A Lurker

18 hours ago, gwynt said:

We visited the education department to enquire about legality and what we have to do is get a form supplied by them filled by a teacher/ school to confirm he is achieving their standards, which isn't difficult.  

Well that sounds easier than I thought. You visited the education department in Bangkok? Did you have any difficulty convincing a local teacher/school to fill out the form? How, for example, would they know you are achieving their standards? Don't suppose the child is eligible for any official documentation if he continues to get these forms signed off?

Thanks heaps for this.

41 minutes ago, carlyai said:

Yep SWMBO uses Pledge too.
We had a heap of teak in Indonesia which we bought back, house furniture is nearly all teak.
Unfortunately it's used mainly for putting things on.
Still comes up good when the Pledge gets to it.

Sent from my SM-J700F using Tapatalk
 

Lovely furniture!

Beauty. Thanks Crossy. We'll get onto that.

46 minutes ago, Crossy said:

How is is currently finished? Our teak furniture is all oiled and waxed, madam just uses regular Pledge furniture polish (which contains various oils and waxes) to maintain the finish. This includes our main dining table, always use place mats and coasters.

 

I would not be putting poly anything on it, awful stuff.

 

Thanks Crossy. I was a bit suss on the polyurethane too. Here's what the finish looks like

On 8/15/2018 at 8:48 AM, gwynt said:

Agreed, we tried international school but was very disappointed so now I home school our son with  a Thai teacher coming in twice a week to teach Thai language.

Is this a long term plan for you? I'm considering doing the same as I know I can definitely do better than the "international" schools in my area. The only thing stopping me is the worry that my half Thai child will not have the appropriate official schooling requirements/certificates to be able to enter the workforce here or abroad. Otherwise I would do it tomorrow. It's a big conundrum.

Would love to hear more about homeschoolers in Thailand.

Have a teak table (mai sak)  which is getting a bit faded on the finish. Just wondering if anyone can recommend a product to use for a touch up. I was told by a Thai guy to use urethane?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Thanks DavisH. I would rather he go through the IGCSE system rather than the Thai. Just got to make sure we pass the damn thing! Hopefully there will be enough time to improve on the English.

1 hour ago, MikeyIdea said:

 it's the same and if the school is that bad, then 50% of its students would never pass the IGCSE exams and in fact never get a high school diploma

My feeling is that most of the students are not passing but I'm trying to get official information on that.

Thanks MikeyIdea. At this stage our choice is between IGCSE or the Thai school system so we've gone with the former. I don't think the"international" school he's been in for the last for the last year or so (he's 11 now) is going to get him over the line at the rate their going as they seem pretty slack. I'm considering homeschooling him and sitting the exams externally. My concern though is if he doesn't pass those 5 subjects and get the M6 equivalent it will put him at a disadvantage. 

On 1/6/2018 at 7:35 PM, ArranP said:

 

A recent correspondence I had with an interested party, it describes the first steps of my home schooling, so I thought it would post it here.

 

 

Very interesting. The hours seem on the long side though. I would have thought 3 to 4 hours would be sufficient to exceed a full day at a regular school.

Thanks Michael. My son is an average student and still very much playing catch up on English proficiency. It will be a struggle I think to get through to the year 11 IGSCE exams and pass the core subjects which by the looks are 5 as DavidH says and that will include English.

I think I did read somewhere that the MOE can ratify you as M6 diploma equivalent but I guess that will be contingent on passing those core subjects (not a given!). 

My focus is less on university and just having the minimum requirement (M6) that qualify him for work in Thailand

I am not from the UK and I find the schooling system confusing so please bear with.

If I understand correctly from reading previous threads a child receiving IGSCE  education (usually finishing around year 11 aged 16 or so) will be considered by the MOE to be the equivalent of M6. My question is, does their need to be a minimum number of subjects passed to qualify for this? Also, how does this work in the UK? Is there a number of subjects that have to passed to receive the certificate?

