siftasam

Love to see them flying from tree to tree and hooking on the branch with their bent tail. Evolution, eh?

They love eating frogs and lizards here in Lamphun among the lamyai trees.

Their fangs are at the back of their upper jaws. So, don't stick your fingers in too far! They chew their prey.

Why are some of you bothering with figures for the UK that are meaningless?

"There are lies, damned lies and there are statistics" as Disraeli said.

Borrow money! 'Rob Peter to pay Paul'. We all do it!

Of course the money 'is not there'. It's never there. "Balancing a budget' in any meaningful national sense is ridiculous. Our last budget surplus in the UK was 20 years ago - who cares?

To quote figures like these above is 'old fashioned false economics'. 

I've lived through the creation of  what should have been a wonderful and long lasting Welfare State and NHS after  WW2 when "we had no money". I've seen "You've never had it so good" under Macmillan and then Thatcherism. We managed to pay off our enormous war debts (21 billion pounds in 2006). Excuse me, did Germany, Italy, Japan etc. pay off their 'war debts' (!) to the UK?

In 1933 the USA was still in the throes of probably the worst US depression in history. There was 'no money'.  So,  the great incoming President FD Roosevelt spent and spent and spent - 'money he had not got'. He 'primed the pump'. He created the most powerful nation on earth, also the richest, with the strongest Federal government it had ever had. He created an America that did an immense amount to defeat the Axis powers.

So, wise up some of you guys! There is ALWAYS money for war. Roosevelt rightly declared to the US people that he was "waging war on poverty".

We should not pay even one penny to exit the EU. (My God, Trump was correct!) The UK enabled the EU to be formed by defeating the Axis in WW2. The whole of Europe owes Britain an 'enormous moral. political and economic debt''.

The problems remain: 1. inept (and sometimes criminal?) government leadership, including Chancellors who don't even know what the banks are up to (or did you, Mr. Brown??) 2. enormous wastage in probably all fields of UK life 3. corruption and laziness among the 'great and the good' - this extends down too often to management  4. a stupid clinging to odd bits of empire - sell them on Ebay!  5. selling out too often to the military  6. idiot policies like very expensive space research (think Thailand!) 6. a completely 'lost' sense of values  7. a mediocre education system. You can add more if you wish.

The FIRST duty of a government is to DEFEND the country. It has always been so in  history. BUT WHO against? Stupid me, I actually bought a book by Harold Wilson just before he became PM. He said 'Why have a nuclear deterrent? Who are we going to use it against?" (He kept it, of course!)

The SECOND duty of a government is to protect the old, the sick, the unemployed who cannot find work, the very young, and the vulnerable.

The THIRD duty is Education - I mean real Education, not idiot Blair's 'education, education. education'.

Nothing else matters. NOT space rockets, NOT poxy Afghanistan, NOT the poxy Middle East and NOT the economy.

The economy can run itself. Don't tell anybody, but it always has! And it can bear heavy taxation.

Yes, Boris, you can unfreeze our pensions! And increase them. If you want a 'Great' Britain, then don't be so damned small minded!

I never thought I would get to be very old and still hear of people sleeping under the bridges in London and old age pensioners dying of the cold because they cannot buy adequate food and pay electricity and gas bills (ridiculously inflated!)

Wake up, Britain! Shame on you! So much of the 'thinking' is stupid and outdated. If you don't believe me, tell me the name of ONE major political figure who has imagination, fire in the belly, originality, good sense and integrity. Someone who can create, not fiddle while Rome burns.

Talking about burning, I wait for you to shoot me down! (If you can be bothered, of course)

Great idea, nikmar! BUT the very estimable Martin Luther (except for the fact that he was very anti-semitic, at least in his later years)  espoused BEER as one of his great 'treatments' for depression. He suffered badly from depression (as well he might, having been excommunicated and under constant threat of arrest and execution).

But Luther was a wise old bird. Of course, he was a great reader, especially his own translation of the Bible!

