cliveshep

Actually I have always selected "sending money home to family" for us but now that Thailand is on the personal tax hunt for the other family I support I call it a "gift" as that absolves them from tax liability.

From my UK bank sending direct it costs £10 to send, and to receive the money Bangkok Bank charge the equivalent of another £10 and it takes a minimum of 3 days to arrive so I don't need to try, time and economy meant using Wise who were the best before.

For both accounts in LOS it is to the Bangkok Bank.

I'm a pensioner who also supports another family and cannot transfer earlier as the money simply isn't there. It is not a big pension either, reduced annually now because the UK Government have not increased the tax-free amount for 5 years now so the tax steadily becomes more and more as index-linked increases disappear in the tax. Until last year it wasn't taxed but now it is with the new Labour Government the fools mistakenly elected. 2 more years before they get forced out at the next election as the people have already learnt their lesson once again. So we all struggle pension day to pension day with a lower pension and increased prices across the board. Those smug s.o.b's with big pensions and private means can go pee up a rope - some of us struggle but so far at least it is affordable here just where we'd freeze or starve in the UK.

For some years now I have been using Wise (formerly Transferwise) with no problems until recently. Setting up a transfer Wise usually said 'should arrive in seconds' and indeed it did. Now it is a different story, one made at 6.30 this morning is now expected to arrive 8 hours later while another one made around 1.30pm will now arrive tomorrow around 2.30pm. Both in spite of Wise already holding the money. I have now formally complained because in both cases the pop-up advised 'should arrive in seconds' but once the transfer was set up the 8 hour and 24 hour time scale was advised. The 8 hour transfer arrived at 2.30pm a few minutes ago. Why are Wise holding back money already in their possession? Is it because of interest earned on the no doubt huge totals they handle?

Just bought a new desktop pc based on recommendations from readers on here, a Bee mini computer that is actually very good except.............it comes pre-loaded with activated Windows 11. I would have happily stayed with Windows 10 except cunning Microsoft make sure one has to upgrade (purchase) by withdrawing support. Not that Windows 10 was that remarkable but by the time support was being potentially withdrawn they did at least get it to work reasonably well. Windows 11 does seem to work but comes with a cunning plan built in as Blackadder (UK TV sitcom) would say. I saves one's documents 'in the cloud' and this includes one's videos. It's free and maybe you'd never know unless and until you reached the 5GB storage limit when it promptly starts not working, not allowing the opening of saved videos because the limit has been exceeded as happened to me, and presenting a table of charges associated with increasing storage capacity. The file system in Windows 11 saves to the 'cloud' by default as I discovered, the folder 'documents' is not stored on my SSD. After some research I found one could cancel the 'synching' and manually set up a temporary folder, downloading painstakingly everything held in this ephemeral 'cloud' into this folder on the pc, and then delete everything on the 'OneDrive' and disconnect the synching function. I was then able to go into system and delete OneDrive and also Microsoft 365 Co-pilot, another Microsoft con trick built in. Having done this, and deleting emails from Microsoft insisting I reinstate OneDrive, I found that Windows 11 would only save documents to a folder called 'Documents', by default. No surprises there so I renamed my docs folder on the SSD to 'Documents' and now Windows 11 is happy it seems. Some might say 5GB is ample and stay with OneDrive but sensitive Banking info and passwords I feel should not be entrusted to an outside storage facility, especially one owned by Microsoft for fear of data breaches - I'm sure it is only a matter of time. I want to be in control of my own destiny and not be controlled by Ai which after all was designed by fallible men. After all, clouds get blown about by every puff of wind so I take that as a warning.

A teapot - how very quaint. We use tea bags (which have been around for over 100 years) because they are convenient and efficient and tea strainers are not capable of retaining smaller leaf particles. One can put a few tea bags in one's pocket when on picnic outings, teapots won't go in a pocket and are rather cumbersome don't you. think? We also no don't use those sweet little porcelain cups and saucers, held with one's pinkie sticking out, we use good old half pint mugs because being English tea is a necessity of diet not a social ritual. Worth a mention here is Liptons - right, that's got that out of the way, it deserves no more, and Oolong is a green tea of such delicate flavour you could get the same results with dipping a handful of grass into a cup of water and waving it, in fact I am sure the reason they use a grass whisk in their tea rituals is in fact to add a bit of flavour. And yes, I have sampled both, neither made me puke but a cup of good old PG Tips or Red Label black tea instantly washed away the flavours. But having been in China a few times I learnt early on to pack plenty of good old English teabags made with lovely Indian black tea.

Or find a hot and horny girl?

Make your own like we do - dead easy! Example: 1kg of Brooke Bond Red Label loose tea is thb345 plus thb35 delivery on Lazada - comes in a re-sealable zip lock bag. Empty drawstring fabric tea bags also from Lazada cost a paltry thb14.67 for 60 of the 6cm x 8cm size. We buy 500 at a time and beloved spends a hour or so doing a couple of hundred or so in her spare time. One heaped teaspoon of loose tea is difficult to tip into a smaller bag so don't be tempted to get smaller. I get 2 mugs out of one bag but I don't like strong tea, others will use 1 bag per cup and infuse longer. If you want the links they are https://www.lazada.co.th/products/orna-100-string-teabag-i4673799049-s19246793328.html? and https://www.lazada.co.th/products/brooke-bond-red-label-tea-1kg-zip-lock-pack-i2722785042-s9860441030.html? Red Label is the same as the Tesco Value Red Label we always used in the UK, same taste as PG tips but cheaper. For the last 10 years we got used to finding the work-arounds one needs in LOS!

