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MrMuddle
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Posts posted by MrMuddle
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Hard to believe that someone regularly hangs around in banks just waiting for a customer to draw some cash and put it down on a desk whilst checking his pockets (how often does that happen?) then accuse the customer of stealing the cash.
What could he possibly gain? CCTV cameras would inevitably show the truth.
My guess would be that this was some sort of misunderstanding, language or otherwise.
Brings to mind Douglas Adams 'biscuits' story - worth reading if you don't know it already:-
This actually did happen to a real person, and the real person is me. I had gone to catch a train. This was April 1976, in Cambridge, U.K. I was a bit early for the train. I'd gotten the time of the train wrong. I went to get myself a newspaper to do the crossword, and a cup of coffee and a packet of biscuits. I went and sat at a table. I want you to picture the scene. It's very important that you get this very clear in your mind. Here's the table, newspaper, cup of coffee, packet of biscuits. There's a guy sitting opposite me, perfectly ordinary-looking guy wearing a business suit, carrying a briefcase. It didn't look like he was going to do anything weird. What he did was this: he suddenly leaned across, picked up the packet of biscuits, tore it open, took one out, and ate it.
Now this, I have to say, is the sort of thing the British are very bad at dealing with. There's nothing in our background, upbringing, or education that teaches you how to deal with someone who in broad daylight has just stolen your biscuits. You know what would happen if this had been South Central Los Angeles. There would have very quickly been gunfire, helicopters coming in, CNN, you know… But in the end, I did what any red-blooded Englishman would do: I ignored it. And I stared at the newspaper, took a sip of coffee, tried to do a clue in the newspaper, couldn't do anything, and thought, What am I going to do?
In the end I thought Nothing for it, I'll just have to go for it, and I tried very hard not to notice the fact that the packet was already mysteriously opened. I took out a biscuit for myself. I thought, That settled him. But it hadn't because a moment or two later he did it again. He took another biscuit. Having not mentioned it the first time, it was somehow even harder to raise the subject the second time around. "Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice…" I mean, it doesn't really work.
We went through the whole packet like this. When I say the whole packet, I mean there were only about eight biscuits, but it felt like a lifetime. He took one, I took one, he took one, I took one. Finally, when we got to the end, he stood up and walked away. Well, we exchanged meaningful looks, then he walked away, and I breathed a sigh of relief and sat back.
A moment or two later the train was coming in, so I tossed back the rest of my coffee, stood up, picked up the newspaper, and underneath the newspaper were my biscuits. The thing I like particularly about this story is the sensation that somewhere in England there has been wandering around for the last quarter-century a perfectly ordinary guy who's had the same exact story, only he doesn't have the punch line.
-Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt
"Biscuits"
Ha ha ! Thanks for that - I've started the day with a smile.
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You are in luck, as (I think) the big fireworks display is being held on Dec 16th and 17th. If it's not postponed again!
Ah Robertsons, I've never forgiven the PC crowd for making them get rid of the Golly. I'll be looking out for some of their jams while I'm in Pattaya.
janverbeem, if you think mincemeat is strange, some British people also enjoy eating faggots !
Here's the recipe:
here you go;
at friendship in the Jam section and curiously also in the Sharwoods curry section
to quote a friend it seems Thais know as little about Mincemeat as many farangs on this board.........
Thank you for taking the trouble, much appreciated. Unfortunately, due to a death in the family, we have had to postpone the trip until 17th/18th December, (was supposed to be this weekend). Hope they have some left.
That is good news ! We're bringing a 2 year old nephew with us, so it should be fun.
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Forkinhades, did you have to do the test where you line up two poles ? I had to do it last year on my first driving licence application, and didn't really understand it, until I had a look at the machine. Still found it difficult, even when I knew what to do. is there a form for the letter of residence from immigration ? I was told at Phitsanulok that they charged 2000 baht for this.
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Ah Robertsons, I've never forgiven the PC crowd for making them get rid of the Golly. I'll be looking out for some of their jams while I'm in Pattaya.
janverbeem, if you think mincemeat is strange, some British people also enjoy eating faggots !
Here's the recipe:
here you go;
at friendship in the Jam section and curiously also in the Sharwoods curry section
to quote a friend it seems Thais know as little about Mincemeat as many farangs on this board.........
Thank you for taking the trouble, much appreciated. Unfortunately, due to a death in the family, we have had to postpone the trip until 17th/18th December, (was supposed to be this weekend). Hope they have some left.
