sandyf

The elephant in the room.

"EU funding has had a positive transformative effect on Northern Ireland, and on the border regions in particular. The Northern Ireland economy is more dependent on EU funding than any other nation or region of the UK, and its loss could have a devastating effect. Brexit is already giving rise to uncertainty about the availability of future funding, and there is some scepticism over the Government’s undertaking that the post-2020 funding gap will be filled. In view of Northern Ireland’s unique circumstances, we call on the Government to explore during the course of Brexit negotiations means by which it might continue to be eligible, post-Brexit, to apply to some EU funding programmes, in particular for cross-border projects."

https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201617/ldselect/ldeucom/76/7607.htm

On 6/12/2017 at 6:20 PM, Kwasaki said:

The right to buy was a good thing for many people but it did get abused.  

The system allowed the abuse and that is what soured many to the concept.

My brother married a woman that lived in a council house and as soon as they were married they bought it. A couple of years later they sold it at a huge profit and have never looked back. Just took advantage of what was on offer.

There should have been a fairly lengthy fixed retention period and anyone that sold early, for whatever reason, should have had to repay on a sliding scale some of the discount from the profits. That reclaimed discount could have built more houses.

12 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Yeah the glass is beautiful we went there some 38 years ago it was around 100 and some-think quid.

Respect to you, dunno about serving army UK  l was kicked out. 

I was RAF and did about 6 months on Sardinia at the Tri-national base. At that time you could buy 4 bottles of Lambrusco for a pound, before it became a household name. Slowly but surely all the low cost destinations are being eliminated.

6 hours ago, sanemax said:

 I was replying to a poster who stated the Pound has plummeted in the last seven years and I was just stating that the Pound is pretty much the same as it was seven years ago

    The Pound did recover and it stayed stable after the Brexit vote , but all the dithering around and uncertainty caused jitters in the market , markets hate uncertainty and the Pound dropped . Not due to the Brexit vote , but due to the  UK Govs dither about and the uncertainty that that caused

The deterioration from 1.70 in 2014 to current levels is entirely due to the brexit referendum. The rot set in when the bill was passed.

3 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Interesting post Bill reminds of my past as many posts do.

Many moons ago was in Venice Italy and bought some handmade glass items when the owner showed me the bill which was in the millions & thousands,  l was stunned & dropped jawed for a moment until the calculator came to the rescue. 

That must have been some piece of glass. I served in Italy in the early seventies and we were paid about 2500 lira to the pound.

19 hours ago, karenmw460 said:

Ok.  Thanks. So I'll try to get a USB adapter and see if that helps. 

There is a bit more to it than that. You should really try and check what standards are being used. My suspicion is that the router is using 'n' and the laptop is set to 'n'  but the PC if a bit old may only be capable of 'b & g'. It could however be that the PC has been set to 'b & g' even though 'n' is available.

You can get information on how to check by google wifi adapter settings. 

If you buy a new adapter you would need to make sure it was set up correctly or you may not be any better off.

As an alternative to an adapter, you can get larger antennae for the router, you only need one. I bought a 9 inch one for my router and that can be picked up 30 metres away. That is a very simple alteration without any setting up. I forget how much but not a great deal.

23 hours ago, Pib said:

Chest X-rays are dirt cheap....just a couple hundred baht....get them done in any govt or private hospital and many clinics.   A complete check (blood tests, chest X-ray, EKG, physician exam, etc) can vary quite a bit between hospitals..especially at private hospital compared to govt hospital.   My annual exam at a private hospital here in western Bangkok costs approx Bt2,500 (blood/lab work, chest x-ray, EKG, physician exam).   I'm sure at a govt hospital it would be significantly less.

 

Of course if you go to some 5 star combo hotels-hospitials like Bumrangrad  in Bangkok their checkups range from Bt10K to Bt30K...very pricy.

 

I had a complete checkup at the cancer hospital here in Chonburi a couple of years ago and that was 1600 baht.

I had a partial check up, bloods, X ray and ECG, at the mobile health clinic about 8 months ago and that was free.

I have my own house so I am not worried at the moment but I am concerned. This is not going to get better, well not in my lifetime, and there is every possibility that it could get a whole lot worse. Combined with this question mark over insurance we may well see a lot more repats than expats.

18 hours ago, sanemax said:

Isnt the Pound about the same now as it was seven years ago ?

Why 7 years ago, tell us what it was 10 years ago. July 2007 it was 69.3 THB to the pound.

You picked a point just after the global financial crisis ignoring the recovery that was taking place until brexit kicked in.

In Jan 2009 the dollar was 1.433 and by Jan 2014 around 1.70, what is it today, 1.265.

BoJo for PM - out of the frying pan into the fire comes to mind.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-leaked-whatsapp-screenshots-theresa-may-general-election-leadership-challenge-a7784981.html

3 hours ago, scorecard said:

I wonder how many non-Thai 'residents' know that nowadays there are many Thai government hospitals that have been upgraded and the health care is not all that bad, many have well qualified specialists and many of the doctors and staff can speak good to OK English. If your admitted / have treatment the fee scale is a bit higher than for Thai nationals but way way under the outrageous fees levied my the so called '5 star international hospitals'.

