Keeps

Or he could be assassinated if he gets a bit too above his station? Wouldn't be the first time it has happened in the USA.

I'm just glad you didn't ask me to name them as that could get me in a whole heap of trouble. And no, I won't, even if you do ask.

Good question Bob. There are three posters on here that I utterly despise but I think hate is too strong a word. I hasten to add, you are not one of them. I never thought I could feel such utter disdain for people I have never met. However, just from their posts I know I would have no time for them in real life. I have met people that have given the vibe that they have the same feeling for me. We can't all get on though, can we? I've decided to let it go. Generally, I don't like most people unless they give me a reason to think otherwise. I accept that the boot might be on the other foot aswell. I can live with that. Too many knobs about. I'm totally comfortable with my opinion and situation. It suits me well. Also, in response to part of your question, do we need to overcome it? Hate can be good as positive vibes can be focused elsewhere. Better than complete indifference.

Not exactly an abundance of free range, corn fed chickens available in Thailand though are there? Still better to cook your own at home but you are still reliant on the source. There is a butcher near me when I'm in the in the UK who sells superb chickens. £24 a go. Not within everybody's price range and I wouldn't pay it. Nudging £10 per head for a home cooked Sunday roast with all the trimmings.

And why is that then? Please explain your reasoning as to how it should work. Do they get to pick and choose the most financially beneficial outcome? If so, in your reasoning, then they are financial migrants, not asylum seekers. Be very interested to hear your spin on things.

There was me thinking asylum was stopping at your first port of call that offered safety and sanctuary. Not ducking, diving and scamming your way through half a dozen plus countries until you arrive at the perceived (and currently true) land of 'milk and honey'.

I had one from Makro on Samui the other day. It was branded as 'Chef (some name or the other)'. I don't know if all Makro's have the same or whether it was a local tie-up. It was ok but can't say more than that. Didn't enjoy the skin which I usually find to be the best bit if I cook it myself. I prefer to buy chicken thighs, season them myself and cook them low and slow in the oven. Very forgiving and never seem to dry out. Best whole chickens I have had on Samui have been cooked roadside on a turning spit and have that authentic taste of diesel fumes with a little added gravel chucked up by the passing trucks.

You are on the mark at the moment. Coming myself from not too far from London I think those numbers will be reversed in the not too distant future. Those numbers are already reversed in a large number of towns and cities in the UK.

Thank you for posting this. I was considering buying an Artemis US small caps fund as recommended by my UK investment platform. In your opinion, is now a buying opportunity or is there still a way to fall? I do invest a partial amount of my portfolio in global small caps when the time is right. UK small cap funds have served me well when investing at the right time. Any feedback very welcome.

I was in the French bakery this morning near the corner of Jomtien beach road ( name escapes me) but near Tinnie's pies. I noticed they had some dark chocolate in the display cabinet alongside some of their more exotic pastries. They were in clear cellophane packets so I'm assuming home made. 140 baht for a decent size bar but it didn't display the weight (maybe 100g). I might give one a try next time I'm in getting a baguette.

That is an incredible weight loss. I'm working on the assumption that's not a typo. I honestly don't mean to be rude but how heavy were you to warrant such a weight loss? Genuine question. Are you now at your optimum weight?

This should get interesting when people have had a few Saturday evening beers.... .

I don't fink yous is more cleverer then I is. I woz tops of me clas for spelin (an gramar)...

