge.

Angela Lansbury, the author of 20 books including Wedding Speeches & Toasts, and Quick Quotations, has lived in the USA, Spain and Singapore. 

She  has several blogs and writes daily on at least two of the following:

travelwithangelalansbury.blogspot.com

dressofthedayangela.blogspot.com

translateforfun.blogspot.com

 Please share links to your favourite posts.

Pronunciation. Flowers? That's what I thought they were bringing.

Do you ever have trouble understanding somebody else's pronunciation?

I was in a block of flats in London when the bell rang on the intercom from outside the front door.

I put on the chain, then opened the door and cautiously peered out. 

 A well-spoken girl said, "We're from the residents' association and we'd like to give you some flowers."

  I was suspicious. I was not expecting them, neither the flowers, nor the people. They did not know my name. They did not say the name of the residents' association.
   The porters at the block are very security conscious. You cannot have a key copied at the local key shop without a letter from the porter saying you are a resident. 

   So I did not let the callers in. I told them, "You have to ask the porter permission to knock on doors." I've heard of con tricks. People pretend to deliver flowers. A woman in the UK was killed by somebody hiding behind a huge bunch of flowers.

  Later I met a young man and woman outside the front door. I asked, 'What are you doing?" 

The young woman said, 'We're handing out leaflets.' She passed me three different leaflets. I glanced at the causes being promoted.
     Then I asked, "Do I get some flowers? You said to me earlier you had some flowers."
     For a moment they looked puzzled. Then the girl laughed, "Not flowers. Sorry, no flowers. We were bringing flyers!'"

Singlish and English

Singlish off the light
English turn the light off

Singlish I'll pick you at the airport
English I'll pick flowers
I'll pick you up at the airport

Singlish having an off day
English having a day off

A and The, a man and mankind

A and The

charity - means a generic term, a type of activity, the concept of charity, as opposed to profit making e.g. I give to charity but not to big business. 

‘A' charity is one charity, such as Oxfam. Oxfam is a charity. Like a football team. 

'The' means the one I mentioned previously, or the important one. 

We live in ‘a' united kingdom, in my opinion, although perhaps our Welsh and Scottish friends would disagree. We live in ‘The' United Kingdom. Capitals for an official name, rather than a type or concept. Use ‘The' because it is THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN etc.   

‘a' good and relevant charity (meaning a or one company).

change 'nearly been to all’   (nearly before been modifies the verb to go/be/ which sounds like you were at the airport and turned back) to   'been to nearly all’

A Man

a man is one man.

A man landed on the moon.

A man - one of many.

The moon - only one moon, as far as we are concerned. Many moons ago. Many moons. But the moon where the man landed. 

Think of it as THE VIP.

So in a short story the first mention of an unnamed man or animal could be a.

A man walked in with a cat. The lady receptionist (the meaning only one receptionist, the VIP here - asking our man questions) asked the man's name. Now the man is called the man because we have mentioned him before and the fact we have described him twice shows he is becoming important.

   'My name is Whittington. Dick.'

    Yes, he's VIP hero of our story, Dick Whittingon, Lord Mayor of London. He was the lord mayor. (Only one at that time.)

   You might use the word a before you know the name of a person. Or to show you know nothing else about them. 

  For example, a Mr John Smith came in.

Angela's Poems On Fire and Pleasure Of Poetry Performed At Church

Harrow Writers Circle work chosen for performance on 26^th September at All Saints Church at 8pm

A Winter’ Imagination: by Indra Sikdar

Fire:

The Pleasure of Poetry: both by Angela Lansbury

Her Countryman:

Time Suspended:

Nature’s Promise: all by Elise Harvey

Balance of the Mind: by Jennie Willetts

The Secret:

Whose Round Is It Anyway? Both by John Samson

Above Suspicion: by Julia Underwood

The Last of Eden by John Waddell

All my Glory:

Dreaming of the Moon:

Well I Can Dream: all by John Monaghan

The above works were all chosen by the Bearfoot Performance Company.

