xylophone

Thanks for posting that and it should make the MAGA maniacs very happy to think that this "senator" is on their side, however I'm hopeful that some action will be taken against him for inciting or supporting a riot/insurrection, especially because he mentions the "fraud" with regard to the election, thereby perpetuating the very dangerous lie, which has already resulted in loss of life. I really didn't think that there would be so many dumb people still falling for this nonsense, and this guy is a senator, so god help the USA.

Or perhaps clear minded people who don't believe in fairy stories have been with us for centuries – – suits better don't you think? Never trust a person who can clear their conscience of any immoral act by asking forgiveness from their imaginary friend…….

????

As I recall there were some new episodes of "Billy the Kid" due out sometime in September, so has anyone seen them or know of their whereabouts, or indeed any news about them?

Certainly not "Mummy"!!!!

Timelines play a big part in this, because she only decided to seek solace elsewhere after the "tampon loving Prince" told her he had a mistress, and not only that, spent a lot of time with her, so only then did she embark upon her fling or two. Can't really blame the poor girl as she was out of her depth and had been made to look a fool, so she tried to play him at his game, with tragic consequences. However at some stage in the coming weeks and months, as the UK and the world slowly acclimatise to the accession of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, there is one very awkward situation that will inevitably rear its head: Her Majesty's will. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/queen-elizabeth-death-who-will-inherit-the-queens-630m-fortune Whatever happens next, Great Britain will have a doddery old plonker who wanted to become a tampon, as King, and called his mother "mummy" even at the age of 60, and a queen consort, by virtue of her firking capabilities – – you couldn't make it up.

Unfortunately this dumb clown can't help himself, but the saddest part about it all is that he talks himself into believing it, so that he can sound authoritative to his numb nut supporters, who simply swallow the Kool-Aid. How on earth did the USA end up like this, with millions believing a known liar and cheat and someone who is as dumb as a bag of rocks.

Yes, you are quite right, having four wisdom teeth extracted at one go is not trivial and as you suggest, I believe he should take the antibiotics. A dentist friend of mine in NZ gave me antibiotics at the same time as removing a very difficult and deep-rooted wisdom tooth, and this took over an hour! Unfortunately there are quite a few bacteria that live in the mouth and one which is usually protective of teeth and environs, Streptococcus sanguinus, can be dangerous if it gets into the bloodstream, causing problems with heart valves. No harm in taking the antibiotics if prescribed.

It is certainly a strange world we live in, where a woman who commits adultery on her husband by having an affair with the then Prince Charles, who in turn commits adultery on his new wife, devastating her, and IMO was a huge insult to a naïve newcomer to that circle of royalty, then becomes Queen Consort, or Queen Camilla as she has also been referred to – – mediaeval stuff and certainly not worthy of the kowtowing to the new king or her. On the other hand Queen Elizabeth was a product of her time, and did her duty as was her wont, and did it well, and I have all respect for her, but she is now gone and it's about time for a shakeup, and I certainly have no respect for Charles, the silly old duffer, and I can't get out of my mind his speech some 10 years ago, when he referred in public to the Queen as "mummy"!!! Speaks volumes.

I should have mentioned that I also had "Smart DNS Proxy" for quite a long time, however this also had its work-around problems, but I put up with them for a while and was relatively happy until I tried Nord VPN on free trial, so moved over to them and have been very satisfied, especially as I don't have a problem getting the BBC iPlayer, which I use for my sport and a few movies and documentaries.

I can't fathom how that could be the case Stocky, as I was in Nigeria in the south-eastern state known as Biafra, and the war was between the south-eastern state which wanted to secede because it contained the oil reserves and didn't think that it was getting fair rewards from this, and especially as the North had massacred some of the Igbo people who were indigenous to the south-eastern state. The North began a war and instituted a blockade and stopped just about everything from getting to the south-eastern state, which resulted in a huge famine, some of which I witnessed whilst I was there, and it was ironic that when I was in the UK I would give freely to the "help the Biafrans" fundraising, yet just a few months later there I was in amongst it. I'm not sure that the UK had a huge influence in that war, because it started mostly as a tribal affair. So in summary, I'm not sure where this woman gets her hatred from?

That's the same for me too, and I installed Nord VPN after trying "Express VPN" and "Cyberghost", but both had their problems and I was fed up with trying to work around them, but after installing Nord VPN, everything's been hunky-dory. So I can highly recommend it.

I watched "Where the Crawdads Sing" and thought it was good, if a little slow, but worth hanging in for overall.

Which was my main point, although I focussed on Patong because that is what the thread is all about!! And I have explored Phuket from top to bottom, so think that I know it fairly well.

Sorry mate......but what I saw was frightening as regards the size of them, and I have Aussie relatives and friends!!!!