 His other 3 great 'treatments' for depression were:

Love of family - a married monk (!) he had 6 children (so, read love of sex?)

Music and singing (karaoke?)

Hard physical work - yoke up the oxen to the plough and get at it! (with a beer or two for sustenance, of course)

Maybe the last one could be recommended to some of our younger brethren at home in the UK, when they sit yawning in front of the tele moaning 'Ugh, can't do anything today. I feel depressed.'

US teachers?

WE teachers, please. You are the subject of the sentence.

(And I'm a tedious old pedant!)

My daughter's Primary School in CM is offering a refund of the extra money some parents pay for the optional Summer School.

It has NEVER offered to refund anything else!

Population of Thailand 70 million now according to the UN.

Large areas are not (or scantily) populated, so overpopulation elsewhere has become a real problem.

A UK problem too - for a long while.

When will somebody have the guts to face up to this terrible world problem? It's been 60 years since Spike Milligan spoke so brilliantly on the radio about the threat of overpopulation in the UK.  Of course, he was bitterly criticized for it.

All those who oppose contraception should hang their heads in shame.

I  know I'm stupid when it comes to money BUT I don't understand this:

it's said that the UK cannot afford to unfreeze our expat pensions because it cannot afford to do so - BUT in todays 'Yahoo Money' I read:

'Senior citizens and disabled workers in the USA could be looking at the biggest boost to their Social Security benefits in decades next year.

Beneficiaries could see their benefits increase by 5.8% in January 2022, according to a Bank of America analyst note, which would be the biggest boost since 1983. That’s also quite a bit more than January 2021’s increase of 1.3% to the cost-of-living adjustment. 

That hike would translate to more than an additional $80 per month in benefits — a fourfold increase than the extra $20 beneficiaries saw in the monthly benefits this year, per Bank of America."

 And yet in June 2021, the public debt of the United States was around 28.53 trillion U.S. dollars, over two trillion more than a year earlier, when it was around 26.48 trillion U.S. dollars.

Is my brain (such as it is) missing something here?

Us soldiers in Vietnam War. Picture on the left is reckoned to be 'fake' (forced perspective).

Is the one on the right real?

Thank God Vietnam is a million miles away from Thailand!

These guys are nice.

U to 8-10 inches. Thank God Thailand is not Vietnam!

I'm lucky I suppose at age 75. The hospital told me that my prostate is not enlarged, but that I do have some 'nodes' (nodules) on the left side. They appear to be benign. No biopsy recommended.

Not a problem at the moment, but, looking on the internet at 'prostate supplement tablets', the information is very confusing. "Take Saw Palmetto" - "No, don't take it!" etc. There are also so many!

Obviously, I'll check regularly with my doctor, but can anyone recommend an effective, quite 'mild' tablet  that might help the health of the prostate in general? And is this supplement available in Thailand?

Many thanks.

So how do I register for it in Lamphun city Lamphun province?

Great memories, guys! Keep them coming.

My childhood was 'odd' which is why I remember sports things clearly. I never saw one 'granny', saw the other one only once (never heard her speak). Saw one 'gramp' only once (never heard him speak) and saw the other 'gramp' only twice. He's the only one whose voice I remember!

I had 3 elder brothers - the eldest two I first remember when they came out of the Army! Mum was 39 when I was born. The third brother (7 years older) was always out playing sport or with his gf. Mum and Dad were working much of the time to support us.

I'm no 'scientist' but I'm sure the Brain forces us to remember things from our childhood (whether we want to remember them later in life or not!). We're 'conditioned' because using the memory is so important to us in our lives - or used to be! Are we encouraged or compelled to use it so much now? Is that a major reason why it can go so wrong?

You will probably have many family memories. I do not.

Love of Sport was the one thing that in my youth brought my family together. I am indebted to it.

Oh I forgot boxing!

Particularly, Terry Downes, the 'Paddington Exprerss'  winning the World Middleweight crown in 1961. Dick Tiger, the superb fighter from Nigeria and Liverpool, who was World Middleweight and Light-Heavyweight Champion   and Terry Downes's epic 'fistfests' with Scotland's John 'Cowboy' McCormack! Carnage!

