herfiehandbag

Like you I have a daughter, about to start University. She works as a part time waitress in a local "farangs orientated" restaurant. A couple of times customers have tried to hit on her. She is quite robust in her response; one of them I knew. I spoke to him. Some people simply cannot see an attractive Thai woman below 30 without believing that she is available for a casual (paid for) sexual encounter. They must spend their lives wandering the streets, clutching fistfuls of notes, in constant priapic, soliphistic anticipation!

Of course one might take this matter at it's face value, (albeit after stripping away the "Thaiger" loquacious hype) : a slightly built rather soggy female police officer, unarmed except for a small pink water pistol, stepped up rapidly to help a Thai woman who had a distressing encounter with a persistent drunken foreigner during Khao San Road Songkran party. She defused the situation, rescued the women and the party continued without drama. Persistent drunken foreigner probably woke up next morning and spent the morning looking for the badger which had emptied his wallet, trashed his room and slept with his back legs in his mouth! Well done to the policewoman, whilst not perhaps medal winning courage she appears to have done her job well, and shown some bottle in stepping up to confront the drunk. Or of course, we can develop any number of alternative imaginary scenarios, in all of which the aforementioned badger features in the following morning...

No need for a couple - they have got "their people" in power. Now, in three years time when MFP or whatever it is called by then wins the next general election...

POTY was a somewhat dubious distinction. "Yinn" is widely rumoured to have been the result of a group (Australians maybe) staging an elaborate and long running practical joke. That may have had something to do with why the moderators cancelled the competition!

I would imagine that the average number of staff per shop, allowing for variations in size, 3 shifts, days off etc is probably nearer 20 to 25. That probably ups your number to 15% -maybe higher in urban areas?

I wonder what proportion of youngsters ( predominantly girls) start their working careers in 7/11?

How does the old joke go? How do you know which of the people at the cocktail party is a pilot? Don't worry, he will tell you within 5 minutes of you arriving!

So one bloke who dresses as a woman, and has extended that to competing in swimming as a woman because it gives him an advantage, ended up competing against another bloke who dresses as a woman, and has extended that to competing in swimming as a woman because it gives him an advantage; and lost! Ironic, and deeply unfair!

Unfortunately, if Trump loses, then he will move to put judges all over it like a rash!

Bit over the top that (if something underground can be over the top!) I manage quite well with a couple of big dustbins in the bathroom!😃 We've had thunderstorms for the last few nights, the electricity supply out here in rural Chiang Rai does seem a bit fragile!

I'm not into genealogy. I know the family history back to the 1900s. My parents both came from Oldham in Lancashire, so my paternal grandparents and most other relatives are buried in the Mostyn RC cemetery in Manchester. Notable amongst those is my mother's uncle, who had the rare distinction of being denounced from the pulpit during Mass! He used to play the piano in the picture houses to accompany the silent films, a practice which was apparently regarded as sinful. I am extremely proud of him! My mother's family moved down to Dagenham to find work at Fords during the depression. Accordingly they are buried in the RC Cemetery near South Ockenden. My parents are buried in Bath where they settled when they married. I really don't go any further back than that - My paternal Grandmother came from Cork in Ireland at the turn of the last century as a child. In theory that should enable me to claim an Irish passport, although searching birth records in County Cork for a Francess Murphy may be a long-winded process! My father was a "historian" ( he had a degree in it and taught it to A level). His main speciality was American history from the Revolution up to the Civil War, but he also was a member of the "Recusant Society" (Recusants were those who refused to follow the formation of the Church of England during the times of Henry VIII, Edward and Elizabeth I.) His branch of the family had been fined off their lands in Herefordshire and Shropshire for Recusancy (only the real upper classes were imprisoned or executed) and reduced to landless labourers. Dad spent a lot of time researching it, and produced a paper for the Recusant Society in the early 1970s. Apparently the family were reasonably prosperous yeoman farmers. They lost the lot. I keep meaning to have words with the Archbishop of Canterbury about it! I should imagine genealogy could be a fascinating hobby!

Parvo virus? Heart worm? If there is a lot of it about it will thin out the doggie population quite quickly.

Been around a long time! Still, an interesting species. As it ages, and it's physical condition umh deteriorates, it migrates to South East Asia from predominantly Northern European colder climes. Sheds it's plumage to the bare minimum, consumes industrial quantities of alcohol and ventures forth, into a second childhood, convinced that it's semi clad distressed body playing in water makes it absolutely irresistible to the local women! This often leads to aggression, frustration and fights, often ending in tears. Most return to their home environments after a couple of weeks, to brag (somewhat unbelievably) about their amorous conquests and physical superiority. The bare bones of a dissertation?

