Butch

Sitting through a God almighty thunderstorm, while trying to explain to our Filipino Nurses living here that we don't get a monsoon season here in the UK, despite the fact it's been over 35degrees C this week and it's now coming down in buckets. They are finding it hard to believe.

Not asking if you drink it, but do you trust it to be : Not Watered Down: Caveat emptor, I think it is fair to assume most, if not all draft is watered down to a degree. I am not an expert in the field, but after 9 draft "changs" one evening on Soi LK and only needing to use the toilet a lot, I was still as sober as a judge (ish). The Genuine article / Brand See above. I can't tell the difference in taste between draft Chang and my own piddle, let alone Singha or anything else. Fresh Again, is draft cheap due to it nearing its sell by date?. I know here in the UK my mate runs a "cheap booze" shop, he gets his close to date beer at 60% off in some cases, but I'm talking about bottles and cans, not draft. Can some bars legally sell out of date draft, not declare it yet pick it up for peanuts?. Remember, TiT. Not the leftovers from a previous customers drink I do know a few managers around town, one of the more scrupulous ones told me he bins all unused drafts down the sink (well known manager on LK) , but some ...ahem managers and GoGo Bars will "recycle" a draft for another customer, taking one half drunk glass, or nearly full one, top it up to add some fizz and pocket the money. I will often order a draft if I want to waste some time in a GGB and not actually drink in there, so 70 / 80/ 90 baht gets me a one hour ticket, I'll just leave it to get warm, check bin and go. Cheaper than ordering a 120 baht bottle of water or Coke light, and If I get chatting to a girl and want to stay, I'll just stick it to one side or the table next to me and order a top shelf for me and a LD for her. Whether this is done by the staff without the knowledge of the Manager is anyone's guess, but fair play to them for not missing a trick. Whaddya think??

I'm going to view this over the next few days, taking a "Z " Expert with me. Depending upon the condition (I noticed rust creeping up from the sill) then I might well be the new owner come next week.Also we will have to verify the authenticity along with matching engine numbers etc. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Datsun-260Z-2-2-SUPER-SAMURI-Register-No-SS00020/313154301189?hash=item48e9736d05:g:zdEAAOSw1mdekFBV If I am, then it'll be bare shell stripped, dipped, blasted and gone through, but from the pics the bonnet is slightly out of line, along with the gap on the drivers side front wing at the top, and the swage line on one side is out by a few mm, indicating a possible front end shunt (In pic 10, the swage line aling the door dips down very slightly, on the passenger side, in pic 11 it is straight, plus it's got a new front bumper...). we shall see. The panel gaps on Japanese cars of this era were never perfect, but they were more perfect than UK cars of the same period, however, these were factory built so there shouldn't be too much discrepancy in the gaps.

Just after posting I topped up £500 on Purple Bricks at 51.90, as of today they're up to 71p pence. Still a bit of movement left in them, might see them up to about £1 a share over the next 3 months. Taylor Wimpey are also looking good. at 120 pence per share they're down a chunk from their normal level. Stable company, again, with the Govt breaks on Stamp duty it can only bode well for the Builders. Imperial Brands are very cheap, good for a long term punt of 5 years or more to reap the future dividends, or perhaps avail of any hostile takeover bid. Shares will drop because the current CFO just jacked in, worth a look, but they are not a cheap share.

"The essential handbook of advanced masturbatory techniques"

Good choice, the V8's of the E92 were known to be troublesome. I always liked the sound of the E46 and the straight 6 has a nice rasp to it. Bloke nearby has a real garage queen, a 2002 Turbo which only comes out for shows and sunny days, another BMW I'd like to own :)