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I honestly think that the Thai Tourism authorities could do a lot better, if they concentrated on removing all of the things that people complain about regularly on here, How long have members complained about dual pricing, jet ski scams, the tuk-tuk mafia, visa problems, the immigration queues and many, many more problems that are simply never addressed ?
The kind of tourists targeted by the authorities, are, we are told, families. But if you have a wife and a couple of kids, entry to somewhere that charges you double, or more, simply because you're a foreigner, quickly becomes a lot more expensive a holiday than you had budgeted for. If you end up spending a lot more than you had expected to, will you return ?
The fact that Jet ski scams and the tuk-tuk mafia are both allowed to continue is simply ridiculous. Neither bring any benefit to the country, and only result in people not returning, and also give extremely bad publicity to the tourism industry here as a whole.
While the initial 30 day tourist visa is quite adequate for most holiday makers, for those on long term stays the visa runs are a nightmare.
The immigration queues, are just what you don't need after a long flight, it spoils the start of the holiday, and again should have been sorted out long ago, as should the attitude of many of the immigration staff. Once you get through immigration, there is then the crowds of illegal taxi owners, at exorbitant prices to get through. hardly a memorable welcome.
The political problems of the last few years, have also stopped a lot of people even considering Thailand as a holiday destination. It would be interesting to know, how many of the people stuck at the airport, during the PAD occupation have ever returned to Thailand. The red shirt protests and the violence that followed are another factor that weighs heavily against the first-time tourist coming here, if you'd never been. Would you bring your loved ones to a country where bombs are going off, the army are shooting civilians, and politicians are performing blood rituals ? No, me neither.
The current floods are yet another reason for looking elsewhere to spend your holiday money. The mismanagement of the situation is farcical, floods bring dirt, disease, and health problems. Would you risk coming here, in a major economic crisis, when there is a good chance you may end up seriously ill ?
While I'm sure the tourism figures will be manipulated to give the right result, I'm sure that in reality, the drive will be a failure. It's an awful shame, this is a lovely country, the majority of it's people are good, but with all the problems I can only see tourism going down over the next few years.
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I have only flown with them once, from Bangkok to Singapore, about 5 years ago, the price was as advertised, we got a good deal on a hotel with them, and the staff were extremely caring and courteous in looking after my elderly Thai mother-in-law. There were plenty of seats for everyone on board. From my previous experience, I'd certainly fly with them again, I've been on much worse airlines, and paid a lot more money, for inferior service, than that provided by Air Asia.
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Upon receiving the new passport you have to visit Thai Immigration to get the stamp transferred.
This year that method seems to have been changed and those on visa entry are being told to just take care of it when leaving. Only those on extension of stay seem to be transferred these days.
I need to renew my UK passport in late January, which I plan to send off while I'm in Bangkok for a health check, so I think I'm OK on the 9 month rule (it expires early October 2012). When (or possibly if !) I get the new passport, do I take it to my local immigration office to transfer the retirement stamp, which is at Phitsanulok, and is the transfer free, or is there a fee to pay ? Thanks for your help.
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A happy St Andrews day to all Thai Visa members from Scotland.
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Banglay, what a nice idea. I hate to agree with jehrecaholic, but it is probably a good idea to visit an orphanage, and ask what they need.
It's a bit early, but I hope you have a Very Happy Christmas.
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Ah Robertsons, I've never forgiven the PC crowd for making them get rid of the Golly. I'll be looking out for some of their jams while I'm in Pattaya.
janverbeem, if you think mincemeat is strange, some British people also enjoy eating faggots !
Here's the recipe:
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This disaster is just an opportunity for the politicians and their friends to siphon even more of our taxes into their very own large pockets. Lets hope that more of them are caught and put behind bars for the rest of their life. Maybe then the corruption will slow down. But that is very big hope and not much reality.
The problem is, when they're caught they flee the country. One thing I admire about the Chinese, they execute corrupt officials.
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Timekeeper, I'd appreciate if you can post on here if you see any. Don't want to end up with a "Jealous Mind" !
Off-topic, I'd completely forgotten about Alvin Stardust's Road Safety adverts.....good job they didn't pick Gary Glitter.
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Even at todays historically low Bank interest rates, a return of a few percent is better than losing the lot, which is what will happen if you buy a bar. Buying bars is like gambling, very, very, few break even, and even fewer make a profit.
