isaanistical

I said proof of address. I use a friend's address as somewhere to mail DL to and DVLC requires no proof beyond that. Point being, if the issuing authority is satisfied, what business is it of a commercial company to demand more?

I am completely baffled by this, and alarmed (not doubting you). Where in $$$ is the logic in requiring UK address to drive in UK? And why might it be the business of Hertz, etc, to prove where you live? DVLC does not require that proof! If they asked it for the credit card, I might regard it as pertinent, but can anyone explain the DL bit? I have a UK licence, no UK proof of address (thankfully) and no problems using it anywhere - yet.

hardly needs a caption.........

As mentioned, all IOs are different. But each year where I do battle, the IO hands the passport back, tells me to come back in 30 days and makes a specific mention of "make sure you don't drop below 400K before then." But it is always done with a sort of nudge-wink, and on returning after 30 days I have never been asked for any financial proof. OP: the odds against being 'caught' are high, but if you can avoid it, try not to drop below 400k.

thanks here too - just thinking about preparing for next week's annual battle. One tip: don't use Google Maps for the house map - they much prefer freehand. Can I ask one question I can never get answered by IOs: is the date on which one is ordered to return (usually 30 days after application) flexible? That is, if they tell me to come on September 20 and I am out of town that day, can I come on 21 or 22, or would they throw a fit and make me start again?

I hardly think Ray Davies is a noofter. Kinks were largely "his" band and I always respected the music and the satires, but not really the singles. Sad that one of the band dies yesterday, I believe.

ok, bottom 4. Better, pedant!? You could be the fourth.....

Pleased to hear that, as will be many others here. I have had mainly good experiences both here and in other countries; bit like life itself.

reaction to an earlier post from one of these . I suggest ravip and scottiejohn. One more to come?

You are surprised it made UK media but also surprised it didn't make local? I'm surprised you give a 4x, which is much more than I or any other self-respecting local would. Haven't read the link. Haven't read the Daily Mail for about 40 years (since I learned to read, in fact).

you sure?

I flat-out do not believe the OP. The website of this "travel blog" of which I had never heard has a similar "top 10"of countries visited and Thailand doesn't make the list with the UAE listed at no 10 on 11.5m visitors. So twice as many people visit Bangkok as visit Thailand? Pull this one...........

Dulwich College may be unfamiliar to some of you but it educated (among many others) Raymond Chandler, PG Wodehouse, BBC's Jonathan Head, Phil Manzanera (Roxy Music), Ernest Shackleton (Antarctic), former Thai PM Anand, Lord Shawcross (Nuremberg trials). Incidentally,it was founded by Shakespeare's personal impresario Edward Alleyn. Oh, and Bob Monkhouse and Nigel Farage were also allowed in………………….

well my background also says you traditionally don't give any authority your real address, but that didn't used to be about f**gg*ts following one!

yds, always. It's the precise opposite of most places I have been, where chatting to an IO gets you in jail. That's why it took me so long to cotton on. They are conversing and they expect some reply, not just 'yes' or 'no'. Same goes for NZ, by the way, in my experience.

and yet, and yet....... Years ago when I started going to Oz, I used to have endless trouble at Immigration; hassles, searches etc. Turned out that by being stuffed-shirt English reserved and no chat, I made them suspicious. I relaxed. When the IO says "g'day, how are you", I now start a conversation that always ends with me saying "cheers, mate". Name me anywhere, ANYWHERE else in the world where you say to an IO: "cheers, mate."

None of which helps the OP get his wife there. How about getting others (maybe in the company? Or friends) who live there fulltime to act as sponsor/guarantors? Certainly the first time I applied in TH for a visitor visa for my lot, it seemed to smooth the process considerably to have someone in Sydney promising to look after us!

at Lacessit: Clearly Oz is far from perfect. It's expensive, for one thing (especially Sydney), and 'elf 'n' safety has gone mad (I will NOT wear a hat to ride a bike!). But what always amazes me is that despite all the wokes and loonies, everyone you actually meet/interact with is really NORMAL (as a compliment) I just don't know or care where the nutters hang out! My local there is working class, with tradies, workers at the fish market, a sprinkling of Abbos, etc as regulars. Good as gold and the craic is great. I take posh, cool clients there for a good lunch; never any problem.

"who you calling a pig?"

not to hijack the thread, but travel, plus the internet, have opened a lot of eyes in TH, hence the current snafu. My wife's first trip outside Thailand was to NZ back when she didn't need a visa (soon after, visas became necessary because too many Thais were taking the proverbial...) and to say her eyes were opened is a major understatement. My comment about Vietnamese or Indian was meant regarding Immigration officials during my never-ending battle (I was in Sydney for five years) to get family members with me. As a genuinely multicultural place, sure there are lots whose first language is not English, but the politeness and friendliness of people in general has always bowled me over. I love Oz.

In my experience in AU, they all seemed to be Vietnamese or Indian (origin, though of course now AU citizens) and maybe making it as difficult as possible per their own experience. Used to be the same when UK still had an embassy in BKK - staffed by Indians who would be obstructive for the sake of it (revenge for the Raj?).

Attendance at a China zoo has boomed since rumours started that the animals in its bears enclosure were actually humans in disguise. Tottenham are expected to copy this in the new season.

not off a stack made at 10am and maybe still around at 3pm on a slow day. You tried to avoid the soggy egg-and-mayo. All placed in a brown paper bag for eating in a nearby park if it wasn't snowing.

Thannks from here too. Wonderful stuff, some of it evocative of the superb Heath Robinson, but some is muchmore "feasible". Related: on the same website I saw this. What a memory-jerker this is: "Sandwiches. London 1972"

Exactly. OP headline is completely wrong. WHO numbers - 2016 is their most recent easily accessible year - showed 22,491 deaths, or average 61.6/day. Around 80 percent motorcycles.