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Greetings from the cold, locked down east coast of England. It's been a while since I posted, after reading the rest of this entry you'll understand why. My last post on this thread was the end of November, so will pick up from there. I thoroughly enjoyed December in Thailand. It's the first time in my life I've spend Christmas away from the UK. Although I lived in USA for 3 years in the mid 80's we always came home to England for Christmas, to spend it with the extended family. While I loved living in USA, Christmas sucked there. No Boxing Day? WTF? Can't beat going to the pub then the footie on Boxing Day. It was nice to see the apartments I could see from my balcony decorated with Christmas lights and decorations. My apartment block (Grand Condotel) put up trees and some decorations and all the staff got into the Christmas spirit. It was tough being away from my kids and grandkids over Christmas though. While we did have some video calls, not the same as being there. During December I spent a fair bit of time at Le Pub. Really pleased I made some good friends there, enjoyed playing pool with one mate in particular and a couple of the girls. Mr Teacher they used to call me, as I tried to help them improve their game. My stock phrase "think about the white ball". Fell on deaf ears most of the time. I also spent a fair few late afternoons/early evenings in Kit Kat, in Jomtien. Only a shortish walk from my condo. I like the atmosphere in there, got to know the ladies behind the bar and the boss, so had a good time, whether I partook or not. There were a couple that became "regulars", even getting one over to my condo on her day off. I'm still in touch with this one, will have some comments on the girls in general a bit later. In December I also made my first ever sojourn to Soi 6. Unbelievable I hear you say. Well, I loved it. Some great girls there and it wasn't that busy. Went there 4 times and got hold of 4 different mid 20's slim stunners. Great fun and will definitely go back when I return (at some stage) to Thailand. I know there's a lot of politics about certain bars or groups of bars, but I didn't think about any of that and just went to have some fun. Went with a mate the first time, then on my own after that. The only downside for me was it's a bit of a trek from Jomtien, but Grab worked great most of the time. I'd cleared the decks as far as regular girls are concerned, with the exception of the gogo girl, who came round a couple of times a week at lunch time for a session before she went to work. That worked great and she was a real tiger, especially once I got her to lose the roughness. No more sore helmets thankfully. I was also working on the girl working in a local restaurant. Real stunner, never had a farang bf, 26, but she was hard work. Very conscientious about her job and in high season she was working in the restaurant from 7 am to 10 pm most days. Difficult therefore to have any real time with her. Plus she slept at the restaurant, sharing a room with her real auntie, who was keeping an eye on her. Never managed to get her to stay over unfortunately, but still in touch with her. She's in Sisaket now - the restaurant closed about a month ago due to the virus. I was preparing for my departure, scheduled for Jan 29th. My reasons for going back, at that stage, were two fold. First, my consulting contract finished at the end of Jan and 2nd my mum was going downhill mentally and I'd always said after the 6 months I'd go and spend some time with her before deciding what to do long term. However, I decided to extend by a couple of weeks, primarily because my 6 month lease expired on Feb 12th. When I first arrived in August I stayed in the Evergreen Wing of the Areca for 11 or 12 nights, found the condo during that time, so signed a 6 month lease from August 12th. I'd already paid for the rental until Feb 12th and checking with BA they had availability and it was only £150 to change my flight. No brainer and avoided the horrible January/February English weather for another couple of weeks. I've read some horrific stories about Thai landlords, particularly non-return of deposits. But I must say my landlord was brilliant and still swapping messages with him now. It was a young Thai guy who was living with his English father (at least they told me they were father and son, never really got to the bottom of that). He looked 100% Thai to me, but the English guy said it's his son from a long finished relationship with a Thai woman. The English guy was 78, from Bristol, a bit doddery, but a nice guy. The Thai "son" was obviously his front for owning a number of condo's/apartments and also owned and ran a big restaurant. Any issues they fixed immediately, even getting Siemens in to fix the dishwasher as the local guy couldn't fix it as well as getting me the fastest possible broadband, which they paid for every month. I was getting up to 30 mbps, so ideal for my work and tv streaming. They didn't charge me for the extra day (technically my lease expired at midnight on 11th Feb). My flight was at 11.15 am, so got a cab to pick me up at 7 am. They inspected the condo around 8 am and my deposit was returned immediately, arriving in my Thai bank account before I'd even arrived at Swampy. Very impressive. Having said that, I was a good tenant, never caused any problems. If I had, they would have seen and heard anyway as they actually lived in the next door but 1 condo on my level. But they did see various girls come and go throughout the 6 months, the only reaction being a wink. If I come back I would certainly consider staying there again. It was really quiet, which I like, except periodically the noise from various building work in nearby buildings, though the hours they were allowed to make noise was strictly limited. So, a painless departure and arrived back in cold London the evening of Feb 12th. And it was back with a bang. The GM and Regional Director of Grosvener Casino had invited me to a "Welcome back Britboy" party at one of the London casino and organised a 5 star hotel for 2 nights for myself and my business partner. This was arranged