bannork

The conservatives know they're going to get hammered in the election yet they still hope Prayuth or Pravit can be PM. How? The constitution doesn't limit the length of time that a new government must be formed within post election. So Prayut continues as a caretaker government, he's got the senators, the MPs from the present government. All he has to do is 'persuade' enough PT MPs to switch sides, as they've done before, and hey! Bob, or rather Tu, is your uncle again. I hope I'm wrong but the deliberate loophole of no time limit to form a government is a worry.

Oh dear! The staid Democrat Party, conservative to the core, devoid of any catchy slogans since time immemorial, have finally found a gimmick. Are their polling figures so bad this is all they can think of? They have some decent folks in their ranks but they just can't grasp the winds of change. The young will vote for MF or PT, the grass roots will vote for PT. The conservatives will vote for Prayut or Pravit. There's no one left to vote for The Democrats. Voting for Prayuth as PM will turn out to be their death knell. Just a few MPs will be left post election, plus thousands of illegal sex dolls crying out for legitimacy.

It's Settha's opinion but he's not the owner of PT. In the end the man in Dubai, the owner, will see post election which way the sand is blowing and build his castle there.

Not again! https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65358070

Russia's suffocating total control of the arts. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65347833

'Honestly occifer, it wuz jus the one' Do they have lao khao in Russia?

Loved his Barry McKenzie cartoon strip in Private Eye back in the early 70s. We learnt some wonderful vocab- A technicolour yawn ( throwing up), point percy at the porcelain, etc. His Dane Edna persona was so funny, his timing and the hilarious put downs.

Pardoned Wagner convicts return to terrorise home towns https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/22/alcohol-and-prostitutes-wagner-convicts-pardoned-by-putin-return-to-terrorise-home-towns

In my experience there are usually power cuts following the first storms of the year, but by May the authorities have got their act together Owl, have you noticed the street lights are on in the day on the road from Phen into Ban Dung?

Another nice drop of rain, Owl. Shame the electricity has gone off but that's par for the start of the rains. Expect it to come on about 2.00 am

Oh dear Nigel, back to Reading 101. The article mentions Brexit trade barriers on the first page and later on it quotes a retailer saying shortages of some vegetables and fruits from Spain are an indirect consequence of Brexit. Farmers/ wholesalers will sell to the most accessible market first, ie the EU. Countries outside are at the back of the queue

Bliss

What an extraordinary man and family.

The sea. It's wonderful, especially in the tropics where a dip is bliss.. If I'm alone, it can make me pensive, walking along the shore line, the waves breaking as they have for eternity. And I think of my parents, grandparents, etc all gone, and how these waves will continue to turn, crash on the beach and retreat, on and on, the endless cycle sweeping our lives into the sea to be forgotten. And then my two year and a half old grandson sees the sea at Chantaburi for the first time. He can't contain his excitement, running into the waves. I have to hold onto him to stop him being swept away, lifting him up to avoid the stronger waves engulfing him.He loves it, trying to smash the waves with his hand, karate style. Me against the waves, he's saying, but he doesn't know their strength. His five year old sister joins him in the waves, laughing as she splashes around. Later we build sandcastles, follow sand crabs. There's nothing more wonderful than the sea and a beach for a child when it's a treat.

The world is not your oyster post Brexit. More economic damage

Tax exiles on the run