chickenslegs

An American tourist to one of the Scots Guards: "Is there anything worn under the kilt?" His reply: "No Ma'am, it's all in perfect working order."

If you were working abroad during any of those "missing" years, you can pay Class 2 voluntary contributions - very much cheaper than Class 3. The rates for the 2024 to 2025 tax year are: £3.45 a week for Class 2. £17.45 a week for Class 3.

Class 2 gets you the same benefits, just cheaper. If you were contracted out of SERPS at some stage you may have been able to buy an extra 2 years to make up for some of it.

I remember my very first driving lesson (50+ years ago). Pulling away from the parked position and joining the traffic: Mirror, signal, shoulder check, maneuver. But, in all honesty, I'll admit to a making few mistakes in those 50+ years. Thankfully, just close misses and nothing worse a couple of angry honks!

I expect there are many skeletons hidden in the closets of those old fossils (politicians).

The Official Monster Raving Loony Party is campaigning on the motto "The only wasted vote is one that isn't used". Their manifesto is: We are fighting this Election on the basis of CHANGE.. LOOSE CHANGE as this is all we’ll have left under a Labour/Conservative Government The Loony Party will build 5 million new homes, fill up 5 million potholes, employ 80,00 teachers, policemen and NHS staff and reduce taxes to 5%……….yeah right…lol MP’s will have to sit in stocks during their surgeries, while their constituents throw custard pies at them. This will help them judge their popularity with in the community. Companies would also be encouraged to design new versions of stocks to trade at the Stock Exchange. Rwanda…We will send all MPs who misbehave to Rwanda. V.A.T….We will get rid of VAT as it adds no value. Fly Tipping..We will ban all tipping of flys, insects, and zips of any kind.. Immigration..We will replace employees of the Border Force with GP receptionists. This will dramatically reduce the number of people getting in. Cost of Living…To help with the cost of Living and to raise money for the Treasury we will Convert Numbers 10 and 11 Downing Street into a Hair salon, Which we will call ‘Government CutZ’. Levelling up….Along with the existing Government policy for levelling up the North with the South, we will provide free Spirit Levels to all. M.O.T….The MOT is an annual test to ensure that your car is roadworthy. We will introduce a ROT, an annual test to make sure all roads are car worthy. Elections….After the next General Election, we will introduce a ‘cooling-off period’ of about 3 years in case voters wish to change their minds. NHS…In an effort to reduce the problems faced by the NHS , it is proposed to reduce pregnancy from nine to seven months. NHS…We will reduce hospital waiting lists by using a smaller font. Legal System…To make things fairer we will introduce a Court of Human Lefts. Foreign Policy…Once in Government, we will replace the Foreign Secretary with a British one! Stamp Duty….We will abolish stamp duty. Stamps are expensive enough as it is without having to pay any duty on them! Migration of Nets…..We will reduce net migration by making sure that any nets are secured more firmly to the ground. NHS…We propose to reduce the alphabet to 23 letters starting with the letters N.H.and S Greener Cars……Once in Government we promise to have more green cars on our roads. Politicians will have fluorescent green cars so that everyone can see them coming. Self-Serving….. Anyone using a self-service till in a supermarket will be given a 10% discount off their shopping. Socially smart….. All Social Media sites will be taken down for one day a week for a “Remember when we used to talk” day. Please vote MRLP wherever you can.

I hope you are correct, but I fear that the "old guard" are still in control and will quash any attempt to reform/modernize this Kingdom.

Students, and people calling for reforming Thailand, want the ridiculous LM laws to be enforced??? LM should be binned, or at least de-politicized. Even people who hate Thaksin should agree.

Google comes up with several options which appear to make meals to your own specifications. https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=ready+made+meals+delivery+pattaya

Any relaxation of the gambling rules will threaten the massive profits from illegal gambling (underground lottery, underground casinos, etc.) which is mainly controlled by the RTP and RTA.

GF car has no insurance? Brother's bike has no insurance?

I could not agree more. People who have nothing to lose are more easily persuaded to throw their lives away.

At Bob's house, with Bob's missus? Hope I'm not giving away the next thrilling installment of Bob's life.

I'm going to guess termites (not moths) attracted to the light, following a rainfall. The cobra???

Disgusting! Where can I join?

Was his name Justin?

IIRC this was an idea that Thaksin came up with before his exile.

I have followed this thread from day 1 (thanks for all the entertainment Owl). The leaning tree on 21/11/2019 ... And today ...

The Ambassador City Hotel Jomtien (a few km south of Pattaya) has been rumoured to become the first casino in Thailand. The newly completed 10-lane dual carriageway gives direct access from Pattaya, and the newly completed M7 link connects it to Bangkok in just 70 minutes (by car). The hotel has over 4,000 rooms (currently almost empty) plus many conference/meeting rooms that could be easily converted to casino/slot machine areas. If I was a betting man, I would place a few quid on this place to be the first casino in LOS.

The way I read it is that all the money spent on tickets is returned to the buyer at retirement age, without any accrued interest. Any winnings are paid out at the time of winning. UK Premium Bonds are similar (no accrued interest), except that you can withdraw at any time.

Whooooosh!

I hope that woman has no children. Anyone who can do that to a defenseless dog ("to enrage her boyfriend") is a psychopath and can also commit cruelty to their kids.

IIRC, the total ban on importing used cars was intended to close a loophole whereby rich Thais working or attending university abroad were allowed to buy cheap (compared to Thai priced) Benz, BMW, etc. and import them to Thailand as personal possessions, without massive import duties and sell them at Thai prices - thus depriving Thailand of revenue. The knock-on effect was to prevent import of all cars, including classic and vintage cars, as no distinction was made between a 1 yr old Mercedes S-class and a 50 yr old MGB owned by the the same man for 20 years.