Zaphod Priest

What part of Bangkok?

Definitely time for France to reclaim the Statue of Liberty.

Sorry. I didn't know you were a pauper.

I'm pretty sure that "are you a lard-arse" is not one of the questions when you book a flight. How, then would they know that the individual is corpulently challenged and needs two seats?

Yup. Full list at https://destinasian.com/readers-choice-awards/2025-winners/best-airports

Suffering from memory loss? Weren't there some issues between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, not that long ago? Some three and a half thousand dead?

Why would you want to do that? The paperwork requirements for an extension based upon marriage are much more onerous than based on retirement. Plus you'd have to drag your spouse to Immigration each time.

Nope. These ETFs work on a daily price movement. If the index falls 10% over a month, these ETFs will almost always not rise 10%. The actual rise/fall will depend upon how jagged the index has been over the period.

Have you tried asking the UK government anything in the last few years? Kept hanging on the 'phone for ages, then cut off. It's ludicrous.

I've just read that It appears that the pension can't be paid into an offshore bank account. Is that actually correct? My Sterling bank account is in the Isle of Man.

What's the relevance of its being taken just before 6:30 p.m.?

All this cynicism. The handout will 100% have the desired effect: increasing the proportion of the next generation of voters who will support Pheu Thai. And the best bit is that Pheu Thai doesn't have to hand out its own money to win votes.

The Nation posted on Facebook:

Usual right wing drivel from the Mail. No attempt to put things in context. "Figures for 2024 show 46 private schools have closed with 77 opening." "More than 75 private schools closed every year in England on average over the last decade, official data has shown, with no apparent increase in the trend since Labour announced it was imposing VAT on fees." https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/oct/26/no-rise-private-school-closures-england-since-labour-vat-proposal-data

Pretty awful customer service IMHO, verging on contempt.

Sentricon system. Plastic traps containing bait are positioned around the house. Termites feed and take back a substance that renders the queen infertile. Takes a few weeks to work, but in my experience it's then very effective. No spraying. See https://www.mfactors.co.th/

Labour came into power in 2024. The couple concerned came to the UK in March 2020. The Tories are responsible for this situation - not Labour.

Au contraire. I asked the question to help gauge the risk of not having a doctor's letter. In fact, in the interim I have been trying to get a letter from my hospital, though with zero success so far. Administration there seems to have no idea about what I'm asking for. Will be seeing the doctor in person tomorrow.

Yesterday I received a letter by EMS from Krungthai concerning CRS/FATCA telling me to go into a branch. I tried to close my Krungthai accounts many years ago. Was told that it wasn't possible, and I should reduce the balance to zero (which I did) and wait for them to be automatically closed. I guess they haven't been closed yet.

I.e. been doing 90 day reports.

Not really. If the changes of being caught are negligible, I'll take the risk. I really don't want to waste the time, money and inconvenience of getting a doctor's letter if I think I can get away for it. As for being searched on future entries, I have never been to Australia before, and after this trip, I'm unlikely to go again. Not an issue.

You can deposit the cheque into your baht account. It'll take few weeks to be processed, though. Transferring money out of Thailand can be problematic. It's not income; it's return of capital. If you already have a US bank account, it might be better to deposit into that account. That should be doable online. And if not, look into Paypal and its mobile check deposit feature.

Allopurinol for gout and metformin for diabetes.

I'm going to be visiting Australia for 10 days next month. The Border Force website says that I should declare my medications and have a letter from my doctor. Is this really necessary? It's seems rather pointless for a couple of strips of common medicines.

Have you considered sclerotherapy? An injection is made into the blood vessels to block them off, and the varicose vein subsequently disappears. It's minimally invasive and an outpatient treatment. Should cost a lot less.