Personally, I wouldn't do it. Then again, I'm not one to get involved in Bitcoin et al. I've invested in the UK/Global markets for the last 20 years. I'm not greedy and know what I wanted/needed to achieve. Depends what your wife's ultimate goal is. Short term gains or long term growth/income? I in no way mean it disparagingly, but the Thai goal is often short term thought/gain. I have a diversified portfolio spread across funds/shares/bonds and geographically diversified. I started with very little but built an adequate retirement fund over the space of 14 years (financial crashes around 2007/08 helped massively and a generous ex employer offering a ridiculously high extraction from their pension fund). I initially plumped for growth funds/shares and still hold nearly half of my portfolio in these. Over the last 7 years I have sold large profits and transitioned to income funds and well established companies offering high and increasing dividend yields. My current holdings produce enough income for my current needs whilst other holdings continue to grow (not always the case). In future years I will possibly need to generate more income so I will move more growth holdings to income holdings. I still like the odd speculative punt on individual shares but don't go mad. Some have paid off handsomely, some have tanked. None have really hurt overall performance. Pound/cost averaging has helped along the line. Buy in on a regular basis on something you fancy so you ride the waves of ups and downs, rather than buy all at once. The platform I use also allows me to set price alerts and also buy limits. If a share/fund is 250p but I'm only interested at 210p they'll either let me know when it hits my price or I can set an automatic buy when it dips to the price I'm prepared to pay. As a caveat, I would also add that I lost around a third of my paper wealth during the Covid crisis. I didn't bottle it as many people I know did. I sat tight and had spare cash so bought even more at the bottom of the market. Everything bounces back eventually and goes even higher over time (I hope that doesn't come back to bite me). Just keep 2 or 3 years cash handy so you don't have to settle when you really don't want to.

I think he is being obstreperous for the sake of it. I could be mistaken for thinking it is another posting alias for someone sitting out a temporary ban....probably not.

I do doubt their efficacy myself in being able to extract people from (perhaps) their self made problems. I was purely pointing out that they are (and should be) an initial port of call for those in trouble. Whether such souls obtain any help or welcome the responses they receive is an entirely different matter.

I do not think anyone is under any 'common misconceptions'. Nobody thinks that the embassies sole role is to assist their citizens that may have encountered problems. However, it is one of their roles and quite rightly so.

Maybe, but every one of them is a problem waiting to happen.

A number of the arrests were possibly due to the increasing popularity of trying to smuggle ganja back to the UK.

I departed Thailand via e-gate in December therefore no stamp in the passport showing departure. I returned to Thailand early February and no problem whatsoever. Yesterday I was checking into a hotel on a mini break and they asked me why I didn't have an exit stamp from my last visit. This was when they were copying my passport for TM30 purposes. I pointed out my new arrival stamp and the lady just shrugged and handed my passport back. I'm assuming that as she didn't initially see the new arrival stamp she must have thought I was on overstay.

You do know you've left yourself totally open to a Liverpool Lou attack don't you? I'm not sure how he will snipe you, but you know he will Steven.... If it's not you then it's me, for possibly putting a comma in the wrong place? It's going to end in tears for one of us...

I got knocked once by a Thai 'friend' who I loaned 21,000 baht to buy a decent second hand motorbike ( long time ago and exchange rate 72/£ so didn't hurt me in anyway) so he could become a motorbike taxi rider. Didn't pay a baht back. Saw him a year later and he tried to tap me up for some wedge pleading poverty and saying his kid needed new uniform etc for school. I wasn't horrible but politely declined. Live and learn. Once bitten, etc.

Extremely unlikely he topped himself but I'd better leave it at that. Best regards, Bob Smith, No wait, Best regards Harrisfan

It was either: Musk himself. 1/3 fav Donald asked/told him to say it. 9/10 North Korea. 3/1 Nigerian Prince 33/1 Pretty sure it wasn't a Brit regardless of what some of you will say.

I am sometimes one of the first to 'defend' my fellow countrymen when some of the usual suspects on here are having a pop just for the sake of it if a Brit is involved. But, what are these people thinking? They deserve all that's coming to them. I don't know whether that was an internal flight or a flight booked through all the way to the UK. If the latter (and maybe even the former), it has to be illegal to try and check-in contraband. You still have to run the customs gauntlet at a UK airport. I never bring anything back to the UK that could get me into the slightest bit of trouble. I seem to have one of them faces that semi regularly gets me pulled over. Regardless of that, I just wouldn't dare. Utter stupidity.