for Feb 12th when I was returning on Jan 29th. It was all organised, so when I changed to come back Feb 12th it was that actual night. I arrived at Heathrow at 5.30 pm, the casino had sent a car for me (I was very grateful for that as I had 2 quite large suitcases and my golf clubs). I'd swapped messages with my business partner and his timing was perfect. He'd just arrived at the hotel when my car rolled up. Hadn't seen him for nearly 7 months, a big man-hug then check in, shower/shave and a walk to the casino. I'd arranged for my son to come too and he was bringing his new girlfriend who I hadn't met. The GM and Regional director had also arranged for £1k of complimentary chips to play with, a fantastic dinner and a good few bottles of Malbec, all on the house. We had a great night and crawled into bed about 4 am. As I'd got rid of my car before going to Thailand in August, I'd hired a car for a couple of weeks, so around lunch time the car was delivered and I drove initially to Ipswich as I had another couple of booze up's organised, plus going to the Ipswich game on the Saturday. After all that was done, on the 18th I drove to my mum's house on the coast. I'd called my mum every two or three days from Thailand. I could tell she was deteriorating mentally. At 93, that's understandable of course. I was concerned though as while she did know I was overseas, she was not remembering I was in Thailand. She kept saying "how's Malaysia?" or "how's Indonesia?" And she couldn't get her head around the fact I was 7/6 hours ahead of UK. Every so often I'd wake up in the morning and find a missed call from her at 3 or 4 am Thai time. She'd obviously been sitting watching TV at 8 or 9 pm and called me. There were lots of other examples, so I wanted to come and spend some time with her as well as ensure all her affairs, bills, etc. were in order. Before going to Thailand I got myself on her bank account so I could monitor and make payments for her and some of the suppliers were emailing me invoices. But some couldn't do that and I was sure there would be issues. I arrived on Feb 18th and settled in to the spare room. Of course at this time the virus was starting to take a hold, so I was glad to be with mum as I could see things were only going to get a lot worse on that front. She did have carers coming in every morning for half an hour, to make sure she was ok and set her up for the day, making her breakfast. Luckily her house is next door to a residential care home and I set up the deal with them to visit about 3 years ago. At the same time I organised cleaners to come in once a week. I decided not to change either arrangement. I didn't want to disrupt my mum's routines. While her quality of life wasn't brilliant, mainly due to her failing legs so she couldn't get out on her own, she did enjoy watching tv and reading. She's a very intelligent lady and she still enjoyed learning, family history and general history, particularly of the town she lives. But she was getting very frustrated as her brain wasn't working properly and she knew her forgetfulness was getting worse. It was nice to spend some real time with her, though kept myself to myself the majority of the time. I'd kept all my stuff in storage while in Thailand, so arranged for some of my stuff, including winter clothes and some tech stuff, including my big tv, to be delivered. So along with the android boxes acquired in Thailand I set myself up in the spare room, I upgraded the wifi so I could mole in the room when I needed to. I took her out for a few lunches. She loves the local yacht club and has been a member for years, so took her there once a week. It was a time-consuming effort for her to get ready to go out, but she enjoyed having a nice meal. But mentally it was apparent she was deteriorating quite fast. It culminated one day mid-March when at 11.30 pm I heard her walk past my room. I came out to see her fully dressed with a small bag walking towards the front door. I asked her what she was doing and she said that it was time to go home now. I said "well you are home mum". She said "no, I have to go home to Maidstone Road". This is the road she grew up in, with my grandparents. This was quite a shock and it took ages to persuade her that she was at home. I finally got her back into her bedroom and to bed. I didn't sleep a wink that night, in case she tried it again. All was ok for a few days, but she did exactly the same again on March 26th. This time though she'd managed to sneak past me without me hearing. The first I knew was a phone call from the care home next door, saying they'd seen my mum outside, walking in the middle of the main road!! Thankfully they brought her home. Again, she was trying to get to Maidstone Road. This was getting serious now and I was at a loss to know what to do for the best. The first thing I did was lock the door and keep the key in my pocket. I got her settled again in the lounge. It was around 7 pm. What a nightmare, as she'd sit watching tv for maybe 10 minutes, then try to get out again. She did this at least 20 times throughout the evening. I tried everything. Cajoling, being cross, letting her try to get out but couldn't. Nothing worked and it was a torrid time. Finally, around 10.30 pm I got her into her bedroom and laying on the bed. I closed the door and prayed that would be it for the night. Thankfully it was, but again I didn't sleep a wink, just listening and waiting for her to try it again. Next morning, around 10 am, she did try it again. I had dropped off so didn't hear her walk past my room, but heard the door banging as she was trying to open it. This happened 3 times, each time I got her back into the kitchen/diner, made her a coffee and sat with her. Meanwhile, I was thinking what the hell to do. The virus was in full swing by now and lockdown was in place. I was seriously thinking about calling an ambulance, but what could I tell them? She wasn't "ill" as such. A real dilemma. I went back to my room as I had a bit of work to do. About 10 minutes later, I heard a noise in the conservatory. I pondered for a minute, wondering what it was. Not a loud thud, not a crash, just an odd noise. I