Taking a slightly different tack with this post, although starting off in familiar fashion, as I visited Blue Beach Café and Restaurant initially on my outing on Saturday evening with a couple of friends, and as is the norm for this place, enjoyed a very nice meal. And it wasn't until I had walked up Bangla and had seen the "sights" and then had seen some more "sights" in Red Hot, that I began to think about Patong as a desirable place to visit. This in conjunction with the fact that TAT is trying to encourage wealthy people here, as a sort of "millionaire's paradise", and it struck me that Patong would never be a place that would fit that category. To be perfectly honest (maybe too honest for some folks liking) IMO this place is a paradise for "totally tattooed tw@ts"; old men with huge beer guts, earrings and ponytails, in whatever order one chooses; wifebeater T-shirts; some farangs down to their last few baht, plus of course the usual motorbike idiots from all walks of life, so not a place that millionaires would seek out. If I add to that the number of low rent tourists (including the Indians) who appear to be taking advantage of the Covid lull, including the six fat Aussies who blocked my view two weeks ago, as well as the enormously fat young Aussie woman (I think it was a woman, although it was more the size of a hippo in a dress) and her mate, who was almost the same size, then it sort of completes the picture of "not a desirable place to hang out", and certainly not a "millionaire's paradise". So although Patong and environs does have some expensive villas and hotels, it is not the place where the "rich and famous" hang out, unless they want to slum it for a while. Back on track.........on my visit to Blue Beach, I was informed that there were some rooms/apartments available just above the restaurant, and these could be taken up on short or long term rentals, and I must admit that the thought of living above a great restaurant and bar, with the sea right at my fingertips (or should I say, toes) was very appealing, and still is, so I will have to check out the going rate. Moving around Patong, I noticed that the restaurant pub, "La (or Le) Drinkeria" was being gutted, this is not surprising because it's been empty for a couple of years and although it was sad to see it close, it wasn't a surprise – – why not? Well it wasn't in a good position, with no foot traffic, or come to that, very little parking space, in a side road which is not renowned for its gastronomical offerings and indeed has its fair share of downmarket establishments. So one could posit that it was destined for a short life. Having said that, I do believe that @Patong2 dined there on one occasion and thought the food was good, and I did take a look around inside the establishment just after it opened, and it was clean and well laid out, and the menu looked enticing, but as I have already mentioned, despite all of this it was destined to fail because of its location. On the subject of restaurants, it looks like the Italian restaurant near the bottom of Soi Nanai 6, which was supposedly "closed for the holidays" has now fully closed, which would be a shame because although there was no foot traffic, there were plenty of parking spaces, and the restaurant looked well laid out, clean and tidy, and had its own pizza oven – – perhaps it's destined to open again when the high season (if it happens) comes around? Luckily there is still a very good Italian restaurant further along in Nanai, called, "Da Moreno" which also does extremely good pizzas, just right for a takeaway if wanted. The roadworks going on in Nanai seem never-ending and quite what they are hoping to achieve with whatever it is they are trying, is beyond me, although drains of some description spring to mind, although that has already been tried twice and apparently not succeeded. The bars and businesses running alongside of that stretch of Nanai which is being dug up, would certainly be suffering from lack of clientele due to that mess, and I feel sorry for them because everything that is going on is beyond their sphere of influence, and probably beyond their understanding (mine too). However the fact that roadworks are going on in that part of Nanai, should have in no way influenced the thinking of whomsoever decided to open a bar and a restaurant near the roundabout end of Nanai – – a place where a previous restaurant had already failed, and just metres from it, a place where a previous bar had already failed! Quite why anyone would want to open such establishments in that rarely visited part of Nanai is beyond me, however I suspect the combination of older farang and younger Thai woman, might have something to do with it. And the beat goes on..............

Not a difficult thing to do to a trump supporter!!!

Oh dear, someone has overdosed on the cult Kool-Aid by the looks of things. Sad, so very sad. Just a point though, you mention six years of lies and dishonesty used to attack trump, well it's well documented that he lies on a regular basis, that he stole funds from a charity to fund his election campaign, that he has failed to pay tradespeople working on his property in the past, and that he has had many failed businesses, so I don't think people are, as you say, "showing a lack of respect", just stating the truth. And that hurts for the Kool-Aid gang.

The only political party with a "screw loose" is the Republicans, one for allowing this pudgy, lying and dumb orange idiot to be elected in the first place, and secondly for trying to shield him from what was a perfectly and legally issued request for documents stored at MAL! You mention "so much for doing the best for the country" and the only person and people who have stuffed the US up has to be the GOP, trump and his right wing idiots, along with the various right-wing publications which keep spouting nonsense. I never thought that trump would be capable of driving such a huge a wedge through the two parties, and the US, with his idiocy, but maybe that is the way of the US at the moment, and as for spouting off about laptops and other conspiracy theories, which have long been discarded, best to stay on topic. And just to add to the dire straits of the country, trump has even suggested overturning the election results – – this time just a few days ago, and as I posted elsewhere, he is not alone, as the right wing nut case Marjorie Taylor Green has also said the same. Reminds me of the last line of a song by the rock group "Nice" when they sang, "America is pregnant with promise and anticipation, but is murdered by the hand of the inevitable". The inevitable being trump and his Republican nut jobs.......well most of them anyway.

