Brigante7

The problem isn't whether the kids are well behaved or not, it's the fact that badly behaved kids are badly behaved because the parents can't be bothered to get of their back-sides to keep them under control.

As for kids traveling on long haul flights, my wife and I took our 4 month old son to Thailand and my biggest worry was if he would be OK on the flight as I know that there is nothing worse than a screaming kid on a long haul flight. Luckily our son took it all in his stride but the same can't be said for the family next to us with a 3 year old that they proceeded to give coca-cola and sugary sweets to the whole flight and as such was bouncing of the walls and running up and down the aisles like a headless chicken not that his parents were bothered and just left him to it.

Like most parents I had no idea how my son would handle the flight, but even before I had kids I had no problem with a baby/small child crying on a plane if the parents were making an effort to calm the child down, it's the parents who didn't care that pissed me off and that for me is the difference, the parents who care that their child's crying annoys other people.

Brigante7.

Further to my above post it seems that the UK dictatorship are saying that all workers are paedophiles and as such will have to submit to a criminal background (CRB) check, sounds like the work of a caring trusting goverment with no ulterior motive, what do you think?

Brigante7.

7by7

Your daughter can apply for a provisional driving licence and use that for I.D. and she doesn't have to learn to drive.

As an ex driving instructor I got her a provisional licence for her 17th birthday, unfortunately, as said, she shows no desire to learn to drive. As an ex driving instructor I am aware that many places will not accept a provisional licence as proof of age or identity; I don't know why. The attitude of all pub and club door staff round this way is full licence, yes; provisional, no!

People didn't complain about I.D. cards during the war because there was no ulterior motive by the government of the time unlike today.

So, what is this ulterior motive, then?

These days there are many situations where one is required to prove one's identity. For example, opening a bank account, applying for credit, even if applying for a job one has to prove one is entitled to work in the UK! Having a national ID card would do away with the various other bits of paper, such as one's birth certificate, one currently has to search for. You may say that one could use one's passport. True, but what is a passport other than an official proof of identity, and not everyone has a passport anyway.

BTW, the killers of Jamie Bulger would not of been convicted were it not for evidence from CCTV. How many similar crimes have been prevented because of the presence of these cameras, we cannot know. But if it is just one then this justifies them in my view.

The ulterior motive is that this goverment wants to know everything about everybody and wants as much info as possible on an I.D. card. I was just reading today that the new census in 2011 will ask about your house, how many bedrooms you have, who has stayed there (Including name, age, sex, date of birth and adress), how well the residents can speak English, what kind of central heating system you have installed, if they aren't devious then what do you call it.

I never realised that most pubs & clubs won't accept a provisional licence as I.D. very strange.

I've no problem with CCTV in places like shopping centres and such but I've read many times that CCTV cameras don't reduce crime, it just means that the offenders might get caught after the fact.

Brigante7.

I really want to contribute to this discussion but I fear I might land in trouble with the mods so I'll refrain.

Brigante7.

British National Party (UK)

If elected how would this affect British Thailand Ex-pats who have Thai Wife's & Children?

I have been following the UK news over the last few weeks regarding the fascist British National Party (BNP).

Now it appears that it is very possible that this party could be elected and become Government in the UK.

I, having a Thai wife and child find this prospect very alarming.

1. If the BNP did come to power and expelled all Thais from the United Kingdom, would the Thai government conduct a tit for tat policy and do the same with Brits living in Thailand?

2. Would this mean that UK citizens living in Britain and having a Thai family, would have to leave Britain or otherwise be faced with the prospect of being separated from they're family's?

3. What about the Brits with Thai families living Thailand, how would this affect them?

All rather scary and hope this scenario never happens.

What do you think?

Hope I haven't opened a can of worms here. Have created this thread for the reasons that the title explains.

This is not a platform for the discussion of British politics or who is to or is not to blame.

I feel now that there is a strong possibility of a fascist leadership in the UK that would affect all British ex-pats with Thai families and should be mentioned.

I hope that if any idiots post on here material that contravenes ThaiVisa rules, racist comments, of is abusive to others, that the Mods will close this thread and ban the offending posters.

As somebody who lives in the UK, I have followed the comings and goings, I agree with nearly everything the BNP stand for except their policy which would mean my wife and 2 kids would have to leave the UK (Unless us Scots get our finger out and take our independance). I'm not going to get in to it here because like the OP said this isn't about UK politics. I don't think the BNP will make a massive difference at the polls but I'm hoping that there prescence will force the other parties to completely change the direction they are going, but I doubt it.

