dob310870

Is the OP a farang? How does a farang get a Work permit as a Bar manager?

Is it difficult?

OP are you Irish ? not that you have to be .When i was last in Samui about 3 years ago ,there were only 2 Irish bars that i knew of .Both in Cheweng ,Tropical Murphys and the Irish Times .I stayed in Bophut for 2 nights then ,a nice quiet little village ,or at least it use to be .Good luck with the new job .

Thaifan2, I am from Liverpool. The bar is fairly new, only been open since April '07. I will have to check the other two bars out, I think.

Is it the one in Fisherman's Village? If so, well done, it's a cracking little place. I'll be sure to pop in next time I'm down that way...

Yes, I think you have the correct one, It would be great to see you if you are in the area.

Here's to aiming high....

what a bar manager ??

good luck to him though...

Whats wrong with being a Bar Manager.?

At least he gets a monthly salary, its not his money going into the bar.

Way to go I reckon

Good luck to him too, hope he does well

Dat'd ud be grand

Thanks ThaiPauly.

Umm, No

do you wish me bad luck then?

Can't find it on a Google search... you might want to raise the profile a little

Thanks seonai, for your comment earlier. I did a similar search and didn't find it either. I am going to do something about that.

I want to give thanks to this forum (and my excellent interview techniques) for me getting this job.

pray do tell...

Maybe if we ever meet I will let you in on my secrets.

I just wanted to say thanks to ThaiVisa!! I have been reading and posting on here for quite some time now. Initially, I used the site for help and advice before I took my most recent trip to Thailand.

Since my return I have spent my Sunday afternoon's catching-up on all the happenings. I recently started looking at the employment section and I am pleased to say that I have just been accepted in a position on Koh Samui.

I LEAVE IN 2 WEEKS!!!

I have the position of the bar and restaurant manager in the Emerald Irish bar and restuarant in Bophut. The bar backs out onto the beach, facing Koh Pangyan (spelling?) and looks great from what I have seen of it. It has Europeon style decor, with an obvious Irish influence.

It's got a full sound system and set up for the sporting events.

It would be great to see any Thaivisa members who are in the neighbourhood, so feel free to come in and support me and bring your friends (I want to make a good impression with my bosses)

Maybe we could hold a ThaiVisa knees-up sometime in the future? (I could have a quiet word with the manager - )

I would like the ThaiVisa members to give me some feedback of what they look for in a bar. What do you like? What do you hate? What would you like to see in your local bar that is not available at the moment? I want the bar to be appealing to local people as well as tourists. I would love to hear you point of view. I am open to all ideas. Bring them on!!!

Again, I want to give thanks to this forum (and my excellent interview techniques) for me getting this job. Thanks again all those involved.

I will be there from the 13th Decemeber, if you want to pop in and say "Hi".

Mark....

Its should be your branch. Not a centralized branch. As that's where your account name and number is held. They don't transfer internationally to that branch. Its goes to the bank and the credit is presumably added digitally.

The swift code is the name of the bank. Not the branch. i.e.

Kasikornbank (Thai Farmers Bank)

Swift Code - TFBSTHBK

I'm British, live in Thailand and have done this regularly for the last 5 years.

You just need a Thai bank account to transfer to. Plus these details before you call the bank in the UK.

Name and Address of Thai bank (your Branch)

Account holders name

Account number

Swift code

This transfer is done on the phone from Thailand to your UK bank in a 5 minute phone call.

I call "phone Bank" and ask to do an "International Money mover" this is probably Lloyds TSB's own terminology but it shouldn't different much from one bank to another.

The maximum I can send is 5,000 GBP at a time. Lloyds TSB policy. Thai banks have restrictions I believe its million a day but you'd need to check.

The fee is about 30 GBP

Takes 2 - 3 days

The rate i get is normally pretty good. The Thai banks rate on the day.

Its that simple. You call the Bank in England and you pull the money out the hole in the wall over here.

30 GBP for a transfer!!!!!

That's a complete rip-off Pui.

My Santander account in Spain charge 12.5 (8 GBP appx) Euros for transfer into Thailand and BBL charge 390 Baht (5 GBP appx) for transfers out!

Also Natwest in the UK do it for 12.5 GBP, I'm sure.

You might want to have a chat with them about that.

Greedy b*stards.

ManInSurat Out.