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As of today I can confirm Friendship on Pattaya Tai has two brands of Xmas pudds. The only thing I have never been able to get in town is mincemeat to make my own mince pies.
Thanks for the information Rab, as I can eat mince pies at any time of the year, where did you get the mincemeat ? I'll grab a jar or two while we're there.
As there are several fellow Scotsmen on here, is there anywhere in Pattaya that sells Scottish flags ? I brought one over several years ago, for the garden, but it needs replacing. I bought it in Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, on a day out there, when we lived in the UK, and when I opened it here it was made in China !
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as you are staying Centrally, try central festival food hall first
lots of Waitrose stuff in there
next the Villa market at the Avenue second road
failing that then Friendship on Pattaya Thai should fix you up
they even have Fray Bentos tinned pies and puddings.................
Just as an aside Timekeeper, did u know Baxters of Fochabers (Cockaleekie soup etc!!) have just bought over Fray Bentos!!
Anyway, Western on Chaiyapruek 2 have christmas puddings , mincemeat pies etc, and he is now taking orders for Turkeys!! http://www.wwmco.asia/ highly recommended by me!!
Thanks Lenny, I've emailed the company in your link for directions to the shop. Baxters soups, another product for my steadily growing list !
Weren't Fray Bentos an Argentinian company ? I seem to remember people boycotting their products during the Falklands conflict
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as you are staying Centrally, try central festival food hall first
lots of Waitrose stuff in there
next the Villa market at the Avenue second road
failing that then Friendship on Pattaya Thai should fix you up
they even have Fray Bentos tinned pies and puddings.................
Thanks for the reply. Central festival food hall is Big C, if I remember correctly, it's been a few years since I've been to "the dark side'.
I seem to recall that Friendship used to sell Guinness, but that was a lot of years ago.
no sir, central festival center is a huge shopping center that straddles beach road and second road, next to the police station soi
The Hilton Hotel is attached to it
the shopping is provided by Tops in the basement but they do have a lot of imported farang favorites as well as Thai foods
if you have not seen it and you like shopping then you are in for a treat...........
Thanks for the reply. I must be getting confused, in my old age. Last time we were in Pattaya, was 7 or 8 years ago, this shopping centre was still being talked about. Luckily we're coming in a mini-bus, one of my Thai nieces is organising it, as part of her college studies. If the shopping is as good as you say, we might have to leave one of the family members behind, to make room!
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as you are staying Centrally, try central festival food hall first
lots of Waitrose stuff in there
next the Villa market at the Avenue second road
failing that then Friendship on Pattaya Thai should fix you up
they even have Fray Bentos tinned pies and puddings.................
Thanks for the reply. Central festival food hall is Big C, if I remember correctly, it's been a few years since I've been to "the dark side'.
I seem to recall that Friendship used to sell Guinness, but that was a lot of years ago.
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I think you should be asking these questions in the Pattaya forum!
Didn't realise there was one ! Thanks.
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OK, we're coming down to the big, bad city next week. I would like to be able to do some Christmas food shopping in Pattaya, while we're there. I'm looking for Christmas puddings, (and rum sauce mix), vegetarian suet dumpling mix, mince pies, brussels sprouts, fishermans pies, and english sweets. Any recommendations of where to shop much appreciated. We'll be staying centrally, on the second road.
Thanks for any suggestions.
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ludditeman wrote
"Problem is, it's you that is the racist (or religionist)
I don't care about your religion (or your sexuality) or what happened to people of your religion in the past.
You are the one that keeps banging on about Jews, not me.
It's almost as if you revel in being part of minority groups.
Get over it and move on. Most of us really don't care. "
I believe that this sort of behaviour is known as attention-seeking. The unusually large number of posts submitted reinforces this theory, or it could just be a serious lack of a life.
Everyone's either a psychiatrist, a comedian, or both. Thanks for sharing, Dr. Freud. Let us keep to the TOPIC or better yet, forget the topic because this court is rather worthless anyway, considering the source.
What I find interesting (psychologically?) is not one poster has bothered to even try to rebut my point about comparing Mahathir Mohamad to Netanyahu and how both being of very low regard internationally, neither have any business ruling on the guilt or innocence of the national leaders of OTHER countries. Instead, just personal insults. I reckon I've won the debate here (by default).
A case of premature exclamation ?
