Smiler

Be interested to hear of your experiences Groggy, I need to renew my licenses at Udon in May. Keep us posted please matey 👍

For anyone in the UK - I have been listening to BBC Radio 6 Music for the last week or so at work and really enjoy the eclectic mix they play. If you are a into soft rock/mid Atlantic stuff then probably not the station for you.

Same as non alcoholic beer it’s just wrong. A bit like licking out your sister…… Tastes the same but it’s just wrong 👀

Young Smiler is also 13 (14 in May) so I know where you are coming from Don. Really don’t envy young teenagers of today, what with the pressures of social media, teen angst etc etc. Like you I am also incredibly proud that my lad tells us the truth, I was an absolute nightmare at his age and one of my greatest fears as a Dad was that he would be like me. Thankfully he is not (apart from his build) and long may that continue.

That works better 👍 What would be the cost of insurance matey and would you buy a wheel lock thingy?

There is a place on the corner of Soi 8 when you make that cut called the tripy or dripy Tap (something like that anyway). It’s on the opposite side to Lolitas 😉. Good food/music/atmosphere and Beer Lao on draft. 👍🍺

Well it takes a certain level of what’s the word I am looking for ……. oh yeah stupidly to question Larry’s knowledge of gogo employment terms but I think we have a winner. 👍😃

I will never forget the season United were in the 2nd division. We used to go to almost every game on a Bostocks coach from Macclesfield. Now the good thing was it was a time when young teenagers could actually go and support their team (unlike now). The bad side was that, let’s be honest, we were out of control. I didn’t so much grow out of it - we moved to South Wales when I was 16. Looking back it was thankfully life changing for me. Grudgingly and with no choice I started playing rugby and learned to channel my aggression into the game which I continued to play into my late thirties.

https://youtu.be/xat1GVnl8-k?si=8wjlnIw-smif4yTr

Over new year’s in the village seemed like everyone had cold/flu of some sort or other. Not seen Mrs smiler so ill for a long time, certainly worse then when we all had covid. TBH I’m still not over it.

Predictably had to cut short my recent trip and returned to the UK on Friday afternoon. UK border was an absolute breeze, I barely broke stride going through passport control. Nipped into the bogs to put on a couple of extra layers of clothing and when I got to the luggage belt my case magically appeared. Straight through customs and I can’t remember a quicker or easier arrival back to Blighty 👍. But what really made my day was happened at the National Express ticket counter at Central Bus station. The machines weren’t available so there was a queue of maybe 6 or 7 people. Up walks a pair of entitled Arab women straight to the front, ignoring everyone else only to be told by a member of staff to join the queue. They protested but the young guy was having none of it and when one of them asked to see the supervisor in charge, he politely showed them his lanyard - it was him 😃. By this time the queue had at least doubled in length, a number of people, myself included, actually physically applauded as they begrudgingly joined the back. Made me proud to be British 👀.

Doing a boydeste - packing 😎

Having 1 or 2 (or more) solid friends you can rely on if the need arises. Unfortunately I’ve seen/heard a number of people crash and burn for whatever reason in Thailand because they didn’t have an effective support network.

Not at an airport but it happpened while I was waiting to go through Immigration coming into Thailand at the bridge in Nong Khai. Was a Friday afternoon and the place was absolutely rammed. I was playing backgammon on my phone, not really paying too much attention to what was going on around me when suddenly all hell breaks loose at the desk about 3 or 4 meters in front. Immigration officers running about, shouting but above all the sound of a women screaming. A white woman, I am guessing from Russia(??) was refused entry and went into meltdown, then she started tearing her clothes off. Not something you see every day at immigration, nice pair of tits by the way....

Let me make it absolutely clear that I don’t like or support in anyway these magnificent creatures being paraded around etc etc. But this wonderful old boy has been visiting our village for a lot longer than the 15 years I have known him. Indeed he used to work on the land up to 10 years ago. Good to meet him again this morning 👍

Rest in Peace Jan, no more pain ❤️. Thinking of you Gal, sending love and positive thoughts to help you get through.

12 or so years ago I had a kick about with some older Thai blokes and unsurprisingly failed dismally at it. They didn’t do the acrobatics I saw today but all the same, the ball control was way, way beyond me.

Spent an hour or so at the inter village sports tournament. Football, volleyball and this game Damn the players are skilled and athletic. Pulled both my hamstrings just watching 🤕. Lots of court side in game betting going on between the village headmen, it really was exciting (even if you don’t quite understand the scoring 👀) with the game decided on the final play of the match.

Wandering around with my chopper out….. IMG_0341.MOV Making an attempt to tidy the Eucalyptus plantation up a bit.

I threw one for a girlfriend Everybody came You should of seen her face….

An old engineering machine shop floor saying when very busy - I don’t know if my arsehole is punched, bored, drilled or countersunk.

There is a fairly high profile English guy and his Thai wife who blog around Isaan. I managed to endure 5 minutes of one of their vids, that was more than enough of the self importance. I saw them at Central in Udon, he threw a hissy fit over something or other and made a twat of himself. She was trying to disown him. Couple of hours later they walk into the Brickhouse and to their credit, ask Max (the boss) if they can film at a table. He said no, too many people and that was that. No drama, they obviously knew Max and sat at the bar with him for the rest of the time I was there.