gerryBScot

My good wife recently bought herself a sewing machine and is progressively getting into dress making. She's a foreigner too so wonder if anyone has any pointers on where she might be able to buy material, tools and accessories in the Bangkok area. Are there specific areas in Chatuchak for instance? Any suggestions gratefully received.

Taking off, with the changes in air pressure leading to ears popping etc together with the motion and noise, can often be the most distressing part of flying for small babies and kids. Use the traditional approach of sucking on a boiled sweet or perhaps in one so young, and to avoid the possibility of choking, some sort of boiled sweet on a lollipop stick sort of thing. I've seen baby stores selling this kind of thing. Presumably baby is flying with mother? If so, if mummy can't calm the baby I don't know what else will. Milk on demand might also assist in keeping the baby quiet and helping her/him settle. I'm sure that so long as baby is surrounded by familiar faces that s/he will settle. I think the advice about getting baby up early on the day of the flight and keeping him/her busy is sound in order to facilitate sleep inflight.

thx Joe

My good lady wife, a filipino, is due to renew her non-b visa at end of April; at this time her current passport will have about two weeks short of six months left before being due for renewal itself. Are there any issues here in terms of renewing the non-B? What can she expect? Any advice or information would be much appreciated. Thanx or salaamat.

Sorry wrong forum please move, many thx.

For those of us who are new to this, what are C1/C2, other than cervical vertibrae?

Just in case you are not being ironic, these are levels of linguistic proficiency used in the Central European Framework of Reference for Languages ("CEFR") which is a highly regarded international standard for describing language competence. C1/C2 describe 'proficient users' which as the name implies refers to the top end. Here's a link which provides a more detailed explanation of the system.

It may be of interest, though a little off topic, that the Thai Ministry of Education has recently adopted the used of CEFR standards to set various targets for Thai student learners of English:

Grade 6 should have reached A1

Grade 9 should have reached A2

Grade 12 should have reached B1.

Back on topic an experienced, knowledgeable and resourceful teacher must surely facilitate the process of any language learning activity. That much should be self-evident. In the case of a highly motivated self starter such a teacher must undoubtedly enhance the rate of progression, but not every teacher can do this. It does not actually follow that a native Thai speaker would necessarily make the best Thai language teacher for a learner of Thai. This is equally true in English where being a native speaker hardly qualifies anyone to perform in an educational setting as an English language teacher to a class of English language learners. In short there are no hard and fast rules about any of this stuff.

medicinal charcoal is the preferred local solution and works well. you can buy it cheaply everywhere. However if the problem is resolved don't bother. drink lots of fluids.

That's a pretty cheap shot at Jessi but as in everything else it says more about you than it does about Jessi: it really brings your own ignorance of the fellowships into sharp focus. I have little doubt though that Jessi is big enough and ugly enough and is probably having a laugh at your nonsense.

My point is you do not know what you are talking about which was self-evident in your original assertion. If you have been in the rooms and know AAs and GAs you would not make such absurd assertions because you would have met many folk who avowedly don't believe in God. Let me assure you AA and GA are not beyond criticism but like anything it behoves the critic to get it right.

I do not have any issue with any alternative approaches to recovery. I have never made any criticism of them and am unlikely to do so. If it works, go for it and good luck. AA and GA don't need to concern themselves with 'success' or otherwise because their funding is exclusively what members contribute. It is frighteningly democratic in this respect. If members walk, the meeting folds.

If you have a reference for a Scientific American article on or critique of AA/GA, please post a link to it. I am interested in this kind of literature and all I can say is I'll read it and give you my reaction.

AA or Gambler's Anonymous, while can be helpful, have an underlying goal of making you believe in God. In fact it is one of the tenets. I myself find that deplorable, to insidiously slide in any connection or belief in God in order to seek treatment.

