JohnLeech

You can make what you like of this, as I don't know what it signifies, but if its anywhere in the Pattaya area this car has been for sale and repair in a number of places in Pattaya in recent years, most recently on the corner of Thepprasit and Sukhumvit.

A couple of things it may be useful to know for non Legion-members.

Does "smart casual" mean blazers and medals for those who would normally wear them to the Embassy service?

The Embassy service has effectively been taken over by the various Legion branches and schools due to the wreath-laying process; no offence to the Legion but is the Pattaya service going to be along similar lines where the wreath laying lasts longer than the service, unlike the usual practice where schools and other groups lay their wreaths after the official wreaths (usually no more than one per Armed Service and one per nationality)?

...... How can you tell people who don't really have enough even to meet their basic daily needs to live sufficiently?

Quite easily, apparently - particularly if you have "sufficient" not to have ever worried about anything so tedious as basic daily needs.

Just what "characteristics" are you after? I can't see how Segway characteristics can apply when seated, so if you're just after something that looks like that there are plenty around from 15,000 to 30,000 baht.

Deservedly, hkt.

These bulbs are labelled "not approved for public roads" because their use on public roads is as illegal in Thailand as it is in most of the world.

While they may help the driver see the road they blind any oncoming driver even more badly than those who drive with their headlights permanently on high beam (something that happens all too frequently here).

Using them isn't "funny". Its dangerous.

Given the numbers using the sites, Paul, I think Sweaty's probably got the numbers about right.

When things work out, however they start, there isn't really any way to properly describe the feeling - and I don't knock anyone's background, or how they met, as long as the relationship works for those in it. My Thai partner and I have been together for eight years, and we couldn't be from more different backgrounds.

No, I wasn't playing with numbers or reading from the Socialist Worker; I was there.

Misrepresentation1

Fact: Look at the numbers, which are readily available. Yours are incorrect as you have omitted all the aircraft flown by the Argentinian Navy and the Canberras used as bombers; the Mirages were never used as anything more than decoys (they had insufficient range).

Fact: The Exocets were carried exclusively on the Super Etendards belonging to the Argentinian Navy, not the Mirages as you say

Fact: Dropping napalm was no less acceptable at the time and had a similar effect to white phosphorus, which we used extensively ("fruit and nuts" was the term). The Argentinians actually only used napalm on only one occasion.

Fact: The Scout helicopter shot down at Goose Green was flying in support of the Royal Marines; it was a legitimate target at the time it was engaged.

Misrepresentation2

I never said or implied that the Argentinians were "benevolent" - that's an outright lie.

Fact 1: Any occupier would have done the same - except that many would have arrested and incarcerated potential trouble-makers, not deported them and allowed them to leave.

Fact 2: What is alleged and argued is immaterial and unsupported. The Argentinian Chief of the new Secretariat, Commodore Carlos Bloomer-Reeve who had lived on the island before and was well known to and popular with the islanders, had him removed. There simply was no widspread abuse of the islanders as you allege.

Fact 3: Detention of civilian non-combatants is not contrary to the Geneva Convention. It is routine in military operations anywhere, including by the British. Your claim that "128 Falkland Islanders were interred at Fox Bay ... The detention center was surrounded by a minefield laid down by the Argentinians" is simply untrue. 14 islanders from Stanley were moved to Fox Bay for 3 days (27 April- 1May) then returned to Stanley where they were kept under house arrest - there was no Fox Bay detention centre and no minefield; 114 islanders from Goose Green were imprisoned in the Goose Green Recreation Club for 4 weeks (1 - 29 May).

Fact 4: The Argentinians paid for all civilian property they confiscated.

I am not knocking the legitimacy of the war - just your interpretation of what happened.

The funny thing is that, misleading or not, its got more replies here than any of the threads in the Cycling Forum! Just goes to show what a helpful lot bikers are!

(edited)

. As the aircraft used by the Argentinians was all French sourced, .......

The UK operation also served as a sobering education for the ministry of defense. ........ Although UK service personnel were lost, their sacrifice meant that equipment was re-examined....... When RN personnel suffered horrific burns because of the fabric type used in their uniforms, the situation was analyzed. (The polyester melted to the skin when there was intense heat as was evidenced by the Excocet missile devastation.)

And most importantly of all, the brave Falkland Islanders stood firm against the invading Argentinians.They resisted and there were no collaborators. As soon as the Argies arrived, they changed the official language to Spanish and attempted to force the inhabitants to change the side of the road they were driving on. There was also intimidation and brutality........

Thank God you were never in military intelligence!

Far from being "all French sourced", no more than 10% of the Argentinian aircraft used in the Falklands conflict were French.

Their Pucaras were made by FMA, Argentina's own aircraft company; their Daggers were made by IAI in Israel (and serviced by IAI in Argentina during the conflict), and their F-86 Sabres, A-4 Skyhawks (allegedly re-furbished by Israel) and KC-130 tankers were American.