Thanks Guy's. I am with Siam commercial which I opened on Koh Tao. It looks like I am getting the boat then. I hate that boat.

Thanks again.

I can beat you guys. With only the SWIFT code, my full name and the FULL account numberr (The first 3 digits is your brank number - or used to be), mine got from my bank in the UK to TH the NEXT DAY... Great service

But watch that the transfer shows the EXACT full name is you bank book, as i friend send some over but because the BBL showed his Full name and the English Bank only his First and family name, they held the money for ONE MONEY until Barclays sent a correction form, even though the account number was correct and any "Human" could see it was the same guy!!

Hi folks, what about the other way around. How easy is it to send money from Thailand to the UK? What are the charges? Is there a limit? How long does it usually take?

Thanks.

Why did she get the entire house? Did she buy it before she married you? If you owned it before you married, she would not be able to touch it, except some of the appreciation of the houses value during the time you were married. Did you give it away out of the "goodness" of your heart? Or couldn't you afford a lawyer? What exactly is it that you are not telling us? I've never heard of such crock of shit. Either you are an imbecile, or believe all the readers are. What did you do wrong to be stripped of your home? you must have something terrible to hide. You think you are the only one who has been to court in a divorce and fought over marital assets? Tell us the story of the guy, where the court gives the wife the entire 24,000,000 Bath house (average middle class income housing,Lavish?). Do you think a woman in the West having a car, and living in a middle class house is lavish. Did the court feel that therefore, you are so rich, it could take the liberty to throw this house at her, because with your middle class status you could afford to by another, with no problem. There is a lot more to your story than you even come close to letting on.

I don't believe all readers here are embeciles but you obviously are. You ask what "I did wrong" but the English divorce process is not based on fault or wrong doing. The financial settlement went to court where I was represented by an expensive solicitor and barrister. My situation is not uncommon in the UK and I think that, if you were to take time to research the subject, you would find that the man comes off considerably worse in divorce all over the world.

I think that mellow1 (E)mbecile has a point (though he does sound a little angry about it). Did your ex get the house as part of the settlement for it's value as opposed to making you homeless? I thought that you had to file for a divorce in the UK, is that not true? Somebody has to be at fault for the marriage to be dissolved. By the way, in case you didn't pick up on it, you spelt imbecile wrong, or rather you copied it from the OP incorrectly

Some Thai girls are bad Mr Toad. And this is why I will never buy property through a TGF or wife. Rent, rent, rent, it's the safest way these days. Too much money from the old dudes turning girls into monsters for whom money is their god.

The scary thing is if you confront these types of girls (before fcking them or anything) they often admit their scamming ways and proudly boast of how much cash they've scammed this month and last month etc etc.

Their mentality really is 'If this farang guy is stupid, I'm gonna take him for all his worth.' Even some farangs are in on this kind of scam.

In Issan this mentality is even stronger due to the poverty that exists there.

Go on, flame away apologists, however this kind of thing has happened far to often for it to be mere coincidence.

hel_l, when I was the forces we were warned about 'falling-in' with the local prostitutes.

Why doesn't the foreign office do a similar warning, like 'Don't invest in property through a prostitute name!' It really is quite obvious!

A reasonable person wouldn't drive to Liverpool and pick up a smack-head hooker and then invest 250k sterling in her name.

Yet in LOS: Meet a Bar Girl (slightly higher on the Jezabel hierarchy admittedly), fall in love, hopefully make an honest woman of her by marrying her - Suprising

Yet in LOS: Invest all life-savings in property that under thai law you have a cat in hells chance of owning AND it's in an ex BG's name - Incredible!

But I think as time wears on and more people become aware of this kind of thing the 'house in hookers name' scam will hopefully fade away.

Heres to hoping...

As a matter of interest; why did you choose Liverpool to find a 'smack-head hooker'?

Does anyone know where in Bangkok I can buy weightlifting straps for deadlifts etc. ?

I have tried the usual suspect like central but no joy. Maybe a Thai based online ordering site for gym equipment, google hasn't helped much.

Cheers.

Why don't you ask someone to buy some in the west and send them to you? There is a Powerhouse gym in Chiang Mai, the only Powerhouse in Thailand.

http://www.powerhousethailand.com/english/

They might be able to help you with a supplier.