Personally I find it insidious and deplorable for people who know nothing about the topic to post as if they are experts on the topic. If you had been to AA or GA you would know that what you claim about both, specifically that you must be believe in God, is untrue. If you watch the video you will see a sort caption which says: the only requirement for membership is desire to stop drinking. Can you see any mention of a requirement to believe in God there because I can't?

Undoubtedly one of my defining characteristics as a practising alky and active compulsive gambler was expertise on all subjects especially those matters about which I was ignorant. I readily offered advice and opinions on all manner of things. One of many things I have learned in recovery is to be able to say 'I don't know' when asked about stuff.

You might be in the right place.

Sorry that you have gone off on a rant. You should seek more treatment. I have been to gambler stuff. It saddened me how they try to impress their organizational belief in God on people that have problems

Step 7 from gamblers anonymous: "7. Humbly asked God (of our understanding) to remove our shortcomings."

Step 11. "11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."

The AA and GA statements are basically identical. Two of the steps deal directly with believing in God and they expect you to say that frequently. So don't say there is no God belief involved or expected.

The bit in brackets (of our understanding) or 'God as we understood him' means just that; it is so controlling, manipulative and devious it lets you define your concept of God/higher power as you wish. But this whole area would be too challenging for you, right?! This can only mean it is a religious movement, you like it black and white, straight up, no grey areas. Jessi, above, has posted he has been in AA for 35 years - well done, brother, which interestingly provoked a few scoffs - but more importantly he asserts he doesn't believe in God. Hello?! Are you there?! He's been in AA for 35 years and he doesn't believe in the fairy in the sky. As far as AA is concerned he's not alone, either. Just more evidence of the dangers in speaking out of your nether regions. There is no rant intended. You're welcome to your views. I really don't care what you think about AA or what anyone else does. But if you come on here, post ill-informed nonsense about stuff you don't know anything about, dressed up as reasonable comment, you're potentially harming people who might be interested in coming to an AA meeting - and I will challenge your nonsense. Upwards and onwards to you all, especially those of us who got to the other side of the river where life can be amazing.

AA or Gambler's Anonymous, while can be helpful, have an underlying goal of making you believe in God. In fact it is one of the tenets. I myself find that deplorable, to insidiously slide in any connection or belief in God in order to seek treatment.

Personally I find it insidious and deplorable for people who know nothing about the topic to post as if they are experts on the topic. If you had been to AA or GA you would know that what you claim about both, specifically that you must be believe in God, is untrue. If you watch the video you will see a sort caption which says: the only requirement for membership is desire to stop drinking. Can you see any mention of a requirement to believe in God there because I can't?

Undoubtedly one of my defining characteristics as a practising alky and active compulsive gambler was expertise on all subjects especially those matters about which I was ignorant. I readily offered advice and opinions on all manner of things. One of many things I have learned in recovery is to be able to say 'I don't know' when asked about stuff.

You might be in the right place.

Johnny, an excellent post, many thanks, it's fascinating reading about BillW's struggle with himself. Good to be reminded that it's never over.

I'm in a similar position although I'm not, yet, married to my son's mother. We hope to be visting the UK soon and I plan to try to get him an O Visa while we're in London. As he's only 1 I know he could re-enter Thailand on a 30 day visa exempt stamp and then just overstay, but who knows how the regulations might change in the future.

We're on Non-Bs so we would simply add the children on as dependents. If you and your missus are working I believe you can do the same.

They will not be fined nor banned.

Children under the age of 15 are not charged fines for any infraction to the law under the civil code.

Children under the age of 18 are exempt from the banning under the new rules. See:

Thanks Joe just what the doctor ordered.

Although they may still be exempt from fine payment (but there could be more issues as they enforce new rules) children should really have Thai passports and use them for next entry to avoid overstays in the future.

Lopburi my kids are British/Filipino so they aren't eligible for Thai citizenship. I just wanted clarification about the rules as they stand as I would hate to encounter major problems next time we exit Thailand. I suspect that we will actually get them visas.

