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Can we move on gents before this thread drifts into a debate over Secrets bar and past alcohol sales. As far as I am aware, the bar is now closed. End of story

Two of my favorites:

That link's behind a paywall for me mate. I'll try and find an alternative. Hospitals were "eerily quiet" for a good reason, no visitors were allowed in and non essential operations cancelled, along with all elective surgeries and most outpatient appointments, many Wards and services were closed down and the staff told to either redeploy as per instructions or work from home if possible, it was part of the lockdown instructions, hence, yes, quiet hospitals. Patient numbers were deliberately decreased because, at the time, it was deemed to be a very high risk. The NHS is always open for business, if it was closed then there would have been no treatment of Covid patients, and my Mrs would be out of a job. You are totally missing the context of the quote when Chris Whitty made it, he was instructing people that if they had a medical emergency to go to Hospital, because the pressure on the system by encouraging those with minor issues meant that the NHS could still deliver a service, it had NOTHING to do with the Hospitals being quiet, it was all about the fact that the NHS was still there and able to deliver its services. The NHS has the ability and capacity to deal with emergencies, pandemic or not, that was the point he was making. https://www.facebook.com/skynews/videos/1579499415561415/ You seem to be talking in hindsight, but as you were not on the front line, then how could you possibly know what the situation was apart from what you read in the media?. The very same media you chastise so much for being liars and scare mongers. When dealing with an infectious airborne disease, it's somewhat prudent to prevent people who might very possibly die from it by getting them somewhere safer than the hospital for the mid to long term, usually their own homes. It is about infection control. The NHS was being stretched, due to Nurses self isolating (hence a fairly rapidly rushed through guidelines regarding Health workers and C-19 Isolation practices) and a lack of staff. Let me explain: Every day there is a team at every hospital under the title of "Trustwide Staffing", they manage staffing levels and redeployment as well as agency etc. Now, redeploying a Nurse from her normal Ward is something many are reticent to do because it can introduce an element of risk (Nurse gets stressed, unfamiliar colleagues, different environment) , so unless there is an imbalance of staff, the status quo remains unchanged. Now, with C-19 as I mentioned earlier, many Wards were changed into Isolation Wards, the staff of these wards were kept in situe and then given guidance on treating C-19 patients. This made many unhappy, obviously and this also led to increased risk to them due to exposure and lack of PPE, which in turn led to more self isolating. Hospitals were (some still are) also divided into "Red" and "Green" zones. Green Zones have been quiet, because the public are (or were) discouraged in going there. Not all Hospitals were at or near "breaking point" but several were, many went into the "Black alert" (OPEL 4 Status) - this is the yardstick by which "breaking point" (media term) is judged, and when at the Trust in question issues the following that "actions have failed to contain service pressure and the local health economy is unable to deliver comprehensive emergency care". It is a valid point to look back and say it was an over reaction, but we simply don't know what would have happened without lockdown and the preparation measures taking place. It's not unlike when the UK prepared for the planned German invasion during WW2, building defences, pill boxes and training clandestine commando units, getting the population ready to fight. The Govt worked on the info and level of perceived threat back then, and they did exactly the same thing during the peak, which was to do their best to protect the lives of those in the Country.

Hence why it's one of the few bars I frequent, particularly in that part of town, but pattaya barowners can not whine about loyalty. When times were good, instead of being grateful for custom, many barowners used it as a green light to dip into the pockets of unsuspecting customers. That's why when I return, I'll be sure to support the good, honest barowners like yourself, for they are few and far between in sin city.

https://www.vyzrtech.com/products/bio-vyzr Note to @fforest. You may be able to get a metalised version to block out the 5G radiation.

My breakfast today is the Yin to Gals Yan above. Beans and sausages with fried bread and a socially distanced egg. Neat use of the fried bread as a breakwater.

Well, I just offer to buy them a beer ... if they don't want a beer .. f**k em ! Simply because if they find "greener grasses" and leave the beer -- I can finish it ... I am not "proud" when it comes to beer ...