While the Sun may have the reported about the brave Falkland Islanders, the driving on the right side of the road, the intimidation and brutality, etc, it was "economical with the truth". There was only one road in the Falklands, in Stanley, and only one car (the Governor's London Taxi) so changes to driving regulations had little effect on the locals' tractors. The only "intimidation and brutality" by the Argentinians was by some of their officers to their own troops. Resistance and collaboration? There was none of the former (it would have been pointless) and a questionable amount of the latter. A handful of islanders helped the British troops with local information and directions but most of the Bennies wanted as little to do with the British as they did the Argentinians. They had been ignored by Britain for over a century, with Britain leaving the running of the islands up to the Falkland Islands Company - islanders did not even hold full British Citizenship until 1983, after the war. As for equipment deficiencies and transparency by the UK, dream on. It had been well known for over 20 years that battledress (DPM) uniforms melted, as that lesson had been learnt painfully a number of times in Northern Ireland, but nothing had been done about it. The Sir Galahad changed that, but only because the MoD was shamed into doing what it should have done years before.

No, the sun didn't set on the empire for the simple reason that for the majority of its population the sun seldom shone.

Or maybe you mean The Sun ....?

There have been a lot of documents released recently about WW II from the files of the British secret service. They all serve to try and lessen the obvious errors of the British government at the expense of commonwealth countries. ...........

In a secret report dated June 1942, and only recently declassified, Wavell is said to have asserted:

For the fall of Singapore itself, the Australians are held responsible, while their presence in the town in disproportionately large numbers during the last days, with the escape of large numbers on ships and in boats has aroused great indignation.

Actually, Mark, the report was de-classified nearly 20 years ago and is readily available; it was widely quoted in the press in 1993. If you are as interested as you appear to be you should read the report yourself as it is clear that Wavell did not say that and in the only part of the report that he wrote himself (the covering page) he actually distanced himself from that particular statement, which is nothing more than the Staff Officer concerned's opinion of then current opinion, as Wavell made clear in his penultimate paragraph (para 4): "I have also allowed Appendix B to remain since it represents accurately much current opinion." What you have quoted, and Peter Elphick has mis-quoted, is from that Appendix B which was based on statements by those who had already left Singapore, and which the author (Major HP Thomas) actually rebutted himself.

Wavell played down the significance of the report, ending (para 5) "finally I would remind you of what I know you will bear in mind, that the statements available are those of comparatively junior officers with a limited view; and that the great majority of the senior officers whose preparation, planning and conduct of the operations are criticised, have not had the opportunity of explaining their actions. Signed ……"

(Sorry for the late reply - I have been on a brief "posting holiday". I think you know the feeling!)

So what? You can only fight what's in front of you.

Sinking the Belgrano was a master stroke - how many of OUR troops would have died if we hadn't 'Gotcha'd'. Who cares where it was heading? Responsibility for that act and the conflict as a whole lies solely with Galtieri and the Argentinian people, many of whom STILL yearn for conflict over that godforsaken windswept bit of rock in the middle of nowhere. Why do so many wimpy Eglish types pander to these nutjobs? Why is self flagellation such a turn-on to some people?

As much as I hated her at the time, Thatch got it spot on - no nation should be able to illegally invade sovereign soil and get away with it. One nation holds its head held high; Britain. The Argentinians, French and Americans should hang theirs with shame.

So what? So nothing in particular, p&v, except that it wasn't quite as geriatrickid described it.

How many of OUR troops would have died? Possibly none. Galtieri had already provisionally accepted the peace proposal by Belaunde Terry (President of Peru), where Britain retained sovereignty of the Falklands, but when the Belgrano was sunk the proposal was, not surprisingly, rejected, so we'll never know.

no nation should be able to illegally invade sovereign soil and get away with it. I couldn' t agree more - unfortunately illegally invading sovereign soil and getting away with it is exactly what Britain assisted the Americans in doing in Iraq rather more recently, to Britain's shame.

Alternatively contact the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital.

the short answer, my chunky friend, is that some do.

Quite a few - particularly those who are more sufficient than others!

8888 is sold on auctions (only four 8s though) and prices usually over 1 mill baht

The next one in Chonburi is on 26 and 27 November in Bang Saen - details available from any Chonburi Transport office and many local car dealers. Entry is by registration only (refundable if you don't buy) and according to the local transport office bids are expected to be well above normal as the letters are "auspicious" as well as the numbers; they advised us to go early on the first day to see the local glitterati outbidding each other in a show of poor taste!

If you are in Pattaya go to the Watchara Complex almost opposite Lotus South Pattaya, just after the Thepprasit Road turn on Sukhumvit (heading South), before True Value. Watchara Marine are a main Yamaha watersports dealer.

A sitting-down Segway?!

Not sure I can see the point in that - anyone who needs to sit down to ride it probably doesn't have the balance/ability needed to ride a "conventional" Segway.

