superal

Thanks for the charts . Nothing more true than facts that you have shown . Anyway , why do non covid believers go to hospital if they catch covid ?

As you know covid comes in varying rates of potency . It has killed over 6 million world wide and many folks are suffering from long covid that can give life changing bodily damage. I had it once and luckily only a heavy cold ( had 3 injections ) . I prefer to take medical advice from educated medics and not conspiracy dramatists who are ill informed . However I do think that the wearing of masks as self protection is feeble and those who think they are getting protection using a basic medical mask are wrongly- informed . Avoiding crowded poorly ventilated rooms ( especially Thai government hospital waiting rooms ) , public transport , touching door handles / lift buttons etc plus good hygiene by washing your hands for 30 seconds with soap & water and /or using alcohol hand cleaner will all help to mitigate the virus . Finally , I have seen Thai folk pull down their mask to sneeze , cough up phlegm and then replace the mask . Says it all really .

Until they are processed illegal immigrants can access support in the form of housing and general living expenses , via the UK Home Office . They are unable to access the main stream benefits until their asylum application has been approved which is currently taking over 6 months . That is costing the benefit system outrageous sums of money . The success rate of asylum applications is running at 75% and that leads to a total access to benefits claims . Since 2021 on average there has been over 1 million immigrants entering the UK . It is out of control . It has been stated that there is a correlation with immigration levels , crime , housing crisis , the NHS and doctor/dentist accessibility . Finally there are over 500,000 people emigrating / leaving the UK every year ( and who can blame them ? ) . In order to emigrate from the UK to a developed country normally requires an applicant to have a required skill or professional background . So there is little doubt that the UK is suffering a brain drain and quite evident within the NHS as an example . 20% of the UK population were not born in the UK . UK governments have encourage multi cultural societies but it clearly does not work . Very little integration , with many immigrants of the same nationality / culture residing within their own communities . Apologies about digressing from the main topic .

The world is over populated with humans. The effects of climate change are evident every year. Deforestation is not helping and we are already at the point of no return .Global population control is needed in order to maintain a sustainable planet

Well spotted sir

Does anyone know where to buy Bellucci Olive Oil in Thailand ? with so many fakes around and even in the big shops . I had some reasonably priced olive oil recently and it was disgusting and even gave me a sore throat . Bellucci olive oil is from Italy and has a numerical code on the bottle that can be entered into the companies app and that gives total traceability from the grove to the supermarket shelf . Spain is one of the largest growers of olive trees but for the 2nd year in a row they have suffered a drought and consequently there is a shortage of genuine olive oil . Food products traceability methods are being used by some manufacturers and retailers with a system known as " blockchain " where the product holds a QR code that is tamper proof . Any other comments / recommendations from olive oil experts would be welcome .

Stalled and amended I hope . Abandoned ? no but modified to eliminate discrimination against indigenous retirees or on low incomes . About time the UK gov; started taking care of its own people first .

His type are a dying breed with working for " cash in the hand " almost disappearing . Also racism is not just a Caucasian malady .

Not really . I used the "indigenous " word to highlight those who were born in the UK which separates them from economic immigrants who could have come from Europe , Asia Africa etc . Skin colour is irrelevant .

Thanks for interesting info . Not wanting to digress from the main topic but the UK Universal Benefits system is not that easy to navigate ( I have been told ) . However in light of events over the last 24 hours there will be some political storms that I hope will shake up the management of the UK because it has been going down the pan for a number of years . If it means leaving the EHCR , so be it .

Things are changing daily with the resignation of the UK Immigration minister unable to support the Rwanda bill . No doubt that the J.Cleverly immigration reform bill will be challenged and R.Sunak will lose a vote of confidence to remain as P.M. which will either trigger a general election or another interim replacement P.M. I am sad to say that as a previous Tory voter , they have handled the illegal immigration poorly . The UK has become a laughing stock to other countries in the way it has lost control of its borders and paying out millions to the likes of France , to increase their help in halting the channel hoppers ( but they have not , just took the money ) and to Rwanda to enable provision of settlement to failed / illegal asylum seekers . The UK is seen as an easy touch by immigrants . As soon as they set foot on UK soil they are normally given accommodation , and also given £ 47.39 per person a day for living expenses plus free health care which includes dental treatment and glasses etc . Other countries have set up detention centers as opposed to using hotels etc for initial housing. Back to the main topic and the increase in income requirements should not apply to those who were born in the UK or have worked and paid taxes for 30 plus years . The UK immigration has been a sleeping giant that has now woken up . Such a sensitive subject but has to be dealt with now .

From the Lexology online page , https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=f41dda08-b756-4e9b-9d56-024fe7751e02 Currently, to rely solely on savings, applicants or their sponsors must be able to evidence holding the continuous sum of £62,500 for a period of 6 months in their bank account prior to the application submission. However, as the threshold has increased by over 100%, this figure is likely to be £112,750 which must be held for a continuous period of six months prior to submission of the application. This is an extremely unreasonable amount to expect applicants or their sponsors to have, to evidence for the financial requirement of a Spouse Visa.