Well it has turned up at last. The lying toad who delivered it said I wasn't in when he tried to deliver it which is crap because I have been sitting here waiting for it all day, haven't been anywhere. When I took them to task on it they said he knocked my door, I asked how he got in the building because he doesn't have a swipe card or the combination, no answer.

They offered to deliver it again tomorrow to which they got a negative answer so they brought it this afternoon. Just laziness on the part of the driver really and lying about it doesn't impress me much. It is a shame the system performs well in all the other countries only to be let down by the (sadly expected) Thai attitude to service.

I live in Liverpool and buy quite a few things on the internet. If it is a large package it comes via a courier. If it is a smaller package it comes via the post office. If it is too large to go through my letterbox I know for a fact that the postoffice don't even bother bringing it from the depot. Don't forget; it's NOT large enough to arrive by courier, just too large to go in the letterbox. I am always in when the postman/woman arrives but 99% of the time they post a card through the door saying that I was out. Now that is laziness!!! On top of that, the post people in our area are so lazy they use their own cars to do the deliveries. I have actually made official compliants but I think that I have only made it worse for myself.

Going to Kanch today, missus wants to go to the hot springs at Soi Yok. Anyone got any info on places to stay or if there's any decent pubs nightlife, realise it's sunday & a holiday tomorrow but any info would be appreciated. Last time we stayed on the main drag and want somewhere with a bit of life this time.

I have stayed here before, it was very nice.

http://www.ploygh.com/

It has a couple of bars over the road.

Here's one that I saw in a little paperback of funny signs. It made me chuckle.

Notice in a Florida Employment Office:

WANTED - person to work on nuclear fissionable isotope

molecular reactive counters and three-phase cyclotronic

uranium photo-synthesisers. No experience necessary.

Everyone seems to be on track... However more detailed is needed, but I will keep it simple....

4-5 smaller meals... if you dont eat enough, your body will go into survival mode and hang on to fat stores needed for normal bodily functions like resporation, body temp regulation etc..

Eat every 3 hours. You MUST have soemthing in your stomach every 3 hours, this turnins your body into a metabolic machine! 15% of your calories are used in digesting your food!! And allows your body to give off stored energy (fat) as fuel.

Carbs.. Are ESSENTIAL for energy! Agreed, anything that sounds too good to be true is a myth... Yes you may lose weight fast, but its not fat! And it will come back twice as fast.

More sleep! May sound obvious however if you dont get 7+ hours of sleep, then your body wont heal and repair itself, and the bosy wont release sufficient levels of human growth hormone. HGH is essential for muscle repair and building lean tissue.

Exercise, YES... no need for gym memberships, we design body weight strength programs and there are plenty of aprks around for your cardiovascular exercise.

Alcohol. and obvious one.. this needs to be reduced!! Excess caloroes yes, and your body also uses up more nutrients to detox and process the toxins in your body.

Water! 2-3 litres per day, EVERY day, without fail. 50-60% of our body is made of water, helps with nutrient absorbtion, removal of toxins, metabolic functions.

Supplementation. Keep your body strong internally, you just arent getting enough nutritent value from your food.

Bottom line.. You need to change your LIFESTYLE! Gradually as suggested.. step by step, day by day.

Exercise needs to be DAILY! If only for 20-30 minutes per day. Strength training is essential to build lean tissue (muscle). 1 pound of muscle requires 50 caloroes per day to sustain itself! 1 pund of fat, less than 10!

PM me if you need more advice.

Good luck!