decided to check it out and found mum collapsed in between a couple of chairs. She was laying on the floor, unconscious and with laboured breathing. Decision made, 999. The operator said they're really busy because of the virus and said 45 minutes. Shit, not good. Mum didn't move, I made her as comfortable as possible and waited. She was a bit pale, but otherwise there were no other signs of damage. She wasn't bleeding thankfully. The ambulance arrived in 20 minutes and did a quick assessment. They couldn't really diagnose, but it was obvious she needed to go to hospital. Getting her out of the conservatory wasn't easy, but the ambulance guys did a great job and got her on a trolley. I waited outside while they did that. As they wheeled her over the cobbled driveway one of the ambulance drivers asked "is her face normally like that?" The right hand side of her face had dropped, so it was obviously a stroke. She hadn't been like that in the conservatory though. I gave my details and they took her to hospital. I couldn't go as the hospital was on lockdown, which was very frustrating. About 3 hours later the hospital called me to say she has had a severe stroke. Her blood pressure was very high, so they needed to get that down first, before administering drugs to hopefully disperse the clot. They called again the following day to say they'd stabilised her BP and that they had just administered the drugs. It'll take 24 hours to know if it had any effect. With the hospital on lockdown, couldn't go and visit. So bloody annoying. The hospital was a bit frustrating as you'd think with no visitors allowed they'd put in place a system whereby they'd call the relatives of all patients, especially in the stroke unit where my mum was, to give a daily update. No such system. They didn't call the following day and hadn't called by 3 pm the next day, so I got on the phone. It took a while, but finally got through to the ward and got an update. Unfortunately the drugs had no affect, despite them providing a very strong dose. It was clearly a major stroke. It was at this time the hospital needed to know my/our feelings on ongoing care. They asked about DNR and end of life care. I said "how do you expect me to make that kind of decision without even seeing her? I can't make a decision like that without seeing what her condition is for myself". The consultant agreed and said they'd set up a visit for me the following day. A time was arranged and I went in. I arrived and had to get gowned and masked up. The took me to her bed. She was really, really poorly. Her whole right side was shot and it was obvious she couldn't move her right arm or right leg. She was in and out of consciousness and when she was conscious it was only minimal. She did look around a little bit and did look at me. I talked to her and she squeezed my hand, but I'm not sure if she knew it was me. I was masked up, so may have been very confusing for her, if she was aware. It was awful to see her like that. This was on the Wednesday, April 1st. My brother had driven us to the hospital, but he decided he didn't want to go in. The hospital said that he could come in for 15 minutes, but he couldn't face seeing mum in such a poorly state. Thankfully my mum, brother and I had this discussion previously and my mum had said DNR. She had often said over recent months that she wish she could take a pill. So the hospital was told DNR and end of life care. She had already lost a lot of weight when I saw her and I honestly thought she wouldn't last the day. But she was a fighter, despite her not wanting to be here. I guess it shows that the body has a natural ability to fight even if the mind doesn't want to. She battled on for another 4 days. At 10.30 pm on April 5th I got a call to say she was unlikely to last the night, but we couldn't go in. At 11.40 pm I got the call to say it was all over. We were in the same position as all the covid-related deaths and other deaths too, where no visitors allowed. It's horrific. The thought of mum in her last hours being alone in a hospital bed will stay with me for ever. At least I did get to spend a few weeks with her, so I'm so glad I came back from Thailand when I did. Since April 5th I've been sorting out all her affairs, making arrangements and clearing the house. It was a real clutterfest and I'm only just breaking the back of it. Due to all the restrictions of the virus, it was pointless having a funeral. At that time only two people were allowed to attend. I thought it would be better to have her cremated, keep the ashes and have a memorial and celebration of her life later in the year, when the lockdown has eased. In hindsight I'm really happy with that decision, particularly as I've arranged something special for the scattering of her ashes. She loved the sea, the fishing industry where she's lived all her adult life, the lifeboat service and the yacht club. So, we're going to have a short memorial service at a church that's on the cliffs overlooking the north sea, where both my brother and I were Christened and where both my kids were Christened. A short walk away is her favourite pub, again overlooking the north sea, so we'll have a drink for her there. And via contacts I've arranged that the local lifeboat will come to the coast opposite the pub and scatter both her and my dads ashes (that she's kept at home for 25 years) into the north sea. I know both mum and dad would be very pleased about that. The lifeboat will then give a number of loud blasts on the horn. I plan to have a large glass of red wine in my hand when that all happens. I guess the shock and acceptance has now sunk in, though going through all the house has brought back so many memories. I've found so much historic and memorable stuff, including my mum's pigtails that were lopped off when she was evacuated for WW2. Beautiful long blond pigtails, she really did have beautiful hair. It's not been easy getting all the affairs in order, most places closed or on very limited service due to the virus. But got the majority of it done now, just waiting for probate to be granted before I can organise the finances. So now I'm in the process of deciding