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My birthday meal yesterday was superb but I am a tad hungover today....

Good, that's what I thought. Honestly, I can't stand vloggers who love the sound of their own voice and are so verbose it actually does make me angry. Sure, they're not professional presenters, but f**k me the times I really do shout at my laptop "for fucks sake, get on with it" or "for fucks sake spit it out".

No, because it isn't based on an official announcement or government policy, just the opinion of a British vlogger with a YouTube channel. He tries to project an air of authority by including TAT logos and slogans in the background, but it's just a gimmick to impress viewers. That guy's opinion and $1.85 will get me a cup of coffee at Starbucks. He has no more insight into the future than any of the dozens of other farang vloggers in Thailand. Evil

Yes, why not. I have a flu and pneumonia jab every year. If it means that there is a lower risk, and if it means that I can travel with less restriction, then I will chose to have it. I can't see it ever being compulsory in general, but it may well be if you chose to be in certain.situations where others may be at risk. I don't buy into this taking away freedom nonsense. For instance... If a person wants to drive a car, then they need to obtain a licence and learn to drive, then take a test, then apply for a full licence. It's a choice. We accept that we are not free just to jump in a car and drive it without restrictions (unless on private property). Apart from.obvious benefits of being temporarily immuned to the virus (assuming it is effective), if I chose to travel abroad and having a certificate of vaccination is compulsory then I have a choice. Travel or not. Just as if I did not have enough money to sustain my holiday, then I would not get a flight to wherever it is. To me it's a question of personal responsibility The world collectively is investing billions in a race to develop and produce vaccine/s. I don't see it as a scam created for big Pharmas to make a killing, but of course they will Then there is another question about cost. Will it be free? In the spirit of boosting world economies, and getting people back to work and play then it most likely will be. I would pay for it if I had to. Is there a risk?? We don't know for sure, but would it be greater than developing the virus itself? That might depend on one's age and health. Conclusion There must be some real incentives for the majority to be vaccinated. That mentioned above is obvious, but what about kids, or those in good health and between 16 and 60 etc? If it is not compulsory and many decide not to have the vaccination then the spread of the virus will take much longer to contain and there will be a longer period of restrictions. If however, everyone was to cooperate and it was understood that by doing so, it would lead to less restrictions on daily life, getting back to work, rebuilding economies and normality, then would they chose to be vaccinated or stamp the feet of cry freedom and rely on their principles ? The 2:keys to eradicate spread of C19 are effective vaccine and effective treatment in the early stages for those who exhibit symptoms. Linked with both of those is testing. It is not yet known whether those who have had the virus, will be immune from getting it a again, either long or short term. The likelyhood, like many viruses, is that it will mutate and therefore any annual vaccines will need to change to incorporate the changes as they are with the Flu virus. Sorry for the long winded reply, to me it's never a straight forward yes or no answer and just some of my thoughts and opinions on the subject. We all want to get back to "normal" if that is possible So what are we collectively going to do to ensure that it can happen in the future? For me, wearing a mask, social distancing, hand cleansing and future vaccination is not just for ME. It's also a care and concern for my fellow citizens, friends and family alike.

My wife and I recently had " Shingles" vaccinations. Never had it before in my life ( either shingles or the vaccination) but after seeing my Brother have it, it was a no brainer. Good lord he was hurting and very painful to say the least. 2 shots given over a 2 month period. You do not want "Shingles" believe me. As far as the Covid 19 vaccination....I will get it when it is available and make a reasonable assessment after talking to my Doctor here. The less hassle I have to deal with Thai authorities the better I say, hopefully the common sense will come back to them and realize that if you are vaccinated, then entry will be easier. Not going to get cocky now at age 63, have had a good run with my health personally and don't take that for granted for 1 minute.

I fully understand. When you accumulate the visa issues and now the Corona situation, I guess ones ask himself the question if it is worth it. Here (till now) the retirement visa is rather easy, and the Covid situation is not that bad. Nevertheless, I admit that after a few months of living in an beach resort that is empty, seeing people like ghost with masks, and 80% of the places closed it tends to be a bit depressive. It is very bearable when the Miss is here, but like last month she was in the jungle for 4 weeks, I went down the hill a bit.. Too much drink and not enough proper food. As I have always said and posted several times, when you live overseas you have to be always ready to pack. Plenty unexpected things can happen. This C19 virus and the mainly the mad reaction of governments all over is a typical example. Anyway, at the moment I dont think my quality of life in France would be better, the locals are not chasing foreigners wielding swords at them so I stay, and no intention to leave.

Agree 100%!! Some people in this world will always be "deuu" (stubborn).

