dick turpin

You note it did'nt mention "British" jobs, so obviously

the plan is to ship in 1,000 Burmese at 100 baht a day.

Think of it this way - you have just doubled the chances

of having your todger removed.

Actually, reminds me of a time when I boarded a Gulf Air

flight in Bahrain for my annual leave to the UK, only to

find I was seated next to a woman travelling with two

young girls and a boisterous baby. I protested to the

flight attendant and was given the usual mutterings about

maybe changing seats after take-off.

"And to make matters worse," I said, "They are my kids."

Love the KFC egg tarts, but at 25 baht a go,thought

bit pricey for the Thai market. Now they have put

the price down to 19 baht each, backed by a big

pricey TV advertising campaign.

Is'nt it suppose to work the other way around,

start at a low price.....

"but still he dreams of Thailand..."

Dream on...

"if the government can come up with a clear strategy"

Says it all methinks

I fancied the pole dancer myself, although probably

a bit over-dressed for her daytime job.

I go toilet

Have it on the highest authority there will be no

full scale invasion by Thai forces - what with

diesel being the price it is.

Daily Telegrpah 10 december

Sterling will be strongest major currency in 2011, says Barclays

Sterling will be the best-perfoming major currency next year, Barclays has forecast, as the UK gets its "house in order".

The pound will end next year at $1.82 against the dollar and 78p versus the euro, it was estimated

The prediction came as Barcap, the securities arm of the retail bank, also used its 2011 outlook to predict that stock markets will outperform government bonds and that the US economy will stage a stronger recovery than it has managed in 2010.

The pound, which has been hard hit since the financial crisis, will end next year at $1.82 against the dollar and 78p versus the euro, it was estimated. The currency closed on Thursday in London at $1.5728 and 84p.

The UK currency's performance will be matched by a strong showing for the FTSE 100, according to Barcap, which expects the index to rise by about 18pc next year and offer a further 4pc return in dividends. The bank's hopes for the London market come from performance in the rest of the world, rather than the UK.

Related Articles

"The FTSE is a major play on global demand," said Edmund Shing, head of European equity strategy at Barcap in London. "You don't have to look very far to find exposure, whether directly through miners and food producers, or indirectly through the oil companies."

He pointed to miners including Rio Tinto and Xstrata, food producers such Unilever and oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell. The FTSE closed on Thursday up 0.2pc at 5,807.96.

David Cameron's coalition Government has pledged tax increases and spending cuts in an effort to eliminate a structural deficit estimated at £109bn. If the Governmnent can begin to deliver on the promise then it should help both the currency and stock markets, Barcap predicts.

"The Coalition is enacting deep structural reform in order to take a lump out of the deficit, which is a risk," said Mr Shing. " It could ultimately be good for the structural growth story in the UK."

Did an Isaan road trip at the weekend with the Vigo 4x4 2.5,

refuelled at a regular PTT station on the way up with 800

baht worth and gauge popped up to full as soon as turned on

ignition.

On return stopped off at same station and topped up

with 500 baht worth, set off down the road, but then noticed

gauge had hardly moved, returned to station and checked with

pump attendant that he had actually put fuel in, he insisted

he had of course, but then mentioned that a couple of other

vigos had been in that morning and made the same complaint

that their gauges had not moved after refuelling.

Told him to put in another 200 baht which still made little

impression on the gauge, set off again and over the next 15

minutes watched gauge slowly inch its way up to the full level.

What gives?

If you use TOT's 008 prefix you can call uk for 7 baht per minute,

similar rate for most of europe.

What's with all this receiving "piles" of 100 bahtnotes.

Keep it simple - make sure you have small change before

you go in.

Well they do call it amazing Thailand, and I am always amazed to hear posters say they have bought property sight unseen or without any real knowledge of the area they are buying into.

Where am I coming from? I live in rented property in khao yai and for the past 18 months have been looking for land to buy. Call me fussy, but I feel it has taken me that amount of time to really get to know the area, luckily I think I have now found my little piece of nirvana (no I am not telling you where).

Information I can pass on.

Make a distinction between pak chong and khao yai. One is a grotty urban sprawl, with some token falang action. The other is set against the backdrop of the beautiful mountains of a national park. This is where you can find many property and golf style resorts, much favoured by bangkokians for their weekend retreats.Here the air is clearer and fresher, and with a temperate year-round climate. The biggest clue to that?

Take a look at the number of vineyards.

