Diary of a farang in Isaan

[bluesofa]

3 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Perhaps they couldn't understand your Yorkshire accent.

I had a friend from 'up north' who moved way down south to Leicester.

I thought of him when I read about ordering beans on toast. He always said 'torst'.

He eventually migrated to the deep south - well Torquay anyway.

 

I did quite a few jobs in Devon, and learnt a few words:

grockles - tourists (although that seems to be used around the south-west quite a bit)

spuddlin' - bullsh!tting

 

Edited May 23, 2021 by bluesofa

[GarryP]

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

I had a friend from 'up north' who moved way down south to Leicester.

I thought of him when I read about ordering beans on toast. He always said 'torst'.

He eventually migrated to the deep south - well Torquay anyway.

 

I did quite a few jobs in Devon, and learnt a few words:

grockles - tourists (although that seems to be used around the south-west quite a bit)

spuddlin' - bullsh!tting

 

I lived near Leeds, West Yorkshire, with my dad, but spent most of my summers on the Isle of Wight at my mother's house, and always had the p!ss taken out of my broad Yorkshire accent when down south. I managed to escape grockle as I wasn't seen as a tourist. I was landed with the title overner, meaning someone who lived there but who was relatively new there - two generations or less. You needed to have had three generations on the island to have honour of being called a caulkhead. 

 

I no longer have a Yorkshire accent and in my relatively recent visits back to Yorkshire, people did not believe I was from there. I lost my accent as when I came to Thailand many, many years ago, I was taken to ask for teaching English with such a strong accent (to be honest, quite a few fellow Brits couldn't understand me either). I ended up focusing more on pronunciation and hey presto, no one knows where I am from now.   

[Andrew Dwyer]

12 minutes ago, GarryP said:

I lived near Leeds, West Yorkshire, with my dad, but spent most of my summers on the Isle of Wight at my mother's house, and always had the p!ss taken out of my broad Yorkshire accent when down south. I managed to escape grockle as I wasn't seen as a tourist. I was landed with the title overner, meaning someone who lived there but who was relatively new there - two generations or less. You needed to have had three generations on the island to have honour of being called a caulkhead. 

 

I no longer have a Yorkshire accent and in my relatively recent visits back to Yorkshire, people did not believe I was from there. I lost my accent as when I came to Thailand many, many years ago, I was taken to ask for teaching English with such a strong accent (to be honest, quite a few fellow Brits couldn't understand me either). I ended up focusing more on pronunciation and hey presto, no one knows where I am from now.   

Nowt wrong with a Leeds accent Gary !!

( from an old Baildoner ???? )

[Odysseus123]

12 hours ago, bannork said:

But after living in Thailand all these years I can't get over the feeling when I go back that it's like a toy town, lots of mini roundabouts and even 20 mph speed limits signs.

Come on! Give me some chaos!

I agree with that statement.I certainly miss Thailand's brightness,vivacity and generally friendly mode of communications...

 

Even the sense of colour far exceeds the hopelessly dull and prosaic presentation in the West.

 

[owl sees all]

Owl Log - 24-05-2021 - Monday evening

 

Got dark just after 5 this evening. Very heavy cloud. Gusts of wind. Flashes of lightning and almost enough rain to stop a game of cricket. Dear me! Following the same pattern as last year. Didn't someone at the Thai weather office say this was gonna be an exceptionally wet year?

 

Visited Ban Dung today. The centre section of the new bridge on the 2022 was finished earlier today. Concrete still a little green.

 

 

Bumped into the concrete foreman.

 

 

"Hey farang. Seen any wellies on ya travels?"

 

 

There was also work on the go in Ban Dung.

 

 

In England the whole area would have been shut down. Different in our parts.

 

 

Don't fall off dear.

 

 

 

Back at the farm, Chai was preparing to pump water into his rice field from our pond one.

 

 

 

The toilet just off the main road is coming along nicely.

 

 

Mildred got lucky with her fishing net.

 

 

Two absolute beauts.

 

 

 

The leaning tree is almost ready for falling. Just roots holding it up now.

 

 

Don't know what to do when it does eventually go. Might just leave it.

 

 

Dramatic moody sky!

 

Auntie giving the twins a tour of the village.

 

 

Been giving my new cutters a good workout. Trimmed about 100 trees so far. Another 11,000 or so to go. A quick tree takes about 40/50 seconds. A difficult one about two minutes. Pics next log.

 

Gutted for Leicester. Second year running they have missed the CL spot. Chelsea didn't need that spot. They could have qualified by winning it.