Yup, he turned up today and did what he does. Great result and 6 times world champ is fitting for the best player to ever lift a cue.

Sirloin steak with onions and veg.

@CalEden @Mrmango Well, can say no traffic in the Lake Almanor area for sure.....some nice places over there, lot less people then Tahoe year around. No skiing or snowboarding, but snowmobiling seems to be the locals favorite. https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Lake-Almanor_CA @roomark I asked Rachanee if she would f**k me on the boat and we could videotape it, kind of like Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson a few years back? She didn't think that was a good idea! She's no fun, I am going to get rid of her LOL!

There's a few over here on the Darkside that are thinking along those lines too. They have family over there and want to see them and they're getting to the point now where they'll head back to the UK and if at some stage in the future if they're allowed back here they may or may not return ? As they say blood is thicker than water.

lol probably the same idiots that manage to entirely paint their arms in green and black sleeves totally forgetting the A4 sheet that looked good on paper is not remotely what any 3rd party actually sees

From a selfish social point of view the week I spend in and around Pattaya in every month is just as enjoyable as ever. If two thirds of the entertainment venues were shut there would still be far more still open than I could ever visit in any evening and there would be a better atmosphere anyway simply because they would be busier. There are much wider issues at play than having a good time in bars etc. Driving in pattaya in the car and stopping at traffic lights and finding Thai's coming up to the car and begging for money is quite upsetting to say the least. It is highly indicative of the adverse effects of no tourists on Pattaya. Renewing my Retirement visa myself recently was extremely traumatic after my problems last year but why should I be even considering paying 15K to an Agent when I knew I had all my ducks in a row? The answer is that "THEY" want us to use an Agent and it is almost impossible to rid oneself of the thought that "THEY" don't want us here anyway and are looking for any excuse to find something wrong. I never thought the day would come but I have actually considered the ramifications of going back to the UK. I don't want to but who knows if maybe the Thai authorities might just make it impossible for me to stay. Overall, this is the most uncertain of times for any expat in Thailand.

"SINTOE" (Pack Leader 😀)

Looks like a tatooed lady convention. Whatever possessed that girl to cover her leg with such crappy looking tats?

No, just aware of whats going on and the gobshites I share the planet with.

Don't mind giving Adam a plug here. Great choice of song for this Adam.

Birds of a different feather... 😉

Used to enjoy watching the sunsets in thailand,even ones over ko larn,but this one was special,from summit of beinn alligin 986 mt ,to top it off a cloud inversion aswell,great views to cullin ridge on sky and outer hebridies...bloody glorious it was,just managed to get down before pitch black.

The worlds gone fucking crazy that is for sure..

If you want to live YOUR life like that, no problem. Just don't try to make it look as "normal" and impose it on others. Some people, like me, still want to have a REAL life. Like normal daily shopping, dont care about social distancing, go to the restaurant 3 or 4 times a week, go to the pub 2 or 3 times a week etc ..... FFS ....

For the purpose of discussion, let's make some assumptions - a. a vaccine against Covid-19 is launched within the next 6 months; b. it is, or similar to, the one from Oxford University / AstraZeneca (note 1); c. it is about 60% effective (note 2); and d. exactly how long it is effective is not known. Q1 If available to you, would you have it? Q2 What impact do you think it would have on the Thai tourist industry in 2021? Note 1 This seems to be a good article about the methodology behind the various vaccines being developed: https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/science-and-technology/2020/07/oxford-vaccine-enters-final-phase-of-covid-19-trials-heres-what Note 2 * White House coronavirus advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci says that the chances of scientists creating a highly effective vaccine — one that provides 98% or more guaranteed protection — for the virus are slim. * Scientists are hoping for a coronavirus vaccine that is at least 75% effective, but 50% or 60% effective would be acceptable, too, he said. * The FDA has said it would authorize a coronavirus vaccine so long as it is safe and at least 50% effective. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/07/coronavirus-vaccine-dr-fauci-says-chances-of-it-being-highly-effective-is-not-great.html

Looks like the R Con Blue Ocean bar complex, aka Blue Rahtree, near Action Street...next to where the old Rehab GoGo was. It's been totally abandoned for a couple of years, had half a dozen bars hanging on for dear life, paying 100 baht a day rent, now occupied by the homeless. http://www.r-conblueocean.com/rahtree.php

It's a proper pain in the ass mate, especially if the manifolds are installed under an internal wall, that's why I had to totally chop both legs out. I then had to cut as close to the manifold as posible to be able to rod out the pipes.

That's good that you cannot find another source confirming his claims.

The new, improved formula works better in Thailand.

