The Ambassador: H.E. Mark Gooding, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Thailand

[CharlieH]

14 minutes ago, John Drake said:

Why doesn't aseannow offer this service for other countries?

Because its their service not ours.If they(other countries) wish to post as the British do, they are more than welcome.

[Grusa]

4 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Because its their service not ours.If they(other countries) wish to post as the British do, they are more than welcome.

Have you suggested it to them?

[CharlieH]

21 minutes ago, Grusa said:

Have you suggested it to them?

Not my place as merely a volunteer here.

[Exploring Thailand]

3 hours ago, mikebell said:

I have written to various MPs explaining that starving ex-pats back to UK would cost more than inflation linking state pensions.  Elderly pensioners returning in droves would plunder the Social Services for Heating Allowances; Medical/Travel/Housing/ benefits - all of which we pay for ourselves at the moment till the tipping point is reached.

i think they all know that  there is no justification for freezing pensions. It would be expensive to unfreeze them, and there would be no votes in it, so just they just look the other way.

[herfiehandbag]

14 hours ago, it is what it is said:

 

there seems to be some misunderstanding as to the role of an embassy, they do not exist to sort out basic problems for every tom, dick and harry who didn't take appropriate precautions or actions in the first place. they can, and do, assist individuals in extreme circumstances.

 

an embassy exists to facilitate peaceful co-operation and collaboration between two nations.

They do, but, the Embassy also contains a large consular department, which exists, and is funded by the government to deal with and assist British people in Thailand. That department is part of the Embassador's responsibilities.

 

It seems clear that there is considerable disquiet amongst the expatriate community as to the way in which it functions, certainly, my experiences on the two occasions when I have had contact with the consular offices in Bangkok have been less than stellar!

 

Now far be it from me to tell "His Excellency" what to do, but he could do justice to his title by reviewing that aspect of his Embassies operations.

[mfd101]

4 hours ago, mikebell said:

I worked for 40 years; fully taxed & insured in UK.  They froze my pension so I get 350 UKP State Pension per MONTH.  Wonder if our Ambassador knows/cares.  I still pay tax on it!

And what would you like him to do about it?

[Rimmer]

A troll post has been removed

[Orinoco]

What you reckon !!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL.

 

[poohy]

18 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

I remember when the British Embassy in Bangkok was guarded by a Gurkha with a knife, (Kukri). However, those internet addresses are very impressive.

He was the nicest guy you met at the embassy

[DaveE13]

19 minutes ago, poohy said:

He was the nicest guy you met at the embassy

And some of the toughest soldiers you can work with.  Always smiling and greeted you. Shame its gone.

[Anna Rak]

If you have an address in the U.K. you still get not only the increases but the cold weather payments, so maybe a homework lesson may have been in order. ????

[billythehat]

3 hours ago, Orinoco said:

What you reckon !!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL.

 

I’m confused….which one is “His Excellency”?

[billythehat]

19 hours ago, cliveshep said:

I've cropped most of your biography out!

So from what you said our Ambassador is an upper-class homosexual? Well, he'll fit right in here as this lot love lady-boys. But I wonder quite what message Boris Johnson's choice here is saying to the rest of the world? Look how tolerant we are? Many Muslim and Christian countries will find that difficult to swallow but I suppose being posted to Thailand will keep him out of most of the the political realm.

 

“So from what you said our Ambassador is an upper-class homosexual?”

 

I said nothing of the sort. That CV was taken from the gov.uk website.

[Orinoco]

1 hour ago, Anna Rak said:

If you have an address in the U.K. you still get not only the increases but the cold weather payments, so maybe a homework lesson may have been in order. ????

Not the best advice

Very easy to see your comings and goings to the uk now days.

Paying money back down the road, could be very bad news

 

[Liverpool Lou]

22 hours ago, clivebaxter said:

They only seem interested in business, not fellow Brits

Have they let you down in some way that makes you say that?

[Liverpool Lou]

21 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Nobody shouted abuse. A fact was stated.

Which "fact" was stated?

[Liverpool Lou]

21 hours ago, The Hammer2021 said:

Does Great Britain even have an embassy here where citizens can go for advise or help?

Is there an emergency hot line number?

Is there a dedicated email address for citizens in need of help?

Do UK citizens have the right to register with their embassy?

Yes.

Yes.

Why would you want an email address if you needed help when there's a phone number?

Yes.

[Liverpool Lou]

21 hours ago, Sir Dude said:

it's abundantly clear that the UK embassy isn't basically interested in any of us or our problems...

Anything in particular that makes you claim that "they're not interested in UK citizens' problems"?   

[Liverpool Lou]

10 hours ago, MRToMRT said:

Interesting - I just read on Wikipedia that World Vision does not support same sex sex marriage in its staff. Bit of an oddity there as two of our last UK Ambassadors have been in same sex marriages. I wonder if Wikipedia is out of date?

