penwithcris

East European women can be really stunning as can South American girls, particularly from Colombia and Venezuala

What seems to be clear is that we guys are spolied for choice. Wherever we travel in the World beautiful women abound

As we age though, we have to move our sights to economically poorer countries where ladies will put finance before looks

I don't think most TV members are likely to 'pull' a stunning, financially independent, Scandinavian girl, although in the 1960's I had Swedish students coming out of my ears. Melancholy race though

Presented with a full page spread of the World's prettiest girls my eyes will always be drawn to those from Asia. Perhaps it's because of their size. Gives me a feeling of dominant masculinity

Conversely, the gorgeous,six foot, Russian Amazons that strut their stuff in Pattaya make me, at least, feel rather physically inadequate. Size may not be everything but in this case it is. Imagine trying to 'spin' one of them in the same way you can 'spin' a little Asian cutie?

Thai parents do seem to treat their children differently from most Western parents. My wife always reflects with sadness that there were never any shows of affection from her parents or close relatives. Never a kiss or hug or a kind word.

This lack of empathy probably spills over into taking care of a child's physical well being and leads to a failure to protect them

Accidents can happen, and my eldest son drowned while swimming but he was 31 at the time. It was nobody's fault. It was just one of those things and he was a reasonable swimmer

The global statistics for deaths by drowning are quite horrendous, so Thailand is not alone in losing thousands of young souls to drowning. Aids and Ebola captured the World's attention, I hope some major celebrities or royalty start a campaign to tackle the dreadful plague of deaths by drowning

And I bet they bedded a couple of gorgeous girls and ended up in the morning with their brothers complete with 'five a clock shadows'

Anyway, still prettier than the ugly totty in their home town

Not quite sure how you drive to Manchester airport and jump on a plane bound for Thailand? i've always had to book

Sounds like those fantastical tales we used to concoct for our English composition tests, which always used to end with 'and then I woke up'

I just love TVF - so high brow!

Can't see much wrong with children speaking English with an American 'twang' as most Philippine speakers do.

The important thing is that children can communicate well in English, even though they may adopt the accents of their tutors.

The teacher's assessment levels as described are just officialdom at it's worst. Schools should require all foreign teachers teaching English to have passed TEFL exams or their equivalent.

Regrettably indiginous Thai teachers,with their own flawed English, fail to give young Thai schoolchildren the subject grounding that they deserve, and it effects their whole educational future

Good idea , lots of Philippine English teachers about, some are pretty good but some have a proper Philippine accent and I don't want my kids sounding like Carman Miranda when they speak English

It would never happen in Thailand but Hong Kong replaced their own failing police force with British police.

Despite their occasional failings I don't believe British generally policeman succumb to bribery, and the result was a huge drop in all areas of crime on the islands

I've worked in the British Civil Service as a Diplomatic Inspector and could have retired early as a millionaire if I'd accepted all the financial incentives I'd been offered

But there is clearly something in the Thai psyche that assures them that illegally accepting bribes is quite acceptable

Graft and corruption is endemic in Thai society. Unless there is an enormous sea change then a concerted 'clean up' of Pattaya, and other crime ridden cities, is always bound to fail

Makes a change from a drunken Brit causing mayhem and criminal damage

Ham mak mak

Now ham nidnoy

How do you make your penis 8" long?

Fold it in half lol

Low class Eastern Europeans are infesting many countries to which they gain entry, and committing crimes

Of course there will be the soft liberals who excuse their behaviour by saying that in their own countries they have little or nothing

Most nationalities have experienced extreme difficulties in their lives at some stage,

but have still managed to rise above criminal behaviour

So, if this individual is found guilty of the crime then I have absolutely no sympathy with him and justice must take it's course

Nobody ever listens to my advice but a garlic tablet every day will stop mosquito bites

I could hardly walk from being bitten so much until I read about this remedy. But since popping a garlic tablet every morning I've not been bitten once in years. Mosquitoes are just repelled by my skin odour. Humans can't smell it but these pests clearly can

So the worried parent could control the numbers of mosquitoes in her home using the recommendations here combined with a daily garlic tablet

Should do the trick - give it a month for the garlic to be absorbed in the body

My brother in law is just finishing a ten year jail sentence, commuted to five, for dealing yaba

Virtually bankrupted the family paying off the police - farm gone-cattle gone-shop gone-cars gone

Seems his military service set him on the road to drug dealing - made by senior officers to deal on their behalf

Now he's in prison with more drugs available than on the outside- what chance a reformed character?

Say what you like about Thaksin but he was effective in controlling drug use and dealing

He also had little truck with radical Islamists in the South and their regular beheadings of teachers and non-believers

Ruthless? Yes! Successful? Yes!

If you play with fire expect to get burnt

Some of the British people I have observed in Thailand show scant regard for it's people or it's culture

They treat it like a boozy night out, imagining they're still in some British town or city drinking far too much and plaguing the community

Most of the problems encountered by foreigners are self inflicted

Stay sober, dress modestly, avoid arguments, and respect the host people and the country and one can lead a very happy life in this beautiful Kingdom

But he was right handed? How did he manage to slash his right arm?

One for the budding Perry Mason's

Did he not settle his bar bill?

Did he refuse to 'ring the bell'?