what to do next. It's going to take a few months to get everything sorted, especially to sell her house. I'm staying here in order to get everything sorted and my brother is doing his bit too. He runs a stall at a local Emporium and he'll be selling a lot of the ornaments and nick nacks that mum had - and there's loads. She also has a stack of old 78 records, some from her and dad's time as teenagers, but many go back to my grandmother. It's been interesting cataloguing them as some are worth a few quid. There's some original Al Jolson and Bing Crosby 78's. It's amazing how heavy they are, compared to the records of today. There's also a lot of really old books, which I'm yet to go through and some original pictures. Providing travel is allowed, I plan on coming back to Thailand in September or October, probably only for a month to start with. It really depends on whether we've managed to sell the house by then, but I think that's unlikely. Probate is going to take 8-12 weeks, at least, to get approved. My retirement visa expires at the end of October, so would like to get that renewed to give me the option to come back long term. Having said that, I've swapped emails with the Agency I use in Pattaya and they've said not to worry, even if I come back after October they can still get me a new retirement visa. But I'd rather avoid that hassle, come back for a month to renew and just chill out after what has been a really hectic 3 months for the reasons explained. So what's my opinion of my 6+ months full time in Thailand, do I want to live there permanently and what did I miss from the UK? I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Thailand. The plus points are the girls and the availability to satisfy carnal desires whenever and with pretty much whomever you like, the weather (this is a positive and a negative for me), the nights out, the fun, the "anything goes" mantra, live football in the bars, some great expats I've got to meet, get to know and enjoy time with (especially you boys at Le Pub, including @misteregg of course), the leisurely breakfasts on Jomtien beach, the trips to Hua Hin and other places around Thailand, the peace and quiet in my condo and the fantastic view over the ocean, playing pool with the girls, some great food and a general relaxed way of life. One major negative for me, while also being a positive, is the weather. For me, it's a positive compared to the horrible weather in England from October to March/April but a negative inasmuch as even in the high season it can get too hot and humid (for me), which breeds lethargy, laziness and a "can't be arsed" attitude. It's annoying having a shower, going out and within 10 minutes sweating like a pig and feeling uncomfortable. Overall though, Thailand wins. Another negative and something that can't be changed of course is the time difference between Thailand and England as far as football is concerned. Saturday is great, with games kicking off at 9 or 10 pm Thai time and I love those nights at Le Pub watching the games live. The problem is the 7.45 pm and 8 pm midweek kickoffs, especially the Champions League games, which are just too late to watch live. The other negatives are minor really, but it's frustrating dealing with the Thai's at times - getting a straight answer, getting an answer to the actual question I've asked, getting the meal I ordered in the correct order, the chateau shite red wine that's served at gogo's (not at your pub Phil, that's very drinkable), greedy girls at gogo's who's only motive is getting lady drinks, dog shit on the paths of Beach Road in Jomtien (and therefore the Soi dogs themselves, they should all be shot), stinking drains, uneven footpaths, the standard of driving, live electric cables hanging head height, Thai's timekeeping and corrupt cops. Overall, Thailand wins. There are negatives in every country, they're just different negatives. The overriding positive for me are the girls. The fact that one can get to know and spend time with lovely girls in their 20's and 30's who treat you as a person, show respect, have a laugh and don't turn their nose up, ignore you and/or treat one like an old pervert as the same aged girls do in the west. I just love their slim bodies, skin, beautiful black hair, personalities and outlook on life. While in UK since February, I've kept in touch with quite a few girls who's contact details I kept. I've really felt for them during the virus crisis, as the government have obviously done diddly to help them. Without exception they've all asked or hinted for money as they don't have anything to survive on if they're not earning from their bars or restaurants. It's a dilemma as they've had a real need with no method of income and no government support. I debated it with myself over a few days and did feel sorry for them. I did help a few of them. Those that I felt warranted it based on their attitudes towards me when I was there and they were so grateful. One has a kid living with her, her husband did a bunk. Another is the restaurant girl who is a longer term project. As mentioned above, her restaurant closed due to the virus and even when they couldn't open the farang boss didn't because it's primarily a farang restaurant and there were very few farang around. She could stay there free of charge, as all the waitresses could before, but they had to buy their own food and contribute to the utility bills. So 3 weeks ago she went back to Sisaket to her grandparents until the restaurant re-opens. She's working on the farm, sending me pics of cows and pigs. She's an absolute stunner, very intelligent (has 2 degrees and she runs the accounts for both the restaurants the owner has) and a solid "good" girl. Well, this post got much bigger than I thought it would, but that's my update. Hope I didn't go off topic in my own thread too much and the sections on my mum got much bigger than I'd intended, but relating the whole episode has been somewhat therapeutic. So, as things stand, I'll be back over in September/October (as long as travel is allowed by then and I don't have to do 14 days quarantine on arrival) so look forward to seeing many of you guys then.

