xylophone

Most were late twenties early thirties with a few slightly older ones who looked quite wealthy by their attire. I did see some younger guys in Patong who I would say would be mid twenties, and were in very good shape, so didn't really want to be in the "firing line" (sorry about the pun) for the compulsory call-up.

And I have a good idea where they are, having just returned from a trip to Villa Market in Chalong, where I would estimate that 70% of the customers were Russian! I stopped off at Big C (Patong) on the way back and sure enough the Russian contingent is growing there too.........

I do recall about 10 or 11 years ago that we had a flash flood here in Patong which was horrendous, and the water cascaded down from the "new middle road" and its environs into Rat-u-Thid road, and carried me and my car with it, actually lifting it off the ground with the volume and sheer force of it! I ended up desperately trying to steer the car at any time when the tyres touched the road, which was very infrequent I have to say, and it was quite an unnerving feeling being carried along and having no control whatsoever over the car or where I was going!!

Looks like it will be added to this impressive list of trump failures:- Trump’s failed businesses: 1. Trump Steaks 2. GoTrump 3. Trump Airlines 4. Trump Vodka 5. Trump Mortgage 6. Trump: The Game 7. Trump Magazine 8. Trump University 9. Trump Ice 10. The New Jersey Generals 11. Tour de Trump 12. Trump Network 13. Trumped! Trump companies that sought bankruptcy protection: 1. Trump Taj Mahal 2. Trump’s Castle 3. Trump Plaza Casinos 4. Trump Plaza Hotel 5. Trump Hotels and Casinos Resorts 6. Trump Entertainment Resorts Can't wait..............!!!!????

Certainly would by the way it looks!!!!!!

I'd be happy with that Adrian................seems about right.

@adrianc I have just spoken to a friend of mine who owns a motorbike rental business, and he says that it is written into the rental contract, that the renter is responsible for any damage which occurs during the duration of the rental – – in other words the renter is charged for any damage, which includes flood damage. On the bright side, he said that the bikes are rarely "written off" due to flood damage, and although some electrical parts may need to be replaced (LED lights etc), the rest is all about cleaning, removing any mud/sludge/sand and completely drying it out. So you might not be up for a lot of money, perhaps just a few thousand baht??

I have to say that I do like real massage, not particularly the traditional Thai type, but a relaxing one without all of the pressure from elbows etc, this especially as I seem unable to sleep on many occasions, and I can certainly nod off for 30 to 60 minutes when having one of these. Luckily enough here in Patong I have located a couple of great massage places, with fully trained staff, certificates etc displayed and no funny business involved at all, so they are my main ports of call when I feel I need to go (been going to them for more than 10 years now), either because of lack of sleep, or as a result of the many football injuries I've incurred over the years in my youth, giving me some grief.

Not a night to venture out old chap, esp as have got a bad sinus infection, but no doubt all of the sights, sounds and peculiarities of Bangla will be on show next weekend!! PS. Apart from the ladyboy sleeping in the lobby of your building, but then again..........

And I'm afraid it's not going to get any better with the Muppet Charles now as king, with his wife shortly to receive the official title of Queen Camilla. Queen Elizabeth the second was a great Queen and I don't know anyone who didn't look up to her, but "sausage fingers" Charles is a bit of a dork whose main aim in life at one time was to become a tampon so that he could be "very close" to Camilla. Then of course we had the tantrums when he was signing some documents very recently, and the pen didn't seem to be functioning properly, and I had to smile when I saw this newspaper clipping about the incident: – "King Charles' pen tantrums expose him as an overindulged man-child....... There is no escaping that the new King is a man who has been waited on hand and foot his entire life. But a new video showing the King having – another – tantrum while on the job raises the question, is he something of an overindulged man-child? Spot on!

what is needed is to address the wrongs which took place on January 6, a very serious event/events which threatened to overthrow a government elected by the people. You mentioned "the fathers brought a vision for America and Americans", but what you fail to realise was that this vision of a democratic country ruled by democratic principles was almost undone on January 6 by the action of a gang of mindless morons, led by an even more mindless leader, who stormed Capitol Hill and tried to overturn the basics of what America was built on. Now stop ranting on and deflecting from other posts, and try to see reason, and the first action to enable you to do that is to take down all of your MAGA posters, your trump pictures and posters, and perhaps throw the Kool-Aid down the sink and try to climb back out of the rabbit hole by not listening to any right-wing propaganda. But then again, there is more chance that "pigs will fly" than you being able to see reason.

I implore AN posters to read trump's response in the Washington Examiner to see just what mental condition the former president has sunk to – – – good grief, just what will it take for trump's followers to accept that there is absolutely no evidence/nothing proven with regards to the election being rigged and/or stolen; AND this has been proven time and time again. I think the former president is deranged, and this has been a steady downward trend for the last few years. There is only one solution, and one which he would be very familiar with: – "lock him up". Stop wasting time and put him behind bars

On the positive side of things, at least we created a hatful of chances, but average finishing and a superb display by their goalkeeper kept us at bay. I'd be more worried if we weren't creating the chances in the first place!

You may also wish to view posts on Rezum by @GarryP as he underwent that treatment not too long ago.....may help with a different perspective.

Which reminds me that I'm due a visit!!!!