This post is the closest to the proper way to lose unwanted weight. Someone mentioned that the average male needs 2000 calories per day to do nothing. This is called the Basal Metabolic Rate. The BMR varies depending on sex/age/height and weight. You can also include bodyfat levels to get a more accurate figure. you would then add you activity levels on top of this and you can calculate the amount of calories needed per day to achieve your different goals. You must remember that you don't want to lose weight, you want to lose fat. It is easy to lose weight - don't eat. Keep this going and then you will become unhealthy. As stated in the above post, building muscle will increase your BMR. Increase lean protein to help with muscle growth and to utilise the thermic value. Try and eat frequently and go for a balance each meal of carbs/protein/healthy fats. Split each meal into percentages depending on your particular goals and your insulin resistance. Most people start with 50% Carbs, 30% Protein and 20% healthy fats. You can adjust this according to results. It is true that, without doubt, if you do not eat enough (your BMR) each day, your body will go into starvation. This is a genetic protection system from our caveman days, when food was not always readily available. At times of no food the metabolism slows down to store fat for future 'lean' times. It is true that drinking alcohol is not the best way to help towards losing bodyfat. Apart from alcohol being empty calories, with no benefit to muscle growth, fat loss or metabolic rate, the alcohol has to be processed through the liver. Fats and sugar are also processed through the Liver. Guess what takes priority? Alcohol. If your body is busy removing the alcohol, it is not doing the fats. Hydration is very important also. I have designed a speadsheet that calculates all of the things mentioned above. If you want more info then get in touch. I also have some exercise routines that will help you towards your goal. There is too much information to give you in this post and without knowing more about you it would be too generic to be of any long term use to you. One last thing; stay away from ANY diet that cuts out or drastically reduces any one food group.

I'm a alcoholic for about 35 years, last two yer I drink 1-2 Liter/day.

After a long talk whit my self, several months I think.

I stop drinking the 5 February this yer.

After gone 6 weeks in the Minnesota model. Still try to go there for aftercare once a week.

Its the first time I ever tried to bee solver, and so far I have not taste alcohol since 5 February.

I go to AA sometimes, but It not give me so much and i not got the time to figure it out.

But i now AA is good to most people, and it can not harm to go there.

And next time I go to Bangkok I should go to the Swedish AA centre.

Well done for making a positive change in your life. Do you mind if I ask; what was your choice of beverage? What were you drinking 1-2 litres per day of? I have some experience with dealing with the physical and mental aftermath of excessive drinking if you would like to message me. Liver health is very important to health and can also affect mood. The Liver is the only organ in the body that can rejuvinate (up to a certain point of damage - that is why I ask what you drank). Almost everything that enters our bodies goes through our Liver. It has a function in many processes, including mood, fat burning and bloodsugar. After so many years of doing one thing; it is good to concentrate on something with equal vigour. It can be very rewarding to take control of your life and start to see and feel that you efforts are being rewarded. I would be happy to send you some information.

What is the difference between alcoholism and alcohol abuse?

Alcoholism or alcohol dependence is a diagnosable disease characterized by several factors including a strong craving for alcohol, continued use despite harm or personal injury, the inability to limit drinking, physical illness when drinking stops, and the need to increase the amount drunk in order to feel the effects .

Alcohol abuse is a pattern of drinking that results in harm to one’s health, interpersonal relationships or ability to work. Certain manifestations of alcohol abuse include failure to fulfill responsibilities at work, school or home; drinking in dangerous situations such as while driving; legal problems associated with alcohol use and continued drinking despite problems that are caused or worsened by drinking. Alcohol abuse can lead to alcohol dependence

taken from http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/faqs.htm#12

I think that alcohol abuse and alcoholism are very closely related. Alcoholism and the abuse of it will create a craving for alcohol. They will both result in ill health if continued. The inability to limit drinking is also common in both decriptions as is physical illness when drinking stops. A "functioning alcoholic" (I use the term in relation to the post only) will require alcohol to feel normal (or to temper delayed tremors) and will often drive whilst over the legal limit to do so. I think that the two different descriptions regarding work/home/family responsibilties are only separated by the personality and state of mind of the drinker.

Once a physical dependancy has formed then some would classify this as alcoholism and this can happen surprisingly quickly. The craving for alcohol is not necessarily a desire to get drunk but purely to stop the withdrawal symtoms. It can become a vicious circle. The desire to stop drinking can be present, but the ability to physically "come down" is painful and can be frightening. Similarly to other addictions; the mental craving exists but there are also definately, inescapable, physical reactions. Nicotine is one of the most obvious addictive substances but caffiene also is addictive. Those of us who are used to consuming a certain amount coffee everyday would withdraw if this substance was taken away; diplaying various physical reactions (in my case headaches). Someone posted in this thread that, effectively, there is the choice to walk past the liquor store and go and find something more interesting to do. I agree with this to a certain extend. If alcoholism is a disease then it is certainly a mental illness. There are usually underlying issues invovled when someone gets on the path to abusing alcohol in the long term. There are also those that have just found that they have become dependant, physically, on the drug and find it impossible to stop. I can't say that I agree totally with the A.A. and there reliance on GOD. I believe that they are not taking control of there own behaviour. "One day at a time" etc. seems to me to be accepting that tomorrow I could be that horrible person that I was back on the drink again. The fact is that you are still the same person that you were before, you just don't drink anymore. I think alcohol is demonised too much. It takes too much of the blame. I fear has built-up amongst ex-drinkers. I have heard alcoholics say "if I touch another drink again, I will die". Why? Will your drink be laced with arsenic? It goes back to the inability to take control of our own actions. Is the only way you know how to not be an addict is to be a blameless victim? I think that a philosophical outlook would be best for some people who are thinking about the rest of their lives t-total. The alcohol is not and never was to blame; it just turns some people into idiots. Call it an allergic reaction and leave it at that.