It's a beautiful day so we decided to have a nice little picnic lunch.

Jeez get a life mate, and try upgrading the type of hotels you’re frequenting. 🤔

Creek is getting kind of high. Couple more weeks till peak run off.

Very sorry to hear about your work pal. I have a mate who is currently in hospital with complications from the virus. Unable to visit him and having to get info via his sister. He is only 56 and as far as I know, no major previous health conditions. It brings home as to how serious this is when you have someone close to suffering and not just a remote statistic on the daily news.

Usual omelette for breakfast and a sirloin steak with onions and veg for dinner.

Lambs liver, onion and mash. Cooked the way i like it, in a high pressure wok burner. Liver and onions cooked on a 200,000 btu burner with oyster sauce and maggi seasoning. Gravy in at the end. Amazing smokey flavour, tender liver. The liver blanched in boiling water for 1 minute before cooking in the wok.

Australian striploin. done on the kegaque,hence the hole.

Think it's going to be very sterile ... football without crowds just doesn't seem right , okay for City fans I guess ... 😉

Great update....thanks for the post again and sorry about your Mom. Mine went Dec 10th, I am thankful like you I got to spend some quality time with her along with my wife who for sure, I could not have gotten through this with out her.

My Mum used to keep a notebook with all the major purchases in , year and how much .... I was looking at it last week , my Dads chest freezer in the garage is 45 years old and still going strong 5555

@forcebwithu you put most of the local Pattaya 'news' groups to shame. Great knowledge, well written, photos. Perfecto.

I used to prefer the 50kg of bait found in some WS GoGo bars. Ah, the memories.