 

Am I the only one not bothered about the F1? Had a look to see if it had started up for this year, and found that a few teams were involved that I didn't know about. Aston Martin for one; and Alpine.

 

Had to get Mildred's books and a few bits of school uniform that she had out-grown today. I asked about the mask requirement at the school; when it starts up next week. The clothes lady didn't know, or didn't want to know. We will see next week. I've a feeling it could be home-teaching for a good while longer. Bound to have a row about this with the Mrs, but M's health must come first.

 

Have a big green and red gecko hiding in the house somewhere. occasionally it shows itself. Behind the bathroom door or poking its head out from behind the unit that holds the TV; and just about everything else. I'll try to get a pic when it pops out next time.

 

Sick as a pig! The Eurovision Song Contest! England didn't even get a point. Saw in a pole that Ozzie Osbourne should be asked to represent England next year. Now we are talking! Watch out Estonia! Of course, in the big picture we (England) have won many times; Dagenham lass Sandie Shaw the first. Ireland way out in front though with a dozen wins. I blame Brexit for our dismal show. Many ways to punish us. The fishing. The exchange rate. Now Eurovision; ganging up on us. But!! At least an English team will be footy champs of Europe, (sorry TBL).

 

I notice 'Book Depository' are advertising on T Visa. I use BD and checked on my Richard Dawkins book's where-a-bouts earlier. It was dispatched on 7th of April. In the two years I've been with them; this is the slowest delivery by far. Usually takes about a month. This time six weeks.

 

Only one thing left to say; bye y'all.

 

Edited May 24, 2021 by owl sees all

[chickenslegs]

On 5/22/2021 at 4:56 PM, Odysseus123 said:

Thanks for the info.....

Buladelah is well within my bailiwick being about an hours drive south of town.

Looking forward to the photos Ody.????

[Odysseus123]

17 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Looking forward to the photos Ody.????

It's on the way to where  I receive my treatments at Newcastle hospital..so with a bit of luck and gentle persuasion of my driver (6 free posts on ThaiVisa and a virtual pod of carp from Owl) and Bob's yer uncle-'tis in the bag!

 

It's got disabled access too...

[chickenslegs]

32 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

Sick as a pig! The Eurovision Song Contest! England didn't even get a point.

Worst UK entry ever (IMO). Not surprised that even our closest allies (usually Cyprus and Greece) couldn't throw us a bone.

 

 

[JetsetBkk]

1 hour ago, chickenslegs said:

Worst UK entry ever (IMO). Not surprised that even our closest allies (usually Cyprus and Greece) couldn't throw us a bone.

 

 

 

Totally agree - God awful racket. Stopped it after a minute. I only let it run that long because I wanted to see more of the Mustang. My old '69 Mach 1 351 Cleveland looked better than that tarted up one. 

[Andrew Dwyer]

9 hours ago, owl sees all said:

 

Am I the only one not bothered about the F1? Had a look to see if it had started up for this year, and found that a few teams were involved that I didn't know about. Aston Martin for one; and Alpine.

I started losing  interest when it became impossible to watch it on regular tv and had to seek internet alternatives.

Of course for the last few years it has been Hamilton winning virtually every race reminiscent of the Schumacher years ( incidentally Michaels son , Mick, is in his rookie year and making up the numbers as a back marker !! ) doesn’t make for interesting viewing unfortunately.

It hasn’t progressed much in the last few years, some new faces and the old guard ( Alonso, Vettel and Raikennan etc ) are maintaining their meagre pension by joining the “ also ran “ teams.

This season viewing figures have probably forced a different approach and for the first time in “ god knows how long “ Hamilton has a contender for the title, Verstappen at Red Bull is currently in the lead !!

 

I use the live commentary on the BBC News app to follow the “action “ of the race and qualifying, handy as can do other things at the same time but could probably get the race on YouTube on Monday morning if I forgot, although nowadays I am more interested in the result than the actual race .

 

Big call to drop the Monaco race as the faster cars have virtually eliminated any overtaking and, barring a couple of changes, the starting line up usually predicts the end result !!

[Bredbury Blue]

10 hours ago, owl sees all said:

notice 'Book Depository' are advertising on T Visa. I use BD and checked on my Richard Dawkins book's where-a-bouts earlier. It was dispatched on 7th of April. In the two years I've been with them; this is the slowest delivery by far. Usually takes about a month. This time six weeks

 

I've only ever used Amazon to order books in the UK as gifts for family.

 

Never ordered a book in Thailand, which company do you guys use / recommend?