What you are describing is the tip of the ice berg! In the worst schools, of which there are a lot, every one at every part of the chain has some sort of money making scheme to supplement their income; your post describes one level, at the senior level it involves taking back handers from publishers for agreeing to use their books; at the recruitment level, it means teachers paying for jobs; it all leads to the state of affairs described in the link below.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/special-reports/881664/declare-education-in-a-state-of-emergency

My two kids, British citizens and passport holders, aged 6 and 3, don't have visas, both being born here. When we exit Thailand they get processed as an overstay which is waived in the usual way because of their age. When we re-enter they come in on the normal 30 day waiver. There is a story doing the rounds in the Filipino community, and my kids have a Filipino mum, that as of 20th March or whenever the new regulations come into effect that all kids must have visas and that thereafter overstays will be enforced with fines imposed etc. Can anyone advise about this as I wouldn't want to fall foul of any changes in the way in which the regulations are going to be enforced. Many thanks

Thanks Sheryl.

Yes, bog standard trans-thoracic echo - no bells and whistles.

I am presuming it is number 1 but I will check. Thanks.

I want to get an echocardiogram done in Bangkok to send to a doctor I know in Oz. What's the form in getting this done? Is it a simple walk in, ask and wait or what? I am happy to see a consultant cardiologist here but I really want my own doctor to check this out without having to travel to Oz. Any pointers would be much appreciated. I was thinking of St Louis, any other suggestions? Many thanks

It's available here http://www.bugsolutely.com and I have two bags of cricket pasta on order.

I have just been listening to BBC Radio 4's Farming Today programme which has just featured a report from Thailand on Cricket Flour, specifically pasta manufactured from flour which comes from crickets, the insects! Anyone seen this on sale anywhere in Thailand? Be interested to try it.

Sorry but Pedro has not got me at it. I am not anti AA. Nowhere have I said I am. I have said go with what works for you and if that is AA all well and good. I just simply do not believe it is the only way as some AA members here seem to infer.

Regardless, a good well thought out post Gerry.

Nice one, Garry, and thanks for not taking offence. I am delighted you had the common sense to decide you'd had enough and then to follow it through and do it and that you are reaping the happiness of your decision. What's important to me is you did it and that you did it your way does not in any way detract from your huge achievement and my admiration of it. Keep going strong and your message of hope is as important to me as any.

Pedro you are it again, misrepresenting me and probably AA as well. In terms of what I say here I don't represent or speak for AA. I can only talk about my experience and readers can thereafter make their own judgements

AA is not against alcohol. It has never been involved in any attempt to shape alcohol policy, influence opening hours, taxation levels or any other aspect of alcohol management. In the same way, you will not experience AA members dragging drunks out of bars. However it recommends that alcoholics should abstain from alcohol for life. It does not want you or me to stop drinking or to interfere in any way, shape or form with anyone else's enjoyment of alcohol ... except those who say they are alcoholics. So, yes, in this respect AA says alcohol is harmful for alcoholics but that is the extent of it. Not exactly controversial, I might add, and not indicative of an organisation s you claim which is against things. Only against alcohol for alkies ..... not really that reactionary, methinks.

You like that line about God curing drunks but not children with cancer, don't you, Pedro, as you use it a lot?! AA is not based on any scientific theory. It makes no scientific claims. Anti-AA people like yourself always point to AA being a religious organisation. AA literature recognises there are many ways to recovery and allows for many different beliefs about God, including none. AAs would never attempt to score cheap points at the expense of sick children.