The delusions run deep and strong in the tiny minds of the MAGA cult, and just a couple of days ago Marjorie Taylor Green was spouting off at the gathering of the deluded in Philadelphia, that "the election was stolen" and that "trump won the last election". She needs to be quietened or locked up for her comments because they cause/foment civil unrest, especially amongst the cult followers, and of course it gives a reason for QAnon, Proud Boys and others to continue their vile behaviour.

Like you, I have both NZ and UK citizenship and lived in both countries, but born in the UK and emigrated to NZ in 1984, so I believe I've seen the best of both countries, and now that I'm living in Thailand and have been for 16 years, I can look back on those countries and those times with a certain amount of nonbiased clarity. I left the UK in 1984 because I wanted a new work challenge, although I enjoyed my years there, having played a fairly good standard of football and at one time it was "my life". I revelled in NZ when I first arrived, exploring the skiing, whitewater rapid rafting, beautiful countryside, trout fishing in Lake Taupo, smelly and interesting Rotorua, as well as sailing in the Auckland harbour and also in the Bay of Islands, not to mention the beautiful trips down south, and I simply loved Christchurch and Nelson. There was nothing to dislike about the place apart from the fact that the summers sometimes seemed too short and the winters too long. I left NZ in 2006 to retire in Phuket, mainly because of a health problem and I needed to get out of the rat race. So where is all this leading to........ I had been back to the UK a few times and my last trip in 2018 was a disaster, with poor weather (in June??) fairly expensive food and constant building in my beautiful old Sussex town, ruining it completely, so it was nothing like the place I left and I was glad to get back home to Phuket. I have visited NZ a few times as well and still believe that it is a beautiful country that offers so much more than others, but like most places, things have become expensive, and just recently in the paper there was an example of something I know only too well: – Rustique French Camembert cheese in NZ was five times as expensive as it was in the UK?? This is just the tip of the iceberg as house prices in NZ have rocketed, and crime is much more commonplace now and there seems to be no effort to curb or control it, and that has to come down to the current government which is a disaster. But, for a professional person looking to move to New Zealand, it still offers a lot, but if one is "counting the pennies", then elsewhere needs to be explored.

I watched the new movie by Sylvester Stallone, called, "Samaritan" and he was the main star in it, but to me it seemed like another ageing movie star trying to make a few bucks with what I considered a poor film. And I finally got round to watching a movie upon which a couple of others have commented, "Thirteen Lives" and thought it was a very good movie, this despite me having followed the original events quite closely.

Hopefully I'm not getting too tedious for posters, however perhaps it's nearly time to say, "Patong – The Awakening" because having just been out and about, more of the roller blind shops in Soi Banzaan have opened, as has the small guesthouse which was called, "The House", however in amongst that there are still a few buildings for sale, so as I have said previously it's a mixed bag. A highlight of this afternoon was my visit to "Tops Patong", which has just opened again and which was quite busy, so I scouted around looking for any opening specials, and I have to say that the prepared food counter looked very enticing, and obviously it was the same for a few other punters because there were quite a few around the place partaking of the food they had purchased there. I think the amount of people in the place surprised the owners/managers because I had to wait behind about four or five people in the only cashier/checkout available for that section, and there were more queuing behind me, so I don't think they anticipated how busy it would be. Good news on the horizon.........well, we'll just have to see!

I did mention in one of my previous posts that I observed a decreasing number of Indian folk around the place, however having seen a few more groups of them around the place after that post, and just seeing this in the "Thaiger" publication, perhaps I was wrong! Having said that I have seen small groups in Big C buying "knickknacks" and nothing of any note, so along with that and previous posts, I can't see them adding much to the coffers of Patong/Phuket. This from the "Thaiger"............ Even though Malaysia has now beaten India for its number of tourists to Thailand overall, Indians are still the biggest tourist group in Phuket. From May 1 to August 30, the island province saw 104,350 Indian tourists arrive on its shores, according to Phuket Immigration. This was out of a total of 436,326 foreign tourists that arrived in Phuket in that time frame. The other countries sending the most tourists to Thailand, in order, have been: Australia, Singapore, the UK, Malaysia, Germany, the US, and Russia. In reference to the above, I have seen quite a few Aussies around the place, but don't like the news about the "return of the Ruskies" as I have only ever found one that I have liked in all my years here, and when I commented to him that the Russians seemed a surly lot, he agreed wholeheartedly, and he was Russian! Mentioning the Aussies, a large Aussie bar which was a sort of "Sports Bar" in Nanai Road, and has been empty for almost the duration of Covid, has now opened again, and driving past, the internal decor is bright red, so not my "cup of tea" or should I say "pint of beer", as the saying goes. Also, unfortunately the huge roadworks and reworking of the drainage system, if that's what you can call it, is just near the bar, and some traffic has to be rerouted away from that part of Nanai, so not ideal for a new/reopened bar. Time will tell.

But is unfortunately, par for course in this country, and I don't believe it will ever change.