kimamey

Wasn't there one in, Phuket I think, where they had signal lights and there was a video of vehicles ignoring them. Including a police pick up.

It keeps the power with the men doesn't it.

I had one of those as well. I wrote to my MP about it. The only credible excuse is the amount it would cost and the fact that it would be paid by taxpayers. That would be me then as I pay tax on my UK state and private pensions, plus the tax on the rent from my flat and the various other taxes like VAT. It would also effect all taxpayers as well. At the time the Tory government had found enough financial leeway to abolish the lifetime and annual allowances on pensions that benefit wealthier people. Sometimes people move abroad to be nearer their children, especially if their partner has died and they are on their own and may need state provided care.

Yes I was aware of that. I was assuming, maybe incorrectly that with easier travel and the ability to find possible foreign partners online, as I did, that people were more likely to want to move abroad and so it has become more of an issue than previously, hence the increase in interest recently. It may well be that more might leave if the pension was increased. It's certainly affecting me a lot more now since the increase in inflation.

When I first used it they told me to contact the DWP, who then told me to contact the IPC again. I asked where I could find the rules regarding frozen pensions as I couldn't find them on gov.uk and I was told "It will be on there somewhere". Not particularly helpful. Before phoning them, and because they are obviously busy I tried looking on the website with the results I mention above. I also used their online enquiry form, twice with no reply. I suspect that's their to avoid phone calls in the hope people give up. It certainly isn't a way to get information.

The 5 precepts being a good example. Which is why there's a need for a group of men, as far as I know it's always men, who are there to find an interpretation that suits your needs and you can give them money, food and power. And of course massage their ego.

It's very complicated isn't it. I was always in the UK for around 6 months and stayed with my mother, and worked for some all all of that time. I was in the UK from September 2020 due to Covid and then, because there were so many things to think about, including helping my elderly mother buy a new flat, which is 1 bedroom so I can no longer stay there, I made the mistake of flying back to Thailand in early March 2022 which meant I missed the increase. I tried finding information about this on the DWP website but I couldn't find anything. I used the International Pension Centre online enquiry service, twice with no reply. I phoned IPC and they told me to phone DWP, who told me to phone IPC. I asked them where I could find the appropriate information online and I was told "It'll be on Gov.uk somewhere". The guy did say that being back in the UK for more than 6 months would reset things but that's not the only way they work things out, as you say. I can't find the letter they sent me, but I know it mentioned the points you refer to and some others. Oddly some of the items, such as return flights, they never asked me about. I don't own a residence in the UK as I can't afford it right now, particularly in the south where my family are. I do have a flat that I rent out. I could kick out the tenant and live there but he's been there 8 years and he's no trouble so I just couldn't do that. I have a mother (96 this year) 2 adult children and 2 granddaughters. I've got a car, although that might have to go as it's becoming difficult to get it looked after whilst I'm away. I've got rented storage for things I'll need if and when I can move back. That might be difficult as I'm not sure I could afford to take my wife.

It was mentioned in the Labour manifesto for the 2019 election, which they lost of course. I don't know if there will be anything in the next one. The economy is predicable a bit weak at the moment and there are a lot of other things that need fixing. As more people move abroad, and they will be able to vote after 15 years it might become more difficult to ignore.

I've used that number a few times, but not since the end of July last year. I don't think it took too long to get through, but it's a while ago so I may be wrong. I hope you've manged to speak to them by now.

Sometimes they kill other innocent people as well as themselves. The thought that the police might do their job and you couldn't just get away with it just by giving a policeman a few hundred baht works in other countries pretty well. If it didn't then why have any traffic police. Thais should understand the idea of safety but I'm not sure many of them think far enough ahead to grasp that.

If my life weren't fun I'm not sure why I'd blame Thaksin or Trump.

My Isaan wife is entirely different. We were on holiday in Scotland, near Loch Ness I think. I'm not sure of the year but probably 2011 or 2012. I'd never discussed politics with her, but I sat down beside her with my laptop. There was a picture of Thaksin with someone else who I can't remember. My wife is in no way violent but she surprised me by pulling her fingers across her throat and making what I assume was supposed to be a cutting sound. Then we went to the UK this last Christmas and were walking in one of the parks in Southampton where there's a speaker's podium. She stood on it whilst I took a picture. I wasn't until I got closer that I heard what she was saying. "Thaksin go to hell". He certainly brings out a different side to her. If he does become PM again I wonder if he'll finally get round to delivering justice for those killed by the army during the red shirt protests as he promised? Of course not, I'm being silly aren't I. From what you've said it seems those in your village have forgotten about those victims anyway, probably in favour of the hope of money.

It does say it's to cover the gap until things are sorted out. My late wife needed adaptions to our house and I received financial help, carers allowance and supplementary benefit I think. That was around 2003 I think and the local authority was better funded then. Now things aren't so easy from what I can tell.

Yes, respect only goes so far I think they ignored his advice on submarines as well.

Brilliant. Thanks for that.

I liked the guy so I was happy to pick bones out of the ashes but I left the choosing of which to take to the rest of the family.

