xylophone

From a Wake to the Resurrection – – – at least for now! Out and about in Patong and surrounds, I will back up what Rhacsyn said with regards to there being a plethora of Russians around, as that's exactly my experience, and Karon has certainly been turned from a ghost town into almost a thriving community due to the Russian influence. Patong is just the same as was Phuket Central when I visited last, although the large newer section of it wasn't that crowded, just the original part. Patong is still a place with almost a "split personality", whereby some of the bigger hotels are pretty much fully occupied, as are many of the medium sized hotels, however there are still those small hotels/guesthouses which are closed, and those that are open don't seem to be doing much business anyway. And as one business opens, another one closes, and that's the case with the small Lotus's shop on Nanai, which is now closed and stripped of its fittings, and the Italian restaurant called "The Loft" is also now fully closed, and I believe the apartments/rooms above it are also empty – – and just to really show that Patong has gone through a rough time, the Chang Hotel just a few metres from it in Nanai is not only empty, but the roof has collapsed in the extension built as a bar/restaurant/rest area and no one seems to be doing anything about it. Whereas a lady I know who owns two massage shops just off Nanai, is looking to open a third one, and the small hotel/guesthouse called "The House" has opened back up again and has been redecorated; so a mixed bag here in Patong. So I ventured out on Tuesday evening, for the first time in over two weeks, and my journey to a Norwegian restaurant near Patong Tower was very slow indeed because the traffic was nose to tail along Beach Road, tailing back round the Dolphin bar complex and up to the roundabout at the end of the third Road. It was a nightmare and the worst I have seen it. After meeting an old friend at "West" Norwegian restaurant we ambled along the Beach road footpath as best we could, because it was chock-a-block with tourists, however we did reach the Blue Beach Café and Restaurant after a bit of a struggle and managed to have a beer before moving onto another bar in Bangla. When I think about it, overall it was a very cosmopolitan evening because during that time I met Norwegians, Brits, South Africans, Russians, a guy from Austria and one from Israel, not to mention many Thais of course, and getting up to sing a few songs in Red Hot, I was singing along with the lovely Mayen, who has a great voice and personality, and is from the Philippines!!! Bangla itself was crowded, when we got there at about 9 PM, and it was still crowded when I left Red Hot at 1:30 AM – – not really a wake!!!

I have bought quite a few items on Lazada and one which I did have a problem with, I had the money refunded. I have also bought a Nokia flip phone on Lazada, and it was fine and I still have it, however I have also used eBay and my latest acquisition was an Apple iPhone SE, an old model but in perfect condition and it is also fine. I have every confidence that should I have a problem with anything bought on Lazada, I will get a refund. I even bought three tins of custard the other day, to go with my Christmas pudding!!!!!!!!!!????

Many thanks for posting that clip Dan747, as it supports what I have found out over my years of trying to treat my prostate problems, inasmuch as saw palmetto, stinging nettle and other supposed natural cures didn't work for me, and at one time I thought that Beta Sitosterol was working for me, but thinking back on it, now I'm not so sure!!

I feel sorry for Harry Kane and I really do respect him as a talented footballer, however I had to chuckle at this cartoon..........

I had a TURP done in Epworth Hospital in Melbourne about 12 years ago and there were a few hiccups after the operation, whereby I had to use a catheter for quite a few weeks to be able to get the bladder working again. Things seemed to be just okay for a few years, but in recent times I've been having problems and one urologist here operated on on me to widen my bladder neck, because there was some scar tissue there, probably from the TURP operation, and it's been downhill from there, whereby my bladder has stopped working, so the small catheter is my best friend before I go to bed, although I can expel a little urine sometimes during the day which eases the pressure. I did a lot of research after this last episode, and before I realised that the bladder had actually ceased to work I was thinking that the prostate might be at fault and was considering various operations to rectify this, and I came to this conclusion: – – If I could get the Urolift done here or in some country nearby, that would be my first option. – Rezum would be my next option, and I noticed they do have it available in Bumrungrad hospital here. – A further TURP was an outside possibility if indeed the prostate had grown again, and the TURP can be done using a Laser. For those folks with prostate cancer, the da Vinci robotic machine is an absolute must for prostate removal, or prior to this of course, brachytherapy is an option to consider.

Looking back at old movies I may have missed, I had often seen the movie, "North by Northwest" touted as one of the best films/thrillers ever so I decided to download and watch it...... Well as thrillers go, it wasn't one, and although the acting was okay it was still fairly stilted/wooden and the faux props didn't help, and not one time in the whole movie was I "enthralled" by it or anything happening in it – – so a thriller, hmmmm. As a thriller it would rank up there with the movies, "Anthony the aardvark goes quantity surveying" or "Paddington bear eats an ice cream". I did watch a very good movie the day prior to that, called, "Three billboards outside of Ebbing, Missouri" and it had great performances from Francis McDormand, Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson.

The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity, and stupidity is infinite. And trump has oodles of it...........

She is an absolute nut job.........god help America if she ever holds any sway. How can someone so stupid be in government, unless she is on "the sauce" or similar.

