simon43

I used to go pheasant shooting every Sunday with some titled persons. A nice bunch, but rather expensive (500 quid) for the day's shooting, although that did include lunch. But I wasn't interested in killing lots of the birds. I was happy to kill 2 pheasant and then take them home to eat, (after hanging them for a week in the attic!).

I was brought up in the UK, mainly living in rural areas and I legally owned not only shotguns (for pest control), but also a large collection of historic disguised weapons, such as pen guns, umbrella and walking stick guns. I had a Firearms group IV licence which allowed me to collect but not fire these weapons. (To be honest, since these weapons were old, firing them would probably result in my hand getting blown off!). When I emigrated to Thailand about 22 years ago I donated the collection to the Tower of London Armoury Museum 🙂

What?! You go bare-chested when you go shopping? The image in my mind will shock me for the rest of this month.....

I just tell them that I'm on a special VIP visa, issued by the Thai government for ex-SAS/Navy Seals etc. And if they dare to gossip about this, then I will have to kill them....

Is CH7 the Army channel 7? According to this table, Army CH 7 transmits on E7, which is about 174 MHz (high VHF). Note that if this info is correct, you do not want to use a (small) UHF antenna but will need an antenna suitable for high VHF, (in Amorn, the package should have 'UHF' or 'VHF' marked on it. Also note that there is also low VHF which you don't want. Basically, if it mentions frequencies in the 174-210 MHz range, then that should be what you need. The 3rd column indicates the general location of the TV transmitter.

Agreed, but if so, why isn't the photo awash with blood?

Presumably the US doesn't want the Harpoon torpedo technology to fall into enemy (that means China!) hands ..

I teach many young students of that age all about space - it's a popular subject for both young boys and girls, and part of the primary General Science curriculum. I explain that there are many unanswered questions that challenge space scientists and therefore the phrase "We don't really know" is often the answer when such a question is posed! This isn't a cop-out. It's a realistic answer to many questions about space. If there is a theory that scientists hold about some aspect of space, then I'm happy to explain that theory in simple terms to my students. But "We don't really know" can also encourage the student to investigate further as to why we don't really know (eg - "We have a theoretical idea, but to prove our theory we would need to visit the distant space object and that's currently impossible with our slow rockets etc etc").

Check for mobile phone signals on all Thai networks. If you find a strong signal then buy a mobile internet package for that network (I live in Laos and only use mobile internet on a daily basis to teach).

I got confused! I thought you asked if I spoke Thai to 'farang wives', which seems like a silly idea if these wives are farang!! Then I understood what you asked. I would speak Thai only if a Thai partner did not understand English, and I would also speak English to the foreigner out of politeness. Here in Laos some of my Lao friends speak fluent English but their Lao partners do not. So I will always speak Lao when chatting with them both, out of politeness for the person who doesn't understand English. Finally, my language skills are stretched because an old French guy lives in my village and he doesn't speak Lao or English or.... So I chat with him in French whilst simultaneously translating our conversation into Lao for the benefit of the village kids who always crowd around and want to ask questions of the French guy 🙂

Has someone hacked into GG's account and made this sensible post?

Follow the example of the Ukrainians - Do you possess a drone? ....

Are you a friend of GG? 🙂

Yes a good idea, but it requires me to fly to Thailand to do this (no decent hospitals here in Laos). Sheryl, can you suggest a Bangkok hospital/doctor that can carry out these tests on request, rather than a hospital that will simply perform a UTI check? Thanks.

Mainly due to the smell of my urine (foul-smelling, fishy smell)

I decided to have another go at 'shifting' the chronic, asymptomatic UTI that I have had for the past ... er ... 2 years or so! This UTI refused to be eliminated from my bladder when I had prostate cancer tests a year ago in the UK - they postponed my biopsy for a total of 6 weeks as they tried different antibiotics to clear the infection, (because having a prostate biopsy does have an increased infection risk if one already has a UTI). In the end, the doctor gave up on treating the UTI and did the biopsy anyway (which was negative for cancer cells). He prescribed further antibiotics after the biopsy to have another go at killing the UTI, but it stubbornly refused to go! Since that time, the UTI has remained with me, but I read that long-term usage of methenamine (Hiprex) has proven relatively successful in medical tests. My simple question is: Is methenamine available in Thailand from a pharmacy? I have not located this medicine here in north Laos, but if it's available in Thailand then I'm sure a shipping service can buy a year's supply of it and send it to me here in the back of beyond! BTW, I also drink cranberry juice and take Vitamin C tablets daily, which both might also help to eliminate the UTI 🙂

Right-oh! First I need to find a beach here in Laos 🙂

When I flew into Istanbul Airport a few years ago the customs officer swabbed my bag which indicated a high quantity of heroin/opium. When I explained that I was a teacher in Burma the officer exclaimed "ah yes, no problem - everything in Burma tests positive for opium, clothes, money, bags etc!"

Very much so if you're from Isaan!

I lived in Phuket from about 2002 to2012, then fled to the safety of Burma to get away from mad ex #2, but returned again to Phuket between about 2014-2016 (ex #3 who wasn't mad). But since that time I've mostly lived/been teaching in Burma, Laos and online. Now settled in Luang Prabang for the past few years but still read/post on this forum - just like all those members posting from their mum's basement in Manchester! I did visit #3 in Phuket a few years ago but decided that the road traffic was similar to central London, and hence not a nice location to retire to.

Aircon???

Great news! Hope to see Thaksin back in politics as soon as possible!

Thanks, but note my location = north Laos. I think I'd have to travel to Bangkok for a consultation (which is something that I might have to do).

Indeed, I've been sunning my Adonis body on the Mekong river beach here in north Laos.... 🙂

Yes, I have heard that a surgical operation is the last resort and often doesn't help at all! I prefer to live with this problem, but there may be some non-surgical treatment that can slow the progress of the 'deformity'. My concern is that it will affect my balance/walking/jogging in later years.