[FarFlungFalang]

10 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Got dark just after 5 this evening. Very heavy cloud. Gusts of wind. Flashes of lightning and almost enough rain to stop a game of cricket. Dear me! Following the same pattern as last year. Didn't someone at the Thai weather office say this was gonna be an exceptionally wet year?

I think the whole season has bee called off here Mr Owl due to the inclement weather which started with quite a good drop of about 2" night before last and again some light rain last night and another good drop this morning, before that it was at least 4 days of dry weather and lots of cricket.

[EVENKEEL]

8 hours ago, JetsetBkk said:

 

Totally agree - God awful racket. Stopped it after a minute. I only let it run that long because I wanted to see more of the Mustang. My old '69 Mach 1 351 Cleveland looked better than that tarted up one. 

Had a '70 Mach 1 with 428CJ when I was 16. Sold it for $1300. ahahaaa

[FarFlungFalang]

On 5/21/2021 at 9:58 AM, owl sees all said:

Owl Log - 21-05-2021 - Friday morning

 

Just relaxing in my spot near the window and got a lovely surprise.

 

 

He flew over from somewhere and proceeded to inject the caterpillar. I had the camera at hand but couldn't snap the actual injecting. Although it seemed to be more of a spray. Perhaps the caterpillar was sprayed to immobilise it and stop it wriggling about. Anyway; off went the wasp, or hornet, into the great outdoors, carrying its prize. That's nature for ya. Sometimes vicious, sometimes devastating, often beautiful but never ugly.

 

 

My new cutters arrived. They were marked up at 185 baht. I got them on a special offer; 104 baht, and that included delivery. No wonder many shops are struggling. What with covid and now the rapid growth of internet shopping!

 

I was using my cutters yesterday and checked the brand and what a small world they're the same brand I'll post a pic when we get back from town as the misses has cancelled work due to ALL THE RAIN WE"VE BEEN HAVING!Doing my best to send some you way Mr Owl.

[FarFlungFalang]

Trip to Patiew has been postponed due to the movie The Edge with Afney (Anthony) Hopkins and Alec Baldwin, so I'll take the opportunity to post promised pics.

First the rain soaked pitch and driveway.

 

 

 

and the Koksuwan river which flows through our place due to the rusting down pipe joint in the gutter.

 

 

and my  SOGO shears.

 

 

 

I'm due for a tree update so stay tuned for the next six months and see if it happens, maybe I should take the shears and do some pruning like someone asked a couple of months ago, I don't think I'll be able to beat Mr Owls record of 100 in one day wow I might have to call you Super Dag (enham) I bet the reishi tasted good after that effort. 

[FarFlungFalang]

40 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Had a '70 Mach 1 with 428CJ when I was 16. Sold it for $1300. ahahaaa

Didn't the guy who started the Mach company die yesterday?

[chickenslegs]

1 hour ago, Bredbury Blue said:

 

I've only ever used Amazon to order books in the UK as gifts for family.

 

Never ordered a book in Thailand, which company do you guys use / recommend?

I use Book Depository for kids books (Secret Seven, Swallows and Amazons, etc).

https://www.bookdepository.com/

 

Asia Books has a good selection.

https://www.asiabooks.com/foreign-books/children-s-books.html

 

 

[Odysseus123]

Has anyone ever read 'The Eagle of the Ninth' *by Rosemary Sutcliff which along with Roger Milton's 'Tell them in Sparta' kicked off my lifelong passion for history?

I was about 10 years old.

I picked up a copy of the 'Eagle of the Ninth' the other day for $3 in the children's literature section and smiled to see an old friend still going strong.

 

*They made a rather poor Hollywood movie out of the book..'The Eagle' starring Channing Tatum.

 

The Book Depository is the way to go as the Thai postal service tends to purloin Amazon.

[Bredbury Blue]

1 hour ago, chickenslegs said:

I use Book Depository for kids books (Secret Seven, Swallows and Amazons, etc).

https://www.bookdepository.com/

 

Asia Books has a good selection.

https://www.asiabooks.com/foreign-books/children-s-books.html

 

 

Enid Blyton. I read loads of her books - including ones for girls - back in the day when 1 or 2 visits to the local library was kids entertainment. Bought some to read to my lads when they were kids - weren't interested (probably not enough action or magic).

 

A book that captivated me when I was a kid, I remember it so well, was Stig of the Dump. Wanted to find my own Stig (Did that car driving programme nick that name for the mystery driver?).

Edited May 25, 2021 by Bredbury Blue

[Bredbury Blue]

20 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

Has anyone ever read 'The Eagle of the Ninth' *by Rosemary Sutcliff which along with Roger Milton's 'Tell them in Sparta' kicked off my lifelong passion for history?