 

It's well known that costs of private health insurance polices for older / much older folks are way beyond the financial means of many 'residents' plus most of these private companies have a maximum age, beyond that they offer no cover at all, not available.

 

The Thai government hospital fall back is worth exploring, I'm aware of several 'residents' who are now quite old, no private cover available, and they have done their checking / research to identify a good government hospital not too far from home, including the best means of quick transport to the hospital they have identified.

 

Personally I'm in a different situation, I have full cover from my war veterans entitlements. 

 

 

 

Quite, I have been here about 9 years and if I need to see a doctor,dentist or optician just go to a Thai clinic and pay for it. Charges are fairly reasonable.

 The cancer hospital in Chonburi does a full MOT for around 1600 baht and I had to have a biopsy which was 1800 baht which fortunately turned out to be unnecessary.

There are also some free facilities available. I had a partial MOT last year at the mobile health clinic, bloods, X ray and ECG. This week been for my free flu jab.

20 hours ago, ELVIS123456 said:

I think that the Thai Govt will introduce mandatory insurance for tourists - but it will be cheap and easy to get. TAT will make sure of that. But it will only last the standard 30-60 days. The main reason the Govt wants to do something is all the tourists turning up with injuries at the hospitals who dont have insurance. The other reason is the foreign workers who dont have insurance and who dont pay - or do things like leave their baby because they cant pay (apparently a lot).

 

The long-term Visa visitors/residents are another issue - and the Govt is not that interested about us Expats (foreigners who live all/most of year in Thailand).  There is not that many who 'default' - the Govt will only deal with this IMO if too many Expats default/die in hospital without insurance. 

 

A previous poster mentioned travel insurance. For those Expats who return home once a year or so, I would recommend getting this every time you leave and come to Thailand. A policy can last up to 12 months (in Aus) and can then be extended another 6 mths (18mths total). These policies only cover you for one 'accident' or a sudden serious illness (not pre-existing) , and can include repatriation costs - and they cost only a few hundred $Aus. I once checked this out for a UK Expat and found similar travel insurance was available - he had no idea. 

 

For some reason you have to 'travel' to get travel insurance type medical policy in any country. They all want to cover you for all medical expenses - and they cost way too much in Thailand - they are about the same as in US (no doubt they set Expat premiums at US levels).

 

For those Expats n Thailand permanently, and over 60, there is no cost effective option available. Perhaps the Govt will look into a cheaper policy that covers Expats in Public Hospitals only, but I am certain the Private Hospital 'industry' will cry foul if they ever  do, and the idea would be canned. Still, one lives in hope.

 

 

 

"I once checked this out for a UK Expat and found similar travel insurance was available - he had no idea. "

You should post the name of the company. I used annual insurance policies for about 20 years and they were generally restricted to 45 days max for any particular trip. I know that Wexas did one for 90 days which was a lot more expensive, but never came across anyone that had more than the 90 days per trip.

"and they cost way too much in Thailand"

You would need to define "way too much". I have just taken out travel insurance for my trip to the UK next month. With AXA(Thailand) the premium was 2007 Baht per person for the 29 days in the UK. The premium would be the same for worldwide cover, excluding the US and Canada.

17 hours ago, roquefort said:

I noticed that too but it doesn't say what kind of insurance they mean...........travel, medical, life?? I ticked the box anyway as I have two out of three.

Quite, but that's the UK government for you, clear as mud.

I have just noticed on the latest version of the income letter request from the UK embassy they are asking if you have insurance.

When I used to come here on relatively short visits I always had insurance. I had an annual policy which had a restriction of 45 days for any single trip. Even though I am from the UK when I go back I always take out travel insurance for myself as well as my wife. I am 70 years old and do not have a problem getting that kind of insurance. People should realise that there is a significant difference between travel insurance and health insurance.

You should have time, mine has always come back one week after it was posted.

I am sure that I have seen someone post that he sent it in by email using the credit card form and then got it back by EMS. Nothing lost in sending an email to find out as that could be done from outside Thailand.

I have just noticed that on the latest version of the letter request, the embassy are asking if you have insurance.

17 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

My son has no problem with standard household electrics but looking into motorcycle wiring looms, OK dad you can sort that he says.   

This is when it starts to become important. I have changed plugs and sockets on 50 core cable, the wires had a base colour with a line on them with a different colour which gave about 100 combinations . Even some of the people I worked with had difficulty to tell the difference between a plain red wire and a red wire with an orange line on it.

11 hours ago, mommysboy said:

If the Cons. had any integrity whatsoever they would revoke Article 50, because we neither have a PM or administration that is likely to see the process through the important first two years. It is also the only strategic position the Gov. can adopt to avoid complete defeat at the next election, as there is a growing sense in the country that no deal is the worst possible deal.  It would spell the end of the Tories for 30 years or more imo.

 

This utter fiasco has gone on long enough and is now tangibly hurting the country.

Exactly, it was always going to be that way but too many with their head in the sand and the country has ended up between a rock and a hard place. Unlikely anyone will have the bottle to stand up and suggest pulling Article 50, it has already been reported that May and Merkel have agreed to start negotiations as planned.