And the extraordinary 'Massacre at Porthcawl' when Dick Richardson 'defeated' Brian London - the main action being after the end of the fight! Such fun! You must watch the Pathe News Clip on YouTube 'Big Fight, Big Brawl 1960'. British Heavyweight boxing at its finest!

(Meaty Pie47)

'Dairy products are rich in nutrients that are essential for good bone health, including calcium, protein, vitamin D, potassium, and phosphorus' 

 I have always believed this and never had any problem with bones. My bones are still strong at age 75. My teeth are also OK. All my life I have drunk cows' milk and eaten yogurt and cheese (although I went without my beloved cheese for years because of a long lasting weight problem)

Fredwiggy refers us to https://www.peta.org/living/food/reasons-stop-drinking-milk/.     This is truly shocking. Thanks Fred.

I go for an operation in September to remove gallbladder because of calcification build up. Is this because of all my dairy? It can't have helped.

As from today I am giving up cows' milk and yogurt almost entirely. No choice I think.

Ah, Lynn The Leap! Thank you. MBE and CBE.

Wikipedia reminds me that Lynn also won Gold at European Championships 1966 and two Commonwealth Games Golds.

All in the Long Jump - but he sprinted in the Olympics too (100 metres and relay)

Welsh national hero. Intelligent and good looking guy, sent female hearts a-jumping too!

A classic, Crossy!

I forgot Athletics: earliest memories were of Vladimir Kuts (double Olympic Gold and Olympic record holder 5000 and 10, 000 metres in 1956) under lights at the White City, and Britain's own barrel chested Derek Ibbetson (world mile record holder in 1957) and Gordon 'Puff Puff' Pirie! (Olympic silver medallist in 5000 metres in 1956)

Tragically, I have never been able fully to expunge from my memory Tamara Press, the Russian Olympic shot putt champion 1960. Woman, man, TV, ladyboy? 'The

ongoing debate rages'!Two 'balls' here anyway.

Quite put me off women - until Brigitte Bardot came along!

You're right there, sir!

You're not Mick McManus  'The Dulwich Destroyer' are you, sir? (!)

I remember your bout with Jackie Pallo in 1963 - watched apparently by 20 million people in Britain on TV. Kent Walton commentating...ah, those were the days!

Remember your 'caulies' - "Not the ears, not the ears!"

Sadly, Wikipedia tells me that Mick was 'counted out' in 2013.

Mick, Jackie (oh, those tight glitzy shorts!), Kendo Nagasaki and Mick's great opponent Vic Faulkner fondly remembered.

I'm very interested in Age, Memory and the whole concept of Time.

Can you help me please and have some fun with your great sporting memories?

Can we 'kick off' like this?

What were your first 'genuine' sporting memories? That is real memories - in my case photos or stories from newspapers, or things seen on TV (B and W for me!), or cinemas newsreels, or that you heard maybe from your family?

I'm 75 years old and my family, Dad and 3 older brothers were all excellent local sportsmen and discussed it avidly. Mum was also a terrific fan of tennis, cricket and horse racing. I actually remember few things about my childhood, except sport!

I was born in May 1946 and I believe that these were my first sporting memories (they must have been 'great' in order to be remembered for such a long time!)

Soccer: the 'gobsmacked' reaction of Dad and the boys' to England's defeat by Hungary 6-3 at Wembley in 1953 - yes, it was that 'traumatic'!   Slightly later, Peter McParland breaking keeper Ray Wood's cheekbone with a crushing shoulder charge in the 1957 Cup Final (Villa beating Man U 2-1), Bert Trautmann breaking his neck in the 1956 Cup Final (Man City 3 Birmingham 1)

Cricket: Jim Laker taking his 19 wickets at Old Trafford in 1956

Rugby Union: Eric Evans captaining an England team including Dickie Jeeps, Ron Jacobs, Peter Jackson, the locks Currie and Marques, and my school's brilliant PE master Jeff Butterfield.

