billythehat

aye, that was it, dosed by the teaspoon to naughty kids!

Introduction of drinkable coffee. There was a liquid substitute coffee liquid that came in a bottle (can’t remember the name) that tasted awful. No ‘alternative’ teas. Cocoa powder with hot creamy milk and sugar was a treat. My hardworking mum having 3 jobs. I didn’t personally appreciate the sacrifices she made when we were kids until became an adult with responsibilities. My dad introducing us to curry powder leading to a lifetime addiction to spicy food. His wardrobe smelling of Old Spice after shave lotion and Brylcreem hair cream. He never used anything else. A constipated Uncle Ron not reading the label on a bottle of Syrup of Figs and chugging the whole bottle down – we laughed like drains for a week after the outcome! Riding old pedal petrol mopeds on the nearby disused railway line (the tracks long removed), again leading to a lifetime of riding motorcycles. Having a paper round, a Saturday job, being a golf caddy and dragging wet coal sacks up the steep hill to where we lived….eeeee it were tuff but seemed quite normal, you just got on with it. Collecting early Marvel comics – probably worth a few shillings now. Living with neighbours that knew it each other and looked out for them. Everyone knew everyone. Yer mates from school and what mischief we got up to. The local chippy that didn’t cost an arm and a leg for a meal. Always a big queue on a Friday and I loved the onion vinegar supplied from the giant glass jar of pickled onions. Never got the gherkins thing though… Collecting old stamps (later stolen by some scumbag) and an interest in astronomy. I remember the wonder of viewing the heavens through a proper telescope. Keeping pets although my dad never liked or wanted a dog in the house. Secondary school teachers with anger management issues, especially after they’d had a few scoops in the pub opposite the school at dinnertime. The kindness of most adults when we were young. Mum taking us to her Bingo club on a Thursday night – no problem for us boys as it meant plenty of crisps and coke all evening! Disco/activity clubs for young lads and lasses to meet up and socialize and then a skateboard race home after. You could buy a packet of 5 Park Drive cigarettes. Party 7 beer cans, Old English Cider, milk stout and packets and packets of real crisps. The one Chinese takeaway in town. Sports day at school. Walking for miles to get somewhere where there was no local transport in town. Never a problem. Visits from the local chimney sweep. He kept champion winning sheep dogs and out-lived his wife and son. He never complained and had many interesting stories of his youth, one of which was riding speedway bikes at the Wimbledon Speedway. Checking out the female babysitters. Having jabs for various diseases. My dad’s sister married a Canadian pilot (she was a WAAF in WW2) and emigrated to Canada after the war. She would send the occasional parcel of a round of extra strong mature Canadian cheese. It was delicious and until this day, I cannot eat mild cheeses. My immediate neighbour was a Scottish man. We understood (my dad’s fault entirely) that his name was Jock and we called him that. Later, we kids discovered his real name was John although he or his wife never corrected us! His mum lived with them and used to feed Hedgehogs in the evening. I haven’t seen one for years now. The trauma of my parent’s divorce and its affect later in life. Searching for crabs amongst the mussel beds under the white chalk cliffs where folk sold cockles, mussels, large crabs and lobsters. Mum liked jellied Ells. Our opinion was that she was welcome to them and no, we didn’t want any! A wee bit later, the importance of education and learning a trade. Having proper seasons; it pretty much always snowed at Christmas and the other seasons followed their course. Watching the first moon landing on an old black and white telly and loved watching Star Trek. Dad always had his radio on somewhere in the house. He used to play piano at the local pub near his air-base during WW2. The one coal fire in the house to huddle around during the cold winter. You could have hung meat for keeping in the other rooms. Going to bed with hot water bottles. And so much more but I’ll leave it there for now. I had an operation yesterday and feeling a bit sore and groggy from the anesthetic this morning. All those moments lost in time…pass me that tissue box would you please?