Did his Canadian wife catch him out?

Did he take out accident insurance the previous day?

Had he be watching old episodes of 'The Fugitive' and fancied himself as the 'one armed man'?

Did he want to promote a conspiracy theory?

It couldn't be anything as simple as attempted suicide could it?

Not in Thailand it seems

Looks as though the demon drink has claimed yet another victim

Alcohol is usually the common denominator in most deaths in Thailand

Why is it that people cannot enjoy themselves without getting blotto

I know I sound like a boring old fart but I've enjoyed an amazing time in Thailand over the years but only drink in moderation

Maybe a mix of alcohol, antibiotics and, possibly, drugs proved too much for even this young girl's body to cope with

Watched the first episode of 'Bangkok Airport' on TV - yet again highlighting a British obsession with getting wasted

All very embarrassing

America is very strict about criminals being allowed into their country.

Brits with unpaid parking tickets have been denied entry

Is it Mike Tyson's 'celebrity' status that allows him to enter and leave countries unchallenged?

Be interesting to see what happens if he manages to pull a couple of ladyboys from Beach Road Pattaya

Lots of feathers will soon be flying, but not sure they will be of the pigeon variety

Thais are renowned for their courtesy to other road users

They have been taught from an early age to treat cyclists with particular care, and to allow at least a car's width when overtaking

Folding bikes are not a new concept in Thailand. In fact I've seen folding motorbikes, concertina'd cars and even minibuses that can be swiftly reduced to a quarter of their normal length

I understand that the Mayor of Bangkok, keen to follow the lead of Boris Johnson, the London Mayor, will soon be seen hurtling down Sukhumvit Road on his newly commissioned Brompton

In the interests of road safety 'Think Bike'!

Thai ladies don't seem to regard having a sexual relationship with another man as cheating. It is is more 'the done thing' in Thailand

Celebrities do it, persons of rank do it, Thai drama reinforces it, infidelity within families is commonplace.

I think you just have to roll with the punches sometimes, especially if you love her, or have too much invested in her.

I've cheated on my girlfriends and been cheated on. It's just a fact of life here

If you really are worried take her to the Temple and ask her to tell you the truth in the presence of Buddha. She will probably be sufficiently superstitious of something bad happening to her or her family that she'll tell you the truth

Slip it in the 'tradesman's entrance' by mistake - that might bring her to her senses

my my, the farts that come outta your mouth. i feel you fancy yourself as a expert, i think not, your current gf is the player of you two, it is sad & funny you think you are in charge, oh well, another twit pretending, kinda cute :-)

Thai ladies don't seem to regard having a sexual relationship with another man as cheating. It is is more 'the done thing' in Thailand

Celebrities do it, persons of rank do it, Thai drama reinforces it, infidelity within families is commonplace.

I think you just have to roll with the punches sometimes, especially if you love her, or have too much invested in her.

I've cheated on my girlfriends and been cheated on. It's just a fact of life here

If you really are worried take her to the Temple and ask her to tell you the truth in the presence of Buddha. She will probably be sufficiently superstitious of something bad happening to her or her family that she'll tell you the truth

Slip it in the 'tradesman's entrance' by mistake - that might bring her to her senses

Lots of posters knitting beside the steps of the guillotine again

I don't know which is more repugnant, the alleged cimes of this paedophile and his pimp or the bloodthirsty mob that rears it's ugly head once again

I know I'm just a 'soi dog' to Mr T but, living in Isaan, I considered his time in power to be one of the more successful periods in Thailand's history

We certainly saw a huge improvement in living standards with better roads, reservoirs,schools and health facilities, and the menace of drugs was largely quashed

I've met a lot of Thai families during my time here and I've yet to encounter one who has complained about a family member being summarily killed for drug dealing

His attempts to suppress Islamic extremism in the South were also laudable

As we can see, hard line Islamists are determined to usurp not only Thailand but also the rest of the World

Ruthless leaders like Thaksin and Putin are civilisations best defence

Thank you for your good wishes Khun Thaksin and I hope 2015 will be a successful year for you and your family

I'm just looking for my hard hat waiting for all the scathing replies to my post

Illegal drugs are an absolute menace. I was encouraged way back in the early 1960's to smoke 'reefers'.

Sensibly I resisted. Most of my peer group who succumbed moved on to more lethal substances and died at a early age

Zero tolerance is the only answer.

I know I'm a boring individual but there seems to be so many other ways available to enjoy a legal high

This topic has certainly upset a lot of members and we've read 'one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter' a number of times

Personally I could not imagine, however downtrodden I was, planting bombs that I knew would kill dozens of innocent people

I was caught up in the IRA bombings in London in the 1970's and I still give post boxes a wide berth for fear they might explode, and this nearly 40 years down the line

Would my body being destroyed in a hail of iron fragments really have been justified?

I might well have been a devout Roman Catholic wholly sympathetic to the Republican cause. Deaths were almost totally indiscriminate

Army barracks, police stations etc I could just about understand, but busy shopping centres where scores of innocent men, women and children have been massacred?

But of course we have Hiroshima,Nagasaki and any number of atrocities committed by Western governments so where does it end?

Just like to wish all members a peaceful 2015 wherever they are on the political spectrum