A lot of religions are followed by people who spend their time trying to explain why they aren't making much effort to abide by the rules of their religion. Religions generally start from some fairly reasonable sensible concepts or guidance. Then a group of men, it's always men, decide that if they claim to have a fuller understanding of what was being put forward they can elevate themselves above the rest of the followers of that religion. This is particularly the case if there isn't actually any, or much direct evidence of the thinking at the time the religion started. That's certainly the case with Christianity and Buddhism, where nothing was written down until many years later and where, if you wanted to feel a little more important you could claim to have a better understanding and start your own version and thus be the head of it. These men have the ability to either absolve you of any responsibility for following rules or at least not pushing too hard in suggesting you should. Obviously very few people will obey all rules absolutely whether they are religious or not, but I find it noticeable here that in a lot of cases there doesn't even seem to be much effort to follow the 5 precepts. Take the idea of not taking life. If you look at the UK as an example, vegetarianism seem much more prevalent in the UK, where religion is dying out, than in Thailand. My view on the reason for this is that there are 2 main reasons to be vegetarian or vegan. One is for health and the other for moral reasons although these can often overlap. I've never been totally vegetarian but when I lived in the UK my daughter was so I moved away from a lot of meat and fish. When I was shopping I'd often see things like pork pies for example. In my head I knew I liked them but I shouldn't have them. Almost always, with the occasional weakness I'd resit the temptation. Here I think that monks don't really push that and put it as something you should try to do, if they mention it at all, so without any real pressure to avoid meat and the silly excuse that I didn't kill it, most people eat meat. Thailand kills thousands of innocent men, women and children because they won't have a proper driving test, wear helmets or seatbelts, or have a proper functioning police force. Ultimately that's their choice but it doesn't show the respect for life they like to claim. I did actually ask a monk about the killing of animals for food. He said that you have to eat meat to live. Obviously that's not true, and judging by the grin on his face he knew that as well. Lastly you say you think I read the wrong things. You have no idea what, or how much I read so you can't know if it's right or wrong. I did mention that I thought vanity wasn't very Buddhist when replying to a post saying that the loud noise was a 'face thing'. Is that incorrect?

Maybe he didn't know it was fake and did get it from another man. If it's true, which I doubt, he was taking a big risk if he didn't know this other man and will probably end up a lot worse off.

I think he's doing more harm than good to the monarchy. Attitudes and expectations change over time. The last king changed the monarchy by going out into the country and meeting people. I think he was the first king to visit the northeastern provinces. He also said in 2005 that sensible criticism should be allowed, and that he was human so makes mistakes. A far more intelligent conversation about the monarchy than that from many in government or in the country. I don't know if it's true but I heard the current King asked that prosecutions under the LM laws be reduced. If true that's another thoughtful intervention. Of course it needs the government and Thais in general to listen and take note of these suggestions.

If the driver threatened the passenger with a knife whilst in the cab it might be better to pay and then report him, but since the passenger had already got out, which I think is the advice given by the police, then I agree with you.

You do need to separate incidents occurring due to manufacturing faults from those due to pilot error or poor maintenance. Even if Boeing manage to turn things around and produce well put together planes, if passengers don't want to fly in them then they won't despite any logic. It's a production failure and a PR one as well.

True. Sounds a bit like vanity to me which I thought wasn't very Buddhist. I did read up on Theravada Buddhism when I first came here, but I gave up when I realised it was nothing like what I was seeing.

I think I remember 100 days being mentioned as the time before the bones or ashes are placed in the temple wall or in a river.

A lot of the funerals I've been to in the UK haven't been that morbid, although they were mainly for older people. In the funerals in Thailand of close family or in the case of a cousin who was 19 it would be difficult to know if someone was getting married, becoming a monk or had died. It's only at the removal or opening of the coffin that feelings are shown.

I've been to a few, in fact I went to one yesterday for a friend of my wife. He was 55 and died in his sleep. I'm not sure why but apparently he drank a lot. His wife seemed happy enough. Oddly we didn't go up to the coffin before the cremation which I've never seen before. That's normally the last thing before everyone except the family leave. There doesn't usually seem to be much grief but then even in the UK I think the funeral is a turning point when you leave it behind. In Thailand the flashpoint for grief seems to be when the coffin is removed from the house, often a precarious task down some stairs, and the opening of the coffin before the cremation. My wife's sister died in September one year and her husband on the 2nd of January, roughly 3 months later. Their son hadn't even grown his hair fully back before he has to shave it again. They lived in Phayao a few metres from the temple, but it had no cremation building onsite so we had to go about a kilometre to where the cremations were done. They had a normal cremation building but the coffin had an ornate canopy over it which made it too big for the oven. I'm not sure I can remember the name for it, but it might be something like 'bassard' The point at the top was hinged so it could be lowered to pass under overhead wires, but there were still a couple of guys with long bamboo poles to raise the lower ones. There were two raised platforms to support the coffin and canopy, between which the logs could be piled. In this case we had to leave it for 3 days and then go back to collect the small pieces of bones. I'd never done this before so I wasn't really sure what to look for. The bones were laid out in the shape of a human body and prayed over. My wife's uncle who was a monk was there and he died a few years later. HIs funeral was obviously a lot bigger and on this occasion the bones were collected the next day whilst the ashes were still hot so tweezers made out of bamboo were handed round to pick out the bones. In the case of my wife's sister and husband, his bones stayed there as that's where he was born but hers were split and we bought some back to Mahasarakham where they were thrown in the river and I think some were put in the temple wall. With the monk I got a strange video of a couple of trays of bones with members of the family picking out which ones they wanted.