Cheers

Being a Canadian, I understand a bit what the American’s are up against when meeting other English speakers. Many times when people find out I am a Canadian, they say something along the lines of, “that’s a relief I thought you were a Bloody Yank”. That kind of environment is the reason you don’t see too many Americans about, or at least they don’t advertise who they are.

As an American, I want to thank you for pointing this out, because it is regrettably very true. In the circumstances stated, to express relief that someone is not a US citizen is no different than expressing relief to find out that someone is not a Jew or gay. As such, if anyone is inclined to negatively judge me simply based on my nationality, I cannot help but consider this person to be as provincial, ignorant, and bigoted as the most sister-lovin', cross-burning, Confederate flag waving, squirrel-killing southern redneck (Wait, didn't I just describe all Americans).

To be sure, numerous asinine Americans exist who fit neatly into the preconceived notions that many other Westerners harbor. However, these Americans, who annoy me just as well, do not represent the whole populace, and that I should even have to mention something so axiomatic underscores how ludicrous and phenomenally hypocritical US-bashing has become, and I can assure you that such chauvinistic presumptions were thriving before Bush entered office.

Although I am certainly not extroverted, I am happy to meet with anyone, irrespective of nationality, as long as mutually amenable personalities are involved. If this makes me a child, so what…

I can just imagine going into a bar with my checklist of people I don't want to drink with; I find someone, not American; check, not Jewish; check, not gay; check. Great. "Hi" I say "can I get you a beer? I didn't catch your name, what was it, Asaama Bin what?...."

I, personally, do not have anything against Americans. I simply have not met enough to make an informed decision. I can safely say that I have met enough residents of the UK to have decided that I liked some and didn't like others. Maybe if I meet enough US citizens then I could decide. I have been researching via American televison for a couple of decades and, so far, all I am getting from that is entertainment. Anyway, apart from anything else, sjones writes so brilliantly. Once I had looked-up some of the words at dictionary.com, I thought that was a good posting.

is this the "Teaching in Thailand Forum"? Did I take a wrong turn?

I just thought that I would point out to 'Mr. Perfect' of the danger of living in a glass house surrounded by stones.

I observed that in places with a large number of expats, they tend to mainly restrict their socializing to those who share their cultural background. English speakers meeting up in places with names like Dave's Bar or the Dogs <deleted>, whilst the German speakers congregate in Alt Heidelberg, Wunderbar or whatever. The more expats there are, the more outspoken this phenomenon gets. In a place like for instance Pattaya there are places that are so ostensibly geared for Bavarians and other south Germans, that nobody from northern Germany would even think about going in there. There will be also places then where only a minor language like Dutch or Danish is spoken. For a long time I lived in one of the major beach resorts, still go there every year. The two biggest groups of expats there are the English speakers and the German speakers, contact between the two groups is very limited. Strange that people move half way around the globe in order to settle in kind of a bubble which is populated by their fellow countrymen, or at least people who speak the same language. There are extreme examples, like the German or Austrian restaurant owner who has been in Thailand 20 years already. He doesn't speak Thai, and he even hardly speaks English. He is speaking German with his customers all the time, and all the communication with the outside world, like government institutions, and even with the staff, is handled by his Thai wife with whom he communicates somehow.

I have never wanted any farang in my vicinity.

Because, they are illiterate and write blocks of text that is unreadable. Dieseldorf metal sheet workers, tattoed and alcoholics at that.

Just look what the block above looks like. Anyone who has been in school for 3 months would write better.