Great post....well done Pomchop, and for the record I am exactly the same!

Whilst I'm on the thread, does anybody have any idea when the next/follow-up series of "Billy the Kid" is going to be released, or are we being left in limbo??

Hi OJAS, I am catching up with this friend tomorrow and he's bringing along whatever paperwork he has, however he has sent me a copy of something he received and it is this: – VFS Global Dear Sir or Madam, The UK Passport Application for ref no. HMP/BKK/260922/0011/01 was forwarded to HMPO on Sep 26, 2022. Regards, VFS Global Will learn more tomorrow. Thanks yet again!!

I have searched high and low for it and I believe this is the clip which I saw, and it does contain footage as well as an explanation of the proceedings, so it may well be what I originally saw. I got this from BBC iPlayer so I think it will be a "protected view", but not sure about that, so give it a try and see how you go – – better still if you have a VPN to be able to login to BBC iPlayer. Good luck.

Ah, true conspiracy theory colours shown........no need for any more interchange with you, so on to ignore you go. Happy conspiracy theories.

Just more nonsense from someone who obviously doesn't "see all". And yes, men did walk on the moon! Surprised?? I believe in facts and that won't change, and as regards the medical research, I believe the doctors, scientists, institutions and research facilities which support us, and I note the following: – "the vaccine is nothing special. Nearly 10 billion doses have been administered in the past year and no widespread, large-scale, or long-term side effects having been noted. Yes, there are a tiny minority of people who have side effects, some of which are indeed concerning — but nothing so large as to be concerned about on a population-wide scale. We’ve had two centuries’ worth of data and experience supporting how vaccines work. Two centuries. We know that if a vaccine has negative side effects or other issues of concern, they show up within a few weeks of administration. This is not surprising, because unlike a medication, a vaccine is only active within a person’s body for a short period of time. It’s basic job is to pass along instructions to your body’s immune system so that it knows what to look for and how to mount a future defense against infection".

Thanks again for your help with this OJAS, and I have forwarded a copy of your post onto him, but he is not the sharpest knife in the drawer and sometimes I'm tempted to just give up trying to help him, because it is so frustrating. They did give him some sort of "receipt" and the number on it doesn't match anything, and it is certainly not a DHL tracking number, so I've gone back to him and asked him to search around to see what he can find. Once again thank you for your sterling help, it is much appreciated.

I managed to get through about 40 minutes of this before turning it off and loading another movie (Love Actually), mainly because nothing seemed to gel and seeing/hearing Daniel Craig with a false southern American drawl, just didn't do it for me – – never mind, we all have different tastes.

Dealing with these anti-VAX nut jobs with their unsubstantiated claims is becoming very wearing, and I know because I've got a couple of friends in NZ who were spouting the same nonsense from various YouTube sites and the like, that is until I told them to desist or I would cut them off completely. In my lifetime (and I'm 75 years old now) I don't ever recall seeing such unsubstantiated nonsense regarding anything, let alone medical matters, and most times now I just skip over the nonsense – – I wonder why these people are so hellbent on repeating lies and nonsense??

Also saw the news clip/mini doco on the BBC, about the hitherto unseen events and footage of the Jan Capitol Hill riot........and it was an eye-opener, and how that can be defended in any way, shape or form is beyond belief. I hope justice is served on those who truly deserve it.

Watched the perennial Christmas favourite...."Love Actually" and still enjoyed it after many viewings!!!

Now that is a bit of a puzzle, because he copied me the "receipt" he got from VFS and it had a number on it, preceded by a few letters, but when I tried to enter that into the online form as previously suggested, it was far too long and the space allocated on the form only allowed about 50% of it, so I left it blank, however I did put it in the comments/other box which was on the form – – best I could do at the time.

Thanks OJAS, and I have completed the online enquiries form (with his details) for him because he's not that computer literate, and submitted it, so we will see what happens. There have been a few helpful posts, so to all of those folks who obliged, many thanks for your help.

Thanks for your advice, and his credit card has not been debited with the payment, although he applied for the passport renewal on 22 September?? Thanks again for your help which I have passed on to him.

A friend of mine is panicking somewhat because he went to Bangkok and gave VFS his passport details for renewal and he's heard nothing back since. He's got the receipt from VFS and it is dated 26 September so he thought he should have heard something by now, and despite telephoning VFS on a few occasions, the phone goes unanswered, which is panicking him even more! So he is stumped really, because they won't answer the phone and the UK telephone number goes unanswered as well, and of course the UK is bedevilled by strikes at the moment which won't make anything easier for him.......anyone got any ideas as to what he can do/the latest update????

Yes I've had that very same thing said to me before by a Thai "electrician" but he said that Thai electricity doesn't need an earth! This when I was helping a Thai lady I know, with her restaurant and trying to install a water heater in the bathroom.....obviously I took no notice of him and ran a separate earth in the ceiling and down to an earthing rod just outside, and whilst I was at it I ran an earth to the socket outlets in the kitchen, because staff were getting "tingles" from a couple of the appliances.

Three drongos in one pic.......lets hope they become extinct soon.????