Brigante7.

Going slightly off topic, I know, but I personally cannot see what is wrong with having compulsory ID cards. Most countries, including Thailand, have them, and my parents told me that this country had them during the war; no one complained and many were surprised when they were done away with after the war.

I can see their advantages.

For example, my 19 year old daughter has no desire to learn to drive, so does not have a driving licence. This means she has to take her passport with her whenever she goes out with her friends or she wont be allowed into most pubs or clubs because she can't prove she's over 18. An ID card would solve this. (Door staff wont accept her Thai ID card as it shows her date of birth in the Buddhist calender!)

Having said that, the complicated and expensive way this government is going about it is typical of that bunch of idiots. If an ID card is going to be compulsory it should be issued for a minimal fee, or better still; be free.

7by7

Your daughter can apply for a provisional driving licence and use that for I.D. and she doesn't have to learn to drive.

People didn't complain about I.D. cards during the war because there was no ulterior motive by the goverment of the time unlike today.

Thomgkorn

Don't give me the "If people have nothing to hide" routine that's a very poor reason to introduce compulsory I.D. cards, there is no need for them in this country, at any one time I can produce at least 7 forms of I.D. We have more cctv cameras in this country than any other on the planet, why do we need I.D. cards?

Brigante7.

The id card will have her immigration status on it, the same as the old visa vignette, so your wife should keep it with her passport and show it to the airline and UK immigration if required.

See Identity cards for foreign nationals.

To be honest, I didn't think that id cards were being issued to those applying for FLR as the spouse of a British citizen/resident yet.

7by7, I understand that the visa information is on the ID cards, I just think that if the UK are going to be using a different system to the rest of the world (ie: not putting the visa in the passport, but putting it on an ID card that the rest of the world may also not be familiar with seeing, and therefore know if it's genuine or not) it could cause confusion because airline staff may be reluctant to check in people travelling to the UK if there isn't an obvious 'right to enter the UK' in their passport.

Surely it can't cost that much to add the visa in the passport as well.

It's all part of the goverments plan to introduce compulsary I.D. cards for everybody in the UK, this is the first step, devious scumbags.

Brigante7.

Can't believe the Beer Garden isn't on the list, it's a scandle, I demand a recount.

Brigante7.

ESOL courses are free, at least my wife's one was and that of everybody in her class.

Brigante7.

As the father of a 2 year old boy I can't even begin to imagine what the poor little mites parents are going through and I just hope that not only do they catch the people responsible but that they deal with them in the correct manner (That'll be the way that 99.9% of us are thinking about).

Brigante7.

I don't live in Thailand yet but when I visit I sweat like michael jackson did in mothercare but I don't feel hot even though I'm a big lad but then I drink loads and loads of ice cold water all day, don't drink alcohol and do lots of walking

Brigante7.

McDonalds is crap at the best of times but they are even worse in Thailand, not sure why.

Surangw is right, there is a smell from McDonalds but it sure ain't of recovery, and greasy food, fu_ck me.

Brigante7

No need to take it with you. Do you have a visa debit card? If so then open a bank account in Thailand and transfer your money to your account by inserting your debit card into a card reader in the bank, entering your pin number and then entering the amount you want to withdraw from your UK account. You will need your passport for I.D.

Brigante7.

Great news and now the UK dictatorship, sorry meant goverment, will know that you don't live in the UK and so bang goes any increase in your pension.

Brigante7.

Does anyone know where I can get a cheap or second hand BMX or simple single speed push bike?

I just want a basic one, not a trick one as I will just be riding it to the BTS and around the back streets to explore so just after something simple and cheap I can easily nip about on.

Any chance of finding one in Bangkok?

Cheers

Love the picture of the BMX, brings back many a happy memory.

Brigante7.

My wife's friend finished an ESOL course with citizenship to obtain her ILR and I understand that she has to obtain citizenship before she can obtain a UK passport. She has fulfiled the 3 year qualification period but was worried she would have to apply for first citizenship then a UK passport with her husband actualy being there but as long as she is legally still married then that is great, I'll pass it on to her.

Many thanks

Brigante7.

Hi all,

My wife's friend has her ILR visa and is married to a UK national but has recently split up with him and divorce preceeding will start soon (Both were at fault), what my wife's friend asked me is, can she apply for a UK passport alone or does she need her husband to go with her?