Rugby League: I'm not a Northerner, so I had to wait for TV and seeing those great wingers Billy Boston (Wigan) and Tom van Vollenhoven (St. Helens) (Tom's  great try in 1961 in the Challenge Cup Final)

Horse Racing: the great horse Ribot, winning the 'Prix de L'arc de Triomphe' (1955) and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (1956) (watching with Mum!)

Motor Racing: The British drivers, Peter Collins, Tony Brooks, Stirling Moss, and particularly Britain's ill-fated first world champion Mike Hawthorne (1958) and his death in a crash on the A3 Guilford Bypass in 1959. 

Motor Cycle Racing: Geoff Duke in the mid 1950's dominating the Isle of Man TTs

Tennis: Althea Gibson (remembered for two reasons!) winning Wimbledon in 1957 and Lew Hoad winning Wimbledon in 1957 (and then - shock horror! - turning professional)

Thanks for your earliest great sporting memories of any sport.  And some of you are older than me!

I sympathize with the NZ pensioners BUT Khun Surasak is surely correct:

'Many paid into private pensions knowing the state handout would not be an amount to live off. I cannot believe you didn't know what would happen to your pension having decided to leave NZ. That as they say, was your choice.'

And let's get this correct. We are not whining and whingeing. The 'Nanny State' as some call it was created by US with OUR money.

"I will 'lend' (!) you my hard earned money if you promise to pay it back - and the government did promise (once upon a time) (yes, it turned out to be a fairy story!)"

Can you please recommend any good, friendly massage shops along Chang Klan?

(I am not averse to a 'bit of fun')

(the only shop I know already is 'Bliss' - excellent massage)

From July 6th

'The elderly could receive an 8 per cent rise in the state pension to £194 a week next spring if earnings growth increases as expected in the next few months, according to the UK's official forecaster.

An 8 per cent increase would lift the annual payout to older people on the full flat rate state pension to nearly £10,100.

It would increase the old basic state pension - not including second state pension or SERPS that people built up on top - to nearly £149 a week or around £7,750 a year.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said last month:

'Our focus is to ensure fairness both for pensioners and taxpayers.'

Steven Cameron, pensions director at Aegon, says: 'The Office for Budget Responsibilities’ latest report on the economic and fiscal impact of the coronavirus pandemic makes what the pensions industry has been predicting official...State pensions are paid for by National Insurance contributions of today’s workers. So granting state pensioners a rise considerably greater than that those of working age might effectively mean that younger generations are subsidising those above state pension age.'            (Typical that the Office cannot even apparently spell?) (And doesn't today mean yesterday as well? If not, what the hell was I paying in for 40 years for?)

So then, am I expecting an unfrozen pension (after 13 years of being a 'cold shouldered' British taxpayer) and a  ........?

For years I have eaten every week (almost!) at 'Butter Is Better' along Chang Klang near Pantip Plaza - near to the traffic lights. 

I love the food, and the staff there are friendly, helpful and very professional. It also has a car park! Excellently run. 'Homely' and inexpensive.

Run by charming Thai lady and great American guy. Many Americans eat there.

Mac Cheese is on the menu, although I've never eaten it.

I'm willing to bet that all their food is very good. Many American dishes, of course. Home made, naturally.

Fill yer boots, mate!

'An Aged Farang's Lament'

'Hope springs eternal in the human breast,

But will I ever get my Covid  test?

Would my chances of receiving vaccine,

Been more or less under Mr. Thaksin?'

I am over 75 and living in Lamphun.

Does anyone think I have any chance of receiving vaccine in the near future?

('Hope springs eternal in the human breast')

Hmmm.

Golden Tree Snake - hence the crooked tail for leaping from tree to tree and hooking on.

Montfort Primary in CM closed for one week - we heard this yesterday.

Online lessons this week.

Precautionary - after 'problem' with 1 older boy at Montfort College apparently.