MangoKorat

Let's revisit that in a year or so.

The problem is, he is already boot licking. It appears he seems to favour alignment with the US as the UK is further pressured into making a choice between them and our geographical neighbours.

Did you go to school? If so were you asleep during history lessons? I suggest you read up on the outcomes of ultra nationalism. Much the same goes for the periods in history where huge inequality has taken place with massive wealth concentrated on the few at the expense of the many - as with Trump and his buddies. Do you really believe Trump wants to increase the wealth of working class people? It would be interesting to learn how much the office cleaners in Trump Tower get paid currently. The problem is that humans never really learn - these things are cyclical and historically, have almost always ended in disaster for the rich - ask Loui XV1 and his family.

Maybe you should read the entire post eh?

I saw literally hundreds of reports and speeches during Kamala Harris's election campaign and not once did I hear her state what was patently obvious - well at least obvious to most reasonable people - that post covid/Putin based inflation was affecting the entire world, it was not caused by Biden's policies. The US electorate should, you would have thought, known that anyway. However, listening to their comments during the election campaign, it seems they couldn't see the wood for the trees and they voted accordingly. You have to wonder what Harris's campaign manager's were doing - they should have been telling her to hammer those matters home at every rally and during every speech. I'm not a Biden supporter by any stretch of the imagination but I will never understand why so many Americans blamed him for inflation. Just as Obama left the US economy in pretty good shape for Trump in 2017. Biden has left it on the rise in 2025. I have absolutely no doubt at all that if it continues on an upward trajectory, Trump will claim its his doing. Both the World Bank and the IMF have stated that whilst Trump's stated financial policies may create further stimulus in the short term, they will eventually create a downturn and actually become inflationary. As we saw in 2008, when America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold. It would appear that there is real potential for Trump to instigate another worldwide recession. That may or may not happen during his term of office, if it happens at all but you can bet your last dollar that Trump will cry 'Witch Hunt' if anyone tries to blame him - just as he has every time he is blamed for anything or is charged with a crime.

Doubtful, well at least on the matter of free speech. The British people are sensible enough to realise that there cannot be total freedom of speech - not in a world where people are so easily reached and influenced by social media. You can't just let every madman out there say what he wants. Yes, we have a growing right wing faction in the UK that might lean towards the US but overall, we are a moderate people that won't tolerate any bullying. Leaning to the US will actually be the thing that isolates Starmer. Starmer may well find himself isolated for other reasons but I for one don't give two hoots about the so called 'special relationship' if it means cow towing to a lunatic child of a president who spends a lot of his time simply lying. We are not and I believe, should never be, the 51st state of the USA. The UK should be looking to rebuild ties with its neighbours in Europe - not worrying about what Trump will do. It must also be remembered that the US has several major intelligence gathering/listening stations situated in the UK. Trump's military advisers will no doubt remind him of that if any major spats with the UK spark off. In any case, the UK's best policy is to just sit it out - Trump will be gone in 4 years and that's not so long.

I've come to the conclusion that the shipping world is just full of freeloaders and parasites. Most of the sites I cam across turned out not to be shippers at all - they simply get your details and pass them out to several genuine shippers adding a chunk on along the way. Until today I've had quotes ranging from £1900 to £6500 for half a 20ft container. Today I did another google search but this time I didn't enter anything about moving or Thailand - I simply put 'shipping agents Liverpool' (my nearest port). A list of what looked like genuine shipping agents came up and the first one I called quoted me £1100 - not for half a 20ft container that would be shared with others, risking damage and a wait until the container is full, its for a full 20ft container. This company will bring a container to my home and allow me 3 hours to fill it. They then take it to the docks and ship it to Thailand using a weekly service that takes 60 days to reach Bangkok. I won't have enough to fill that container but neither will I be risking other people's goods being stacked on top of mine with the possibility of damage. I was recommended not to use a part container service by several people who have done just that and had problems. The downside is that I have to find a clearance agent in Bangkok to deal with customs as the agents this company use only handle commercial goods. Clearly that will involve some cost but I can't see it being a lot. I can supply a 10 tonne truck to move my goods up to my home almost immediately so providing we don't get bogged down with customs, storage fees shouldn't be an issue. I thank everyone for their comments and would say that I'm aware that I can replace much of what I have reasonably cheaply in Thailand but its not that really. Some of this stuff is items I've collected over my lifetime, some is part of my life and some just has sentimental value. Secondhand furniture doesn't bring much in the UK so I doubt I could sell it all. and I just wouldn't feel right taking perfectly good items to the tip. If anyone can recommend a good customs clearance agent in Bangkok, I'd be pleased to hear.