Thats ok with me as i have several sangsom's and i can adjust the strength to my choosing, i like to taste the sangsom.

yes well after I left Many times i would see a girl dump the drink they were bought and when they did they paid for it and it was removed from the round. Caught a girl in babydolls filling shot glasses with water instead of Tequila. Well boss i don't drink tequila and the customer will only buy tequila. Well tell him no thanks then. Can't catch them all but did so many.

I really cant believe in what's happening today.. Three lads who i've worked with for over 20 years have just turned up to sort out the garden and finish the kitchen. I so over whelmed and i've tried hard to keep on top of it all and over the last few months its all just got too much and out of my control. They have all chipped in to order the vinyl for the kitchen flooring and they plan to get this done over the next week. While I'm typing this i've got tears running down my face and I just didn't expect this at all.. I guess this is what we all call friends and one of them has said to me you have helped us all out in times gone past and now its time to help you..

Feared someone would exploit that nice man and his "eat out to help out" scheme

£7 each, dead on for London prices. It's more of a takeaway, though we sat at the window and ate it there. Wife's birthday, so pushed the boat out 😬 Na, she could have went to or had what she wanted, but she wanted to try here. Her and her two wee Thai mates are never done trying and rating new food places lol.

Of course keeping out the foreigner by telling the people they are doing it for their benefit and health is a win win situation for the rich. They just got to get it balanced as seeing the poor classes begging and the middle classes losing their income isn't an issue unless it causes rebellion down the road. Just keep showing them those pathetic soaps and continue to offer 30 baht khao pad and they may just keep the hordes of unemployed at bay.

Tried out a new Vietnamese street food place near us earlier. Was very nice. I prefer more spicy Thai food, find Vietnamese food a bit bland. But this was very flavoursome. Will be back.

Chicken and white sauce and basmati rice for dinner.

That is my reading of it all, almost like a master plan to rid Thailand of undesirables, the type of businesses they frequent and that they hope to start from fresh with those foreigners they have desired when talking about quality. Either that or they are so scared of the fact that, with the death rate being so low and now stopped, even one foreigner coming in and passing on the virus resulting in a fatality worries the government that the outrage from the people could cause a catastrophe for them politically.

To me it all reads STAY AWAY FALANG WE HATE YOU AND DO NOT WANT YOU TO COME ....... easy.... Thai raak Thai and all that racist old bullshit.

No. He died.

Freight carrier. Lucky it didn't happen inflight ..... 😱😱😱🙈🙈🙈

To be fair to Jambo, Larrys post was about LD as I read it, not customers drinks

All you need for Netflix is an internet connection and a streaming device, and yes I would recommend getting a SmartTV. We use my Netflix subscription on our SmartTV in our house Buriram and it works perfectly. Alternatively you can stream via PC, tablet and/or phone.

Pumpuy, just for information : I have a Sony dvd player connected to the internet and to my TV (not a smart one) . I used to watch Youtube on the TV as it was one of the preprogammed things in the dvd player. Last time my son was here, and I wanted to show him something on Youtube, he noted the Netflix logo on the screen. Hey, you have Netflix ? No, I dont have the subscription. He said "I have Netflix subscription in France and am allowed 5 different devices to connect on it" Out comes his phone, and 2 minutes later I have Netflix through his abonnement in France. That was a year ago, and still works. So, if you have somebody in UK who has a Netflix subscription, maybe worth to check it. What I noted is that I can see a lot of stuff that definitively would be censored here !

OK, OK, I’ll go for the big girls from now on.......it’s what’s inside that counts

Tennis anyone..?

with 50+ years under belt doubt I got real Bundy in Secrets in 2016,you drink the one brand of spirits ,you well know what you put your top lip into.especially Bundberg Rum,AKA Bundy, it is a distinct taste. and I have heard about the regular that had caught Ben out,and never went back.heard from 2 BGs about some of the shit Ben got up to.. he was about as straight as a dogs hind leg. happens in pubs here too,had one owner sack me because I would not hook up 2 different brands of keg beer[tooths new and tooheys new] together and I would not put cheap Bourbon in the empty Jim Beam bottles which in that pub was the bourbon of choice on the 3 nights each week that visiting bands most of the top aussie bands ,INXS,ACDC,ROSE TATTOO,CHISEL,SWANEE,played the place regards grayray

I wouldn't like to admit to how much booze I have drunk in Secrets over the years, but given I often drink spirits neat, I probably would know if it was shite. Never have I had a problem. As for spreading rumours of what may have happened to others, that's not my style, but why ever spoil a good rumour with the truth.