Just had my breakfast and a couple of cups of tea, I have had a few freezer problems this past week or so. You would think it easy to buy a new freezer, But during this lockdown they have all been purchased as extra food storage in garages etc. Quite incredible over reaction by the public in my area. I eventually tracked down a company that had a large chest freezer available. It wasn't my first choice of direction to go, but have been forced into it really. Any way, it was delivered yesterday to my garage by two large guys. I spent a good few hours getting it unpacked and moved into position by myself and assembled. It's been running all night. Today I am going to move 100kgs of bait from two other chest freezers into it and that will let me turn then off to defrost.

My poor old eyes are more important than the rest of the furniture, lol....plus I only have 800 sq ft of living space so I have to squeeze things in wherever I can; but it's comfy and cheap to heat in the winter - and I have a nice big yard outside...

London: Interpol has issued a wanted notice for Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US diplomat, who is wanted in Britain over a fatal car crash in a case that has caused friction between London and Washington, ITV reported on Monday. "An Interpol Red Notice has been issued for 42-year-old Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence official charged with causing the death of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn by dangerous driving," ITV reporter Adam Clark said on Twitter.

That's in very, very poor post. You should edit that and take that down,

The Great Escape The Longest Day Das Boot

The world is doomed.... we better start to wear cosmonaute suites right now !

I never watch TV ... just for banging code and a little you tube .. other than that I am outside on the beach and sea ...

Just a minor point. Heart conditions are rarely contagious. They develop naturally and often either genetic or has a result of lifestyle. You cannot catch heart disease at a football match but you can catch the corona virus by doing so at the present time. It appears to me that there are 2 schools of thought 1. Is to do nothing and carry on as normal and let nature do its work and allowing the natural spread of the virus and if some die then tough luck as its a natural culling process of the weak and vulnerable. The fittest survive. 2. Use the science and technology that we have invested so much in over the last 70 years to treat and prevent as many people who are sick and to prevent as many premature deaths possible. To reduce and prevent the same results as the Spanish Flu in 1917 which wiped out a third of the world's population by isolation measures and sanitation. But there is a third factor creeping in which is the usual "blame culture" and "conspiracy theories" who got it right and who got it wrong? Doesn't help at all only serves for people trying to justify their opinions but the truth is that None of Us can say with any exact confidence whether we are right or wrong because we are still in the middle of this world crisis and none of know the consequences. We still do not know whether there will be fresh outbreaks and how many as a result of easing current lock downs. Sure people can predict what they want or what they think everyone else wants but it makes little difference. We got through WW2 and people suffered hardship, heartbreak injury and death (and that was just the civilian population). People gave things up and made sacrifices for 6 long years and the years that followed Why is so much to expect that people cannot do that for 6 months in today's society.?

Full film.

My new favourite Sunday roast......lamb shank

Or post it to @Krapow 😀

Crew training. From last month https://forums.airshows.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=85626

Today's update is of the Huai Chak Nok Reservoir. Small recreational pond that's dammed off from the rest of the reservoir is lower. And the reservoir itself is a lot lower. Comparison shot from one month ago on 13 April. The spirits patiently awaiting the return of the water.

Just back from a quick blast round the park on my mountain bike this morning. My work enrolled me on some daft health and safety course during this lockdown. Ive not looked at the books or stuff since I got them a month ago, I was thinking last night I better open them up and get a start on it this afternoon I reckon😀

Everyone needs to download this Corona App onto their phone....

No Bro ... all five or 6 containers on the table except the one with the eye dropper are all various types of tiger balm ( magic stuff ) .... some lavender oil , some vitamins , vitamin E , some ganja ... nothing out of the ordinary ... But I should clean it up ...

Sausage and bacon on a fresh Friendship Roll.

JACK MUNDY at 90,died on sunday 10-5-20 worked with Jack as part of the ABLF union he was state secretary and without him the Sydney Harbour would have been totally different. he led the green bans on the old buildings in the rocks, No demolition could be done without the support of the BLF,he blacked ban all the buildings of the Rocks, the state premier Robert Askins wanted to "raze the historic houses and pubs and build a modern concrete harbourfront" Jack along with Bob Hawke R.I.P. was the best public speakers I heard,could both talk on a subject for 2hours and hardly repeat themselves. Jack was a hard core Commo I did not support him politicaly I supported him as a Union leader. R.I.P comrade "up the old red rooster and more piss" regards grayray

Nothing wrong with a Winchester on the wall .... as long as it works ...