The real question is how they will end up. Many are of the opinion that it is all or nothing but that is only an interpretation. Leaving the EU, the single market and the customs union are all separate issues with their own parameters.

Anyone who says the referendum meant leaving the single market is saying the the referendum was intended to stop immigration from the EU. I didn't see that in the referendum bill or the ballot paper so it is purely an interpretation. That interpretation also ignores the fact that about half of net migration is from outside the EU, something that TM failed to control as Home Secretary.

There is no immigration problem with the customs union so why leave, Turkey is in a customs union with the EU. Outside the customs union will ensure that there is a hard border involving Northern Ireland , something that is likely to upset TM's new found crutch.

The common factor between the EU, single market and customs union is the ECJ, Teresa May's pet hate, and we can only hope that more reasonable minds will prevail.

On 5/31/2017 at 2:26 PM, KenKadz said:

Anyone know when will the new vaccines become available to the general public?

They are available now, been for mine today. It is not the general public but vulnerable groups such as elderly & young. My sister in law got it for diabetes.

The age limit is 65 and available to foreigners with a yellow book. From what I can gather vaccine stocks are limited and I saw people turned away that did not live in the hospital area.

1 hour ago, AlexRich said:

 

All of the above, however, I think that we have seen the revenge of the Remainers, the young have came out is strength and have given the "hard Brexit" a kick into the long grass. May ignored the 48% and the one's the did not vote ... as did many commentators on here ... the "put up and shut up brigade". They've came back and kicked her in the teeth.

 

 

Shot herself in the foot and proved you can't keep voting to get the result you want.

I also bank with HSBC and a couple of years ago got an email asking me to come to the branch and discuss the account. I said I was out of the country and they said to make an appointment when I returned to the UK which I did a few months later.

They wanted to query why I had changed my address to a commercial enterprise. I explained that I spent a great deal of time abroad and was using a mail forwarder to improve postal service when out of the country and generally they were quite happy with that.

There was a discussion over my circumstances and I said that I mainly lived in Thailand. They said that it was not bank policy to service accounts for people that were not habitually resident in the UK but it was at the bank's discretion and they would allow the account to continue. They asked for my address in Thailand and details of my Thai bank account. As far as cards were concerned they said that they would not be prepared to send them to Thailand or to the mail forwarder, I would have to have them sent to a UK residential address or collect at branch.

I should point out that I have my pension paid into the account and may have been an influencing factor in the decision.  I have been back to the branch a few times since without any problem

Good luck.

"Schengen visa for 50 days. " - Is this the period of validity or period of authorised stay?

Outward and return tickets should be within the period of validity in case you need to re-enter the Schengen area to catch the return flight that day. If the tickets are within the period of validity then no further proof should be required.

On 6/7/2017 at 1:44 AM, rasg said:

Donutz is the most qualified on here about Schengen visas by a mile. He helped me with a lot of the info that allowed me and my wife to take a trip to Iceland earlier in the year but I have a question.

 

My wife's Schengen visa was for 8 days. Our trip was for 8 days. How can a Schengen visa be granted for 50 days? You then want to, to and fro to another country etc but you want to flyout of Helsinki 60 days after the beginning of a 50 day Schengen visa. Presumably you will have to enter Finland to get to Hlesinki airport to fly back to BKK after the visa has expired? How will that work?

 

Am I being stupid or do I have that right?

Schengen visas are valid for periods of up 90 days but it is unlikely that you will get the 90 days unless your itinerary indicates that it is necessary.

I have done 3 Schengen visas for my wife in recent years, Spain issued 14 day visa for a 7 day stay, Germany issued 3 day visa for 3 day stay and Malta issued 3 week visa for a 5 day stay. No real consistency.

These are the definitions from the handbook.

Period of validity: the period during which the visa holder may use the issued visa: Example: a visa is valid from 1.1. – 30.6, and during that period the holder may enter and shall leave the territory of the Member States.

Period of authorised stay: the effective number of days that the visa holder may stay in the territory of the Member States during the period of validity of the visa. The period of authorised stay may be from 1 up to 90 days.

Number of entries: refers to the number of visits that may be carried out during the period of validity of the visa while respecting the length of the authorised stay:

Example:

– one entry: a visa is valid from 1.1. – 30.6 and allows for one entry. During that period the holder is allowed to travel once to the territory of the Member States; once he has left the territory of the Member States, he is not entitled to re-enter even if the total number of authorised days of stay have not been used.

– two entries: a visa is valid from 1.1. – 30.6, and allows for two entries. During that period the holder may be authorised to stay for a total of 90 days divided into two separate trips.

– multiple entries: a visa is valid from 1.1.-31.12 and allows for multiple entries. During this period the holder is allowed to stay up to 90 days per six-month period. The stay can be divided into as many separate trips as wished by the visa holder.

According to article today project is currently a feasability study and bidding may start at end of this year. been a presentation in Japan this week as they are keen to bid.

Apparently the EEC route will link the three airports, DM, Swampy and UT.