I was about 10 years old.

I picked up a copy of the 'Eagle of the Ninth' the other day for $3 in the children's literature section and smiled to see an old friend still going strong.

 

*They made a rather poor Hollywood movie out of the book..'The Eagle' starring Channing Tatum.

 

The Book Depository is the way to go as the Thai postal service tends to purloin Amazon.

 

Think Horatio Hornblower kicked off my history interest.

[GarryP]

3 hours ago, FarFlungFalang said:

I was using my cutters yesterday and checked the brand and what a small world they're the same brand I'll post a pic when we get back from town as the misses has cancelled work due to ALL THE RAIN WE"VE BEEN HAVING!Doing my best to send some you way Mr Owl.

Apparently it has been raining dogs and dogs in Kham Muang, Kalasin. My father in law has banned his wife from going out to the paddies when they plan to sow the rice. It seems that every time she goes it absolutely p!sses  it down.  He had to re-sow a couple of times already as the fields flooded. The only saving grace is that the pond is nearly full.    

[FarFlungFalang]

1 hour ago, GarryP said:

Apparently it has been raining dogs and dogs in Kham Muang, Kalasin. My father in law has banned his wife from going out to the paddies when they plan to sow the rice. It seems that every time she goes it absolutely p!sses  it down.  He had to re-sow a couple of times already as the fields flooded. The only saving grace is that the pond is nearly full.    

They might have to resort to the old method of transplanting the rice by hand which if the paddies are flooded is the best way to keep the weeds at bay, but it's bloody hard work.

[FarFlungFalang]

2 hours ago, Odysseus123 said:

Has anyone ever read 'The Eagle of the Ninth' *by Rosemary Sutcliff which along with Roger Milton's 'Tell them in Sparta' kicked off my lifelong passion for history?

I was about 10 years old.

I picked up a copy of the 'Eagle of the Ninth' the other day for $3 in the children's literature section and smiled to see an old friend still going strong.

 

*They made a rather poor Hollywood movie out of the book..'The Eagle' starring Channing Tatum.

 

The Book Depository is the way to go as the Thai postal service tends to purloin Amazon.

Haven't heard of the book but I started off with Captain Moonlight.Later on I read Douglass Mawson's This Accursed Land, the best survival story I've read either fact or fiction.

[bluesofa]

2 hours ago, Bredbury Blue said:

Enid Blyton. I read loads of her books - including ones for girls - back in the day when 1 or 2 visits to the local library was kids entertainment. Bought some to read to my lads when they were kids - weren't interested (probably not enough action or magic).

 

A book that captivated me when I was a kid, I remember it so well, was Stig of the Dump. Wanted to find my own Stig (Did that car driving programme nick that name for the mystery driver?).

Enid Blyton! My favourite author when I was a kid. The Famous Five, The Secret Seven.

Mr Galliano's Circus was good one-off of hers.

 

I remember going to the cinema on a Saturday morning when the Children's Film Foundation presented Five On A Treasure Island, the first of the Famous Five books.

I'd read the book already, but it didn't detract from enjoying the film.

[chickenslegs]

23 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

Enid Blyton! My favourite author when I was a kid. The Famous Five, The Secret Seven.

Mr Galliano's Circus was good one-off of hers.

 

I remember going to the cinema on a Saturday morning when the Children's Film Foundation presented Five On A Treasure Island, the first of the Famous Five books.

I'd read the book already, but it didn't detract from enjoying the film.

 

[GarryP]

1 hour ago, FarFlungFalang said:

They might have to resort to the old method of transplanting the rice by hand which if the paddies are flooded is the best way to keep the weeds at bay, but it's bloody hard work.

They're too old for that. 

[bluesofa]

1 hour ago, chickenslegs said:

 

I don't remember that song, but it might have been played.

[Golden Triangle]

2 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

 

We used to go to Saturday morning pictures at the Regal I think, I can't remember if it was on North End Road in Fulham or a bit further up, a cinema full with hundreds of screaming kids, oh what joy 5555

[Bredbury Blue]

1 hour ago, Golden Triangle said:

We used to go to Saturday morning pictures at the Regal I think, I can't remember if it was on North End Road in Fulham or a bit further up, a cinema full with hundreds of screaming kids, oh what joy 5555

 

Circa?

[Golden Triangle]

44 minutes ago, Bredbury Blue said:

 

Circa?

Sorry, ???? about 1959/60 before we moved to a place called Romford that had big parks with woods, rivers & grass, amazing place for a youngster used to playing on bomb sites ????