billd766

4 hours ago, campbell said:

Good morning. I need some advice on renewing a British passport. My husband, who is 87, is now bedridden, unable to sit, and under palliative care at home. He is unable to travel to the VFS office to apply for a new passport.  Thaivisa-express.com appears to offer a passport renewal service. Has anyone used them and can vouch for their reliability?

 

Secondly, his visa (retirement extension) is due to expire on March 25 by which time, his current passport will have 7 months and 5 days left to run. In theory, this should be adequate for Samut Prakan immigration to issue an extension. Does anyone know if they will do this given that the rules often differ from one immigration office to another and also the name and website of a reliable agent who would be able to act on his behalf. He has the necessary funds (800K plus) in the bank.

Thank you,

I used Thai visa Express to renew my UK passport last year. and I found them very reliable, efficient and not that expensive. They were even able to pay my fee to the passport office in the UK. Back in March 2024 the passport took about 3 weeks to be replaced. Paul Aslett was the person I dealt with and he kept me informed all the way.

I am afraid that I cannot help you with the second part of your request as I live in rural Kamphaeng Phet and I use a completely different office. The only comment that I can offer is that most likely his new visa will expire on the date that his old passport expires, as mine did.

I have no idea if Thai.visa.express could or would act as an agent for your husband. though they may be able to do so, or perhaps refer you to an agent who can do it.

I hope that you are successful.

So the government wants to lower the voting age to 16 or 17,

Yet at the same time the minimum age to drive a car is 17 and the legal age to drink alcohol is 18. However you can join the military at 16, but ONLY with your parents consent.

Currently in England you must be 18 to be on the electoral roll.

3 hours ago, Woke to Sounds of Horking said:

Mr Turmp is a great friend to Israel.

 

When you're surrounded by those who want to kill you what are you supposed to do?

 

Do you turn the other cheek or do you fight back?

And what are you supposed to do when a country attacks and invades your country?

Do you turn the other cheek or do you fight back?

Israel has not only invaded Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Iran and now Syria.

22 hours ago, deadbeat said:

They're all going to jail.

Really? And on what charges?

Hopefully I will make a simple traditional lunch.

Welsh Rarebit in 2 slices.

54 minutes ago, ballpoint said:

Very true.

Mine waits for me to feed her in the morning and the ignores me for the rest of the day.

5 hours ago, Taboo2 said:

Now, if he was on weed, this would not happen....5555.

 

 

More whataboutery.

If he was not in Thailand it would not have happened.

If it was in a different place it would not have happened.

Perhaps if it was a different joke it would not have happened.

If he was a different nationality it would not have happened.

More pointless whatabouteries from me.

You have no idea WHY it happened, so why bother to post in the first place?

On 1/3/2025 at 12:05 AM, riclag said:

Can’t negotiate with Terror,People hell bent on destroying the west.

This is a result of appeasing evil!

And what did Trump achieve about terrorists during his 4 years in power. He discussed with the Taliban in Afghanistan but never even talked with the legal Afghan government.

Then he pulled the US troops out of Afghanistan and left that mess for Biden to clear up.

That is a result of appeasing evil!

On 1/1/2025 at 4:28 PM, Sheryl said:

Still in diabetic range.

 

You need better blood sugar control, obviously.

 

In terms of brands of meters, , AccuCheck is the most commonly used & reliable type here. The strips are expensive but easy to come by, pretty much any pharmacy has them.

 

And the company provides good tech support.

 

For periodic assessments at a lab or hospital/clinic, Hb1ac is better than fasting sugar for a number of reasons. The fasting sugar captures only your glucose at one point in time, before eating. It is fairly easy to "game" this by following a better diet for a few days before testing, and people may do this even without consciously realizing it.  Hb1ac on the other hand is an average over several months and captures nto only glucose before eating but after eating as well. So a better overall picture of what is going on.

 

 

I have been using an Accu Chek Active for about 18 months now. I do a blood sugar check every Monday morning first thing.

Most of the time I am in the pre diabetic stage with the readings between 5.6 

mmol/L or 101mg/dl up to 6.8mmol/L and 123mg/dl, but sometimes it goes past that into the red area of 7.2 or 130.

It normally goes back down a week or 2 later.

The lancets are mostly common but the test strips can vary from model to model of the tester.

I am fortunate enough not to need or use insulin.

24 minutes ago, digger70 said:

Care Factor,  Zero.

So why do you care?

It is not your country, you don't even have a voice or a vote in Thailand, and there are far richer people in Thailand, but I don't see you taking a pop at them.

59 minutes ago, crazykopite said:

Seems she alone can afford to buy votes for any forthcoming elections !

So can many other rich people and not only in Thailand.

1 hour ago, black tabby12345 said:

Soon, her wallet will grow even bigger; with the new tax on cooking oil and salt as reported late last year.