Many thanks

Brigante7.

Thank you everybody for all the replies, I wil pass the info on to my sister-in-law.

Brigante7.

I get 10 -15 e-mails everyday from "Banks" saying my account has been suspended which is great as I don't have an account with any of them but their you go. I never open any e-mail from any bank, paypal, e-bay or any other company that I deal with, as another poster said there will also be an e-mail in your account so when I log on I'll see it. My e-mail filter is set to exclusive so only mail from my contacts goes in to my inbox, everything else is deleted, unless I know who it is from.

Brigante7.

The wife's sister is heading back to Thailand next month and wants to take a hedge trimmer for her dad but I told her it might be better to buy one in BKK but I was informed (By both wife and sister) that hedge trimmers are not available in Thailnd but I would imagine that they are, can anybody help please?

Many thanks

Brigante7.

They also prefer them bald and overweight

Thank fu_ck for that.

Brigante7.

All justifed pacakged food is ok if unopened pre mix milk is potentially deadly. As for Weetabix its just tastes horrible. You will get all your answers at the DEFRA Website

Hmmm, are you saying that pre-mix SMA baby milk in cartons (unopened) are a problem?? It is touted as being ideal for travelling, no mixing, no iffy water on the aircraft.

I suppose Weetabix tastes a bit like C4, but why was it confiscated, it is neither liquid nor gel?

Weetabix becomes gel like when hot milk/water and sugar are added - and mixed thoroughly. A deadly mix if squirted into a persons eye

Remember these guys doing the checking at the airports are carefully selected!!!!!!!!!!!

Carefully selected for what, because it wasn't for doing the job with any common sense. The fact that the OP's daughter managed to buy the food she needed after going through passport control says it all, captive market, no choice but to buy at inflated prices once you get through.

Brigante7.

That's crazy! Why won't the British let him out?

Okay, I really am no fan of drugs, but 2020? This is a mans life?

What is wrong with that government, at the same time they let the Lockerbie bomber out on compassionate grounds.

Why should they let him out? He was convicted and he's lucky he's allowed to serve his time in a UK prison or would he rather serve his time in a Thai jail? As for the lockerbie bomber it was a disgrace he was released, for sure he was innocent but he was happy to take the blame for gaddafi's goverment in return for his family being well compensated.

Brigante7.

Hi guy's

we're looking to book hotels and flights to Phuket around 16th jan for 2 weeks.

When is the best time to book flights and hotels for the best deals considering the time we hope to travel. I have emailed a few hotels and they all have rooms available as are the flights. Is it best/cheapest to travel weekends or during the week etc?

With times being hard would you suggest the best deals are to be had early (ie nowish) or should I play the game and book after Christmas?

Any help and advice most welcome

Cheers

Richard

Personaly I would book it when you find a price you like because sod's law says that no matter when you book it it will drop in price the next day or if you leave it until the next day it will go up in price.

Brigante7.

I was in my local branch of Boots "Pharmacy" today and noticed that in amongst the vitamin and mineral supplements section were bottles of SHARK CARTILAGE capsules

It's obscene enough that we have to put up with Shark's fin soup at every Chinese restaurant in the Kingdom and many Thai places as well but to have a reputable "pharmacy" like Boots selling quack supplements like ground-up shark cartilage powder in capsule form is too much to accept. Sharks are beautiful and graceful apex predators that have been on the earth for hundreds of millions of years and are slowly being wiped-out in many of the world's oceans to supply the soup bowls of Chinese around the world and the pseudo-medicinal medicine trade.

There is no therapeutic value to taking shark supplements, and even if there were, it would not justify the taking of them from the oceans. I urge anyone who cares about the environment, our seas, and corporate social responsibility to call, email, or write to Boots in both Thailand and the UK (and to post this information on other websites and forums) to alert others to this outrage and shame Boots Thailand into removing this product from their shelves!

I am sure Boots would NEVER dare to sell such quack remedies in Europe or America (probably illegal anyway) and they should not do so in Asia as well (despite whatever the cultural meme may be over here).

I'm sorry to hear of your predicament PattayaBunLover but let me ask you this, how do you know that the capsules really contain SHARK CARTILAGE, because it says so? Never believe most of what you read or are told, I once met a lovely girl in a bar who told me that she only went there 1 or 2 nights a month, I was heartbroken when I found out she wasn't telling the truth and was there 7 nights a week.

Brigante7.