Maybe not the greatest but my favourites are The Pianist, Boy in the striped pajamas and Inglorious Bastards None of them are war action movies as such and centre upon the cruelty of the Nazis. But top of the list as greatest for me is Where Eagles Dare I have watched it maybe 5 or 6 times and still love it

I think saving private Ryan would be up there When it came out ( late 90s I believe) many could handle the reality

My problem would be the screen is disproportionate compared to the rest of the furniture ? Concerning wall mounting, I dont like it. I like to have the screen at eye level when sitting on the sofa. Wallmounting is OK for the pub or sportbars IMO.

The point is : Did those countries (including Thailand) went on total lockdown because of T.B. ? Did the Western developped countries banned travelling to T.B. countries ? Did Western countries applied a quarantine on travellers returning from T.B. countries ?

How many many many times have you heard the term THE NEW NORMAL.......Its in the news every day.........They dont keep repeating THE NEW NORMAL for no reason... They mean what they say... They want how things are now to be the NEW NORMAL....FOREVER..... As in not going back to the pre virus normal ever again.... Can they do it?........The powers the be are immensely powerful....But eventually the pendulum will swing in completely the opposite direction of where they want it to go....They can not overcome universal laws...... The best we can hope for is to see thing change for the better while we are still here..... But I must say all these mask wearing zombies is not giving me much hope for the present...

Does everyone put TV's on walls now? I cannot stand it, reminds me of a Premier Inn hotel room.

You can blame our free for all immigration system for that.