Perhaps that explains the huge number of utterly boring, tiresome postings. Not everything in the world is related to Jews or anti-semitism, no matter how hard you try to push your irrational beliefs.
The plain fact is, with the amount of evidence available, that Bush and Blair deceived their governments, the people that elected them, the United Nations, in fact anyone who believed their lies, into starting an unjust war in Iraq.
In a just court, anywhere in the world, they would be found guilty and sentenced. Thousands of people, have died or have had their lives totally wrecked because of Bush & Blairs deceit. The fact that the vast majority of the victims are Muslim, only worsens any argument about a narrow minded perception of anti-semitism.
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Jews. Anti-semitism is racism.Please could you explain to a forgetful reader like me which race he is promoting to hate?
I think that is a trick question though, because it's complicated. Jews are not a race, they are a people, and not all Jews are at all religious and many who are religious profess other religions than Judaism such as Buddhism, so there is more to it than just religion. If you need to know more, read some books. Too big a topic for a thread like this.
If you don't understand the difference between a race and a people, here are some other examples of peoples:
Tai people, Kurdish people, Roma people, Australian Aboriginal people, Slovak people, etc. To further complicate it, mainstream anthropologists are now rejecting the concept of race altogether in the conventional sense where we distinguish between so called races like Caucasians and Asians as different races. But even if there is no biological basis for different races (skin color etc. represents a very tiny part of the human race's genetic code), racism still exists as racism is a SOCIAL construct as opposed to a biological one.
Do they also have a specific name for anti-palestinian?
There are several: Republican, Israeli, or anybody that seeks to deny people rights in their own land.
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ludditeman wrote
"Problem is, it's you that is the racist (or religionist)
I don't care about your religion (or your sexuality) or what happened to people of your religion in the past.
You are the one that keeps banging on about Jews, not me.
It's almost as if you revel in being part of minority groups.
Get over it and move on. Most of us really don't care. "
I believe that this sort of behaviour is known as attention-seeking. The unusually large number of posts submitted reinforces this theory, or it could just be a serious lack of a life.
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Seriously, is anyone surprised? I ran a company in Nongprue/Pattaya with the following problems which led me to suggest everyone NOT to invest in Thailand's economy:- brown outs and power cuts EVERY week- city water running unreliably; pressure varies and so does the quality- phone lines ongoingly down (they nick the copper wires); makes Fax obsolete yet is still used by many Thai sub-suppliers- internet is expensive, slow and also unreliable at times- labour protection act protects labourers; did you every try to sue staff who just walked out of the job and took company assets along?- red tape: ever tried to open an internet banking account and credit card swiping facility? I did and it took me seven godforsaken months - run a girlie bar; never a staff problem. Try to run a normal business with THB 10'000/monthly wage per staff, limited English? Forget it, the applicants give you the willies...... and so the story goesQuintessence was; I moved this business away to Cambodia. I pay the staff proper salaries and give them human housing and food. Never had staff problems, profits are considerably better than in Thailand and the government does not intervene in anything. Ah, and visa/work permit is a walk in the park compared to the LOS. So, yes, go and look around before sinking a lot of money into frustrating Thailand
Must say I agree with your assessment. If I wasn't settled with a Thai wife, I'd be long gone. I've been here over 12 years and things just get worse every year. The internet is an absolute joke. Where I live, any kind of serious thunderstorm, and the electric goes off, for hours at a time. I'd never start a business here, way too much hassle. Before too many more years, other local countries will start to overtake Thailand, and then leave it behind, all through mismanagement, and the sheer greed of the people who run things.
:cheesy:
The Stare
in General Topics
Posted
There is another side to this. Many years ago, my wife and I went to Phetchabun for the day, taking 2 nieces and a nephew with us. The kids were about 6, 7, & 8 at the time. The boys Mum had given my wife some money to get him some gym shoes for school. She took one girl and the boy for the shoes, I went with the other girl to get a couple of football shirts for me, and we had arranged to all meet at KFC.
My wife told the niece that was with me, to keep hold of my hand, (as the traffic was busy in town, compared to the small village we live in). The looks we got from people, as we walked through the town, left me in doubt at what people were thinking, (all Thais - there were very few farangs in Phetchabun back then). When we met up with my wife, the girl that was with me was really upset, she couldn't understand why people had been giving us nasty looks. We didn't let the nasty barstewards spoil our day out though, The best weapon against any prejudice is to smile and be happy.