1 hour ago, dick dasterdly said:

You can't have lived here long enough, as I remember that v well.  It coincided with the period of time when I was short of money.

 

edit - and reliant on pension income from the UK....

Never mind the long enough BS. Specify this period 7 or 8 years ago when it dropped below 45 for some time.

It was 59 when I came in 99 and went up into the 70's from there, not until 2013 did it drop below the 45 mark.

1 hour ago, Khun Han said:

 

And here is a graph of Sterling against Baht for the last twelve months:

 

http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?&view=1Y

 

The timescales from this graph can be edited down to 'prove' just about anything.

Maybe you can show us on that site where.

" Sterling was down below 45 Baht for quite a while (even nearing 43 at one point) a few (maybe seven or eight, not sure without checking) years ago. "

Will Brexit deal suit the City of London?

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37129715

Brexit pushes Opel to cut staff hours in Germany

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37133037

On 8/18/2016 at 1:27 PM, morrobay said:

 

"Any issues specifcally in Thailand could weaken the baht"

 Like what ???. Just about all the issues seem to strengthen the baht.

Thailand has a substantial amount of foreign reserves in USD, depreciation of the dollar weakens the Baht.

USD opened on Monday at 95.5 and this morning was 94.2, currently at 94.5.

This drop in the dollar has lifted the USD/GBP.

4 hours ago, Khun Han said:

And I wasn't referring to 2013. Sterling was down below 45 Baht for quite a while (even nearing 43 at one point) a few (maybe seven or eight, not sure without checking) years ago. I don't know how you missed it if you've lived in Thailand for so long. Maybe you didn't change any money for a while?

 

1 hour ago, Ricardo said:

 

Has anyone flown EVA recently, and know how 'tight' they are at LHR-Terminal-2 check-in, on hold-weight and carry-ons ? Their reputation is 'strict', but actual experience also counts for something !

 

Happy Travels ! 

I went to UK a few weeks ago with EVA and coming back through Terminal 2 is a nightmare, will be avoiding it in the future.

There is no web check in and you have to check in at a machine, if you do not want to use the machine you have to get someone to come and do it for you, this is a change from last year when you were allowed to proceed directly to a desk. At the machine you have to print your boarding pass and luggage labels. Once you have BP and luggage labels attached you are then allowed to join a queue, in my case it was about 200 yards and took over 30 mins to reach the desk. Bit of a come down after being used to extremely short queues at web check in.

Sorry I digress, to answer your question, not a problem. You are not being checked in by EVA, each desk is checking multiple flights for multiple airlines and all you do is hand your bags over and get the receipt, probably check those for weight but never even looked at carry on. We were a bit wary as we knew it was borderline. They then check passports and you are on your way.

12 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

France is not a Christian country. Its government is strictly secular.  And if it were a Christian country, then it should act in accordance with this rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Matthew 7-12.

You should try living in the real world. I was working in Burnley when the Muslims went on the rampage because planning permission was turned down for a 4th mosque.

Rightly or wrongly the mode of dress in question is perceived as a symbol of Islam, and that at the moment is an open wound in France and still a sore point in many parts of the UK.

Authorities are quite within their rights to take any action necessary to prevent confrontation between differing points of view. Segregation exists in many forms but nothing like religion to get people standing on a soapbox.

3 minutes ago, AlexRich said:

 

I disagree. I don't think it is in the US interests to have a close partner outside the EU, with no influence on EU policy going forward, especially with regard to things like Russian sanctions ... many of the Europeans would like to water them down for domestic business reasons ... Italy come to mind, and France had some naval sales that got kiboshed. Obama's involvement did not help, but it wasn't some clever manoeuvre to influence the vote towards Brexit. Bear in mind also many US european headquarters are based in the UK, particularly the London Banks ... it really makes no sense. I'm not naive enough to think that there are never any dirty tricks played, but I don't think this was one of them.

 

 

Each to his own on that one, looks to me like 'divide and conquer'. They are going to end up with a bigger grip on each camp.

On 8/17/2016 at 5:43 AM, happy Joe said:

I think these bans are a huge mistake of France.

 

The freedom ends where someone else's begins.

 

 Women in burkini commit no offense or embarrassment to others. Accordingly, these decrees are pure ostracism that will fuel hatred.

It cannot be disputed that Muslims in a Christian country should receive the same respect as Christians do in a Muslim country.

3 hours ago, AlexRich said:

 

I think people outside of the UK understand what we did. The Chinese (in one of their main daily newspapers) described us as displaying a "losing mentality", most of the EU couldn't understand it and the US thought we were mad. 