Please would you be so kind as to return to YOUR school for, at least, another three months? Here are just a couple of tips. Try and not place commas where they are not needed, do you understand? When writing, starting a sentence with 'Because' is generally not accepted as correct. Watch out for your use of tenses. If the 'illiterate' write 'blocks of text' then they are plural, meaning more than one block; this would mean that the blocks of text are unreadable, not is.

Just one more thing to help you on your way; spellcheck.

Dieseldorf - Dusseldorf (assuming that you meant an industrial city in western Germany on the Rhine)

tattoed - tattooed (assuming that you meant the act or practice of marking the skin with indelible patterns, pictures, legends, etc., by making punctures in it and inserting pigments)

Incidentally, if you find any mistakes in my 'block of text', please feel free NOT to bother pointing them out. I really don't care.

Thanks for the response.

I checked the last 15 pages of this forum with one link to renting accom in chiang mai, and it was in thai so I coudln't read it.

Could you clue me in how to find where these questions that have been answered many times are? Another part of the forum?

You can't have looked to far. These are in the 1st 4 pages. And they're all in English.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=71743

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=83123

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=66816

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=84493

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=67739

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=84283

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=83367

And oddly enough there is plenty of cheap Thai food in Thailand. Walk in any direction for 50 metres or so and you'll probably find some.

Did your dog die???? Would it kill you to be civil??? Grumpy old Git!!

Bump by popular demand.

I don't get it???

I'm a member at Platinum and work out there 3-4 times per week. Happened to be there today, Saturday, and was chatting with manager. 680 annual members. Busiest weekday evenings, nearly empty weekday mornings and weekends. I think that many of the active members are women who take the yoga and fitness courses, rather than use the equipment.

I'll update the previous posts: TVs have cable stations, towel service available, opened new downstairs weight room with new equipment (just today!), new machines coming upstairs soon, ample parking.

Staff are friendly and helpful, not pushy on training at all, can communicate in English well enough.

Personally, I like Platinum because it is clean, spacious, not pretentious, easy to park at, and close to my house. I paid 10K for a 1 yr membership. And it is true, girls at the counters are cute, fit, and wear white minis

Yeah, they're real cuteys and that sauna is like a warehouse. Let me know if they get a decent rower in, Puwa

Man, you are obsessed with rowing. Don't you know any other exercises? Are you training for the Olympics? For God's sake, buy a bloody boat !!!!

Can't beat a rower for allround fitness if you know much about keeping fit.

Jogging is ok but is tough on the joints

Biking is good, which I do, but traffic and pollution are bad

Weight lifting is good, which I do, but is about as useful for overall fitness as playing snooker

Coud buy a boat but perhaps a tad OTT when compared with sitting on a machine in a cosy gym while taking in the eye candy. Could also buy a machine but a good un is 70k and a bit boring rowing in the house.

<deleted> are you btw?

Almost any activity that raises your heart rate and keeps it there, which includes increased oxygen intake, is good for overall fitness. Walking would do it if you were going up a steep enough incline. Maybe you could pop down to your local disco and boogie the night away, that would do it (and I am sure that there is plenty of 'eye candy' - Does 'eye candy' eventually rot the Pupils??)

As regards weight lifting, it depends how much intensity that you put in to it, as to whether you will improve overall fitness or not. There is a guy called Charles Staley who has developed a programme called 'E.D.T'. It stands for Escalated Density Training. If you do this correctly you will increase you fitness levels on a regular basis and increase strength (and depending on you diet and age, you may growth some new muscle too). It's completely progressive and designed to allow you to monitor your progress after every workout.

I assume that '<deleted> are you btw?' is a polite way of asking me what right that I have to include myself in this 'open to all', 'totally public', forum? Well I am not Sir Steve Redgrave, so there is no point in kissing my arse....

I am just like you really; although I am not as obsessed with rowing, I don't use phrases like 'tad OTT', if I can help it, I clearly know a little bit more about training, I have never described any gym that I train at as 'cosy' and I can take a joke..That actually makes us sound quite different really. Oh yes, I am also a personal fitness trainer. I would be happy to write you a programme if you want to spice up your training. I will also be in CM next month and would even be happy to offer my services as a trainer. (that is, of course, you have not taken our exchanges too seriously and you are already planning my horrible death by bullet to the back of the head - that would put a real downer on my trip) I have written programmes for all levels of fitness, strengths and ultimate goals.