Assumption is that to meet the new rules a UK returning retiree sponsor would have to show proof of pension / income / taxes paid etc . Therefore any non retired new applicants can only show a letter of a job offer and salary offered ? Would the applicant have to keep that job indefinitely to comply with the new rules ? Would the loss of employment or change of job to a lower salary mean deportation ? If a retiree died after only a short amount of time after returning to the UK , would that mean his lady would have to leave the UK ? So many ifs & buts and I can see complications arising and possibly fraud and fake applications . However the burden on the benefits system would be lightened as the applicant will be in receipt of reasonable wages . I can envisage amendments when the bill is debated in the house of commons / lords .

UK indigenous folks and pensioners should be exempt from the new rules . A married couple are expected to live on about 15K a year state pension and a single person about 10K. UK state pensions need to double at least . The reforms will reduce the net migration figures by as much as 50% and lessen the burden on the NHS , housing and benefits system . Also the UK Immigration should be upgrading their detection methods on finding illegal immigrants , many of whom are milking the benefits system on a large scale and are disguised as asylum seekers . UK crime rates on car theft and shop lifting have rocketed recently . Correlation with high immigration / crime ? Not to forget trying to get a doctor or dentist appointment or 10 hour waiting at the A& E . People living rough on the streets at a record level and 20% of people using food banks . No doubt there will be protest marches , against the immigration reforms , led by so called do gooders e.g. Stop the Oil campaigners . The UK has gone from bad to worse and needs these radical reforms to halt the slide .

There are many UK state pensioners who would be happy to have £18600 as an annual income . The £38k. should not be applied to an indigenous UK national and foreign spouse . Just another indicator of how low the UK pension is . The governments radical reforms of limiting immigration are welcome . Next week announcement is free flights to Rwanda .

I reckon 100% are sex tourists but only 50% can still perform

My son is hoping to visit me in July next year so I just checked out the air fares with Thai Airways and Eva Air . So from London to Bangkok return the fares were not cheap for an economy seat . Thai is over 1100 pounds and Eva over 1200 . So prices seem to be rising and that will prove daunting to tourists, especially in these times of economic woe .

Preference is given to a young Filipino of limited English education / speech , as opposed to a capable UK senior in his 60s and up . Says it all really .

Your experience sums it up totally . As a point of interest what reforms would you suggest to the Thai ministry of education ?

Agree and we have similar opinions . Sad to say but I believe that the Thai education system will remain as it is because it keeps the low class at a controllable level and allows the Hi So folk to maintain their stance .

If there was a low pass rate on any subject , it would be a poor reflection on the teachers ability to teach and also the schools reputation as a place of learning . Hence the high passing rate and the children's achievements are not important . It is mostly children of wealthy Thai parents who succeed , by way of high grade schools and/or private tuition . That has been the case with my ladies niece who attended a university in Portsmouth UK for 4 years . She speaks first class English and works as a geologist . She is able to speak about world affairs and tells me that most Thai children are not aware of life outside of Thailand or know little about it . Finally , teaching English should be taught by an British person who speaks the mother language without a strong local dialec e.g. a Glaswegian ( I struggle to understand them too) . Also why does the Thai system reject older people to teach English? Thailand needs to reform its education format to encourage young people to become educated and confident to converse in the global language of English . However some might say that the Thai government are happy with the ways things are which limits higher levels of education to the elite .

True when compared with the likes of Burma , Laos , North Korea etc . However Thailand is at best a developing / emerging nation with an unstable government , high poverty rates , poor education and little if any social security . It is however the progressive economy over the last 10 years or so that has lifted its standard .

You mean morons as there are 4 pathetic laughing emoji now . This is what you get for having anonymous posts/replies . Unless they want to speak out and tell why they find such a tragedy amusing but I doubt that they have the courage .

Prasat is my town and it is 1hr 45 minutes drive to Buriram airport. 40 minute flight to Don Muaeng airport , as well you know . I have done the coach and taxi journeys at 6 hours which are tiring . OK the flights seem to be getting more expensive but remain my preferred mode of travelling that route . Just hoping that with all the new large development at Buriram airport , it will bring maybe international flights to at least the middle east where a European connection can be had . Also provincial flights from Buriram without going to Bangkok airports would be great . Finally I have never had a good journey with Nakhon Chai air coaches . Their gold class are like school buses and the V.I.P. coach that I took from Pattaya , was rough and shoddy and may have been V.I.P. 10 years before . If using coaches from my area I use and recommend , Sombat Tour . Modern fleet , clean , comfortable and 2 safe drivers on long trips .

A fiver for fish & chips ? cannot be cod for sure and the portion size must be small . In Southampton UK medium size cod & chips £10 - 12 large £ 15 -18 . I have seen pensioners day fish & chips at £7 but will not be cod .