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GarryP

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Posts posted by GarryP

  1. 3 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

    What kind of work did you do? 

     

    I worked (sheet metal fabricating) out in the province for 20 years and moved to Bangkok when I retired. .. 

     

    3 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

    What work did you do?

    I worked for a law firm in Bangkok for 31 1/2 years. Eventually making a department manager position (I am not a lawyer).   

  2. My parents never taught me religion. The only time we went to church was for funerals, weddings and christenings. I went to a Church of England primary school, and while we did have Friday morning assemblies, we were not taught religion. At high school we had religious education classes, but in that class we learned about many religions, not just christianity. In other words, it was left to me to decide what I believed in but I didn't really give it much thought. That is, I was not force-fed any belief system and I did the same with my son. I left it up to him to decide. His mother was Buddhist but didn't push her beliefs on him either. Years later, in his twenties, he became very religious of his own volition, following catholicism, then a few other groups in Bangkok such as baptist, evangelical, etc. But ultimately he came to the conclusion that it was all a lie. How did he reach that conclusion? The priests, vicars, and whatever else they were, couldn't or wouldn't answer his questions on their faith and some even told him not to ask questions, but just to believe or leave. He also read the bible from cover to cover, and other reading materials, but finally said they did not make sense on a lot of issues (hence his questions which went unanswered).

     

    So now, like me, he is an atheist and believes this is the only life we have.     

  3. He taught me to work hard and save money. Stopped my pocket money for one year when I was 12 to pay for damage when I threw a stone at my brother but missed, and scratched my dad's new car instead (Austin Allegro). Told me to go and get a job, so I did - a paper round. After one year I asked for my pocket money back, but he told me I didn't need it as I was already earning money for myself. Had part-time and summer jobs until I left the UK at 19 and came here in 1982. Been here ever since.  

  4. On 5/3/2025 at 12:28 AM, CG1 Blue said:

    The only way Reform will be beaten is if Labour manage to stop the hundreds of fighting age men from landing on UK beaches every day, and send back the thousands who already arrived.

    All Labour have done so far is encourage more to come. As soon as they ripped up the Rawanda plan the migrants started coming in even higher numbers, breaking all records. 

     

    Labour (and Tories) have been too soft on the economic migrants, allowing the ECHR to block deportations, even for convicted criminals including rapists. 

     

    There is no deterrent, and on the contrary the fake asylum seekers get treated like holidaymakers. It's a massive incentive for economic migrants. 

     

    If this continues then I truly believe Reform will win the next election. 

    But Farage has been clear that he will not kick out all the illegal immigrants that are already in the UK. He'll just try to stop more coming in. He won't be taking action on the grooming gangs either.  He's just a gobby <deleted> who can't be trusted on anything. Having said that, Labour and Conservative are a disgrace, so what alternative is there? Another party forming? I don't see that working, just taking away votes from Reform which could result in another Conservative government.   

  5. 6 hours ago, moochai87 said:

    Hey all. I haven't posted here in a while but I just want to provide you all with an update. 

     

    I had my MOI interview in Nonthaburi in August last year (2024). I was expecting a similar experience to my other interviews but it was actually pretty rough. The SB officer handling my case told me I wouldn't need to sing the national or royal anthem (as I'm married to a Thai with kids) so stupidly I didn't practice for that - because I was asked to sing. Luckily I know the national anthem anyway but I wasn't able to complete the royal anthem. The official in charge was pretty strict and criticized me for not standing up straight enough when singing and how I should have worn yellow... etc. There was something about me he didn't like. I left that day feeling pretty disappointed.

     

    Anyway, I left it a few weeks then I asked the SB officer if there was any update. He informed me that the application was sent to Bangkok MOI for signing, much to my suprise. It's been there for at least 6 months.

     

    Just so the rest of the process goes as smoothly as possible, can you let me know what to expect if I get to the oath ceremony. What should I learn for this?

     

    Congratulations to all those who have obtained citizenship already!

    That is scary if you applied based on marriage, rather than PR. I think most people applying based on marriage understand that they are not required to sing the anthems. Had that happened back during my interview, I would be screwed as I can't sing either and even if I knew the words, my singing would have been a pain to the ears of all who had to listen. On the other hand, it is my understanding that if you are applying based on PR, then whether or not you are married to a Thai, you will be required to sing the anthems.  

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  6. Had that been proposed by any other person in the government, I would have thought it a good idea. However, I would not trust Anutin as far as I could throw him and on top of that, there have been a number of instances where he has come across as xenophobic (to put it sort of politely). Not really the person you would want in control of establishing a new PR and citizenship policy.

  7. 3 hours ago, henryford1958 said:

    The UK is totally bankrupt so i think it's more likely that ALL state pensions will be means tested soon and any one with other income will get NOTHING.

    If you are going to be means tested and as a result don't qualify for a pension, then your contributions should be reimbursed. Otherwise, that would amount to theft by the state. I know they would claim that your payments also covered healthcare, but that is a bit disingenuous.  

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