You can buy conventional rather than "lean steer/stop/go" Thai/Chinese made sit or stand electric bikes for a fraction of the price os a Segway and many look similar to the above. None, in any case, can be used on public roads and Thailand is hardly noted for its cycle routes.

The liberation of the Falklands is a sterling example. Against terrible odds, and in difficult conditions the courage and bravery of HM defense forces liberated an island invaded by faciast thugs. The UK didn't just liberate the Falklands, they also enabled the return of elections in Argentina.

Hardly, and any idea that Britain still stands for "justice and freedom" disappeared when the UK took part in the unjustified invasion of Iraq.

Prior to the Argentian invasion negotiations were already well under way between Britain and Argentina to hand over sovereignty of the Falklands to Argentina (without consulting the islanders). Galtieri, however saw the invasion as the only way he could remain in power and either avoid elections entirely or avoid losing at the elections, and was never prepared for a military conflct.

The campaign could possibly have been avoided and a negotiated settlement reached, brokered by the US, had the political decision not been taken to sink the Belgrano, which was outside the exclusion zone and heading away from the Falklands.

Without belittling the courage, bravery or ability of the British troops, the odds were hardly "terrible". With the exception of the limited Argentine Air Force and their Exocet missiles, which inflicted the bulk of British casualties, and a very few Argentinian special forces and marines, the Argentine forces were poorly trained and equipped and primarily conscripts who put up little resistance to the far better trained, equipped and supported British ground troops.

The information about Australian troops at singapore comes from "Singapore: The Pregnable Fortress." You can hardly blame them though General Bennett and two of his staff officers told the troops to stay and they left and made it back to Australia.

Peter Elphick's paper has been dismissed by every serious military historian as a baseless fabrication, only partially supported at best by the so-called Wavell Report which was not written by General (later Field-Marshal) Wavell who only ordered an investigation into the fall of Singapore, but by an Indian Army Major and a Captain in the Gurkhas, both staff officers. The only notable thing in the report is the absence of any mention of any desertion by Indian Army troops or the FIA and the number of anecdotal reports about Australian troops later proved to be totally false.

Peter Elphick subsequently changed his line in his later book, Far East on Fire, in which he claimed that "new evidence" showed that there had been a similar number of British deserters. Again, there is little to support his claims, and the figures and names he gives bear no relation to nominal rolls of casuaties, prisoners and evacuees; a number of those he names are not on any nominal roll of those units serving in Singapore.

Try reading Lynette Silver's point by point rebuttal of his paper.

.......We have the necessary paperwork apart from a certificate of residency. Is there any way around this? .............. we are better not to give up Aus residency any time soon........

I think you have simply misunderstood the Certificate of Residency. It is no more than a letter from Thai Immigration or your Embassy (the British Embasssy charge at least 10 times more than any immigration office!) giving your address in Thailand; it has nothing to do with where you are resident for tax purposes, etc.

"Similarly, the side door of the Ranger Max is distinctively yet discretely labelled AXCESS. These functional callouts also extend to the Ranger Max fuel inlet, which is designed to intersect one of the bold wheel arches, labelled FUEL."

Is there some danger of Ford owners confusing the two?

I don't have a Crew Cab/Rear Access System, but I bought a 4 door (Double Cab) 2WD PreRunner this year and looked at the crew cab as I like the idea, but after some more serious thought I dismissed it as a gimick as the 4 door is simply more practical and the pick-up bed in the 4 door is long enough for me.

The leg room is way short of that in the 4 door, which is similar to a good medium sized saloon. No comparison. The 4 door also has rear seat belts (and proper seats!) while as far as I can remember the Crew Cab doesn't, so this could make fitting child seats a problem.

Edit: 35 mpg is about right, possibly a bit better (11-12 kpl)

I have never seen a "rolling" cover here, except one which is fabric so hardly secure. Suitable makes for what you probably want are TopUp, Aeroklas and Carryboy, all of whom have web sites. Cost between 18,000 and 28,000 baht fitted and painted, depending on whether you want one which is manually or electrically operated.

There have been several threads here recently on the pros and cons of Nissan, Toyota, etc, so rather than repeat them take a look at the last two or three pages and, as Kwaki says, try them out for yourself.

Where are you?

There are a number available in booths in Carrefour, Pattaya, but that probably won't help if you are in Chiang Mai!

a thread full of false information, except this post:)

Hardly surprising - I learnt it all here at the master's feet!

Thanks for both of those - that's what I thought.

I'll check the cost with Toyota and probably get them fitted at the next service, hopefully before I have a crunch. I've never needed or thought about them before, which is why I didn't get them fitted, but I've never had a pick-up before either!

Even a hotel address will do, verified by a bill if necessary. Just explain to Immigration what you need, pay the fee, wait a day, and there should be no problem.

And I can also recommend Chattri, whom I have known for some 20 years; if you have a problem selling it he or his brother Pipat, further up the road who deals more with scooters, may either sell it for you or buy it to re-sell.