Mods This is also cross post from the Pattaya talk forum, where I put it up an hour or so ago. Apologies if it is in the wrong area. https://www.ttgasia.com/2020/08/07/tat-deputy-governor-dashes-hopes-of-2020-reopening-for-thailands-international-borders/ Text paste: AT deputy governor dashes hopes of 2020 reopening for Thailand’s international borders By Marissa Carruthers / Posted on 7 August, 2020 18:50 Thailand is unlikely to reopen its borders to international leisure visitors this year, predicted a deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Speaking at a webinar hosted by Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office and TravelMole, Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, deputy governor for international marketing at TAT, said that there has been no talk of or timeline issued for reopening the country to inbound or outbound leisure travel during weekly Covid-19 national meetings. He added that as part of the government’s “very, very cautious” approach to reopening borders, he does not expect Thailand to welcome leisure visitors until 2021. Noted Ayudhya: “I see no signal from the government that the country will open this year. That’s putting lot of pressure on the tourism industry. The Christmas period, usually the high season, is in jeopardy and I’m looking horribly even to Chinese New Year in February, which is an iffy proposition at best now. Unfortunately, this is not a rosy picture.” He added that discussions over creating travel bubbles have also been halted. Said Ayudhya: “Last month, there was talk about forming travel bubbles. That talk has not continued so far because of outbreaks in many of the countries we were hoping to get tourists from, unfortunately, including Vietnam.” However, the list of groups allowed into Thailand under strict measures has been expanded from diplomats, UN officials, as well as business people and investors who have an agreement with the government to include film crews and exhibition personnel. This is only applicable to visitors from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China and Hong Kong. Every arrival must spend 14 days in quarantine. Thailand will also open up to select countries for medical tourism. Ayudhya added plans are being mooted for when safe bubbles can be formed for leisure travel, with a proposal that all visitors spend a minimum of 30 days in the country. This would be in designated areas – probably islands, such as Koh Samui or Phuket. “Currently, this is not moving forward as the government is taking a wait-and-see attitude. They want to see how the current groups of foreigners, such as film crews and diplomats, do first. There is still a lot of nervousness,” he said. With uncertainties surrounding the reopening of borders to international travel, Thai tourism operators are proposing a new inbound tourism plan, called Safe and Sealed, to replace travel bubbles, reported the Bangkok Post. The scheme is designed to help tourism businesses tide through and avoid layoffs this year, should Thai borders remain shut to international visitors. During a joint meeting of the Tourism and Sports Ministry and the private sector chaired by tourism minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, tourism-related groups proposed to allow tourists to enter Thailand in 4Q, said the report. As compared to the travel bubble scheme, the plan envisages safer, more flexible screening procedures for many countries, it added. Under the plan, explained Vichit, only visitors from cities with a record of zero infections for at least a 30-day window will be selected, and they will be able to travel and stay in designated hotels and provinces. Other safety protocols will include a Covid-free certificate 72 hours before flights, as well as insurance and swab tests. The report also quoted Vichit Prakobgosol, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, as saying that although Thailand has started allowing entry for certain group of foreigners, the tally will be below 100,000, which is inadequate to buoy the tourism industry. The new inbound plan is expected to draw at least 500,000 tourists to Thailand and generate 50 billion baht in revenue, according to the report. TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said Phiphat will forward the proposal to related organisations, said the report. According to Yuthasak, the tourism sector employed four million workers pre-Covid, but with businesses having zero revenue over the past six months, unemployment in the sector could grow to 2.5 million.

Back when I was 21, my brother asked his mate to take me and let me drive his Race prepared Escort around Brands Hatch, when we arrived there was a D type stretching her legs. First and last time I've ever seen one, they're a multi million pound car these days. Your friend has a damn good retirement to look forward to !!

sorry to go off topic a bit (apologies Mods) - How did the roadster compare driving wise? did you notice there more flex in the chassis? (I know most petrol heads have an opinion on the aesthetics lol :) ) Personally I love them, the contours of the E type are unparalleled for anything else at the time. In some ways I wish I could have been there for the reveal at Geneva, the sheer chock on the faces of people and a generation used to Rileys, Morris and the like coming out of the UK, and also to have been stood somewhere as one of these purred along the high street back in the 60's, everyone looking at it. Awesome.

We went to Bluewater today ( A massive shopping Mall near to Dartford) Saturday, early August, the place was pretty much deserted. We had a few deals, a lot (most) of places offering 50% off, and a lot of the shops had a handful of customers. Never seen it so quiet, even mid week when the kids are at school. Sunglass hut are offering 50% off the 2020 line of Ray Bans, plus if you buy 2 pairs you then get an extra 30% off on top of that!. It was still hot, over 30 most of the day.