The latest from MedScape on Multivitamins............ Unexpected results from a phase 3 trial exploring the effect of multivitamins and cognition have now been published. Findings from a phase 3 study show daily multivitamin use, but not cocoa, is linked to a significantly slower rate of age-related cognitive decline. Originally presented last November at the 14th Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) conference and reported by Medscape Medical News at that time, this is the first large-scale, long-term randomized controlled trial to examine the effects of cocoa extract and multivitamins on global cognition. The trial's primary focus was on cocoa extract, which earlier studies suggest may preserve cognitive function. Analyzing the effect of multivitamins was a secondary outcome. Showing vitamins, but not cocoa, was beneficial is the exact opposite of what researchers expected. Still, the results offer an interesting new direction for future study, lead investigator Laura D. Baker, PhD, professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, told Medscape Medical News. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/980785?src=wnl_tp10n_221013_mscpedit&uac=241165CN&impID=4742695#vp_1

Vive la difference........... Somebody must have had a word with the folks at the Phuket immigration office, because they were polite, accommodating and couldn't do enough for me, which is totally the opposite to what I have experienced in the past. A couple of the grumpy ones whom I recall from past days, were no longer there, and those Thai I/Os who had taken their place were politeness personified!! Yippee! And to give the current "crew" credit, even though there were upwards of 35 people in the queue, with some of these people having completely blank pieces of paper and needing the I/O to fill them out for them, and some argumentative farangs, one Indian guy in particular who must have been here a long time because his Thai language skill was exemplary, the I/O's just kept on working and being as polite as they could – – I really couldn't believe it, such a change from my previous experiences. Even though the I/O's were working diligently to try and deal with the long queue of people, it was tough going and things became a little chaotic at times with so many people trying to cram in the office and others being turned away because they had jumped the queue and so on.......but I got my turn and as had always been the case in the past, my paperwork was "in good working order" and I was asked to come back the next day for the passport......which I did. The whole exercise at the I/O took about two and a half hours. On my visit the next day, there were around 50 people waiting to get re-entry permits and I don't remember ever seeing that many people before, waiting in that room, so I gleefully drove back to Patong.

I would just love that to be the case, and get all of this nonsense out of the way, and put him where he belongs, in an orange "suit" and a cell for many years – – but does the overall US establishment have the guts/nerve to do it??

Is the Washington Examiner a reputable source of news........no, it is not really a “news source.” They merely take the news from other popular resources, and then re-write it, adding a conservative “spin” to the event. It is a propaganda tool, designed to sway people’s opinion. It currently ranks as at the “far right” to “extremist” in ranking, according to Media Bias Fact Check. “They may utilize strong loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes), publish misleading reports and omit reporting of information that may damage conservative causes. Some sources in this category may be untrustworthy.” When it comes to the reporting of facts, they were given a rating of “Mixed.” This means they do on occasion report some facts (but always with a spin). They have also been caught publishing fictional stories, or outright lies. They are one of the worst examples of media, and they cannot be described as “news” because of the fictional items and the lies.

He just can't help himself, lying is in his nature and along with stupidity, it's going to backfire on him, even more than it is at present.

And here you see, perfectly illustrated, the difference between supporters of Biden and co, and those of [Trump], whereby quite a few posters have suggested that if Hunter Biden is guilty of anything, then he should be indicted and tried for it. Whereas the trump supporters won't even acknowledge that their hero has told many hundreds of lies, stolen from a charity and deprived workingmen/tradesmen of their income by declaring bankruptcy (trump has taken business bankruptcies six time..Fact Checker) so according to their double standards, their hero is untouchable, and despite all of the evidence, they will defend him to the end, as can be seen on many posts here. Sad, so sad that they continue with this "grand illusion" and if it wasn't so sad, it would be funny, but then again.............

Clarity.......not on your life, just more rambling and lies from the corpulent ex pres.

Yes, I agree and if it was a "Theme Park" I wonder what the theme was?? But then again it has been labelled as a "resort" and perhaps it should be called the last resort of poor taste, because it seems like a hodgepodge/mishmash of odds and ends which together make no sense at all.

I also think that the movie, "Being There" was a very good movie and perhaps his best in that genre, however there is no mistaking the fact that some of his "Pink Panther" films were very funny/entertaining, and there are some scenes from them which live in the memory (farting in the lift for example). I have watched the movie, "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" and it appears to be very true to his life, and there is a quote in it whereby somebody says something along the lines that Peter Sellers is an empty vessel in which characters can be placed/cast, as he himself has no personality per se. I still watch the occasional Pink Panther movie, a couple of which I have on CD and the lift scene, which had to be retaken scores of times because the actors couldn't stop laughing about what was going to happen, still brings a smile. And the first Peter Sellers movie I ever saw, called, "The Party" I thought was hilarious at the time, but in later viewing, it ranks as just something to smile at.

I find it absolutely amazing how trump supporters can come on here and post incorrect information which tries to support their love of [Trump]. Who on earth dreams up this misinformation? Perhaps there is a licensed "Kool-Aid gang" operating somewhere, whose mandate is to twist facts to belittle Biden. Certainly their take on events points to outright lying rather than genuine mistakes, or possibly the fact that they are genuinely dumb and have gone too far down the rabbit hole. The US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan is one thing that they love to jump on, without knowing, realising or acknowledging the fact that trump signed the order to pull the troops out, and although it happened under Biden's watch, the very same top military staff who were in place under trump, were the very same people who organised the withdrawal, so the blame for any stuff-ups lies with them. And as you quite rightly point out with regards to the Nord Stream pipeline, the facts don't support the [Trump] supporters post. It would be great if they were able to get their facts straight, but it's either a deliberate lying ploy or they are short of working grey matter. Take your pick.