I've had a quick scout round some of the Thai-based media (not exhaustive by any means) and I haven't spotted this "no tourism until Feb 2021" publicised anywhere. Has anyone found it? If not, I just wonder if this is pure scaremongering by "someone". When I played the video, at the time I did wonder how any country, with the current facts available, could say that they're "closed" to tourism for 6 months. That's a helluva long time, apart from the fact it wipes out all of Thailand's high season. If it's fact, in my opinion, the Thai government are bonkers to make such a statement.

Long post to say nothing IMO, but you're entitled your opinion. But dont call other people's opinion "nonsense" ! It's just a different opinion, and everyone is entitled to have his.

Spoke to tilac up in Chaiyaphum yesterday. She wanted to show off her nice new car that she's bought with a hefty bank loan. She was planning on coming back to Patts soon to find someone to "subsidise" her repayments. (I think she was hoping I'd be back next month as usual in Sept to "help out".) She had absolutely no idea that foreign tourists are not allowed into Thailand at the moment or for the forseeable future. That might create a bit of a financial problem for her!! It seems that people up there in darkest Issan are out of touch with the rest of Thailand and just believe that everything is "back to normal" throughout the country. (No, I don't sponsor. Her problem!)

Looks tasty. Many happy returns

A deserted Scooters bar looks a sorry sight.

As others have suggested wait until you have another job in place before you burn your bridges with the current one. If you can engineer redundancy at the same time go for it. I got relocated to Glasgow from Edinburgh and stretched that out for almost a year so that the day after I received my redundancy payment I started a new job. I like Butch's suggestions for getting even. Be creative without the "acting in haste - repenting in leisure."

More scare mongering ? 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

I'm dreading it too. The young 'uns don't give a damn and won't take precautions, and then there's the huge chunks of UK society who think the rules (any rules) don't apply to them. Word is the virus loves cold weather, so when temperatures drop, schools are compulsory again and the furlough is over we could be in the deep stuff and the last few months was just a rehearsal of what is to come. Dangerous days ahead.

If anywhere in SEA opens up before Thailand ? would you give it a go

This winter in the the uk is going to be a bastard. I hope to f**k Thailand opens up for March? Better Hold Fast

This stood out during the afternoon walk. Light drizzle and a temperature of around 15 degrees centigrade.

This series was mentioned before. I am halfway through the first season and it's a good watch IMO. (On Netflix and AMC I believe)

That's not brainstorming, that's a brain fart.... Over 30 years that I have known Thailand, It never ceased to amaze me the kind of absolutely stupid / impossible to execute ideas government officials come up with on a nearly weekly base ....

Pushing the limits of stupidity again .... https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2020/08/15/berlin-brothels-reopen-after-lockdown-but-no-sex-allowed.html Berlin brothels reopen after lockdown, but no sex allowed

Started the day massively hungover but Old Peculier & chilli chips with the snooker are sorting me out.

https://unitynewsnetwork.co.uk/bbc-bans-rudyard-kiplings-mandalay-from-its-vj-day-commemorations/ Raise a glass to Tommy Atkins and his mates, if you live in Thailand you'll understand his sentiments. The politically correct tossers at the BBC may have banned it from the VJ Day celebrations, but I still think it's a great poem by Britain's greatest poet so here it is: Mandalay by Rudyard Kipling. (And yes, I know geography was not his strong point, lol)

Austin-Healey Sprite

Did chish & fips for my kid this lunchtime and served him fresh garden peas and avocado as 2 of his 5 a day. He licked the plate. I had a steak. 🤗

I went for an hour's stroll down Jomtien Beach yesterday afternoon, the area to the south around Soi Wat Bun and Chaiyapruek. It was packed out, as you'd expect on a public holiday, but there were very few farangs around, in an hour I saw maybe a dozen in total. I was taking a daily walk down this way back in April and May when they closed the swimming pools, and there were a lot of farangs around back then. Maybe they just didn't feel like going out yesterday, but I suspect quite a lot of them might have finally gone back home. Another interesting point was that life had almost returned to normal. There was zero attempt at social distancing, and only around 10% of people had face masks on, many of them food vendors. Beer was also being sold openly on the beach, when I thought it was still prohibited. Not a cop in sight, though, so it must all be fine with the authorities, whereas a few months ago you had dozens of them on scooters whizzing up and down Beach Road telling off farangs who had pulled down their face masks to breathe the sea air. After NZ and Vietnam, this all just seems to be asking for trouble. At the moment, though, I got the impression that the Thais, at least those not dependent on the tourist industry, are enjoying having their country back.

Top of the Lake ~Mystery Crime Series Pretty good watch with a huge Thai connection. (Available on Amazon and BBC (I think)

First 2 episodes really good