OOOhhhhh.....nice. Are they centre lock wheels? Must be a b*tch to keep them clean as well. The colour suits it.

It was stifling here today, even the wife was moaning about it and it hit 36 at one point, possibly higher in other places such as London. Here's a pic I took in the car, in the shade at 5 pm! Glad I'm not at work , I do have some stuff to do but the finishing of the Garden will just have to wait until it cools down a bit. Chose a good week to have a holiday I think 🙂

In some ways I want to save that for later but damn I want to hear it. Joe is badass, he also has such humanity it is sometimes hard to equate that with him no nonsense image Dammit, I'll give it a listen now. there will probably be an edit @30 min into this post. Edit, it took 26 mins. F*ck.That is some serious mis justice there, and it begs a question about US Law enforcement. Jesus.

Flash git. 😄

Daiwa I think 🙂

Emirates have just reinstated their second LHR service with an A380, they expect their service to be back up to 50% of pre pandemic levels operationally by August. not entirely sure where the passengers are going to come from, but it certainly does inspire a bit of confidence. There's a few good articles on this site, also the source for the above: https://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/category/airline/

I should have given you a wave, I was in Southwold yesterday :) Currently (or about to, after my cuppa) TIG Weld the final piece of a bespoke inlet manifold for a friends project.

Tell that to Elon 😀 You're correct of course, Diesel trucks will always be here, they're getting cleaner and more efficient all the time.

A lot more than that Mr Omlette 🙂 . Our local trust has had 250 come through, with another 350 for next year, that does however cover East Anglia , not just one hospital. The problem with the RP is that nursing is seen as a ticket out and overseas, so swathes of newly qualified or 1 year experienced Nurses leave every year, meaning that the private hospitals there need to make staying in the RP a viable option, which in turn increases costs. Word on the street in Manila (well, word from our subdivision where the mother in law is living in our house lol) is that given the very high number of C-19 cases there at the moment, people are again, genuinely fearful. I think (might be wrong though) the rules are no one under 20 and no one over 60 are allowed out and about, unless it's for work etc. Local barangay are checking ID'd etc, but as local barangay are very often family friends of people living in the very community they serve, they seem to be just going through the motions rather than getting authoritative. I am of course only speaking about the localised Manila area, it's not indicative of the whole of the RP.

Fixed that. I think I'd prefer a camper van myself, although they are prohibitively expensive these days for a classic.

that's a good spot right there although I'm not 100% convinced on the rear end styling.

Not sure where my post went Bazle, if it was deleted by a Mod then it's usually polite to say why. I think (my opinion only mate) a start might be to perhaps instead of sitting enjoying the international attention at being in the top 5 Countries dealing with C-19, they actually start looking at rebuilding the economy and allow the hospitals to "run hot", rather than jumping with fear every time there is a case and then enforcing draconian measures. Sadly this is not going away anytime soon, and even if a vaccine is rolled out, getting it distributed will also take a lot of time. A relatively small outbreak needs a relatively moderate yet robust response, deal with it locally rather than nationally. As I said, just my opinion chap 🙂 Oddly it also seems that Asians are more susceptible to c-19 in the UK at least ( or BAME to give it the "woke" title), the numbers are relatively high in comparison. People still don't know why.

I really hope the Marquee can survive, it's a great little bar with good prices, service and half decent food. Reports coming in from around town are not encouraging though, we're still a fair way from any light at the end of this tunnel. Xmas will be a non event, peak season will come and go like a fart in the wind, and the Junta will continue to fiddle while everything burns.

Source: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/philippines-covid-19-coronavirus-lock-down-surge-cases-12992128 also another interesting article concerning Thailand and the RP on the same page (scroll down) https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/thailand-covid-19-tourism-travel-bubble-asia-cases-12995474 We live in Cavite, as does the Mother in Law, part of the family are in Bacoor which is a division of Cavite, so they're all now under the new 2 week quarantine. We've been skyping them this morning, it's not as draconian as Martial law, but a majority of businesses have closed, including a few local markets. Oddly, some Jeepneys still operate (for the time being) within local subdivisions but overall, it's very much a case of Deja Vu for many people. Whether or not this will work is another thing entirely.

Jaguar do a nice hybrid, then again they do a nice V8 F Type ...