Someone else who assumes that everything in Wiki is true or accurate!

[Liverpool Lou]

9 hours ago, mikebell said:

I worked for 40 years; fully taxed & insured in UK.  They froze my pension so I get 350 UKP State Pension per MONTH.  Wonder if our Ambassador knows/cares.  I still pay tax on it!

How do you "pay tax on your state pension" when it is paid gross?   Do you mean that you have a UK tax liability in general because your income is over a certain level?   That is not "paying tax on your pension", that's "paying tax"!

[Liverpool Lou]

9 hours ago, JonnyF said:

doing sweet FA for UK citizens in Thailand

That's not their only job but, regardless, have you any justification for that false statement?  How have they done nothing for you when asked?

[MRToMRT]

41 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Someone else who assumes that everything in Wiki is true or accurate!

Errr I asked a question (see the question mark). So why the diss?

[RobU]

3 hours ago, Anna Rak said:

If you have an address in the U.K. you still get not only the increases but the cold weather payments, so maybe a homework lesson may have been in order. ????

You are Not correct, If you spend more than 9 months in any year out of the UK all benefits including free NHS healthcare are automatically suspended, All disability allowance benefits cease after 3 months out of the country (6 months in very exceptional circumstances). This is a fact whether you have an address in the UK or not. Some UK hospitals and GP's don't make adequate checks and often many UK GP's don't know these rules so some people slip back in and are effectively defrauding the state.

[BangkokReady]

23 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

What do they actually do that is helpful?

The elite take care of the other elite while they all get fat off of the tax payers.

 

I'm no communist, but the whole born into wealth thing gets a bit tiring.  Most people high up in the British government, business and even entertainment went to the same few public schools and then Oxford or Cambridge.

[sharecropper]

I wonder if the spineless British Embassy and Ambassador, instead of giving photo opportunities to reprehensible scumbags here, plans to formally and strongly protesting at the plight of political prisoners and dissidents in Thailand?

 

Or do we only do what the US do now that we "have our country back"- and that is to focus on whatever the US orders us to - probably only abuses in China for US-domestic reason at the moment.

[Dogmatix]

You would think an ambassador would know better than to wearing brown shoes with a dark blue suit.  

 

BTW does anyone know where the ambassador's residence is since they flogged off the Wireless Road embassy?

[Dogmatix]

On 10/20/2021 at 8:41 PM, Sir Dude said:

Pretty cushy posting as it's abundantly clear that the UK embassy isn't basically interested in any of us or our problems... soirees on the lawn. Anyone for tennis?

Soimetimes it can be stressful like when the ambassador was tasked by the FCO with assisting in a BiB frame up over the murders of two British citizens in Koh Tao. It all went smoothly in the end with the exception of the sister of one of the deceased publicly stating she didn't believe the official version which got her threatened with a defamation suit by the police chief.  So hopefully the UK got a nice defence order out of it.

[Denim]

On 10/20/2021 at 7:23 PM, mfd101 said:

They do the jobs they are employed to do, with the priorities that are set out for them by their political masters as interpreted by the intervening bureaucracy. No point in shouting abuse at HM's local representatives.

 

Same applies to all other embassies.

Killjoy 

 

They are the representatives of our government as you say.

 

Therefore , if I have an axe to grind against said government , who is to be my millstone other than these career diplomats.

 

Should I go to my local noodle seller and give her an ear full when I find my government wanting ?

 

No. He is on a nice salary so any flak that comes his way he will have to suck up just as we do when we get ripped off by the embassy.

 

I won't bother going into why visa applications to the UK have been farmed out to an unscrupulous profit orientated company or other major complaints,  I will just focus on something more local , the cost of various letters from the embassy.

 

To get a Thai drivers license I needed confirmation of address . The only acceptable confirmation in my case was a letter from the British Embassy. Charge for this 2500 baht. Nice little earner considering I am not registered with them and they did not visit me to confirm my residence.

 

1000 baht I could have swallowed ( with a stiff drink ) but 2500 for a letter ?

 

No. Although it is true he is not responsible for any decisions the british ( with a small b )  government make and that he is only doing his job ( aka jobsworth ) , I reserve the right to ear bash him here since it is probably the only kind of satisfaction I can get from her Majesties employees.

 

Oh, and thanks so much for assisting us with getting vaccinated. What would we have done without your help.

[Denim]

8 hours ago, Orinoco said:

What you reckon !!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL.

 

Ah, the blue shoes are a dead giveaway. A Tory civil servant if ever I saw one. Don't know who the bloke on the right is but yes, pretty similar.

[jacko45k]

8 hours ago, Dogmatix said:

BTW does anyone know where the ambassador's residence is since they flogged off the Wireless Road embassy?

Over a massage parlour on Suk24....