Personally, and it is of course very personal, an unmarked grave or a simple cremation are fine for me. I am a Catholic, so a Requiem Mass for the repose of my Soul is all I ask. I have made some provision for the cost, so that my daughter, my only real relative here, isn't caught. Of course, with God's grace, I hope it will not be for many years!

My local clinic is the local hospital. The original injury and subsequent surgery meant that my car license was suspended on medical grounds ( I don't know why they chose to leave me with a motorbike license but they did) so car/pick up is not an option. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill - you're just trying to pick a fight.

Yes probably.

I live in the countryside. No taxis, no grab, very occasional songthaws (none on holidays). Plastic bag or no plastic bag is immaterial given the sequence of events I described. It doesn't change my point about the stupidity of their actions.

There was a clip (from twitter or whatever it is called now) of the ubiquitous, fat, drunk, old falang flailing away waving his water pistol and making a complete fool of himself in the middle of the road. About the only thing that can be said about him is that he didn't take a dump in the fountains at a nearby shrine. Do these people realise how entirely gross, stupid and disgraceful they are? If only there was some way that we could get the message to these appalling creatures how ridiculous and pitiful they are!

I've been attending my local hospital for quite some time to have dressings changed on a slow healing surgical wound on my foot. I have got to know and chat with, most of the nurses and EMTs who work in the ER/treatment centre. They hate it, clearing up injuries from stupid behaviour. Takes forever to ride the 9km to the hospital - have to keep stopping, showing my bandaged leg, and asking "no water please". Yesterday a group of adults listened to my request, waved me past, and then one gave me a bucket full in the face. He must have been over forty! I was going slowly so managed to stay on the motorbike. I explained, forcefully that"Solly" didn't cut it. I rapidly ran out of Thai, but it is amazing how much Anglo Saxon they understood! I don't hate Songkran. Water fights in "designated areas" are fine. Children with water pistols are fine. Buckets hurled at motorcyclists on main roads, from adults, are stupid. Doing so when they know you are on your way to hospital for treatment, with an obvious bandaged leg, is just <deleted> stupid.

Well, I suppose the threat to cut throats has to be taken in context, it is after all a teaching of their holy book! Isn't the Met pathetic! What a state we have got into!

The Metropolitan Police are utterly pathetic. They simply do not apply the law impartially. To suggest that displaying a Swastika at a protest against Israel is not necessarily anti Semitic is quite bizarre.

Also perhaps off topic, but in a similar vein, please bear with me. A tour guide was taking some tourists on a trip of the Australian outback. He was extolling the phenomenal tracking skills of the Aboriginal people when they came across one lying with the side of his face pressed to the road surface: "See fellah, tell us what you know?" "About two kilometres up the road there is an old Toyota pick up, with six fellahs in the back drinking wine. It has a stuffed Kangaroo strapped to the roof of the cab, and one of the stereo speakers is distorted!" "Amazing, and how can you tell us all that?" "About four minutes ago I fell off the back of it!" I doubt whether taking Taurine will really make you live longer...

The qualifications for an MP is to have won the majority of votes in their constituency. The qualifications for a government is to be able to muster a majority in parliament. Otherwise limiting an MP by qualifications could lead for example, if we are to be logical, to MPs not being able to vote on defence spending because they had not served in the forces, or on criminal law matters because they were not lawyers. If government plans and parliamentary deliberations were to be overseen by appointed panels then the prospects for any reform, by parties of either the right or left would be stymied by an inevitable sclerotic bureaucracy. Parliament is, and should remain sovereign. That is kind of fundamental. There is nothing wrong with expert guidance, nothing at all. However oversight has connotations of making ultimate decisions. That is my concern. Truss makes a valid point, certainly one that should be considered. Many might suggest that just perhaps the OBR has ambitions to move beyond a mere advisory role. There are undoubtedly some politicians who may favour that, because it will allow blame to be deflected in the event of economic failure. Incidentally I think Truss's plan was barking; but as you have yourself, along with others pointed out, the parliamentary/party systems stepped in and put a stop to it.

Nice little "dig" in the final line eh! You just can't give it up can you? Back to my point, it was for parliament to reject her plan and turf her out.

Lots of long words and learned opinions there. I, and I suspect many like me who " log in" regularly to see what "Donald has done now" regard him as "barking!