I'm posting this article because it's typical for the type of mainstream news people in the U.S. are reading about the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand. It's from It's also a good photo essay. Evil By Hannah Beech Photographs by Adam Dean July 16, 2020 BANGKOK — No one knows exactly why Thailand has been spared. Is it the social distancing embedded in Thai culture — the habit of greeting others with a wai, a prayer-like motion, rather than a full embrace — that has prevented the runaway transmission of the coronavirus here? Did Thailand’s early adoption of face masks, combined with a robust health care system, blunt the virus’s impact? Was it the outdoor lifestyle of many Thais, or their relatively low rates of pre-existing conditions? Is there a genetic component in which the immune systems of Thais and others in the Mekong River region are more resistant to the coronavirus? Or is it some alchemy of all these factors that has insulated this country of 70 million people? One thing is certain. Despite an influx of foreign visitors early in the year from countries badly hit by the coronavirus, Thailand has recorded fewer than 3,240 cases and 58 deaths. As of Thursday, there had been no cases of local transmission for about seven weeks. Police officers in Bangkok patrolling a checkpoint on one of the city’s busiest streets after a nationwide curfew was put into effect. Thais were quick to adopt wearing face masks early in the pandemic and maintain social distancing when using public transportation. A nearly empty flight from Bangkok to Phuket, Thailand, on March 30. Construction workers, a group largely made up of migrant workers, returned to their dormitories in Bangkok in April. Thailand’s low rate of infection appears to be shared by other countries in the Mekong River basin. Vietnam has not recorded a single death and has logged about three months without a case of community transmission. Myanmar has confirmed 336 cases of the virus, Cambodia 166 and Laos just 19. Yunnan, the southwestern Chinese province through which the Mekong flows before meandering to Southeast Asia, had fewer than 190 cases. None are active now. “I don’t think it is about immunity or genetics alone,” said Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin, the Covid-19 spokesman for Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health. “It has to do with culture. Thai people do not have body contact when we greet each other.” “This is how the countries in the Mekong region greet each other as well,” Dr. Taweesin added. The authorities spraying travelers with disinfectant in Phuket, a popular vacation spot, in March. Disinfecting a market before it reopened in Bangkok, in May. Drive-through testing at a hospital in Bangkok, in March. Workers making cloth face masks at a factory owned by Wacoal, an underwear manufacturer, in Bangkok, in April. It didn’t always look so upbeat. In January, Thailand confirmed the world’s first case of the coronavirus outside of China — in a tourist from Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the outbreak is believed to have begun. Another wave of infections was set off by people arriving from Japan, Europe and the United States. A Thai boxing event turned into a super-spreader event. But after a lockdown was enforced in March, shuttering businesses and schools, domestic transmissions subsided. All of Thailand’s recent cases have been among people who arrived from overseas. Dr. Wiput Phoolcharoen, a public health expert at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok who is researching an outbreak of the coronavirus in Pattani in southern Thailand, noted that more than 90 percent of those who tested positive there were asymptomatic, much higher than normal. “What we are studying now is the immune system,” he said. Dr. Wiput said Thais and other people from this part of Southeast Asia were more susceptible to certain serious cases of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne virus, than those from other continents. “If our immune systems against dengue are so bad, why can’t our immune system against Covid be better?” he asked. Students at Sawasdee Wittaya Primary School learning about washing hands after schools reopened this month. Registering to receive financial aid from the government in Bangkok, in May. The closed Apple Store at Icon Siam, one of Thailand’s most upmarket and largest shopping malls, in March. Homeless people lining up at a food distribution center in Bangkok, in April. Though Thailand’s hospitals have not been overwhelmed by coronavirus patients, the country’s tourism-dependent economy has been battered. In April, Thailand banned almost all incoming flights, amid the tightening lockdown. Holidaymakers stopped coming to Bangkok, once the world’s most visited city. The Thai tourism and sports ministry estimates that 60 percent of hospitality businesses could close by the end of the year. The International Monetary Fund predicts the Thai economy will shrink by at least 6.5 percent this year. More than eight million Thais may lose their jobs or income in 2020, the World Bank has said, in a nation already cleaved by a yawning gap between rich and poor. Thai households have some of the highest debt loads in Asia, and the most desperate have lined up at Buddhist temples for handouts of rice. After a promised disbursement of emergency government funds was bogged down in bureaucracy, a woman swallowed rat poison outside of a government building. She survived, but suicides are up in Thailand. Covid Thailand Aid, a charity set up in the wake of the pandemic, has been inundated by pleas from Thais with only a dollar or two left in their bank accounts, said Natalie Narkprasert, one of the group’s founders. A park in Bangkok on May 3, after the city began easing restrictions. Protective screens at street food stalls in Bangkok, in May. Thai boxing gyms were allowed to re-open on June 1. A salon after re-opening in Bangkok, in May. The country’s large population of migrant workers, many from neighboring Myanmar and Cambodia, is also hurting. While some people managed to make it home before the borders closed, others are stuck in Thailand with no wages from their jobs as hotel cleaners, kitchen hands and food stall operators. “Now is when people want more help because it’s been so long and it’s not going to get better,” Ms. Natalie said. A sense of normalcy has recently returned to Thailand. Schools have reopened with children wearing face masks and studying at spaced-out desks. And in early July, the first holiday weekend in months — Thai New Year festivities were canceled in April — prompted an uptick in domestic tourism. Thailand has also allowed a trickle of foreigners back into the country. But with the new arrivals comes the risk of contagion. This week, an Egyptian military pilot was confirmed to have tested positive for the coronavirus, after he breached quarantine and visited shopping centers in a Thai beach town. Some schools in the area are now closed again. Two activists who protested the government’s handling of the quarantine violation were arrested on Wednesday for contravening Thailand’s emergency decree. Questions are also being raised about why migrant workers who were deported from Thailand arrived home and immediately tested positive for the disease, despite not being included in the official Thai count of coronavirus cases. Thailand’s testing rates remain relatively low. “With the disease still looming,” said Dr. Taweesin, the health ministry spokesman, “we have to keep our guard up.” A popular entertainment street, just before curfew, was closed down due to a localized coronavirus outbreak, in Patong, Phuket, in March. Muktita Suhartono contributed reporting.