message sent

The trusty Suzi still going strong I see! To the topic under discussion and my own 2 Baht as an Engineer: The soil is mainly a sandy loam (sand & clay) with free drainage characteristics. From the photos shown so far, the removal of the road appears to show shear failure of the road metal where the movement of the underlying soil tends to slide due to the overbearing pressure/loading on the soil. The friction of the road foundation is unable to resist the shear force of the moving soil and fails. The movement does not ‘wash away’ foundations but alters the way one structure movement affects another structure (soil friction/angle.) If, after some deliberation and cost analysis, the road is to be retained, the stabilization of the existing soil would be a priority before any works are undertaken. The use of piling/other systems would incur, due to the soil type, to be of some considerable depth for an effective retaining structure. Long term, the slope in this location will continue to fail due to several factors; the removal of trees etc. and the current road alignment abandoned and a new road alignment built. The soil report, post failure, and its’ recommendations should reveal the mystery…

Sir, you missed an equally valid reason; Staff Attitude.

Not necessarily in the gym…about 7 quid on Ebay...

Sure, go for it; what could possibly go wrong? If she’s as minted as you say, I’m sure she’ll have no problems financing the return tickets for the trip herself. I strongly advise you buy a lucky-amulet as soon as you can. Do bear in mind that the immigration mob here has heard every tale before and can sniff BS as quickly as any trained drug pooch. My own observations have been that relationships between the two cultures tend to last longer if you are there. Should she jump all the hurdles and get here, keep her away from other Thai women. You’ll learn the hard way the reasons why. Finally, give it time and really get to know her. If there is a snake hiding in the grass, it will show itself and should it appear, run Sir, run like the wind.

This reminded me that I hadn’t heard from Phet for many years. I assume he’s now retired and tapping out his memoirs somewhere in the west midlands of England. This link shows he was still scribbling tales of Lalaland after we met up in Bangkok in 2011 for a pizza and a few scoops of ale. https://brokenmanrepaired.wordpress.com/page/2/

“So from what you said our Ambassador is an upper-class homosexual?” I said nothing of the sort. That CV was taken from the gov.uk website.

I’m confused….which one is “His Excellency”?

A bit more on Marky boy: Biography Mr Mark Gooding OBE is Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand. He started his role in Thailand in July 2021. Mark joined the FCO in 1999 and has spent his career working mostly on Europe and Asia. His previous FCO roles include Director Covid (Repatriations), Director EU (Future Partnership), Deputy Director Europe, Minister Counsellor (Political) at the British Embassy in Beijing, British Ambassador to Cambodia, British Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary. Mark holds a Master’s Degree in Modern Languages from Oxford University. He speaks Thai, Mandarin Chinese, French, German, and Spanish. In his spare time, he enjoys running, music and travelling. Mark is married to Dr Christopher McCormick, an education specialist. British Ambassador to Thailand The Ambassador represents Her Majesty The Queen and the UK government in the country to which they are appointed. They are responsible for the direction and work of the Embassy and its Consulates, including political work, trade and investment, press and cultural relations, and visa and consular services. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Previous roles in government British Ambassador to Cambodia 2011 to 2013 As the British embassy there will have a team of Flunkies to deal/not deal with issues concerning problems with its own citizens in Lalaland, it's unlikely Uncle Mark will be answering one to one queries. His previous role in Cambodia would have given him good experience in the ways of the machinations of 3rd world countries.

There ya go, chief. https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-bangkok https://www.gov.uk/world/thailand

Sir, should it come to defending your honour and position, I suggest you refresh yourself to the rules to such. I draw your attention to Rule 11.

Sir, surely a large brown envelope would be the order of the day. He may need the cash soon…

“On Monday, a well-known lawyer, Sittha Bearbungkerd, released a video clip on his social media pages that showed Thitisant “Joe Ferrari” Uttanapol committing the crime.” And the winner of Brass-Balls of the Week goes to… Well done, Sir. ????