We hope to see you all there to

watch the performance.

As you approach the church down the main path you see sculptures on the grass between the graves and decorations on the seats.

I also found a quotation from a lovely poem on a gravestone. I later went on the web and found the whole poem in various versions, the wording changed to suit fond memories of a mother, father, son whoever.

Within the church is a memorial to the sons (lost in the Great War) of the Blackwell family of Crosse and Blackwell, whose large memorials are outside to the right of the entrance.

A fine carving on the All Saints Church inside wall recalls Gilbert, of Gilbert & Sullivan fame. He wrote the witty words for the operettas, living up the road in what is now Grim's Dyke hotel (which has a wonderful restaurant called Gilbert's - see my reviews on my blogs and trustedplaces.com/yell.com).

Leefe Robinson, local hero of WWI then called the Great War, is buried in the cemetery extension over the road, and recalled in a photo exhibit of news cutting in the Leefe Robinson pub next door to the All Saints church.

What a lot you can do with poetry: write a poem for a gravestone, read a poem at a funeral, print it in the funeral programme, perform it at an arts festival in a church, or convert it into a song.

My poem about fire was inspired by a fire in my neighbour's garden. You can see the photo of the red flames of the fire and black smoke rising like a corkscrewing tornado, billowing and spreading large as a cloud on one of my blogs. That blog also shows a photo of the fire woman who put out the fire, and the fire engine advertisement which directed me to the London Fire Brigade website which has tips on fire prevention at home.

We once had a fire in an electric blanket - while in bed. I tried beating the fire down. Then it started again. Realised you need to turn off the electric current. Check blankets every three years. And have I and you? Oops.

I'd love to have a video of my poem being read, on YouTube, with a link to the Fire Brigade site.

Pudding Party at Art Exhibition Distance Travelled/Time Taken at All Saints Church, Harrow Weald

Pudding Party at Art Exhibition Distance Travelled/Time Taken at All Saints Church, Harrow Weald.

See the Black Hole.

Photograph yourself holding a leaf.

Monday night Sept 26th 2011 Harrow Writers' Circle members' poetry and writing is performed by the Bearfoot Performing Arts - drama through word and performance.

Several pieces have been chosen from the Harrow Writers' Circle anthology This Is What We Do.

My poem on fire will be read and acted out from a gallery.

Saatchi Gallery Sculptures & Mirrors

Free Exhibition

Free is the first exciting word I associate with the Saatchi Gallery. Free entry.

 

The gallery is in a lovely building like a Greek temple with columns overlooking a lawn. Constant new exhibitions are an entertainment. So is the bookshop.

The Oil Mirror 'Floor' Reflecting the Ceiling

A guided tour by Patty gave insights into one of the permanent exhibits, a floor which seems to be a black mirror, reflecting the walls, windows and ceiling, but is actually a lake, a thin layer, only about 4-5 inches thick, of 'dirty' recycled or used oil - not the flammable oil, you'll be relieved to hear. The room was designed to hold the oil lake. The oil is smelly so the windows are open.

Crushed Cars

The main current exhibition (September 2011) started with two crushed cars, including opened airbags, on pillars. You could walk around the cars.

The Orgy

A group of figures with lots of hands turns out on close inspection to be an orgy with lots of phallic bits. How do you get the whole thing through the doorway? It's actually made in separate bits. You can see how some parts are not fixed onto the bodies.

Clay Which Ages

One sculpture is of clay which has deliberately not been fired. So it is gradually getting older and greyer and developing cracks.

I was invited as a guest of the Singapore Airlines Frequent Flyer programme. We met in the restaurant next door whose back room has a sculpture of a giant shoe.

Several of the frequent flyers were in the oil business.

Getting There

Very easy and convenient. Near the tube station.

I'll add photos and more details later.

Useful Websites

https://www.saatchigallery.com/

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