sandyf

I believe the Wise card is available in the the US and I use that regularly in the UK as well as many other countries. Just got some cash from ATM in Halong Bay. It's a godsend, wish I had it 50 years ago.

Garbage, your problems are not everyone else's.

Nothing new. https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/phone-catches-fire-during-an-indigo-flight-5-reasons-this-may-have-happened-1937872-2022-04-15

The is no logic in that unless you ban every device that has a lithium battery. The heat comes from rapid discharge and that is not restricted to power banks. My wife once told me the battery in her phone had packed up, she had bought a new one and asked me to change it. When I connected the battery there was immediate discharge that burnt my finger, a short circuit in the phone. The only logical step would be that all lithium battery operated devices are discharged before boarding, but who is going to be brave enough to implement such a policy. Of course they can ban power banks and convince everyone the problem has been resolved.

I don't have a problem with LEDs, I can only assume you are referring to a reply I may have made to someone else. I am not particularly familiar with LEDs, I only have 2 sets that are built into ceiling fans that have now been in use for some years. If I remember right I think they have a control unit attached to lower the voltage. The quality of any such device would be critical in the operation of the LEDs.

There was what happened in the beginning, and then there was what came later. By the time the dust had settled the necessity was no longer there. Platlet problems are nothing new but in this day and age any Tom,Dick or Harry can create an issue to suit the agenda. The AZ methodology has been around for decades so wouldn't it be prudent to wait a bit before flying the flag for mRNA. If the Bullous Pemphigoid link had been immediate mRNA would have been dead in the water but with covid in the rear view mirror media interest has faded. "Why is the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which was approved for use in the United Kingdom in December and in the European Union in January, not yet available in the United States? Every answer to that question leads to another query. It isn’t available because the Food and Drug Administration hasn’t given it an emergency-use approval, as it has for the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Why not? Because AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company that partnered with Oxford University researchers in developing the vaccine, hasn’t applied for F.D.A. approval. https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/why-there-is-so-much-confusion-about-the-astrazeneca-vaccine

I have a B&W laser printer so little option, have to go to print shop for the photos.

More disinformation AZ never even applied for FDA approval due to insufficient production. Some countries discontinued the use of AZ due to adverse media allegations that were never proven, the vaccine is still being produced. One thing that has been proven, a friend of mine contracted Bullous Pemphigold as a result of the mRNA vaccine, his first 2 shots of AZ had no adverse effects.

Exactly, when you enter the country you are granted visa status, be it exempt, tourist or one of the Non O categories. Visa status can be extended or in some cases converted.

Individuals are free to choose which airline to use. I paid 67K baht for 2 of us UK return in May just before Christmas, friend of mine just booked and arrived from Dublin paid £650 return. If what you are trying to imply, "they are charging double price", was true, they wouldn't get the bookings. Bit arrogant to suggest that all Thai Airways customers are mugs.

BA are part of IAG and Qatar Airways have 25% of IAG. BA still operate London to BKK via Doha using Qatar Aiways. It was Qatar Airways that got BA out of trouble during the strike, they loaned a/c and crews. Always helps to have friends in high places.

The manufacturer would state no such thing. One Kilowatt is 1000 watts and at 250v would be 4 amps, power is volts times amps. The label on the heater says 8Kw at 220V which is the nominal voltage in Thailand. So 8000 divided by 220 would give 36.36 amps. Water heaters, unlike cookers, are not energy regulated so current is fixed and continuous. I would doubt very much that the heater has anything to do with the lighting problem. In recent years lighting has undergone some quite dramatic changes and not necessarily for the better. They may well be more efficient but no saving if you have to change them more regularly. You may well have voltage fluctutions for some other reason that is causing the problem. May be worth considering changing the fitting to another type of bathroom light.

Extension stamps are an extension of your visa status, at the end of the period granted, unless addressed, your visa status would become illegal. "Permission to stay" is a generalised term for both entry and extension stamps. The 15 day reference applies to visa status conversion from exempt or tourist rather than visa status extension.

That is garbage, problems with other vaccines are emering as time goes by. The few problems attributed to AZ over platlets is nothing new, first seen in the 1930s and took 30 years to be attributed to heparin, a drug that is still being used. All about benefit/risk analysis. The reason it was never offered in US was down to manufacturing logistics with the UK and EU fighting over production. You should refrain from unsubstantiated implications.