Any information appreciated. I see there are several knowledgeable commentators here.

15 hours ago, JustAnotherFarang said:

I sent ALurker a message but no reply as of yet.  Really want to buy my mower soon as I have a few weeks holiday coming up that I want to spend in my garden. So if anyone has any leads or information about where I can purchase this particular mower and any other useful advice then please let me know

 

Much appreciated as always

 

JAF

Have just sent PM.

15 hours ago, JustAnotherFarang said:

Where can I buy the Honda and what model number for 14,500 bht, sounds like a bargain.  I am also thinking of buying a stihl backpack strimmer as well, think the are 2 models 3190 @ 7,500 bht or the 3001 @ 4700 bht

The Honda  GXV160 is 14,500 baht. You can read more about it in this thread:

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/997561-lawn-mower-for-under-15k/?page=4&tab=comments#comment-12218303

Was wondering about blades actually. 350 baht sounds pretty reasonable - cheaper than my old blades. Be interesting to see how long they last.

On 9/21/2017 at 10:28 AM, weegee said:

My advice on the purchase, is get the best you can for what you want to spend, and accept it. Have a look at the other thread on buying a mower, which was posted just before your thread....on this Sub forum. The Poster there is now happily mowing his lawn, too busy for an update .....

Here I am Weegee! Have had at least 2 big mowing sessions with my new Honda and have to say the difference between my old 10k local model and this 14.5k Honda is huge. Definitely worth shelling out the extra baht.

Yes as a matter of fact Weegee have been busy mowing this last weekend until I ran out of petrol near the end doh! (petrol tank is smaller than what I'm used to), The mower has been great, thank you Weegee and all the others who gave input in this thread. It sounds and handles great, the comparison to my old machine is pretty amazing - definitely worth shelling out the cash. The real test though will be in the durability and maintenence, it does look like a sturdy thing though. I'm hoping to get 10 years out of this one!

Just to update this it appears a regular push mower with Honda GXV160 engine goes for around 14,500 baht.

4 minutes ago, weegee said:

I have been to town here and this is what the offer was....

New Honda (NOT self propelled) delivered to you no problem for total of 14,500 Baht. The price includes delivery.

Let me know exactly where you are also....As I couldnt remember and said near Kon Kean...But the bloke in the shop said all you will have to do is pick it up from the nearest point to your place, no matter where you live.

Let me know if this helps..

Rgds

weegee

Thanks Weegee. Do you know if they ship to Samui? Maybe you can PM their number (if it's against forum rules to post it here) and I'll give them a call?

Thanks Dutchman. I doubt they would come down to below 15k plus I'm on the other side of the country. I just checked my Honda dealer and they can't bring in any mowers either

18 minutes ago, Dutchbike said:

Got a Husqvarna  LC19 which was, if memory serves me well, around 13K it's got a briggs and stratton engine, got it a couple of years now and not a single problem (only  just normal maintenance oil and air filter) would recommend it, Honda is also a good reliable brand. 

http://huskymowersthailand.com/product/lc-19/

r

I just called and that model is now 20k+ which is unfortunately out of my price range. Shame as it looks good.

Thanks for that weegee. Unfortunately where I live Homepro doesn't stock Honda or Mowell and they're the only place that sells mowers. Can't see any way to order either of them online either.

Might see if I can order it through the Honda motorbike shop. Apart from that I'm out of ideas.

Hope this is posted in the right forum.

Is there such a thing as a decent petrol push lawn mower to be had in Thailand for under 15k baht?

Have managed to keep my 10k baht Asgatec running for 6 years with a LOT of maintenance. Don't want to have to go through that again if it can be avoided.

Anyone tried Berala or Euroa brands?

Any recommendations greatly appreciated.

The author of Concrete Planet believes rusty rebar is a massive problem. He goes as far as to suggest that we should consider not using it all together.

He  touches on it in this podcast interview:

https://player.fm/series/science-for-the-people-2062/413-concrete

Thanks Cheryl.