Larry worked a long time in Secrets. Phil worked a long time in Secrets. I worked a long time in Secrets. There was no snide alcahol scams or bill padding under our watch.of that I know for certain. But of course Secrets business as a whole is forever tainted by the reputation , actions, greed and stupidity of one individual.

None of these happens in my bar mate.

Wouldn't a folding table be easier to carry to your fishing spot.

I explained clearly that public health responses are specifically aimed at dealing with localised events , with flexibility built in. Not an opinion, that is a fact. Every NHS trust has policies for a public health response, and they vary although the bare bones of them are the same. The localised lockdowns we are seeing is an example of a public health response carried out within a small area. As for your idea of not having lockdown, hand washing was encouraged, shielding of elderly was put in place, staff were redeployed, but the information the PHE had at the time was limited, so lockdown justified. C-19, without lockdown would have seen massive fatalities, moreover it gave the UK the one commodity it needed, which was time. It prevented the spread of the disease, thus stopping and preventing thousands of vulnerable people within the demographic from dying. Also, your opinion goes against that of pretty much every Govt affected by this worldwide, with a few exceptions. Apologies for the mix up with the cruise ship study you are correct , I think I clicked on the first link rather than reading down the search page. 🙂 The study was done in May, the peak was March - April. As I said, asymptomatic does not mean harmless, it means not showing symptoms at the time of testing positive. Also, that in itself explains why lockdown was needed, if asymptomatic people wandered around, the disease will spread faster, thus infecting more and killing those more vulnerable. Italy, again. How on earth can you say that "a majority of nurses were redeployed into Nightingale hospitals" - my Mrs covers 3 Hospitals, there were NO Nightingale re deployments from any of them, in fact if it is indeed "the truth" give me the numbers, a source, where the Nurses went to and the staffing levels of the average Nightingale ward. You are not taking into account or appreciate the fact that many Nurses took to self isolation as well, thus reducing staffing levels in most Trusts, from small town Hospitals to the Major ones. Some were working at 40% staff capacity, so where would the "Majority" of Nurses to staff nightingale Hospitals come from?. In fact, the Military were due to help out if things got bad. If the nightingale hospitals were empty, they would not send staff to an empty hospitals, that's not anecdotal, that's from me having a very good understanding of the NHS staffing policy and how the NHS worked with C-19. Also, because lockdown was working, they had time to build the hospital, and also would have had warning that as it began to fill up, if ever, then they could redeploy Nurses from nearby Hospitals and possibly Military bases as relatively short notice.

