jayenram

I truly hope that you've forgotten to add Bukkwitt to that list.

Any piss up without the master wouldn't be the same!!

I had the following brought in from UK last week:

Young's Brew dried active yeast

and

Young's Brew super wine yeast compound

all I need now is some kind of fermentation container and I'll give it a go. I'm told the wine yeast is better for cider.

I finally got the equipment I needed to botch up a system and give it a go. I started the process early this morning and within 45 minutes, the fermentation had begun.

Four hours later it was really working well.

Can someone advise me about whether I can legally work on a retirement visa, either full time, part time or even private stuff?

I was told that I could not obtain a work permit (therefore could not work in Thailand) if I was living here on an visa extension based upon retirement. As far as I'm aware this does not preclude work in another country.

I can't remember if I've posted this before however;

for anyone who hasn't see the famous "Bukk Stephenson's Rocket".

I think that your fairly safe with beef given that the kitchen facilities are hygienic. However, pork is a different matter. I had some undercooked laarb moo at a stall in Petchabun last year and couldn't travel further than 10 metres* from the toilet for a week! Gastroenteritis they called it.

* I moved the fish closer to the toilet.

The completed spuds.

This picture was taken the following day after the stuffed spuds had been left in the fridge overnight. The filling becomes much more "fluid" after and tends to 'overflow' under the grill.

I was taught in UK:

Only swerve to avoid a pedestrian.

Progressively brake for a dog or larger animal.

Take no action for cats, ducks, chickens etc., they can generally look after themselves.

Glad you're OK.

Prettiest racing camel first prize:

It's Too Late To Stop Now - Van Morrison

Live - Colosseum

The Long Black Veil - The Chieftains

The Delicate Sound Of Thunder - Pink Floyd

Marjory Razorblade - Kevin Coyne

Got nothing to do? Try this:

Bake a few potatoes in the oven (not the bloody microwave, you morons). Cut them in half and scoop out the white bit. Mash the cut out bit with cheese (grated), chopped onion, garlic and chilies (finely chopped), a spoonful of tomato puree, a bit of butter and some milk, salt, pepper and fresh chopped corriander leaves (or parsley if you are from Lancashire). Put anything else in if you wish (Mercans may like tabasco). Put the mixture back in the half spuds and grill until golden brown on the top. If you are not Lancastrian, you may like to sprinkle the halves with dried parsley prior to grilling.

Made some last night so I took a few snaps (sorry about the last one, it was getting late).

The hollowed out halves.

The mashed filling.

The filled halves ready for grilling.

The completed spuds.

I've lived here in the North East for coming on eight years. My house has not been burgled and neither has my truck. I have no knowledge of other farangs in the area suffering such a fate either.

My truck is left unattended for days sometimes (admittedly with a steering lock) without anything being removed.

Leave a truck in the centre of Liverpool for more than an hour and you'd be walking home.

you give up a bit to waste but so what...ginger is cheap...

I usually buy 5 or 6 'pieces' if I'm intending to include ginger in a dish. I peel the lot and cut the dish's required amount into tiny cubes. The remainder, I coarsely chop and then liquidise with a little water added. Then freeze in a plastic container for future use.

I also do the same with garlic.

As the rainy season arrives, we have the usual 'black outs' during the thunderstorms. The power goes off at the arrival of the storm and returns once the storm has subsided. Do the Electric Authority actually shut down the system as a precaution?

Minced beef in Thailand? Yuk.

What do you suppose that Thai butcher is throwng in there anyway?

I'll eat a burger at the JW Marriott sometimes. They grind their own beef and only keep it 24 hours.

Delicious too.

If I need minced beef, I mince my own. Then I know exactly what goes in it.

Koh Chang 2002

Bali 2001

Scooby Doo is my favorite cartoon character. I used to run home from school so I wouldn't miss an episode.

As television wasn't invented when I went to school, I used to rush home to "Listen With Mother".

Mine is a grumpy old fart holding a bottle and glass of Archa beer.

I'm at a complete loss why I originally chose it.

Almost eight years ago when I moved to Surin, there were many things (farang type stuff) that were not available which meant shopping trips to Khorat or Khon Kaen on a regular basis. However, since then we have witnessed the arrival of Makro, Tesco Lotus and Big 'C'. Now the only stuff I am short of are Oxo cubes, dried peas and suet, although regular visitors from the UK usually see me right in this respect.

Regarding the heat and humidity, it took me quite a while to acclimatise and even now, particularly at this time of year, it verges on the unbearable. However, thinking of the cold and wet UK weather helps a lot.

There is a Thai 'Highway Code' although I've never seen an English version

The English version is here

http://geocities.com/bkkriders/law/handbook/index.html

Page 14 - "Overtaking Safely"

"When overtaking another vehicle, you must pass along the right and the passing must be done on the left"

If this is a literal translation from the Thai, it's no wonder the driving here is somewhat erratic.

i CAME OUT OF FOODLAND YESTERDAY AND TURNED LEFT INTO THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC, I NEARLY HIT A BIKE COMING AT ME ON MY SIDE OF THE ROAD, IF I HAD HIT HIM I KNOW IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MY FAULT FOR BEING IN THAILAND, HAD I BEEN IN THE UK THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED ( THAI PHILOSAPHY ) I KNOW. I SPELT IT WRONG !

The attached drawing shows my recollection of a motorcyclist turning right onto a dual carriageway. This doesn't really surprise anyone who drives in Thailand regularly, however, the rider was actually coming out of the license office, probably with his shiny new license in his pocket.

I was told some time ago by a girl named "Beer" that her mother had chosen that because she'd had a craving for beer during her pregnancy. Not sure about Meow's mum.

The SMC Pentax lenses (2.8 28mm/1.2 50mm/ 2.8 50mm Macro and a Tamron 75-250mm telephoto) all need an internal cleaning but seem to work ok.

I recently bought a Pentax *ist DL digital SLR (about bht 25,000.00) onto which all my old SMC lenses fit.

The nature of the digital format cause the lenses to be approximately 1.5 times the stated focal length:

1:2.8 24 mm - now 36 mm

1:2.8 40 mm - now 60 mm

1:1.7 50 mm - now 75 mm (a good portrait lense for low light)

1:2.8 100 mm - now 150 mm

1:4.0 75 - 205 mm - now 102 - 307 mm (a handy tele zoom)

1:8.0 500 mm - now 750 mm (impossible to hold steady)

C'mon Merv, everything is taxed, you get taxed when you earn it, taxed when you save it, taxed when you spend it and then you get taxed on the income you may accrue from paying taxes in the first place.

My own experience:

My company pension contributions were deducted from my salary before the salary was subjected to income tax. The pension I now receive from the UK is subject to income tax, above the personal allowance. I contacted the Inland Revenue a few years ago to advise them that approximately 25% of my pension contributions were made during the time I was working overseas (UK tax exempt) therefor 25% of my pension now being received should be non-taxable. They disagreed pointing out that, in accordance with UK tax laws, a minimum of 10 years working overseas was the yardstick for tax exemption.

Christ I'm glad I've never had Filipino food!

They can certainly cook a leg of pork. Crispy Patta.

Had it in Hong Kong and Manila.