Salerno

Surely not I mean, that would suggest the quote in the article "given that it is an ancient festival that has not been overly commercialized" would be a bit of a porky! Given the international readership on here: What does Porky mean? (ˈpɔːkɪ ) nounWord forms: plural porkies. mainly British and Australian slang. a lie. Also called: pork pie.

The real version or the basterdised version as seen in Pattaya etc.?

Selfish pricks that don't think of others are just selfish pricks regardless of age ????

There is good and bad in all countries. To write off a country based on anecdotal evidence is a mistake. The main factors are due diligence and the means to pay for the required level of care. https://corpwatchers.eu/en/investigations/caring-for-profit-en/bupa-aged-care-homes-in-australia-the-uk-regularly-rated-inadequate https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/24-years-18-inquiries-can-we-face-the-truth-of-aged-care-20210225-p575qs.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/brithdir-nursing-home-wales-inquest-b1818123.html https://www.theguardian.com/society/video/2022/oct/13/hidden-camera-reveals-abuse-by-care-home-staff-of-dementia-patient-ann-king-video https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/06/shocking-rate-of-sexual-abuse-against-aged-care-residents-barely-changed-since-royal-commission https://www.insideagedcare.com/aged-care-analysis/19-years-of-care/scandal-after-scandal#company-wide-and-world-wide etc. etc. I see no reason for the definitive "thailand certainly isn’t the place to go." made by another poster nor your comments (although you obviously have every right to your opinion) without taking into account the individual in question's situation (existing family/support and financial wise). Personally, I'd prefer to see my days out (even if I got to the stage of not knowing what day it was, never mind what country I'm in) in the country of my choosing than be forced back into one of the many scandalous "western" so called aged care facilities I've read about. The chances are you can more easily avail yourself of the level of care you want at a more affordable price in Thailand or neighbouring countries than in the west, the difficult part perhaps (not impossible part) being finding responsible carers.

Unfortunately I can't find it now but a couple of years back while debating whether social media is harmful or not I stumbled over a study that would disagree with that. The most interesting part was a table of various conspiracies and a breakdown of the age of those that believed in them (flat earthers was one of the conspiracies listed). There was a definite correlation between the numbers (increased believers) and ages and advent of social media,

Your point being? Perhaps actually reading the article instead of arching up over the dog whistle headline would allay your misgivings. "Several exceptions in the act allow individuals such as refugees and permanent residents who are not citizens to buy homes." As I said, nothing to do with immigrants.

It's customary to post a link if quoting an article, in fact it's the rules of this site. This allows the interested to read further, determine the reliability of the source and ensures the parts quoted aren't being misinterpreted to advance an agenda (not remotely suggesting anything of the sort in this case). https://www.theage.com.au/world/europe/how-the-mysterious-deaths-of-23-elite-russians-sparked-a-global-murder-mystery-20221230-p5c9gb.html

It's got nothing to do with immigrants - it's to stop "investors". Many countries are finding their citizens being priced out of the market. Although a lot of it is due to "natural" inflation a lot is also due to cashed up individuals buying up property in foreign countries, a percentage involved in money laundering.

Forgot the link? For the curious, here's a list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Russian_businessmen_mystery_deaths#:~:text=It referred to a previous,"Sudden Russian Death Syndrome".

Buy ticket, obtain re-entry permit, catch plane and travel - nothing else required.

Unless they go back on their meds

The part you quoted, if read in it's original context, answers your question.

When I Googled "Why don't people like music being played loud" I was surprised to find it's a medical condition.

It's not; it's likely a dual physical SIM model given you bought it in Thailand.

Nothing.

Depends on airline and airport. I'd say I've had mine actually weighed 3 or 4 times at most in the past 30 years. Is it a common occurrence at Heathrow (only flown out of there 4 or 5 times and it wasn't weighed, but been a while).

Why?

At 79 I wouldn't have thought it that much of an issue.

Just tell them the truth; retirement extension based on a Non-O is abetter option for you than on the Non-OA you had, coming in visa exempt but will be immediately converting to Non-O and applying for extension based on retirement.

That's BS, had your mate been drinking when he told you that? Seat number yes, an actual seat no.

How risk averse/lucky is he normally? Yes, he can pay on the way out without much, if any, repercussions. That said, if caught beforehand, and given the recent crackdown which is hopefully over with, not necessarily as remote a possibility as it used to be, he'd be up for a 5 year ban.

Well I hope your history teacher was fired for regurgitating that myth. "Only 12 per cent of the convicts transported to Australia were Irish. Yet people often automatically associate the Irish with transportation." https://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/not-just-ned/family-history/irish/convicts The first fleet wasn't even purely British let alone Irish, it included a mix including French, American and African. "The convicts of the First Fleet included both men and women. Most were British, but a few were American, French, and even African. Their crimes ranged from theft to assault. Most convicts were sentenced to seven years’ “transportation” (the term for the sending of prisoners to a usually far-off penal colony)." https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/first-fleet-sets-sail-australia The vast majority of early Irish came as "free men" but it's more "romantic" nowadays to claim they where shipped out as convicts by those Brit bastards.