…back when I was “Beginning my Thai Garden” About 8 years ago, I bought my first condo in Thailand. It had a nice sunny deck, but since I spent no more than 3 consecutive months at any given time in Thailand, I didn’t have the opportunity to grow my own garden on my deck. A few years back, I had my first full-time job opportunity in Thailand and finally had the opportunity to have a garden on my deck. I definitely had no experience gardening or any idea how to set-up a garden, but down the road, I learned a lot fairly quickly Youtube Asked my cleaning lady & my secretary Trial and error Although there are pros and cons of a garden on a stand alone house vs a condo, as a newbie, setting-up my garden on my deck was the perfect size and task at hand. I think it was a good learning experience. I will probably buy a house someday in Thailand and I am confident that whether I have a full garden or simply use a raised flatbed garden, I won’t have too many issues. So, when I first started my garden, at my condo in Thailand, I was lucky that there were a number of free pots and a few plants and supplies on the back side of our condo building….stuff other people didn’t want anymore. I grabbed a few pots and kept the dirt that was already in the pots and brought them up to my condo. I then bought some seeds from a garden shop in town. (when you’re on 2nd road, heading away from walking street, towards Jomtien, when you reach the main intersection before going up the hill to Jomtien, there are 3 thai garden shops in the area. So, I bought some green onion, chives, tomato, basil, squash, chili/pepper, cilantro seeds. I took the seeds right out of the package and put them into the pots on my deck. (at that time, I didn’t know about pre-germination tricks) After a couple of weeks, I had about 10% of my pots with little sprouts coming up….the other 90% were not growing. I came home for lunch one day and ran into my cleaning lady and as we were talking out on the deck, she made the comment that most of my pots did not sprout. She told me that the dirt was not good. So, the next day, I went to one of the garden shops down the road and bought some soil in the white mesh bag. It was a mixture of dirt and it had some small coconut husks. (…being a new gardener, I had no idea about soil/dirt. I didn’t realize until later on that the dirt sitting in the old pots were super dried out and probably out of nutrients and also had poor drainage. I did not know that top soil/house garden soil was different from raised flower bed soil which was different from potting soil. I learned later on the different types of soil and also different stages of growing.) So, I replanted another set of seeds again and had a little bit more luck, but the dirt that comes in the white mesh baggies still wasn’t the greatest soil. One day while I was on a jogging around Big Buddha Hill, I came across a Thai guy selling bird pepper plants and few other kinds. I took a look at the plants and he asked me if I wanted to buy some plants. I told him yes, but I was a few blocks away from my condo. So, he told me to hop onto the flatbed portion of his vehicle and he would drive me back to my place. I ended up buying a few different kinds of pepper plants. It was nice to have plants that were well past the sprouting stage and ones that were already producing a few peppers. (I did learn later on… after the # peppers started to slow down, that my potted plants needed more nutrients in order to keep the high level of peppers that it had at the beginning.) The secretary at our office would occasionally come by my condo to drop off paperwork and supplies. During one of her stops, she commented on my garden. I told her I was having problems growing my seedlings. She suggested I soak my seeds overnight, approx. 12-24 hours, but no more than 36 hours. It helps with germination. (…these days I either soak or use a damp papertowel in a zip log bag) She also suggested that I start my seedlings inside in tiny peat pots. I had arrived into Thailand at the hottest time of year. Most of the types of veggies & herbs I was trying to grow, tended to germinate better at temperatures around 70-85 degrees….not the current 95-105 at the time. So, I got some jiffy peat pots and planted a new crop and kept the starters inside where it was a tad cooler. (btw, you can order jiffy peat starter pods on Lazada). My secretary told me that once my seedlings were big enough to transplant into larger pots, that I should use better soil, specific for potted plants. She said she will bring some to my condo next week. So, the following week, on the weekend, she shows up with actual potting soil. It looked a lot better than the types of soil I was using before and had better drainage and nutrients. She came over with 3 other thai people and they were out on my deck taking care of the soil, replanting the first set of seedlings into pots, setting up tiered stacked shelving to help with spacing and sunlight. She had fertilizer specific to the type of veggies I was trying to grow and told me how often I should add the fertilizer and when to top off nutrient rich soil onto my pots. My different kinds of peppers were doing very well. I was growing 3 different kinds of tomatoes – beef steak, smaller cherry like tomatoes and roma tomatoes. I made sure to use the tomato specific fertilizer to help grow and keep my tomato plants healthy. My oregano and mint were growing without issues, but my cilantro and basils weren’t being controlled properly. My cleaning lady showed me how to pinch back my cilantro so it doesn’t start flowering. She showed me how to cut back the basil plants to keep them more bushy and stop it from flowering. I was using the smaller tomatoes for my salads and for snacking. I used the bigger beef steak tomatoes for salads and sandwiches and used the roma tomatoes for making fresh salsas and marinara sauce. I used my cilantro for my salsas and my carne asada marinade. I used my basil for making sauces and for pesto recipes. I used my bird peppers for my thai dishes and the other peppers for my salsas and for my fire roasted recipes. As my squash and other leafy veggies were coming in, I noticed mold/fungus growing on the leaves. My cleaning lady grabbed some soap from the bathroom and added water and washed my big leafy plants. I was learning quite a bit on the fly…..With the help from the two ladies and some trial and error, things worked out alright by the end of my first year. I went from not knowing anything to learning the basics pretty quickly. I’m thinking about buying another property in Chiang Mai or Udon Thani. Once I do, I will probably use Lazada to buy fresh seeds (learned that the seeds I bought from the garden shops were probably old seeds that had been sitting around a long time.) I might buy my seeds back in the states from places that sell only fresh seeds and are known to germinate more easily and ones that are more resistant to diseased and bugs. I will buy my Jiffy peat pots on Lazada and start my indoor seedlings after I soak my seeds prior to planting. After seedlings are at the right height, I will transplant into larger pots using the proper soil. And in order to keep my tomato plants and other veggies happy, I will use the proper plant food for each type of vegetable. …ohh btw, so during one of my visits to the local garden shop, I was talking to the daughter of the father who runs/owns the shop. I told her that certain seeds were not growing for me…..She spoke thai to the father/owner and he took the seeds packets from my hand. I was regularly coming by to buy more pots, supplies and plants….and he told me that he’ll let me know when the seeds turn to plants and are ready to take home. So over the course of a few months, I was given back my seeds/that were now fully size plants. I only had to pay for the dirt/pot…he grew the seeds for me for free…maybe a bit cheating, but much easier to take care of just the plant. Moving Forward - It was a good learning experience growing from seeds, but a bit more hassle. I think anytime I can buy the plant I will do so. Regarding the proper equipment - soil, fertilizer etc… although it’s Thailand….these days with Lazada, very easy to get/buy all the items you need to have a successful garden. And with youtube, plenty of videos to help you grow a successful garden.

The Longest Day, possibly the greatest collection of post WW11 actors in one movie.

Excellent Binlid, thanks for finding that and posting.

I know, I know....risky for a frog to make a joke abiut British culture...... VID-20200509-WA0006.mp4