 

Bangkok Post - Taxes on salt and fat considered

 

 

Does she own the monopoly on those?

2 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

..and to think that in terms of many other Thai/Asian families Thaksin's wealth is small fry.

Including many other Thai families who actually live in Thailand, yet nobody here seems to be complaining about them.

2 hours ago, Xonax said:

Maybe next time she will opt to buy a non-flammable shading net. The lantern alone would probably not have been able to set the car on fire, but the flaming shading net did. 

Good idea.

Just blame the victim even though it was not her fault, but the fault of the idiot who sent the lantern aloft without thinking about the damage it can do.

45 minutes ago, TooPoopedToPop said:

Obscene wealth... and it is probably only the tip of the iceberg.

The whole clan have been plundering Thailand for years now.

And naturally you have the proof of this and will hand over that proof to the NACC.

Of course if you don't have any proof of your allegations, why did you bother to post in the first place?

1 hour ago, Moonlover said:

 

Definitely the way to go. The agents hadn't set up shop when I last renewed mine. 2 trips to Bangkok from Udon Thani cost me more than the 5,000 Baht that they charge. I read that they provide very good service.

They do.

40 minutes ago, Upnotover said:

In Thailand?  You don't apply online.  You apply in person at VFS.  Everything you need to know is here;

 

https://www.passport.service.gov.uk/overseas/information/thailand/renew/adult

I sent my passport to an agent last year, who did all the work for a reasonable fee, including the payment to the Passport office in the UK, and it was back along with a new one in 3 weeks. If IIRC the charge was about 5,000 baht and far less traveling time.

My travel costs were the 6km journey to the Thai post office and back once instead of getting my wife to drive me 350km each way to BKK plus an overnight stay, twice. 

1 hour ago, marquess said:

It's about a 35% decline. The Russian economy is now the strongest in Europe in terms of purchasing power. Inflation is currently at  9%. A spare 100k would earn a good amount of interest in a Russian back providing the currency remains at its current levels. The Europeans are destroying their own economic wellbeing for the sake of US corp interests and de industrialising.

Do you have any links or facts for what you are claiming?

Or is everybody just supposed to take your words as fact and the truth?

On 1/2/2025 at 8:25 AM, gargamon said:

What you say conflicts with what they are saying on RT. Clearly you must be incorrect.  😮

Is RT a propaganda arm of the Russian government?

Also according to the internet RT is banned from Meta.

Yet you seem to believe it.

Perhaps it is you that is incorrect.

3 minutes ago, Purdey said:

Clearly, comparing the present with 70 years ago is not relevant. 

Of course it is.

What years do you use as a comparison?

47 minutes ago, Purdey said:

OK.

Free school lunches expanded to seven-to-11-year-olds.

Froze many transport fares for a year - for the fifth time.

His environment policies were what got him the Green Party votes.

Ulez is putting an end to vehicle pollution. He can justifiably claim credit for improving the capital’s air quality and reducing the amount of toxic pollutants threatening the health of Londoners

Supported the planting of tens of thousands of trees

Record numbers of new council homes

Got The Superloop, the Night Tube and the Elizabeth Line all up and running, increasing convenience for Londoners.

The highly popular Hopper bus fare. The policy allows Londoners to make unlimited journeys on buses and trams for just £1.75 within an hour of tapping in.

More than 1,400 zero-emission buses on London’s roads

He created a 170% increase in the number of public electric vehicle charge points. London now has more than 11,000 — a third of the UK’s total. 

Increased training for unemployed youths

 

I think people who live in London, much like those who live in Bangkok, appreciate mayoral efforts to clean the place up. All these points can be googled.

Thank you for that.

However I don't think he did that alone.

As for free school lunches expanded to seven-to-11-year-olds, when I went to both Junior and Senior schools in the 1950s in Poole, I was on free school lunches back then, and that was 70 odd years ago.

Back in the 1950s and 60s there were apprenticeships.

So while he may be doing the right thing, he is a long way behind on other things.

And the people in Poole local council and also Dorset county council never got a mention, they also did not get elevated to a knighthood. They simply did their job.

6 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Blame the ones that put an IMO gibbering idiot in as the alternative to Trump.

The electorate obviously considered a "convicted criminal, a convicted sex offender and a serial liar" a better choice.

 

I hope you get to enjoy the next 4 years as much as I will, though I suspect you won't.

I don't think that you will enjoy the next 4 years either.

6 hours ago, ujayujay said:

Thats RTP. Why does the police officer watch someone trying to release a fire lantern, even though the law prohibits it in populated areas?

What a pity you could not be bothered to follow through with your explanation.

For an offence to be stopped it first has to be seen. Only then can the police intervene. It seems from the OP, that the RTP tried to stop  the stupid young tourist, who then assaulted the policeman, who in turn took the sky lantern away.

The RTP showed restraint which the tourist did not, and no charges were laid though they could have been.