Ref wife's visa, you are aware of the UK's draconian financial requirements for a foreign wife and child? Income Support rules say £8500 p/a is adequate for a husband to live on with a wife UNLESS she is foreign because foreign wives are, apparently, far more expensive to keep. The child goes free but seeing what finances are needed for a foreign spouse that is hardly magnanimous of them. This is the list of onerous and shameful rules our wonderful Labour Government have now amended. Those who pray Keir Starmer et al fall under a bus are on the right track - please pray harder! Below from Google:- To bring a foreign spouse to the UK, the UK-based sponsor generally needs to demonstrate an annual income of at least £29,000. This is known as the minimum income requirement and applies to those applying for a family visa as a partner or spouse on or after April 11, 2024. The financial requirement can also be met through a combination of income and savings, or through other permitted sources like pensions. Here's a more detailed breakdown: Minimum Income Requirement: £29,000 per year: This is the standard minimum income requirement for most first-time applicants applying for a family visa as a partner or spouse on or after April 11, 2024. Different rules for those applying before April 11, 2024: If the application was submitted before this date, the minimum income requirement might be different, potentially £18,600. No separate child element for new applicants: For those applying on or after April 11, 2024, the minimum income requirement does not increase if there are dependent children included in the application. Potential increases to the minimum income threshold: The government has indicated potential future increases to the minimum income requirement, possibly to £34,500 and then to £38,700. Meeting the Financial Requirement: Income from employment or self-employment: The sponsor's gross annual income from UK employment or self-employment can be used to meet the requirement. Pension income: Pension income can also be included. Cash savings: Savings above £16,000 can be combined with income to meet the requirement. Other permitted sources: Income from other sources like dividends or rental income may also be considered. Combining income and savings: It's possible to combine cash savings with income from employment, pensions, or other sources to meet the financial requirement. Evidence of savings: Savings must be held for a continuous six-month period before the application date and must continue to be held at the time of application. Other considerations: Healthcare surcharge: You will likely need to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of the visa application. Specific rules and conditions: There are specific rules and conditions that apply to the financial requirement, and it's crucial to review these carefully to ensure you meet the requirements. So if you are on a State Pension as I was, on retirement in order to stay married you get to leave the UK or see your wife deported. Good game good game!

I've just got my renewed UK passport back after considerable stress with HMPO, by the time the fools finally agreed to issue my 5th passport renewal I had received a total of 27 emails. Out of those some were from VFS Global, subject ranging from confirmation of initial appointment through to notice to collect passport, confirmation I had collected passport, then the day after collected passport one to say my original birth certificate could be collected, then one saying I had collected it, then one saying all my document photocopies the next day could be collected. Told them 3 times driving into BKK was enough, just bin them. They did not originally want the birth certificate but asked for it after costing my a whopping £38 to send it by DHL as they wanted an original. BUT they did return it after passport collection. VFS Global were fine, they wanted photocopies of everything, even blank passport pages, but HMPO send everything back on consecutive days it seems meaning you got to travel in repeatedly which is a pain if you live far out. You only need photocopies of parent's passports as HMPO are fully aware of the legal requirement in Thailand for you to have your passport in your possession. But VFS Global will want to see the originals to compare with photocopies. Be aware you will need a translation of any Thai birth certificate to go with copies of original Thai, whether they accept photocopies of original Thai papers I don't know, certainly they only want photocopies of everything else but be aware - they (HMPO) are jobsworth pedants requiring every i to be dotted and every T to be crossed.

Because that was also a published story. What is wrong with you? Let it go!

WTH is a 'sooking'. And no flip-flop, dopy, I was correct from the Bangkok Post's 2 articles, even if one of them was wrong. So it was 300m, but according to another BP article it was 5km. And I remember clearly the first published story was 5km, not 300m which they presumably published later as a correction.

True and as I said to the other guy you are right. Ok now? I mis-spoke from faulty memory although I'm pretty sure one article I read a year or more ago did mention rail in the order of kms long but the article I quoted does say only 300m although that is more than enough. And I did not mis-speak - here is the original article clearly saying 5km of rail fell off: Line conductor rail collapses in Nonthaburi Bangkok Post https://www.bangkokpost.com › Thailand › General Dec 24, 2566 BE — A 5km stretch of the metal rail fell from the elevated structure of the Pink Line from Chon Prathan market to Khae Rai intersection. So - would you like to apologise now?

You are right. 300m of rail fell damaging 3 cars on Christmas Eve 2023 in Nonthaburi. Bangkok Post reported it here: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2711978/pink-line-conductor-rail-collapses-in-nonthaburi So who did not fix this rail that fell off? Fairies? Of course it was the construction crew, or do you have another culprit? Where were you on Dec. 34, 2023?