This was his words which seem quite clear to me, said in support of the APPG rather than on their behalf. "The next Labour Government will treat all our pensioners equally" I posted what Sir Peter Bottomly said in PMQs previously, along with Hunt's reply. One of the failings with PMQs is that by offering a written reply the answer can be hidden from the public. The legislation regarding the uprating is embedded in the Social Security Act and that comes up before parliament every year but the government controls business in the house and will only alow debate on their proposals. "The Social Security Benefit Uprating Regulations 2017 is a Statutory Instrument, subject to negative parliamentary procedure. This means MPs have to seek to annul it, rather than automatically having a right to vote on it. Given the shortage of parliamentary time, it is very unusual for such challenges to be debated or voted on without Official Opposition backing. Labour’s decision to support the Motion is therefore highly significant." https://frozenbritishpensions.org/jeremy-corbyn-gives-labours-backing-pension-unfreezing/ History has shown that historical precedence is no justification for injustice.The real problem here is that unlike the WASPI campaign there is very little in the way of public support. The perception generally among the population is that those that retire abroad live in luxury. There has been more press coverage recently than ever before and that has to be a move in the right direction but every chance I will be pushing up daisies before anything gets done.

Easiest option is just to get new visa in Belgium before you return. There is not much difference between renewing an extension or getting extension from new visa, done it twice in last couple of years. When you go make sure you have access to docs required for new visa and a note from spouse saying she expects you back in October. You can use the funds you would have for your extension, all quite straightforward.

I don't have any problem with context, you have gone in the wrong direction and apologise if the implication of what I said wasn't clear. Your post was split up and only one part addressed rather than the context of the whole post. A common practice on the forum by some. I knew what you were trying to say in the OP, I am in the neighbouring province which has 3 immigration offices, 2 are used by expats and operate quite differently.

Are you trying to say the parties allow leaders to state policy they don't agree with? Maybe time for Oliver Cromwell to make a comeback.

Being new technology the mRNA vaccine, and others that were new, were always going to be more of a risk than proven methods. A friend of mine had his first 2 of AZ but then a booster of mRNA, within weeks he developed bullous pemphigoid. He was in a very bad way mentally as the doctors struggled to bring the condition under control. He was unaware of any relationship with the vaccine and went along for his second booster, the condition flared up again. Fortunately second time around the doctors were better placed to bring it under control much quicker. There is no cure and he will have to live with the condition and medication for the rest of his days. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9339096/

Party policy should just that irrespective of who said it or how long ago. Sad situation if the leader doesn't reflect party policy. It is an unfortunate fact of life that opposition often advocate what suits at the time, but selective memory kicks in if the opportunity to do something ever comes about. Brexit highlighted how the frozen pension legislation can be manipulated to suit the government. Brexit is a key driver behind the current developments. British expats in Europe are fearful that without the protection of the social security provisions of the single market, they may too end up with a frozen pension. Given its longstanding position to uprate “only where there is a legal responsibility to do so”, unless a new bilateral deal is specifically negotiated as part of the exit deal, the government would find itself in a very difficult position, potentially either having to freeze 492,000 more pensioners to be consistent, or offering unilateral uprating entitlement for European resident pensioners, and not those elsewhere. The simplest option, offering immediate comfort to worried EU resident pensioners would be to unilaterally change policy now and offer all overseas pensioners the same up-rating entitlement. Global Pension Parity has long been the aim of the ICBP’s campaign. https://frozenbritishpensions.org/jeremy-corbyn-gives-labours-backing-pension-unfreezing/

No, more likely it would be “ Thai couple fails to relocate in the U.K. “ with statements along the lines “Honestly, there were so many times I felt regretful about this decision. It seemed like the end of the world. Wading through waist-deep government red tape just to get there, I’d look around and think, What am I doing?” But keeping in context the first part of your post is probably right, click bait.

Indeed, but context is not a strong point for many.

New leader - new ideas. “The next Labour Government will treat all our pensioners equally, wherever they live, and ensure that overseas pensions are levelled up not down when Britain leaves the EU.” https://frozenbritishpensions.org/jeremy-corbyn-gives-labours-backing-pension-unfreezing/

That is not the case. Nett migration is the difference between people coming to the country and people leaving.The reduction in people leaving, less than 100K last year, makes it appear that immigration is on the increase. This has prompted recent anti immigration policy. I have seen more media coverage of the frozen pension in the last year than in the last 25 years and may be a contributing factor in the emigration reduction. Removing the frozen pension could well promote emigration and reduce the immigration figure but the government is too narrow minded to see the bigger picture.

FTT has never been an option for me, bank book has only ever had 2 character codes and NT (Deposit - No Book) is used. Statements are different and over the last 20 odd years that has gone from "via Bahtnet" to "via EXIM" and now just says "INTERNATIONAL".