Individual AAs have different views about many things, not just God. What we say here is not necessarily what AA advocates as policy. I have already intimated in this post that I am not an AA rep. Most AAs I know would recommend medically supervised detox in a hospital as a start for many active alcoholics during which a range of drugs may be administered to ease withdrawal and ward off potentially fatal DTs. I don't think there is anything controversial after discharge from detox to encourage people to maintain sobriety without mind altering drugs. However the final arbiter in that has to be the individual's physician: AA is clear on this, if a doctor recommends meds, then the patient should take them. AAs are most assuredly not scientists nor physicians. I've never heard anyone say in an AA meeting that you are not welcome or cannot speak if you have taken naltrexone. I have heard people ask those who have been drinking not to speak but to feel free to talk to members after the meeting.

The whole business of the research into the effectiveness of different treatment methods is a veritable can of worms. The research you quote about AA is highly unreliable and dated and would need to be read and interpreted with great care. I doubt whether outcomes are good for many services which are trying to assist drunks and addicts. Death is the normal outcome for most of us. For instance my father's death certificate said 'myocardial infarction' and nowhere mentioned his alcoholism which was the cause of his fatal heart attack, the causa causandi, if you like. In the case of AA, effectiveness is an irrelevancy in any event. It doesn't need to prove it is effective to anyone other than to its members because it steadfastly refuses to take money from anyone other than people who say they are alcoholics. This is one reason why people despise AA - it doesn't take any public money and it doesn't take any private money like from the alcohol industry. You can't sponsor AA or The Big Book. It is literally the sum total of its members who literally are a group of drunks, and what's worse, we can't be bought!

This actually means that a group will have to shut down if it doesn't have enough members attending and contributing to the cost of running the meeting. Yup, we pay rent often small amounts for rooms and if we can't pay, the meeting folds. There's no question of HQ stepping in and writing a cheque.

And finally Pedro, you've even got GaryP at it! I am glad you're out of it, Gary, but AA meetings do not consist of people sitting around in a group and sharing everything.

To conclude, I wouldn't bash any approach which tries to stop alcoholics drinking themselves to death. Whatever it takes. But, please, don't come on here and bash AA without expecting some of us to stand up and refute the BS. Pedro, when you write about AA, you tell me more about yourself than you do about AA and I want you to know I want you to be well and happy.

When it comes to AA our friend Pedro is a troll. He cannot quietly accept that AA is not to his liking and leave us to it. Like a baby in a pram he has to throw his toys out and cry, because he doesn't like or agree with how AA works, its underlying philosophy and worst of all, its perceived 5% success rate. Like many critics of AA, Pedro's dislike of AA is based on fear and ignorance dressed up as being underpinned by scientific evidence, as is the way of the world - what defined me as a practising alcoholic in large part was also fear and ignorance. My approach tries to be one of 'live and let live' - my hope is that people can stop killing themselves with alcohol under the guise of having a good time. I really don't care how that is done. I accept there is more than one way to skin a cat. AA works for me and many others. In a place like Thailand it is a very viable option because support services for those attempting to address an alcohol problem are thin on the ground. If you want to go Pedro's route of medication, therapy and controlled drinking, that is fine too. Whatever works for you ...

In the final analysis what does it for me is AA's extremely unscientific assertion that the number one offender for all alcoholics was resentment - the book says it kills more alcoholics than any other factor. That was my mental state as a practising alkie and to be honest I don't need to work very hard to be back to default. However when I heard folk in AA talk about resentment I knew I was in the right place because they were talking about me. I remember a nice middle class retired primary school teacher in S W London describing her resentment at discovering a pubic hair belonging to her lodger in the shower and what ensued over the next 72 hours; someone else came up with the unforgettable line: a resentment is taken not given; and another asked why would you let someone live rent free in your head? It's this stuff that sustains me in sobriety on a daily basis and I feel obliged to assert that today I am not obsessed with not drinking. I haven't had to practise any voodoo to get me on the right side of booze; I really don't think I'll drink today. I'm not saying only 15 hours until I go to bed when I can add another day to my count...

Life is far from perfect but in myself I am happy. I am in a loving relationship with two great kids. I support myself. I am productive. I am optimistic abut the future. 'Twas never thus. Good luck Pedro.