Prices in these projects now going at 15,000 per sq wai, but careful though, they tend to become ghost towns during the week. Outside of these land prices now typically tipping two million baht a rai.

There is a small, but thriving family orientated expat community here which very much appreciates the peace and beauty of where they now live.

Oh, and by the way Starbucks has closed.

Anyone know what time this is due to take place,

I need to pop down to 7-Eleven in the morning

Buckingham Palace spokesman confirmed the Queen was aware of the situation, but declined to comment further.

You cannot be serious...he was a below-stairs johnny

Top loader does it for me, no more crawling around on your hands and

knees trying to locate that final sock.

Think front loaders are more of a euro thing designed to fit under kitchen

work tops, whereas in thailand usually located elsewhere.

Working on the same principle it always cracks me up when I go in a typical

thai home and the refrigerator has pride of place.... in the living room.

Had a lady friend staying over last night and

the earth certainly moved for me.

The story I got fed was that red plate motors are more likely to be stolen between dusk and dawn,

hence also the restriction to stay within your province.

As mentioned do be sure to fill in your log book before the start of each journey outside of your province

and this has to be done on a daily basis during that period. I did a road trip to isaan for a week and only made one

entry, so when pulled over by the bib it was teatime. But get used to the idea that redplates are a guaranteed

meal ticket for the bib, they will always find something wrong. By the end of the day I was glad to get rid of

my red plates.

P.S. Don't forget to get the 4,000 baht back when you hand you red plates back.

How does one physically get married here in Thailand. I am aware of the documents needed.

Letter from the foreigners embassy, 2 witnesses to say he can marry, blue book from woman, her I.D. Photos of house or apartment etc., for marriage visa, But is there an office that you go to that actually marries you and gives you the paperwork to say that you are married?

You go to any Amphur office with

Prospective wife

Ladies ID card (+ photocopies)

Your Passport ( + photocopies)

Your affirmation of freedom to marry, with translation into Thai, both countersigned and stamped by Ministry of Foreign Affairs within the last 90 days

70bht

You most certainly don't need

Her Tabian Ban book (aks blue book)

Any witnesses (Amphur office staff will countersign documents)

Photos of anything

yes you do need to take tambian ban

beatrice

even if you got his email address, you can guarantee like all head honchos

his mail would be filtered by staffers and your complaint would still end up with

customer services.

If you feel that strongly far better route is giving the issue as much publicity as

possible.

It will be interesting to see how the gov handles his status...Does he die a general with full family benefits or dies a traitor stripped of his title and all his benefits?

Does the royal family cover any of his costs?

CB

Word has it he was briefly conscious before he died, during which time government

sources said he was able to provide a 50 page confession

Couple you missed

Q: Do I need to drive with headlights on at night?

A: No, it may cause a glare in your 100 percent tinted windscreen.

Q: When should I use the outside lane of a three-lane highway?

A: Only if you intend to make a U-turn within the next 30kms, you

are an overloaded pick-up, or long-distance coach.

Q: How close should I drive behind the vehicle in front?

A: It is important to maintain the minimum distance, this

will ensure minimal impact when the driver in front brakes

suddenly.

It really is not clear as to what happened.

You say first extension so was this the application from a 90 day visa entry or the 30 day return for decision after making the application?

But as a point of interest is this standard practice as when you exit late at the airport

you only get fined for each day you overstay.

You do not mention any fine in your post but your "only get fined" indicates you were fined for more than the days between the 30th and the 6th?

This was a 30-day return for a decision, having called a couple of days previous to confirm it was ok to come.

No fine involved, only the black mark against my name if I should want to make a future application for permanent residence.

No great beef here, but curious as I mentioned that you can overstay a visa a couple of weeks and

only get fined 500 baht per day and its over and done with.

Went to korat immigration today(may 6th) to collect my first time visa extension

based on marriage and got told off for not attending on the due date in my

passport(last friday april 30th). Said, rather lamely, that I was concerned about

red shirt situation but that did not wash.

Immigration girl went ahead and issued the extension, but told she was putting a note

against the entry which would mean I would not be able to apply for permanent

residence in three years time(not that I am interested)

After this frosty start she thawed out and became friendly with wife and I, even

switched from speaking thai to pefect english, which threw me because I had

been muttering oaths under my breathe up to then.

But as a point of interest is this standard practice as when you exit late at the airport

you only get fined for each day you overstay.