 

I would agree on your first 2 points but not the 3rd, I believe that it was in the US interest for the UK to leave the UK. Mr Obama knew exactly what he was doing when he said the UK would go to the back of the queue, that it would get right up the nose of the UK population.

The US have a vested interest in manipulating the EU and the task becomes a lot easier if the UK is no longer involved. Post Brexit the UK will be so desperate for a trade deal with the US you never know what they will agree to.

Once Turkey's role in the leave campaign was over, they were also removed from the equation, or are we to believe that was pure coincidence. The US were never going to be happy with a Muslim country in the EU.

The one thing that I fail to understand is that why with a referendum of such significance, David Cameron allowed it to be held without a minimum margin. This borderline result will haunt the UK for years to come.

Federal Reserve split on timing of next rate rise

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37111395

1 hour ago, Berty100 said:

 

You won the referendum, if you won the day is a completely different matter and will only be known in a decade or so, but I personally think you lost the day.

Exactly, but in reality it was everyone that lost the day and will end up paying dearly for that misguided gesture. The ball has started rolling.

Bureaux de change offering €0.99 for £1

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37107945

2 hours ago, dick dasterdly said:

Will May pretend that she's enforcing the vote, whilst doing nothing until the next general election?

 

Its a whole bunch of 'ifs' and how the electorate respond to this - if they're given a 'leave' option at the nest general election.

That's the way I see it panning out, she cannot keep everyone happy so she needs to get the general election behind her before facing the backlash. In the meantime she can always pray for an escape route.

Another issue that may come up is Turkey. That was a major weapon in the vote leave arsenal, but recent events have effectively ruled them out of ever joining the EU. If parliament has to vote on Article 50, MP's may see the Turkish situation as significant grounds to reject the referendum result.

" Kasra Nouroozi, from Mishcon de Reya, says: "Everyone in Britain needs the government to apply the correct constitutional process and allow Parliament to fulfil its democratic duty, which is to take into account the results of the referendum along with other factors and make the ultimate decision." "

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-uk-leaves-the-eu-36703799

16 hours ago, ricky2002 said:

thanks Denim.............Unfortunately I need a complex prescription with varifocal lenses 

I have photochromatic varifocals. Been getting them for about 15 years , at first from the one of the main chains at about 8K. At that time it was over 70/£ so a lot cheaper than the UK. I think had 3 pairs over a few years and they went up to around 12K but I always thought the eye test was quite good. Certainly a lot better than the last one I had in the UK, went to Specsavers, cost me about £250 and gave me a headache. I took them back for a refund and then started getting them here.

The last pair I got from a Thai optician near Bangkok, he copied the previous prescription and lenses and frames came to about 6K.

I need to go again but this time I am going to go to the eye clinic for the prescription and then have them made.

1 minute ago, chiang mai said:

 

It's difficult to imagine that BOE will let inflation go much over 3% before they are forced to act and raise interest rates, especially true if the US has raised rates by that time.

Not really. Once prices have adjusted to the new value of the pound inflation would start to decrease, unless of course the pound is in a never ending decline.

The opinion was that the BOE sees growth as a much higher priority than inflation.

Fed are testing the water.

" We're edging closer towards the point in time where it will be appropriate I think to raise interest rates further," said William Dudley, president of the New York Federal Reserve.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37099064

5 hours ago, chiang mai said:

 

Read the link in post 51 above, the inflation data released yesterday has the Pound strengthening already, up almost 2 cents in 24 hours. At some point the UK will be faced with no good choice, rampant inflation or an increase in interest rates.

Looks like rampant inflation then, analyst on TV last night said increase in interest rates is not an option.

At the end of the day 52% of the population went against the BOE and voted for inflation so like us will have to live with the consequences. It was also reported that factory gate prices are now showing increases in the order of 10%, a precursor of things to come.

7 hours ago, phantomfiddler said:

How can anyone get lost on a small island ?  Now Chatujak Market, that,s another thing completely

Sounds like an echo from last October.

4 hours ago, AlexRich said:

 

I think technically and legally the answer to your question is no. The Article can only be triggered by the member country, and as long as they are complying with EU rules no other country or the EU itself can make them invoke Article 50.

 

It will be interesting to watch all this play out over the next few years ... interesting, but painful for anyone who converts £ sterling into Thai Baht.

Exactly, Article 50 must be invoked according to the constitution of the member state, still waiting for the courts to rule on that one.

