Drumbuie

Imagine you're still in your home country. How would you feel about immigrants - whose culture of drink, drugs, casual sex with your female relatives and generally arrogant behaviour you find fairly abhorrent - getting the same benefits as you?

It's an expensive vaccine with the potential for unpleasant side effects and has to be repeated every ten years. Death from rabies is truly dreadful so it is wiser to spend the money on measures to reduce the incidence in animals.

For me it was the words "Daily Mail" .

Currently back in UK for the first time in a couple of years; one thing to note is that using a smartphone Wallet is now the equivalent of paying via QR code scan from your Thai banking app. I have barely used cash or card since I arrived. Trains, buses, cafes, restaurants, shops, everywhere. If you still have a UK bank account, or a Wise card, add it to Wallet and it'll make life a lot easier.

I was told that after the design was approved, the design company was told their role was finished, and contrary to standard practice they were not consulted over changes to the design. Allegedly, the structurally vital, centrally placed lift shaft was instead built in a corner - without any compensatory strengthening elsewhere - with predictably disastrous results.

You mean the British? They arrived in boats.

Advice on Wills and Powers of Attorney is available, free, to all Thai residents ( not citizens - residents) from the Office of the Attorney General.

Alcohol is addictive, can kill you if you take too much (5 - 8+ gms per kilo body weight), causes cancer, is a depressive and also a neurotoxin. (And, being only one molecule different from sugar) it makes you fat.

No joke. Some years ago I heard tell of an acquaintance who was flying to Dublin from the UK but was not allowed to board her flight till she'd paid her outstanding parking tickets.

Wait a minute. You are writing this in *Thailand* where western men arrive in droves for the sole purpose of getting laid by the local women, hence the name " sexpats". Pot.Kettle.Black.

"Almost no real teachers" - really? All the ones I know - and that's a lot of teachers - have good degrees with post-grad certification, are teaching at good schools and are earning a lot more than 30,000 baht.

Despite taking precautions I went down with COVID last week *- only the second time I've had it and very different from the first. Only wiped out for two days, not a week. However I still recommend putting some effort not getting it. Those two days were worse than any cold or ' flu.Plus there is good evidence ( actual scientific studies, not some quack on YouTube or RFK Jr) that repeat infections take a cumulative toll on the body, particularly the heart. * Probably caught from a friend just returned from the UK.

If you are resident in Thailand, Thai citizen or not, you can get free advice on wills from the Office of the Attorney General ( use Google Maps to search for your nearest Office).

"Fo fum fi fee, I see the trace of ChatGPT" Lazy journalism, or what passes for journalism.

I often scan the QR code and have to enter the amount manually - last time being yesterday at an upmarket coffee shop on Sukhumvit, near Emsphere. (Duc du Praslin, where they give you a free Belgian chocolate with every beverage - vault le detour)

As I understand it, the TDAC is applied for before you enter Thailand. That allows plenty of time for a database search before arrival. Have we not read recently of a few criminals being taken into custody on arrival? Other countries will be happy their criminals are in jail here, it saves them money.

Unless you have access to Thai Police records, or a high-up contact inside the force, " the last time I heard of a farang opening a mule account in their own name .." doesn't carry a huge amount of weight.

Prohibition never works. Alcohol was prohibited the the USA a hundred years ago and all that happened was the Mob got richer and a few people died from bathtub gin. Alcohol kills, so does tobacco, both are addictive - but both are legal in most countries. Cannabis doesn't kill but it's illegal in most countries and as with all illegal drugs, trade in it enriches criminals all over the world. Legalise, tax, control. PS Heroin/morpine used to be available in the UK on prescription; there were less than 2000 registered addicts who lived normal lives, like the author Enid Bagnold ( National Velvet) . Once it became illegal the number of addicts spiralled, many died from overdoses or infected injection sites and it became a major source of income for criminals. The IRA turned Dublin into the heroin capital of Europe to fund buying guns and explosives. Legalise:Tax: Control

Under the photo on the left hand side is the caption " File photo for reference only"

Tourists? Is that what you think you are? We're not here for a few weeks holiday, we're *migrants*. Economic migrants. Immigrants. The kind of people you probably complained about back home. And no, "our" money didn't build this country nor does it sustain its $546billion+ GDP.

You can make an appointment at CW online to file your 90 day report (or to extend your visa, apply for re entry permit, etc) via the immigration website. Then it doesn't take hours. Or, as Dr Jack says, just send all the documents, including a stamped self addressed envelope, by registered post, before the 15 day deadline. I prefer going in person, just to know straight away that it's done and dusted..

COVID, unlike 'flu, leaves a permanent mark on the body. The virus appears t leave tiny microclots behind and conventional anti-clotting medications like aspirin do not remove them. Repeated infections increase the long term likelihood of strokes, heart attacks, dementia and also ( you may be interested to know) decrease sperm production. You may not care about things like that but I will continue to follow the scientific research ( by, you know, actual scientists , not shock jocks, weirdos and soft eugenicists) and take precautions against reinfection.

If you can possibly stop making sarky comments for a moment....consider whether this is a sign that the Thai Police have really got the hang of using their immigration database now, and may be linking it to other countries' police databases also.

Aspirin is better for COVID as it dissolves blood clots. But it's out of patent so nobody is pushing doctors to prescribe it.

In a situation where I and/or someone else will be signing lots of pieces of paper ( immigration, bank, phone company, hospital), I take the actual passport. For everything else, photos on my phone seem to be enough.