I find that ironic. Barowners in Pattaya have pulled many scams on loyal customers. Who can forget Secrets and the snide vodka. What about bill padding, fake spirits or drinks with no spirits in them, or making customers pay ladydrinks if they bring female company to the bar. Loyalty is a two way street.

I tell ya, Sunak's gonna learn the hard way with his 50% off with those 3 girls

Good result for us considering our recent form. Even if we had won Brentford and Foolham f***d up.

NO mention of Stoats on here young man....................shit, wrong forum. Carry on. 😃

170 Baht...........

Never, **ever , has Secrets deliberately sold any alcohol that was not the genuine product. I totally refute the suggestion that Secrets was passing off cheap vodka as moody top shelf product. You are wrong on both counts as others have intimated. **Well never during the many years I was General Manager. I suppose I cannot answer for the period after I resigned but I have never received any feedback subsequently that ever occured.

Pump, its not a burden, they just log into their Netflix account and add you as one of the 5 devices allowed to access. My American neighbour here in AC did this for me. When you click on the Netflix logo all his 5 come up, just click on yours to use The menu of programs here in philippines is different to other countries. I guess thats why you use a VPN, to connect to Netflix. It thinks you are in the UK and shows their orogramme menu

There is loads of English content on the Thai Netflix or you can use a VPN to access the British or USA Netflix. If any of your son’s already have accounts you get 5 logins for families per account so they could add you. Most relatively modern smart TVs have Netflix apps on them which is the best way to watch for me.

I've watched stuff in Thailand on my U.K Netflix account and even set up a smart tv for my lads to watch it on in LOS Smart TVs are pretty cheap over there get one Pump it's easier

No. LOL

No not really mate, Dave's wife and my wife both don't really care about heading back to Thailand any time soon and i know other couples that have decided to book other places in Europe over Thailand for this year. Look at krapow he has booked for his family to Turkey for September and has booked for Tenerife in February.

I still believe that if the situation continues to improve in much of Europe, providing there is no second wave, and providing the situation continues to improve in Thailand, there is a chance that they will allow tourists (with certain requirements) towards the end of this year or the start of next year. Personally, I am glad as it has given me an excuse to see more of Europe, and with the Baht hovering around 36-40 to the pound, I was looking at giving it a miss this year anyhow.

Could never see the point of Hooters in somewhere like Pattaya.

The only Hooters I have ever visited was in Singapore during F1 weekend. Would never visit a bar in Pattaya with pussy that doesn't do takeaway's on principle 😣

It was a good night out Jambo. Always good to meet up with old friends, and Mr Egg is a fine host. Looking forward to next time, perhaps with a curry thrown into the mix . . .

A lady dies and goes to heaven. She arrives at the pearly gates and is greeted by Saint Peter. There are a few people waiting, so she strikes up a conversation with him. Just then, she hears a blood curdling scream! "What was that?" she asks. "Oh, don't worry about that," says Saint Peter, "It's just someone getting a hole drilled in their head so they can be fitted for their halo. A few seconds later, she hears another agonized scream, this one even more terrible than the one before. "What was that?!" she asked anxiously. "Oh, don't worry;" says Saint Peter soothingly, "It's just someone getting holes drilled in their back so they can be fitted for their wings." The lady starts to back away. "Where are you going?" asks Saint Peter. "I think I'll go downstairs, if it's all the same to you," says the lady. "But you can't go there," says the saint, "You'll be raped and sodomized!" "That's OK," says the lady, "I've already got the ***ing holes for that."