 The UK will no longer be subject to the EU treaty 2 years after invoking Article 50, this period can be extended through agreement with the EU. Until Article 50 is invoked the UK is still a full member of the EU but once Article 50 is invoked the UK cannot partake in any discussion or vote that may relate to the future of the UK. This part of Article 50 is so vague that it could mean that the UK will cease to be an active member of the EU during the exit period but still subject to all EU rulings.

Something else that some seem to be unaware of is that the exit agreement is subject to approval by the EU parliament, so at the end of the day if the EU parliament does not like what the UK has asked for and the EU is not prepared to extend, the EU treaty could be terminated with the UK out in the cold.

Your last comment is spot on and at my time of life it is pain I could do without. 

On 8/14/2016 at 4:42 PM, theoldgit said:

 

I get mine paid into the Nationwide in the IOM,  it's always credited to that account one day early, on a Thursday.

If I send cash over, which l don't do every month, it hits my Kasikorn account the following morning, that doesn't really answer your question but leads me to believe that the problem isn't the Thai end, though Citbank isn't in the equation.

A few weeks back I posted a question asking if anyone who had their state pension paid direct to a Thai bank account had claimed the additional pension for a short stay in the UK.

You responded that you had, but I fail to see how Nationwide could be classed as a Thai bank account.

On 8/14/2016 at 11:11 AM, hathairat2711 said:

Are some people still receiving their UK state pension several days late as I'm considering using Kasikorn.

 

Those that receive their pension on their allocated day, what Thai bank do they use

 

My pension is due on a Friday and my current Thai bank receives it on the Tuesday/Wednesday following.

 

Comments would be appreciated.

 

 

I get my pension every 4th Friday and invariably comes in about 09.30 on the Friday morning. Been 1 day late about 4 times in 4 years. Normally comes on a Thursday if it is a UK bank holiday weekend. I use TMB.

On 8/10/2016 at 10:37 AM, GuestHouse said:

 

There are number of MPs who argue against the freeze on increases to pensioners overseas, amongst the the current leader of the Labour Party.

 

The hurdle us not MPs or indeed PMs but the general public and the exchequer.

 

Read any UK newspaper article on the matter and you'll find the reader's comments are filled with that essential ingrediant of British public political debate - Spite and envy.

 

 

The only people that support unfreezing of pensions are those that have no chance of becoming PM. The shortfall between NI contributions and State Pension payments is funded by general taxation. No PM is ever going to take action voluntarily that would lead to a tax increase.

11 hours ago, AlexRich said:

 

The problem now is that they are talking about delaying the Article 50 decision until the end of 2017 because not only do they not have a team in place to begin negotiations, they also do not appear to know what questions to ask and what priorities to make. That's how well this decision was thought through!

 

Theresa May has very cleverly put three 'Brexit' stooges in charge of the fiasco ... Johnson, Fox and Davis. Davis previously stated that the exit would be fairly straightforward ... he's now coming to realise it's not, and now the other two clowns Fox and Johnson are arguing over departmental resources. If this goes badly wrong, and I suspect it will, these three will be totally discredited. If May had put anyone else in charge they are the very same people that would have heavily criticised whatever agreement was put in place. Now they own it.

 

Between 1950 and 1973 the UK was the slowest growing major economy in Europe, after 1973 until present day it is the fastest, even faster than Germany. But Brexit supporters will tell you about how great things will be outside the stifling EU ... so far, so bad.

At the press briefing yesterday, the Downing Street spokesman refused to answer the question "Will Article 50 be invoked during 2017?"

The only response he was prepared to give was that Article 50 would not be invoked during 2016. Apparently the PM is in Switzerland and unavailable for comment. Boris Johnson is the most senior politician in the UK at the moment but could not be located.

I have been with Gulf Air about a dozen times and always found them very reasonable. The last time was last June when BA cancelled on me at the last minute and I got a flight with Gulf going out a few hours later.

I am sure their standard seat pitch is 31", the worst one I have had for that was Lufthansa. The food on Gulf is not the best I have had but it is a long way from being the worst.

When BA cancelled, they offered Malaysian Airways but my wife refused. I should imagine there are some good deals to be had with them.

19 minutes ago, Henryford said:

Before the referendum i transferred enough over here to last 1-2 years. The Pound is only down 10% and i am sure will rebound to at least 50 within that time. I expect that being out of the EUSSR the Pound will be much stronger in 3-5 years. I would be more worried if i relied on Euros.

A year ago the Euro was worth about 70p, today it is worth 86p.