You guys crack me up. The guy was locked up for a short overstay - let us not forget that there are people with money in Thailand that have committed murder and never done a day in jail.

Let's compare notes in 4 years OK? I have a feeling your excitement will be somewhat diminished by then.

I don't understand why anyone would want to live in Bangkok anyway - do you not care for your health?

I'm a bit of a 'News Nut' I guess and my TV is often tuned to the BBC News Channel. However, I have watched less since the BBC teamed up with CBS in the USA. Since then the proportion of US news reported on the BBC has been simply ridiculous. I don't think the BBC realises that most English people (certainly those who I talk to) are not really that interested in what goes on in the USA. Europe is more important to us. However, things just got worse - Trump's back. During his last term, there wasn't a day that went by without his name being on the news. Today it begins again - I switched on my TV and there he is - spouting complete rubbish during his inauguration speech. I listened for 15 minutes and had to switch off............ Apparently the Biden administration have failed to deal with the Los Angeles fires and the Hurricanes that hit the USA in recent months. Events which were almost certainly exacebated by climate change - yet Trump then goes on to say that he's going to 'Drill Baby Drill' and he's going to roll back vehicle emmisions laws! Then we move on to the millions of foreign criminals and mentally ill people that are flooding over the US borders. He was"saved by god to make America great again" when a bullet grazed his ear in Pennsylvania.........bla bla bla. I'm surprised he didn't claim that immigrants were eating cats and dogs again. All the stuff he going to do - end wars etc, well let's see what he does actually achieve. I note that he failed to mention that only 80 miles of his wall got built and that Mexico didn't pay for any of it. The clock is ticking Donald, don't forget that you only have 23 hours left to end the war in Ukraine. I can listen to politicians I don't agree with - in fact I believe its good to listen to other points of view but I cannot listen to this 9 year old in an old man's body spout his rubbish for the next 4 years. That so many Americans voted for this child beggars belief but I hope it goes well for them, I really do. Funny how he was anti Tik Tok in 2020 and told reporters he would ban the App - today he vowed to save it. Anything to do with votes perhaps? Think I'll go over to Al Jazeera - I doubt they'll be covering this lunatic so much. The only thing I'm interested in following about Trump is just how long it takes for him to fall out of love with his new boyfriend Musk. That will be interesting.

And you're able to use that 700hp where exactly?

I have a Mitsubishi pump and mine was coming on intermittently without it seemed - any reason. The pump senses a drop in pressure caused by the opening of a tap or other demand for water. My problem was calcium build up in a toilet cistern that was not allowing the float valve to fully close when the cistern was full. It was only causing a tiny demand - very hard to see. You could have a similar problem. Assuming you use a storage tank, the way to check it is as Crossy says above - shut the outlet valve. If it continues to come on, the problem is almost certainly with the pump, if it stops coming on, you have a problem with your plumbing. However, if you are using 'City Water' without a tank and simply using the pump to boost pressure, the problem could be air in the incoming supply. The above assumes your pump has been correctly fitted with an inlet and outlet valve. I've used Mitsubishi pumps for many years and found them to be very reliable. They are however, as with so much of your plumbing, susceptible to the Thai water demon 'Calcium' - as all other pumps are. I've heard of calcium causing the pressure valve to fail but never experienced it. Never had to bleed mine by the way - if you have to bleed a pump regularly there's a very good chance there's a leak on the inlet side or your tank regularly runs out.

Sex workers in Hilary's - well I never.........I really thought it was 'the place' to pick up a girlfriend 😁.

Can any late model Dmax owners advise me if the built in (factory) SatNav/GPS system can be changed to English language?